Variety (Dec 1934)

S8 VARIETY A D I Of R E P ¥ S TuiesdAy,, D?c0mber 11, J1934 Stage Operetta as It standard OH oif, New Jersey Is currently -responjalble for the fol- lowing eyienits: (1) A free show, two hOiirs long, with Guy liombardo's orcheat^ Pat' Barnes and Crosti and Dunin, playing onernlght stands through, the east-- ern zone to the flre-red fury of theatre managers. This was Called bit yesterday (Monday) after eey- erai meetings between S^Q. and "the-, .'atre.'men;-■■■ ■"^ ' •: ■■■ . (2) A. Broadway operetta, The O'FIynn/. Bdbn to open at the Broad* . wiay theatre, New York, with th©. financial support of the oil com- pany./ ■ ■■■• (3) A radio serialization of the bpeiretta presented on . the air In adr vance- of the theatrical pribmlere of the 0tag9 production, of wl^ich It Isi an^adap^tion., . . ... This ls ; qulte a re<^rd and show business Is apprehensive or whisit xady be' happening - tO' sttow . .business. If these varlouis yenttires are successful (it's too soon to jude:e), Standard Oil ot New Jersey T< n a y h a v e I ml t a t b r l a a n d the last talulLar BANKHEAD: litt«rvi»wv IB'-IMiha. . Suatainina - Wir^Si New York ■A station scoop lii the race to capture stellar legit stars for after- noon tea. Actress now current in Dark Victbry^ her first serious' rolie on Broadway. ; particularly; wiell charged vocally . for this, visit. Hui3ky voice iand casual banter oK the script helped: to ionake session- diverting.- Actress saia. she would like to move back and forth between Xonf doh and New Tork in a slick drama. Considers the Jeanne Eagels com- parison, the greatest . compliment ever laid at her door, Is an ardent film fan and hopes to maice a swell picture some day. Lboks-'llke Holly- wood win .siee . her again , too. Michael Toung who' grrabs the stars for WINS did the feeding. In- formality of questionnaire made it sound more like a fireside chat with a bottle of champagne close by, than the. usual-starchy blurbs, . . ^trenches. Of a oncb. independent and always 'hstzsurdous profession niay surrender to the fat purses.of huge commercial ^corporations. It wbUl^: be a flhancing; hacU^d .. blessing mixed with penalties. ' Anyhbv^, the trend Is. q^fflclent ,tb •cause some '- uheaisiness. ■:. Show ■ buslhess's best prottectlbii: from • such" eventualities^ however,! is those Ibsses on flops.. .THrstt broadcast: of the iadio .ver- sion i of Russell Janney's-. 'The O'Flynn' occurred-at 10:30 p-nii Pri-. diay C6> in tl)ib CBS Playhouse, New York. In r«iallzatlQiii of tiie fact ihat'. another radio 'first* Was gbing Into' the record, the-men were iti' tutedo and the ligiaies In chlflon-over'-^taf• feta-'and thrbe^-fbot kerchiefs.- A'nd' WiUiaioa A.: Bacher was In a tither; Bachor Is the radio- director for iSsso-- bii.. the t bnce-a-Week series; «i£e's also probably radio'p moat piq- r- turesque-showman and; a show by himself when performing from th<e ;. prompter's -dais. HIS arm^work bn ' the massed cheering' and anchors ^ iKWefgh .Sounds effectsjsj positively . phllhannoiilc. i He's'itlSo quite mais- terful In timing the'-closing , of :k door or thb'manhandllbg .of a 17tb .cent)iry:damSel. ■ ^' Stfticher, who used te^be a* dentist," has a waritai, eympathdtlc It-doesn't-' -..hurtle.a--r.b.lt'. .sort:: .pf .