Variety (Feb 1935)

*6 YAiaETy Larceny^ m^^ ■Scarsdile Wbman^fl club. Jfl out to show how a Juvenile program should be scripted, directed and produced. They : shbwed how pver WABC, ' New York,. Tuesday. (19), at 5 p.m. Station WFAS, White Plains, got a peek at stunt first. But the club. wanted , a wider ■ listening 'publld, 60 cbtttdcted- the major outlets. CBS gave In. Pro- gram Is called *Westchester Cow-^ boys.' ■ ■. ■■ Group thinks that what pleases adults should satisfy young listen om . for o oB8ldera,bl&-<Lebate--tttrnfag-:o ut t h e t )eBjMbb-i>n:-th»-clos— on this item.: Up In Westchester, the subUrbahltfes take their ^^hlstory very seriously. Topic for dramatlz- atlmi h erB-cdiicterned-cattle-rustHflg^ Not the. wide-open sjlaces species, but as done In hlde^and seek fashion during the- KeVblutlohary . War. Sound . effects for this flash-back included hoof beats, hen. cackles ■ and a few hey heys. . A narrator handed out th^ main thread, and ;faded in and but about three times, . Voices a mixture bf Park aveinue, Swarthmore and. Vassar. Only rugged touth was actual mention of a musket. Production off-key like :thU throughout. Toward the end doprs flew open a.na slammed shut Ufapldlyj and Georg e Washington's ZnamkiJtaa-mentlbned as a ^flttmg lorown criminal lawyer, to broadcast send-ofC; Tepid In comparison with the more fantastic and red-blooded serlials which are.buHt for children. But the dub group Is down on these thrillers - anyway, which: . really p rompted -th^m^tb^takr-g-ffl nB~^ air program construction. nesUTt Is tiot bad, aiiid no good. ..Just another guelrter hour 61 mild chlt-bhat. Little. Willie: probably., had his skates, oh and was doTfvn by .the rlverbehd,. be- fore the closing gong was sounded. ^GILBERT LINVILLE i ';-":'16 ;Mjnt. ■. ■■ Sustaining--' :WGY; SbheMctadyi - - A neW voice was Introduced to WOT listeners with thb preisenta- ; tlohi as guest soloist, of this tenor on an afternoon broadcast. Iilnvllle at once stamped himself at. singer above the average for a local,, both In the quality of his vocalizing and In the rihge of his. numbers. As a ' mi'tter bt fiaxit, the layout, -with Its two operatic arias, appeared to . be a bit ovier-ambltlous for the young man; breath control bh several top —-iiotes^ear^he—finish—was-ar-trlfle- ■ ragged. l alnyille—has—a-4>igh—tenor^lear- and' sweet In tone. He does not seem to possess great volume, nor does he comma,hd as much dramatic fire as one usually expects to find in a tenor arlaing In Italian. For this re.asbn, his singing ol^ such " numbers, 'while lihiESrfessIve for."' a rT^vo^allst .on-a,, regional program;. Is hardly Big Time. His interpretation of . standard: ballads' was high . cIeCss, although for some; reason, perhaps the ar— ■ rangement, Llnvllle'did; not click so - strongly. .w.lthJii:.Know. a. Lovely: Garden.' Closer, 'Song bt Songs,' took him-away upi the scale and he topped it with, a; showy high note. -. Incidentally, In this and the prevU bus selection, LlnviUe showed mo- mentary signs of vocal tiredness. He clinched some of his numbers BRUNO HAUPTMANN VERDICT Newt Bultetiht, Comntent . ; . Suvtalrilng' WbR, WEAP^ WMCA, WABC, Now Fluke flasli that the Associated Pi-eiss sent oUt on the outcome of tiie Bruno Hauptmann trial pro- vided an opportunity, for selfrbaGk- slapplng ahd chortling to Transradlo PreM and th* stations fakliig. that organlzatlbri's hews service.. In the metropolitan arieai the .honbrs for ing moments of the Flemlngtpn event last Wednesday night (13) went to WOR.