Variety (Sep 1935)

60 VARIETY RAPia REPORTS Wednesday, September 18, 193S •ATLANTIC FAMILY' With Frank Parker, Red Nichols' Songapaters, Tatnara, Wallace Sisters, Jack McBryde, Rita Allyn, Rosemary De Camp, Everett Sloane, Anthony Candelori's or- chestra 30 Mins. ATLANTIC REFINING CO. WCAU,-Philadelphia N. W. Ayer & Sons This Is the first of two ythical toUi-3 that the Basoline -people are underwriting this fall. The other Will begin on' the 29th over the same ne/0VQric.iOJ3S).. Kut wIU.d.Iijb: Gulf Instead of Atlantic •White Flash, and will incorporate Phil Baker instead of Frank Parker, et al. Listeners seem to- be in' for plenty of..ylcarl.ou3.;tpurlnif,. over ^he. radio weekend. ^ ji. r'. .. Atlantic, jReflningls, s_ho w _got^ Btarted Tast~ Saturday ~(i4) from WCAU In Phllly, and it's one of the biggest shows. ever to originate from here. Outstanding In the open- ing performance was the minimum of commercial copy which was con- fined to one short sentence at open- ing and close of program and a short gag (three or four words) in the' middle. Couldn't have totaled more than 20 sieconds. Series, to, run minimum of 13 weeks with likelihood of year, built around Idea of 'family party.' Script by Keith Fowler and Henri Weiner is combination of homely family stuff by members of Fulton family and showmanly' variety acts by Parker and guesters. Sponsor fig- ures' to establish Fulton family characters with listeiiers like those in Lanny Ross' 'State Fair,' 'Show- Boat' and Uncle Charley's "Tent Show.' Fra;nk Parker is only one of regular cast not a miember of Ful- ton family, star beiiig swain of the daughter. Guesters. at opening In- cluded Tamara, Songrapaters and Wallace Sisters. In line 'with the trend of plugging films to create added Interest in a radio offering, the opening bore down, heavily on- Unlversal's forthcoming'Sweet Sur- render' and included four songs from'that pic. < . Red Nichols, batoning show. Is not credited) nor is it mentioned that all arrangements are his. Can- delovl, nominal leader, is paid regu- lar fee but stands aside for Nichols to handle band. Sponsor is hushing fact Nichols is present, figuring to avoid, more trouble with musicians' union and also not to tompetl^ with other • progran^s by one of its ac- counts likewise using leader. Band at opening show Included 20 men besides Nichols, Idea being to vary size according to heeds. Carlisle Stevens, of WABC, also imported as announcer,, being last minute re- placement for- Hugh Walton, of regular WCAU staff, Actual family party, at least at opening show, takes some time to get under lyay, plenty of 'entrance' build-up being'handed Frank Par- ker. Dad and Mir Fultont played by Jack McBryde and, Rita Allyn. do homely chatter, wltTi occasional in terfuptions by ' daughter .Sue and son Tony.-played by Rosemary de Camp and Everett Sloane. Guesters are finally introduced by Parker as talent for the party. Like most such scripters, dramatic continuity merely serves as background for turns by star, and guesters. Parker Is usual socko songster a.nd -with Tamara he was far and away best of program. Tenor's only flaw was muffs on I reading script, but that may have been due to 'first night' Jitters. Entire program Is exceptionally •well presented. Reveals neat show manshlp, having plenty of zip with out loss of dignity to product. Script while ofCerlng nothing h6w, serves to set off variety acts nicely, at same time giving every evidence of being set to offer rivalry to similar pro.s^rams. Parker's singing has the stuff and Red Nichols again handles band capably. Remarkably shrewd Is tiny amount of commercial copy. In fact, now. that opening nervous- ness is past, program should be sure clicker, especially since it has almost no competition at that hour from other webs. Hohe. 'SISTERS OF THE SKILLET' With Ed East, Ralph Dumke, Doro- thy Chase 15 Mins. CHARIS CORP. WABC, New York John L. Butler East and Dumke, perennial radio fixtures, bob uP this time for a maker of foundation garments <het-. ter known to the unltlated simply as corsets). What may at first sight be a strange thing is that this program comes on a Siinday afternoon, when the male audience is digesting din- ner and the kiddies are romping on thc"-ftovTi Why; t>ro&.dcast tt; such « mixed crowd instead of electing the purer femme audience that, a week day brings,? Answer.ls twofold. First, the Sunday afternoon audi- ence" Is bigger than any -vveek-day audl<>»qg,- and pres-ii 'mn bly thus con- tiains. .inore .wdmen;. thap. any.jothei day. Seconds the Charls Corp. actu- ally wants e-very woman's old- man to get an earful about foundation garments. Since the man-of-the- house generally foots the bills, the sponsor wants him to be favorably inclined toward bankrolling an item that will