^mlle -with -which . he encourages his actors . and ' singers alternately <in groups and - Indlvlduallyir Ba^lo version of The O'Fiynn' Is announced Over the^ air as a 'William A. Bacher per- Bohaily directed production.' That's Bomethihg in itself. A second 'yimsnr reviewer tuned ;in the program (fver- the air ..and .fouhd the program .well knit and' ■enjoyable. In tlfe. studio., ibat used to be the Avon theatre It'Was hard ' to get linmersej^ in the story. Not Wlth .Babher such' a, bynoBUre and with the sitting-stahding cast: ex changing friendly sign language with perjsons of their acquaintance In the audience. Perhaps this review Is hot an ap proprlate peg On which .to hang ' some remarks aneht the seemingly dubious showmanship of allowing ; the. public to see a radio program cass. - But the conclusion ls_ Ines- ^ capable..rThe story-called^ for rthe Illusion of an adventurous blade of the 17th oeiitury, a sailing .vessel, . a high-spirited couhtess, a auave conspirator. What the public saw -Was a group of inen in tuxes and -:^w6meri Jh- chlffoh-ovbr^taffeta and three-foot .kerchiefs, bored perform- ers ^sitting out be.tween cueSi sound eCCects; technicians exposing their j..ilttl.e:_^trade .-aecrets,.. .and. Bacher doing a Wigmanesque semaphor. Pliis a, separate set of performers to read' the dialog ar d sing .the Viola Phllo. and. Milton Watsbn handled ' the . t-vro singing leads with pie h ty. Of ^experienced -uhction. Franklin Hauser's score Is cOm- rUiBiida b lo tlii o ugh o ut. Acting ond handled by. Ray Collins, Liucllle ': Wall; Leigh, iovell, Jack Smart and John Gregg, And the orchestra ex- pertly controlled by Nat Shilkret. McCanh-Erlcksoh handles the Esso account. Land. STORY BEHINbr THE/SONG' Drama, Ruatio Muaie 15'Mina.'-'. - . COMMERCIAL KABC. Sah Antonio. . Seems like this one may be a Justiflication for the all too prevalent vogue for hillbilly yodeling arid gui- tar strumming*. Although the period runs Vpretty much to form, It Is saved; by a - loiuslco-dramatlc re- searqh . ihtb thb backgrouiid: of the many hillbilly numbers. ■" .Vixferam' .caiight .Jjad V*Wheai the Work's All Done This Fall' with Joe liUther, -who scrips the period, nar- rating in- character. Uses - several other persons in character who act but the suggestions of the Song This one about the cowpiincher who fell from his boss and was trampled by .this Tierd so he won't get home to. ma this fall. Then fOllowS busl ness. of giving'his saddle to Jim, his gun to Bill, the''boss' kid, and so- on.- ' r -r . - ■ ■ ' The point is that the dramatic action-:which ~ls-legitimate enough gives a foundation to the cowboy and similar ditties which 'seem to have no Justiflcatioh unless, there is some tangible explanation for them. It's a commercial for an auto- mobile company, which gives a free wash^and-grease -for-the -car-yrlth the license number called at this end. Several other commercial spiels iEire brief. . Kevi. STATE POLICE DRAMAS Sustaining, 30 Mina. WHAM, Roeheatar ; Dramatized case records of the New York. State . Police are one bf the '^ost popiula^r. sustaining shows WSXM has cicf Hedr~ —-.- Appeal lies in authenticity, as sured by jsanction of Ma:jor John A.: Warner, superintendent of Troopers, and . in the listisriers' fa- milisu-lty with the stories WHAM carried a similar series 'two years ago, dram£..tizlng the ex pioita of. a local detective. Wealth of material in the State Police files allows Selection of stor ieS of Intense and inreneral appeal sUipped down to-it s s eraway-eaF-^ ^i^matlzation-^feeetively—-xecon structs'scen es, p eople" and tenseness of "sltuatlohsT-T»roduetion,.is smooth and fast. •SENTINEL'S SERENADE' Edward Dayies, Irvir Cobb, Albert . Spaiildjng, Jessice, Dragonnette, ^KNfosefkoestrier-orchestra Concert; 30 Min8< COMMERCIAL WMAQ/Chicago New. series for this Hoover:vacu- nm cleiher Is of high concert type, "formerly merely a good concert program, the Hoover-session is now. an excellent oner birering names that Sta.nd out. throughout the niu- •Ical and. literary world. Only: dlacohcerting item ' on the isntire. show Is the first of the tw6 tlieme sdhgs. Are using, a .parody; oh ;^he Caissons Are Marching Along- and; is entirely out of keep-: Ing with the