^ Even, without the edrtr^ven-ltr-bT-ithB^-PTJullr^h^^^^ latter outlet did a, smia.ft and effec- tive piece of coverage. • It hot only had the exclusive call locally on Traiisradlo l>ulletihs^ but there was a WOR announcer operating from either the inside or the outside bf the courthouse. Of the New York stations that depended for their verdict info on the Press-Radio BureaUi WMGA likely 9ufCered the mbst enibarrass- ment. That station had shown a decided bit bf enterprise by bringing In Max Steuer, New York's well? ah aharysTS~of the eviaence tCdducecF during the Hauptmann trial. ■ Steuer had been on for almost two hours whein .he .was handed the AP flashi aa cleared through the Press-Radio rBureaurwhich^Bt aled ihaL ihe^ferirf TonT" Tira3r~ca"rpenter had Tbeen xound guilty of murder with a; recom- mendation of mercy. Steuer had JACK PEARL : With Cliff Hall, Frtddl* RIeh Qreh, L*]th 8Uv«nt Choir, PattI Chapin 30 Mini. COMMERCIAL WABC, Naw York This is a new Jack PearL Con- sciously, deliberately, Intentionally new. Not Jack Pearl, tho comlo; but Jack Pearl, the warm-hearted charV acter actor. Built into « atory and a background and playing intermis- sion to the. muslo and singing. Which la the Important part^of the progrtim. And the good partr : Peter ;FireUter f6pIa,ces the Barbn Munchausen;. The baron told Jokes and had catch: phrases that caught the fancy of the public. Now comes Petet Pfelffer. . He tells Jbkes, alfio,- But only ihctdehtally. .He . la- the proprietor of a hotel .full .of people with hard luck and no cash. And Freddie Rich ; Is fehearsing in ' the hotel ballroom for a meeting of to act as emcee. ' . So' biitween attending to little ex- igencies of tavern-keeping,, gagging with^Gliff—Halli-loanlniBr-|2a-to--an Impecunious pair, of newly weds arid phllbsophlzlng about neighbbrliriess and t-^e beat way . to find happiness, all: Peter Pfelffer has to do is read the commercials.: for the ice- box, conduct, singing lessons with Lelth Stevens : choir, and fadobdle abou^ with the orchestra. Net . result of all this activity Is confusion and dullness.' Program is neither funny when trying tb be' ndr plausible in its endeavors tb capture the humanities. Pearl , is a cpniic with a formula. He is not (so'far as Installment oiae established to the""c"gHtTsy y>. a ^efroua ira.dio'irbtbr capable of making people believe in his pathos. : Pearl as a makeshift David War- field, a pseudb-Gap'n Henry, a syn- thetic Seth Parker,- a made-tq-order \Bar6n Munchausen; Regardless of wltli a dulcent falsetto. Jaco, ^A BIT O' THIS AND A BIT O' ■ .THAT' : Hodge-Podge. 30 Mins. COMMERCIAL \WEEI, BditbffT :~ : ~ ~ This daily partlclpa;tlng program from WEBI (12:45-1:15 p.m.) Is Just what the tag Implies; with com- mercial plugs sprinkled. lightly t hrou ghout . On day caught (14^; . ,jhfgllTflght. oi the halfrhour was a 16-mlnute tekser dramatlza.tlon of the film 'The Right to Live.' No theatre plugi but the pic finished first-run the day before. " Dramatic period is understood to be a plug for. the Paramount thea . tre;: but oh this prograth It was valueless to the theatre opening same di|^yjjwlth"- a ■ dlflterent shbw. Tfi eati-e hot eyeii mentioned" in factT" . ^Possibility that the' pic script," fur nlshed direct from studio, was not available for Par's feature 'Woman __-^iiL..R.ed::..(FN).. ..:Even though the f^-^eatre lost out, the condensed . . Bceaes fromi 'Right to. Live' were a definite asset to the' program/ Cbm- -^mendablfr- work by dramatic staff bf " .the. station. Under direction bf. Rob - - ert -Burlen. : Called 'Matinee of the .■Air.' ■■ . :.■■ ■■■.■■ ■:. . Flrst. half of program consists of "■ one or, twb-mlnute plugs for a --- -shampDo;- perfume.'- old gpldrTind; :a longer spiel; by an optometrist on . 'Save Your Vision Week.' Between - these are - organ: selections by staff : . organist,, referred to as 'Del.^ Also lends atmosphere betwieen episodes of the dramatic portion Of the pro- ..