Improve the frau's figure. East and Dumke's bit In this cam- paign is their venerable 'Sisters of the Skillet' act; Variett on a . pre- vious occasion has stated that the demented gibberish of this act was nonetheless good stuff because the humor consisted of ad-libbed exag- gerations easily recognizable and pitched to. the masses. That con- tinues to. hold true. The act is what, it always has been and should draw them to the loudspeakers as of yore. The hoys are still reading letters asking for solutions to problems and giving answers like the following: The way to get a horse's.mouth open so you can tell how old he is, is to, read the 'Congressional. Record' -to him until he yawns. But this time East and Dumke haye practically left off their sing- ing. For the socko finish they've got a linierlck contest instead. Al- though this is commercial hokum, it's skillfully done and actually adds pep to the proceedings. Tbls giggly kind of pleasantry should do pretty Well on a Sunday afternoon spot that Is surrounded with such sonibre entanglements as string trios, etc. The commercials are graceful and palatable. •POPEYE THE SAILOR' Kid Show 15 Mins. WH EATEN A WEAF, New York McKee & Albright It is perhaps characteristic of broadcasting that the right sponsor seldom takes the 'naturals.' Here obviously was. .A tftllbr.-made pro- gram for a spinach company. Pop^ eye has long been identified with the greeii hay, and to capitalize all that advance hallyhoo 'And association hi favor of some pai-tlcular brand of spinach through a radio program -3eem€id- so obvioiis that It'a-hard understand how it -was muffed. But that's advertising. Or maybe that's spinach. Anyhow, Popeye arrlvi?s for ra- dio—arid- pslmarily for kids—^attrib- uting the incredible . .vigor of the imakJL_..flalt.J:ft..Mi...rgga!a^^ of Wheatena, a brownish-colored cooked mush. Four bowls of Wheat- ena Instead of two cans of spinach enables Popeye to meet isuch emer- gencies as a gigantic steel safe that has pinioned him—momentarily, of course—to the ground. On the face of It, the novelty aiid popularity of 'Popeyie' will do a job for the sponsor. However, the pro- duction- on installment No. 2 (it's Tues-Thurs-Sat at 7:16 p.m.) copped no prizes. It was sloppily written. Incidents happened with such light- ning suddenness that eveii the adult mind could hardly ihake the Jump, and—unless the professors have changed everything-^hlldren are supposed to confuse more readily than grownups. ; Soiind effects where called for and needed were poorly conceived. Popeye's tustle with the safe needed dramatic fanfare and got nothing, not even a change of tone and pace. Later his rescue of a Judge from a criminal was close to unintelllglbil- Ity. Whole thing follows a bifC-b^ng- boom paindemoniuih pattern and suggests that, despite the sure-fire appeal of the character to young- sters, the sponsor had better play safe and trot out a contest or pre- mium. Land'. 'SINGING STRINGS' With James Cayallaro Ensemble, Lorenzo Todini, Carlton Weiden- hammer - . Italian-AmerJcan Music and Songs 15 Mins. BUONOCORE OLIVE OIL WISCC, New Haven Aimed at the large Italian market in New Haven and Southern (Con- necticut, this three-a-weeker should have no trouble attracting custom- ers. The presence of the James Ca- vallaro string group, regional faves, gives the series a come-on tha,t will make the showd stand up against the many competitive Ital- ian programs in the territory. Cavallaro is well suited to a frame combining both the folk pieces of the old country and the lighter classics of the day. He has b^en a WICC feature for a long time, and he knows his public. Lorenzo Todini doubles; as Italian announcer and singer and Carlton "Welden- hammer puts on the English. Miller. DOROTHY LAMOUR Songs, Music .15' ins. Sustaining WJZ, NeVi/ York NBC thinks so much of the -pos Blbllltles of this lass frorii the. South that it's given her three 15-mInute periods a week. They all come at 11 p.m; Network has done Itself hand- some in dressing up the girl's act. There's John, S. Young waxing poetical between numbers and a nice assortment of arrangements for the accompaniment which con- sists of a piano, violin, cellb and guitar. As for the subject of the buildup, she offers some promise; ialthough her style is not especially distinc- tive. She specializes In pop love laments, with the tenipo exception- ally slow and the modulation slumberously soft. It's all happHy attuned to the mood that comes for many at the latie evenlnfr hour. Program bills here as the 'Dream- er of Songs.' For her theme tune she has selected 'I'm .Tust a Natural Born Sweetheart.' The -vo' e Im- plies just enough Immaturity to make the themer somewhat l"'^on- gruous. Odcc. WORD Kl Jerry Sylvan Novelty 15 Mins. Sustaining WHN, New