gerieifiat' tenor of the wst bf the show. ,;It'3 harsh and imnecessarjr,'; -T..' -. :.. ;..;.,GpId, --,' TOYLAND EXPRESS 15 Mina. Chriatmas. Special. COMMERCIAL. KOIN, Portland. Ore. This Is the fourth year for the same. Sponsor, liipman, Wolfe de- partm^Mt~ store, oh" this stiasonal Christmas shoWi: Program idea ' is": hot new. but deftly handled, by Har vard. Mclntyre, who writes it. Toy land Express with conductor, Santa ClauS, Rumplestltskln, Princess Snowfiake, and. Blllie Riddle, all playing to kids, but putting On a fast show with plenty of laughs,, and comnwroiai draw. / ' ' Plugs aren't overdone and sponsor evidently pleased with results. Beg- 'ular staff cast partlctpatlng, with vocalists doubling oh 'lines, and for . some strange reason I doing a heiat -job/ ■ ,::■;::-■.■;'/.-/■■.;•■ ■ BERKELEY SQUARE' With Lealiae Howard, Helen Cbfindlar Lux-Dramiaj: 60 Mina. i :. COMMERCIAL WJZ, New Yerjk. , Z^eslie Howard could probably play 'Berkeley (iHronounced Barkty) Square' with his .'eyes shut, haying donc^ it both in legit and films; It was almost lnevita.ble that John Balderston's piece should reach the air. And, of course; with Howard to act . the difficult and shaded role of Peter . Staridlsh, it assumed iih-! mediately the proportions'bf a radio 'must' for the curious, and discrlml- hating.... All things considered! this adap- tation seemed one bf the best things Lux has offered :on , its ambitious Sabbatarian hour-rlong drama fes- tivals. There did seem: to be a dangerous lull at the onset, when the preliminary ahnduncements seemed bereft of point or lustre and the start of. the play Seemed grlev-; busly delayed, although actually it may have been only a minute or two. Vitally important to' bapture the ItStenera Id a huri'y for :ai pro- gram this long, especially as front the nature of radlb an introductory explahatioh of some .length has to be read in advance bf the. narrative. What is. hard to, guess is how well the.-rank-and file of the cltl- zeriry-can^ollow-a plotr of-such-f ah-- tasv arid metaphysical thesis. F a mlllarity with the story through the. stage and screen versions must be deemed a great advantage. In a case like: this the reactions and opinion \ of Joe Dbakes in Ashtabula are probably a lot more pertinent to Lever Bros, thaii of a! profes- slonar cbhtmentator. All that can be said is . that It was 'a, superior effort with splendid performances by Howard .and Miss Chandler.-' The lines ;aiid situations carried the ring of truth and. sincerity aiid the whole thing had .. a - distinct. c'apacity for stiriihg the^ emotl^ps and! prodding tlie'lmagliiatlbh.: ; v • ■ ; . On the air, as ih the. pthiar ma' terializatlbns of the story, the ,4nd Ing, DAay be. a- matter of;' sdme de batOe It leaves the impression tha-t Peter Standish, after transporting hlmiself back Into history 160 years and assuming; for a time the life of his namesake and -forebear in the. 18th century, has jiermanently weakened -his brain by the 'stunt. As' a make-believe 'and ingenious tw.ist^on.theldreani._devlce_.inlnar'^ ration; the; melancholy and: siigges tlve of a mental derangement is not altogether satisfying. : Land. REiVENC^E WitH MUSIC ; Libby Holman, Qaorgea iiyiextaxa, 'Ilka Cliaae, ^ JeaapK.,. McCauley^ Margaret Lea,' Howard ; Dietz, Arthur Schwartz. 