■ gr&m.. . .CareIii>el_LGA6ot,-_actIng_aa._m.a , lets her delivery, frequently fall into the affectatldus groove;, but in her . role in 'Right to Live,' deliver? more ^■aturally.. .. ;Fo9. been contending through h{s anajy: sis tiiat justice woUld have been best served had . Hauptmann been tried oh the extbrtion charge in the Bronx. ,, After reading 'the mercy flash; Steuer remarked that the life sentencb provided for in this verdict tended to bear out his opinion Steuer stayed to continue his com- ments and was on-hand to reaid.the corrected verdlpt' : when it came through; ' NBC and. Columbia, along, ^ylth WMCA, put on the fluke verdict at 10:29 p. m., with the correction be Ing made at 10:40 p. m. WOR opened Its broadcast from Flemlngton when Transradlo.flashed tbat.the. Jury hpx- was belher cleared, of hangers-on by. court attaches. A WOR announcer stationed In the sheriff's room of the courthouse picked u p relays of what was happening in the court robm , whil e another announcer de "scrlbSaThe scenes taking place on the outside. At 10:36 canie the Transradlo . flash that Hauptmann had been found guilty of murder , in the first degree. Ten minutes later WOR reported that a poll of the Jury -had-cbriflrmed-thfe-verdlct,-and -at lO:45 there followed the Tra;ns- radio bulletin that tlae death sen- tence had been imposed. Brought out impressively by. the deft and frequent switching of the WOR pickup , WSis .- the gamut of emotions that . pervaded. the scene, Events bh the Inside were described as tensely expectant or strained al most .to. the breaking point, while the chatter and' other sounds picked up from among the mllllhg crowd outside the courthouse had all the earmarks of a carnival. WOR an houhcers who handled the WOR broadcast^- from Fieniington were Jeff Sparks and Kenneth Flckett, with Gr. W« (Johnny) Johnstone su pervlslng. the maheuVerd. Columbia at midnight put Hugh Conrad on for a resume of the high UghtB of the trial S.nd the scene that accompanied the rendering of the verdict and the : Imposition of sen tence. His. recital was a fine read Ing..- X ■.-. • ^entimeht-pFevalilng-in-New-^ork broadcast Circles the following day Crhursdaiy) was that the AP slip woUld result In a., strong reivitlon against; the prpss-i-adlb pact anibrig statipn.men. Odec. iany criticisms of the quality of the humor. Baron Munchausen did iget laughs.' He did amuse; pe.bple..: And he didn't cluUer np his. mugging with incredible sentimentality, Ordinarily: efforts to gfet away front. stale stencils would call'-for comme.ndatlbn; But here's a case where the showmanship . is agkew because the fundamental limitations have been ignored. It's lEsquim^ux at-the-equator- stuffy It Just doesn't fit.. , ■ .. ■■ . Freddie Rich's music Is good That's a habit with Freddie Rich, a musician with a, fine sense of the arresting in arrangements. Lelth Stevens vocal brigade Is also agree able, while .-the solo work of Patti Chaplh Is first rate. Program Is weak b6cause~jack;=P(aari is;": Evien Cliff Hall, ranked as a whiz straight man,< couldn't help .hlin much.. Pro- gram Is heard at the comparatively -laterhour-bf-lO-p.-nvl-pn-Wednesdays Meaning Its. audience ia strictly abover^schobl-age Geyer agency'is manner of stlcklhg the plugs into the story may have seemed pretty cute. It only added to the small-tlmey tone of the show. Land: THE WALLACK BIRRY Drama — 60 Mint. COMMERCIAL WJZ, NaW York Wallace Beery ntadti hia air debut Sunday afternoort (17) for Lux soap aa Clem Hawley in 'Tha Old Soak.' He has: everything that radio lobka for m a nam* headUner. - . Odee. GREYHOUND TRAVELER Miisie, Drama 15.'Mini.:.;: COMMERCIAL ^ - WOAI, San Antbnib. -A tasty Btirit . financed b}r Grey- hound buH lines which hits the air weekly via Texas Quality Group to plug the advantages of bus trayel. Drama background deals -with vari- ous locations touched by the bus service. Its success Ilea jo its JACK FULtON'8 ORCHESTRA Muaio, .Senga 16 Mint. COMMERCIAL WABC, Naw York Romahtlo tenor, with his own ochestra, is lised by Ot^oX to plug its wash fluid and keep the bouse- wives interested. Airs at 10:30 lum., EST., through the week. Jack Ful< ton .a receint Paiil Whlteman gradu* ate, strikes out :^or himself on thia hour. Flrat a tenor and . then a musician. .Program is filled with considerable tinkling string inter- ludea. Time, however, will pirpb- ably snap:lt up into a livelier tethpo.^ Starts off as straight muslc^ with Fulton piping in oh a chorus. Re- turns later for . a .complete solo ehdltion. .Band,will, no doubt, a[c< quire a following among the hoUse* wives. In* the mid-morning nlchai Some 11 stations carry this on the CBS web. program ca:ught (12) Ssras^ second in series of 16. Dealt with first pj^sidential liftll ' bf republic of Texas. Just a flash, . acoornpanied by good sound eff^icts, to bring^out a few characteristics "of Gen Sam Houston. Speaking voices on this program are exceptional when stacked against the usual produc^ tlon stuff in, southwest^ area. .Chap who did a negro servant comedy bit stood -out on airing caught;; r_ - Nicely balanced band under Karl Lambertz batbn did straight num- bei^s at opening aiid close a,nd in cldehtal stuff for the drama.. .Vocal quartei: worked In to advantage. Chab "billed as Greyhound traveler say arresting are clarity- of view irive^~t he- dr ani a ■ locater-and-^two; -andr-rex&resBlo n. Ills is a k nack^oi ^TArN^)ireY-itretl : News Commentator . 16 'Mins; Suatainin g" . \ "■ " ."•• >'-"■ - KVEAF, New York :■ ■.. . \ ■■■ :. Dr. Stanley High's previous series for NBC had to do with a ,weekend. reviisw of world religioUs news events. His pireseht assignment, which consists of one matinee and one late -evehihg period, retains the ' Internatibhal aLngle, hut it's with na- tlbhs and. poUtlcia; he chiefly con- cerns himself. ' Dr. High's approsich to a situation ' or problem Is neither, sensational nor. incisively,, original. But tha qualities that make what he has to short, pointed r commercial plugs All m all, a ,sa«3«fctory . entertain ment budget. Originates _ from WFAA, Dallas; •;. -H^ei/*' SP ENCER- iSH OE^BASEBAL Li— BCHOOr WffAT "HAPPENED AT STATE HOUSE TODAY . Ray Keeno',-. 15 Mins. - COMMERCIAL WHDH, Boston This looks like'a timely commer- cial t*e-lh-by • a Boston cigar, firm (R. G. Sullivan, Inc;). Ray Keene, a Boston newspaperman; - has been covering,the State House for years and knows his stUff. At the present time, with ia, new goyernbr at the capltol rnaklng political news al- rhbst dally, the public is ripe for a commentary of this sort. Runs five nights ai week (Monday to Friday) at 6:30 and .Keene recaps the day's happenings on Beacon Hill, pointing up some, of the Inr- tricate political moves as well as the most obvious. Incidentally, at that-time bf day, Keene can-usually nose out the papers with anything startling that might come along. Commercial plug:: is light and In- offensive giving the commentator almost the whole pie. of the 16 mln- utes-he^on: PICKARDvFAMILY ^ Hillbilly Revue :30'JVIins.::^:::.■ :;.'.:'. ■ ■ --^:.: COMMERCIAL-:—.. - „ . KYW, Philadelphia If Phllly -was never hillbilly ,con- scious before, It has become so since^ Dad Plckard ,ahd^ the 'Family came to tpwii. Not only db they air this commercial islx-a-week . stretch oh KYW for. OL .-drug, outfit, .bUt thcy- alsb do three sustalners on WFIL' and:- top-Jt off with-Just as many discs jvla. WCAtJ, also commercial. This i,ct is the sole talent KYW brought along -\vhen it moved from .Chicago :Jast.