30 Mina. .' Suataining WABC. New York Condensed version lacked buoy- ancy and color. Music maintained a certain Standard of Spanish lilt but nev«r-^^-roBe-abov6-the flat-facts -of the story; Both Howard Dletz and Arthur Schwartz in for remarks with the former carrying oh some pert repartee with Ilka Chase, comedienne of the operetta. Joseph McCauley sang 'In the Middle of the Night.' Margaret Lee pinch- hitting in Charles Winnlnger's spot had a straight production . number which wa&T'nothing extra. Georges Metaxa came On oarly and figured in several numbera. CHASE AND SANBORN OPERA GUILD 'Aid*,' with Halan Japaon. Fradferlc Jagal, Oouglaa Stanbury, Norman Cordon, ' Roderick : Cresi Daema Taylor, Wilfrad Pallstier 60 Mina. COMMERCIAL V ^ WEAF, New York^ * V There's a spot in radio for ^nd opera, but it has to be : untempered. Not this way. It caiVl ,bo .bawled up, as currerifty. Not If It still wants to be called grand - opera—^as seemingly Chase and Sanborn want it to be. There are no two ways about grand opera. Few recruits will be isrotten by sugar-coating it, cutting it or tampering With it in any way; and all the old guard will resent It deeply. When Deems Taylor first went in for grand opera broadcasting it -was! with the Metropolitan several years ago and he talked all the time de- scribing what action waa taking place on 'the stage. It was an hon- est attempt and mistake, he and NBC being ' bombarded by an ava- lanche of protests from people who wanted their opera unsullied — by Taylor, or anybody, else. When Lucky Strike commercialized the -Met -last year they Just let the fingers sing and did their explanar tlons discreetly between acts.< Every- thing wals fine. Now Taylor is back and makes-the sarnie mistake. - V ^GhaSb^andr'Sahbora had. &n: idea that going on th e air Sunday nights with grand oPfeHt and using pickup - Libby. HolDj|an built up as the piece de. resistance sang 'You and the Night aim the Music* which is quiet in its tmpeal and not like the usual lusty lament -which brought her pop.ularity. She was saved to the end and: then only had a single song-which left- the average listener curious to hear more before passing Judgment. 'That Fellow Manuelo' which livens up the stage show, sounded 'like any other tune over the air waves.' Program not boring but certainly not up to expectations and as ballyhoo for the musical folk talp doubtful If many would rush over to the theS,tre for tickets after dialing in for this one. HAL'S H0U8EWARMINQ kmi O'Halloran, Patsy MonUna, Pralrla Ramlilara, Tax Aehinaon Songs, instruniSnta, Talk 30 Mirtt. COMMERCIAL WOR, Newark Maker bf. Peruna, Kolbrbak arid Kubex has- nigrrated this troupe from the Prairie: Farmer's outlet, WLS, Chicago, to snare the atten- tion; ancTthe trade, of the ruralltea coming:within the range of WOR'a' tranemltteiC>- Even though' the. sta- tion is'located in the . heart of the world's largest urban population, its coverage takes in many thousands of farm household^ in New Jersey, Connecticut, upper New York State and southern Massachusetts. And the probabilities are that the stuff: that tickles the ear of the folks in the corn, hog and wheat belts will do entertainment duty among the specialists In truck farming, potatoes and dairying. Happy Hal O'Halloran and his gang are doing the same routine that for. years had made them the faves of WLS' loudspeaker clientele. It's the same hallowaller .about the train coming around the ihountain the Same^ instrumental- cacaphony oh the theme of the. 'Chicken Reel* and the sarnie exchange of kittenish backcountry persiflage. To the average olty ear the conglomeration has nil that it takes to produce some irritating moments, but It can be grand opera talent they could beat Liicky Strikes to the thunder^hen the regular Met season starts.. The cigaret company and the Met don't have to worry. This makeshift opera attempt won't alienate any- body and -won't interest very many. Taylor starts off by telling a bit of the story. Then he explains the theory'.pf- the G - & - S opera guild: To. make Opera dramatic as well as singing performance. It's cut down to an hour and a lot iot players talk a great deal of the; plot, with sing- ers butting, in for bits . of arias. Result is; It's neither acting nor singing, neither opera nor drama. Those to whom opera means a lot will be offended; others won't care much one way or the other. And there's another thing to con- sider. 