- fall. r-^Family -remains ba.sically the sanie, churning out the typical hillbilly fare in resounding stylpT foi: those who like It. No question abbut' the .fact that the group is bne of the best • of its kind, now airing. They: have genuinely Intlma:te style ; of delivery. "Tliey s eem to have a good ..time.. when they -wiioop it up for radio, and it isn't hard to- listen to; None of the shows is offered for Visual broadcasting. ' ! Cfqsch. Although Keiene's diction Is not entirely .J3.30 it Is, neyerthelesj, clear; and. his virile, rapid-Are de- livery holds attention, throughout. Material is well-built and sensibly presented,; never oh the ex:pose or- der, but simple* straight reporting. on broadcast caught Keene talked on the: governor's plan.tb replace the pbllce cbrnm i ssloner with a - ne w ap pointee, taxes, budgetSr public'Util- ity rates, etc. ■ Fox. SAMMY^FALkOW- ■ -- ~ Songs. ■■ 15 Mins. COMMERCIAL WOKO, Albany Here's a 13-year-bld jschbol boy whb has 6, singing voice wbrth using iand who knows how to. use It. And he has a sponsor, which enables him tp stay on WOKO. Sammy has pipes of a" high-tenor-Tange - of remarkable quality for one so ypung. In ad- dition. It .has'a. blues touch that heightens his Binging bf pop num- bers, which make up most of his programs. ' Hbwever, he can do a mighty gobd: Job with a ballad as well. Shows ho trace of nervousness aad_lndlcD.tes..a-<!0nadehc.e .genecailx. found only In more seasoned war- biers. V,' ■ • ; He Is on once a week for a dry cleaning coih^pany. ■ Cliff. With Jack Onslow Instruction :. 15 Mins.; / ^ COMMERCIAL WNAC, BoBton ^ Upwards • bf 126 boys , Jam the studio at WNAC every. Monday, Wedne3da;y and Friday at 6 p.m. to receive b'aseball Instruction from Jack Onslow, recently retired ooach of the Boston Red Sox. Armed with an .-array, , of questions that coyer every phase of Americas most popular outdbor sport, . the. ^klds crowd around Onslow, pop their questions bveir the .jalr, and listen to Onslpw's answers.; Some of the questions tax even ■the phenomenal memory and Judg- ment of Onglow. Examples ^ are: What pitcher stbpped-WHUe-Keeler- after he had batted aafely 44 straight games? From what club and in wha,t year did he retire? When-dld RuthJiltJblaJpn&estJwme run? When there are two but^wtth a rnpHftr nn first I f the ball is h it to the shortstop,- which would pe the better place to.throw.it? Then some youngster of 12 or .14 gets ■ nawsty, as they say in Boston, and wants to know, 'Would it be Avise if the BraVes traded Wally Berger-for - a couple of good, timely hitters?--- - ■ ■' ■ Onslow started as sustalner in December and was snapped up by. Spencer as a commercial In Janu- ary. Kids who. write to Orislpw are given club memberships and lapel buttons, plus a chance at. such prizes as gloves,- "bats/ and balls; providing, they wear Spencer shpes. Shoe clubs being formed In Greater Boston area. . ■ ' " Kid baiseballers are encouraged to come to studlb oh Invitation. Plans oh the fire'to form - a. Spencer League this summer, with teams fbrmed in towns-In .'which. the- ShPfi stores are located. Fox. JANE JOY Funny Paper Lady 16 Mine. COMMERCIAL . . WTCN, St. Paul• M1 nneapolla Kiddles can hardly wait till the clock spins around to 12:30 on Sun- days, so they can spread out their Pioneer Press (station co-owner) -bomlc-sectlon--and_hear_Jftne.^Joy and her cast If six enact the funnies for 'eiri.■ • ^ - Ail -parts are nicely -handled, and the commerclar plug—ballyhbb for Sanitary Farm Dairies prbducts-r- 13 sb skillfully woven Into the ex- tranebus chatter that th^ kiddles actually . look, forward to the sales talks, too. Mary Milk Maid aihd _Go.w-boy-jiBlll -are... tw.o__sharacters who .are„ s.uppps.edly ;; growing big iand strbhg because they absorb their full share of milk, butter and cheese. A male announcer sticks in- his oar . and: recites an oath bf good " behavior and' allegiance to their parents,- which Mary, Milk Maid and Cowboy Bin devotees are supposed tb repeat after him. Gets little Junior to pondering that mebbe Matir and Paw are tops after all, -if it does nothing else, . Comic strips themselvefl' ; are faithfully and . dramatically read with -ctist of six BUPplylnff aimple versatility fbr character voice dU- ferehces. Program Is on for 15 minutes, 12:30-12:45. every Sunday —and so popular is it with Juve dial twisters that it's, safest for parents to pbstpone the serving of dlnher ,(111 after the session. ' Stint has bUilt up BtronK: :gbod-wlll ambhg parents, tbo^ because ft saves 'em the irksome Job'of read- ing the bulky cbmic supplements. ' - JlatchicH. quickly summarizihg-the-steps thttt—' led .Up to an event and'lh terse, simple terms sketching wha:t he: predicts will be the aftermath. An- other quality that gives color to his £bmment8_is-^a—keenT^asp—of—th»-^ ironic- and—the, uhderlylng-motivea-— that move men and nations In tha . political merry.-gb-rbund, whether i. the scene be Washington or abroad. Dr. High takes a peek Into '193S : and,: quoting :what he describes aa Republican inner-circle opinion, al- lows that the President will win hands down if he dbesri't havie to contend .with Huey Long, Father Coughlln. and H. N. Townsend, aid- : vocate Of a monthly $200 pension for everybody over 60 years. Each ' with his clubs or leagues can do plenty damage to the Roosevelt cause, but there is a possibility that : by the time the crUcIal period ar- rives the strength of these move- ments will be vitiated by internal dissension. In his analysis of the Italo-Abya- jsinian. slt.uatibn,.iDr.-Hlgh-takes-tha view that Italy la intent on muscl- ing In oh Ethiopia's ccbhoihio future, with . France iagreelng. to look out for Italy's Interests i n Eu- . "I'OP'e while tne African rreehootlng ' expedition:Is taking place. ■ —BBforB--T)rr^lgli''t(foTt"''tO"T)fb£a?^ castlng.he was: oh the staff of tha Christian Herald. .; iPrlor to that ha corresponded for the Christian Sci^ ehce Monitor In . C«mtral Europe amd Russia. Odec. BREAKFAST CLUB With Harold Owen Songs and Talk 15..Mina; Sustaining WGY, Schenectady A new program is being, iserved thrice weekly- to WGY dealers, with- - their morning coffee, by a mala singing: and comedy duo.' Harold". Owen, who wbrked with Fred Owen in a brother act in vaudeville,. and who switched tb ; radio over WL3, Chicago, In 1925, with advancement in 1929 to the network, on tha 'FjS-rm and Home Hour,', heads . "ThOL: - Breakfast Club.' He draws jiame mention. His partner does hot, ex- cept as 'King Toaster.' . Voice of the talker, apparently Owen, is so much like that of Her- ald Goodman, humber-iiitrpducjr 6t__ The " Vagabonds," that' llstehera catching the broadcast fbr the first time probably will believe It to be the latter. Hls slnglhg, In certain numbers, also resembles Goodman's. Pair - do harmony . an d com edy 'numbers. Sbine .ot the second-; named are of the 'nut' genre, onca popular with vaudeville duos. Team smadk 'em over . smartly. The har- mony is smooth; there might ba mbre of it; A. tenor solos in capable fashion. Vocal ran^e from pop to hillbilly. Piano accbmpisinimeht.. : Jaco. ■ TASTY-LAX AM AtEU R NIGHT 15 Minutea : COMMERCIAL WBT, Charlotte, N. Ci ; .Tasty-Lax conipany launched Ita. amateur show on WBT for a brief trlai; :uslng one show a week.* Thla . has been increased to three shows a week-r-a resUlt of popularity with, which the first ama,teur offering ^waa recelved'ln this area. Tasty-Lax haa a tie-ui> with druf stores : whereby application blank* to appear on the show muiit be aa> ;oured-^^frbm-"-4—drujf.--atore; belnf^ available nowhere else. There Is ha required purchase. A profenslonai atooge mixes In on all programs, to Bing and play off key and get the brunt of the ^'birda*; that might be directed at some of the hot-so-good amateurs.' : Ajjpllcanta hav^ been bo many ITial'pretty fair variety showsTiaV* " " been constructed f rom the avauabla - . material. Tryoiit are run off one afternoon a week..