'Mighty few oneraa these days have plots of any theatrical Import, Most bf them are hackneyed; and almost childish theatrically. No one, in real opera/ cares an awful lot what the action : is about, what "the xha.tter'8-*boutT-^or-what—the- lyfics mean. It's the singing that counts. And Chase and .Sanborn, Taylor's aegis, is. putting all the emphasis on the story. Night caught was 'Alda' with a cast bf two singers from the Met, Helen—Jepson: and Frederic -Jagel. Rest were from other spots, mostly Chicago. What little they sang was okay, Miss Jepson seemingly In good voice and fagel at bis usual top spot. But there was very little fire in the renditions and very little renditiohlng between the chatter. . Kouf. ■■ WXYZ VARIETY REVUE With Edward Werner, .Virginia Hooper, Ruaaell. Neff 30 Mina. Sustaining WXYZ, Detroit Eduard Werner's concert or- chestra, with an array of vocalists is presenting a half-hour show for the new Mutual system of which 'WXYZ Is a member. While the nambs on this program are not bold face in RAINBOW'S END. Johnny Walker. Half Hour, COMMERCIAL. KOIN. Portland, Ore. This is a late Monday riijsht show with, Johnny Walker of Isle of Gold- en Dreams m.c.inf^'Muslcal set-up Includes: three fiddles, piano, harp arid organ, with Mal«f' Quintette warbling. . Gall Young, baritone solos and does a sweet bit of work aS soloist. His voice Wfis vital .clear quality with no - mugglness. He's a natural i!or the spot. Walker /reads poetic continuity over harp and theme of Llebestraiim, with theme played different enough riot to bo boring. Looks like a good show for the spot, and should hold, provldliyj sponsor doesn't grab off fot earlier spot. -PAUL PCNDARVI8 ORC H EST RA- '30; Mina.:': Sustaining ■ KDKA, Pittsburgli There should be an air future for the Pendarvis outfit. For the gals the leader is a looker while his organization is made up of a fiock of clean-cut youths'of the collegiate variety. Band airs nightly from Chatterbox of William Penn hotel and dishes out a brand of music that's good to dance to . and Just as easy to listen to. Pendarvis has gonb In for the soft, dreamy style and has perfected some A-1 string effects. Arrange- ments are all expert They have a flock of novelty numbers, too. Leader alSo haa''what he calls'a waltz band, made up of four of his boys, who gbt over~ nicely. For solo- ists, he has Patricia .Norman, with a personality vblce, arid Eddie Scope, alsd:vocally'efficient; Pcndar-, vl.s selclora gets: hot, but' Ayhen he does, he proves that he can stoke a furnace.' ' Cohen. national radio type, some might be Program rates high from the stand- point of showmanship. It's: broadcast Tuesday nights and -moves rapidly. Continuity perhaps tried too hard to 'Be bright.' ■Virginia Hooper, lyric soprano, is vocalist arid her -work along arid with the choral ensemble was first rate. Russell Neff, who got his start as a Juvenile with the Al Q. Field minstrels, 'later- heard over the blue and the red networks of NBC from,w;TAM, Cleveland, did a work- manlike Job of tenor soloist in as- sortment of recent song hits. The Voy Boys,. harmony trio who have been serenading over the Michigan Radio Network for more than, a year, ..have quite a l aeger-foH&wjtniff- r eadily assumed that the commercial regards the few metropolitanites that don't. make a quick swipe for the dial as so much velvet. Besides mic.ing and lifting his nasal baritone to give vent to 1ns sorrows over the loss of «My' Old Kentucky. Home,* O'Halloran ! db-i's t)ie selling. As a medicine wag,>n -spieler to the .farmfoiks O'Halloran takes top. honors. He can relate all their ailments without .^eirig the 1ca.it oftenSi-ve about it,: and . he can ^ tell the women folks, '.. without stirring up resentment, that the old charm isn't the same when the hair turns gray and that what they want to help keep the other half Interest is Kolorbak, the hair dye. and Kubex, the hair shampoo. Odec. LILAC TIME With Earl Oxford, Arthur Murr.ay, Leith Stavana, Chayaliars Songa,'.Band, Talk ... 30 Mina. :- ,- COMMERCIAL 7 WABC, New York After starting ;.thls one off under ' the title of 'Sbmethirig New, Some- thing Old,' Plna.ud discovered that it had a better bet In the theme song,' 'Jeanine,-^;! Dil:eam of Lilao - Time.' It may taknrthe cologne wa- ter mixer another program or two to find out that It would be better off if it brought the flood bf adver- . tlslng under control arid ' confined the male chorus, the Chevaliers, to drinking and marching songs. The ensemble doesn't: make a felicitous Job of Negro spirituals. _ Otherwise the entertainment is of both Ta' pleasirig and: itltvely" br- der. Earl Oxford, who baritones in the Winter Garden's present teriant, . 'Life Begins at 8:40,* registers a smqoth set of notes and neat dic- tion, and Leith Stevens' combo : tosses off a brand of dansapatlon ' that's sweet, snappy and tuneful. Effectiveness of Arthur Murray's contribution of dancing Instructions is problematio. Chances are that the time allotted him is too brief ^OT-the-StepS-he^eaer ibc s to mak e : which has been extended to mutual dialers through these Tuesday night programs. This is one of the hours for which Brace Beemer, Station manager for WXYZ made his recent talent scouting trip in the East. STANTON PATTON Dance Orchestra Half Hour Sustaining CJOR, Varicoijyer, B. C. After a successful summer sea- son, Stan Patton brings tho Am- bassadors dance orchestra to radio via station CJOR. The nariie and leader are now, but the organiza- tion was originally formed and con- ducted by Reynold Williams. Pat- ton was one of the players and be-- carrio leader recently when Williams left to fill another engagement. This: group has become very popu- lar ■ with dancers, due to, their sm:oD.th:-.3tylpi--whlch • Ig. more- thari- compUn'ioritary, since thorb are only seven. players in the ork. an impression bn fhe average par- quet shuffler, but the fact remains that the chart marking the steps makes an. attractive preriitum for the trial box of Piriaud products that the program offers. In addition tb lengthy discourses on the virtues of Pinaud's Lilac Vegetal and Eau . Quinine, repeti- tions about the trial offer arid warn- ings against imitations, the plug phase of the half, hour preserits the In-perdbri testimonial of a barber connected with soine bettor known hotel. ■ - • The Inning clears through Colum- bia Saturday evenings. pdcc ROGER .SWFFT Songs; .16 Mina. COMMERCIAL WGY. Schenectady . WGY's balladecr is now airing his riielllfluous tenor on a morning swing sponsored by the Lee Com- pany, manufacturer of Save-the- Baby, cough remedy. Sweet lifts the program Up to . the top bf the station's list of daytime : commer- cials, for he combines a real voice with a style which makes his sing- ing microphone-proof. Here Sweet warbles standard numbers And bet- ter grade pops, doing them with the smoothness and the sureness of the finished artist. He uses one or two tricks on which a vocal coach might frown, but these are the kind which the average listener appar- ently likes. Addition of a sn.all orchestra \y6uld give., the program further distinction, albeit no fault can be fovmrl -with' tlic i>ro.sorit accompanist, John Flnk^i '" :• Advertising l.s-kopt wUliin rea- sonable limits for a local. Jaco.