York Strictly a novelty program, which grows better as it progresses. In its: present form, quarter hour Is off- balance due to poor musical treat- ment and unnecessary palaver. Opening gun sounded like an ova- tion for some visiting nabob. Plenty of royal adjectives Used by the splelet himself, which bore. Word. King (Jerry Sylvan) toys with toup-'- words^ takes ten of 'em, tosses them out on the air audience, then gives the correct pronuncia- tion. One is supposed to take down thei list with pad and pencil, then add up the final score. Best twister this time was 'amateur,' which gen- erally relays like 'amachooeri' Re- arrangement of running order would help a lot. Broadcast Mondays Thurs- days at 12 p. m. EDST. OLEANDERS With E. J. Wailes, Edward Jackson, Ira Williams, George H. Hall, Grace Wailes Quartet 15 Minis. Sustaining WABC, New Vork Negro quartet pliis a piano ac- companist made Its network debut last Tuesday (3) after a lengthy stay over. WTAM, ClevelaVid. Group Is now under <;BS artists' service management, and is due for a regu- lation build-up. Initial broadcast displayed enough variety to assure a reasonable chance of. getting somewhere. Voices relay in mellow style. Popular balladi'y included with offerings of.- tradltidnal spirituals. All are given In rhythmic harmonic manner, with no outstanding voice brought forward for the center spot- light. Group Is modestly organiza- tional in its warbling. PEPPER UPPERS With Ludi Mai Sensabaugh, Roy Cowan, Louis Veda Quince, Alex Keese, Harmony Trio. Comedy, Music, Songs 30 Mins. DR. PEPPER COMPANY WOAI, San Antonio. Tracy-Locke-DawMn Pioneer attempt at comedy pro- duction to ride the Texas Quality Network lanes once weekly. Show Is sponsored by a soft drink bottler who has renewed for a 26-week span effective Oct. 6. Has the 8-8:30 p.m. slot Sundays but will slide back to 6:30-6 p.m; wheii daylight time ends. Originates in Dallas stu- dios WFAA piping it to WOAI, San Antonio, and KPRC, Houston. It's an entertaining salvo .with component parts blending nicely for a fast paced hokum stint aided and abetted by quality music. It's bul- lish on hoke dialogue- and sound effects set between, vocals and in- strumental music by a 20-mah band under baton of Alex Keese. Show deservedly rates attention it Is get- ting because of earnestness of all concerned to buUd a quality, llve- talenter which is sorely needed on regional webs in this area. In type It's similar to major web's big time comedy productions but. material- Is of ten. surprisingly fresh, the work of Harry McMahan and Glenn Adding- ton, scrlptlsts. Ludi Mai Sensabaugh, promising contralto, in the role of Sugah; Louis Veda Quince, announcer; Roy Cowan, long-time character actor as Peppy , and sound effects man billed at Butch cairry the brunt of production. All are In plenty on hoke dialogue and situations from which the commercial emanates much in the fashion of last sea- son's Jellb plugs. Stint closes with dramatic skit," also in the hoke at- niosiihere. Fade out brings reprise of some sound effect which gar- nered laughs' earlier in program. 'LIFE OF MARY MeCORMIC Mary McCormic, Mildred Herk, Frank Dan.e, J?iy Romney, Vin- cent Coleman, Isabel, Randolph, Tom Shirley, Billy Mills brches- tra.' Serial With Musi 15 Mins. LUMBERMAN'S MUTUAL I CO. WBBIVi, Chicago. ..Charles Daniel Frey ore is a program.rldlng only 16. minutes a week that expects (1) to sell the. Xiumberman's Mutual In- surance (ji)jthe public to, follow the trend', of a'^erlal ' bVoitV' ' Bofh' lofi- sumptlons. seem overly-optimistic. Programi Is based on dubious premises. It sets up Miss McCor- mlc, ' a. pretty, gooit, Chicago name,, as &,n outstanding moniker in wh^yo. jeyfiiyhody. .15. _..lntfiWateJt _.That'.8 placing too much respohslbility on the shoulderis of a person who has a fair enough reputation but -who may incur some public animosity by placing her on the title of the show aa an Outstanding careerist. It is doubtful -whether such a stunt would be tried with Grace Moore or Chaliapin; yet the sponsors here glibly rush in where far greater names would be doubtful; Miss McGormlc herself is on the show only for her two singing se- lections. The dramatic role of Miss McCormlc has thus far . been handled very throatlly by Mildred Herk. There are only six or seven niliiutes in this show foi* the dra- matic, script with' the two songs by Miss McComiic consuming sonie five minutes and the rest for com- mercial. Fritz Blockl hais done a g6od, writing Job to get as much power and . punch in the script as. he manages in the short tinie al- lotted. Show might stand a chance if it were on the air hiaiybe three times weekly at 16 minutes. Miss McCormlc is singing semi- popular stuff, staying clear of any- thing operatic. There appeared to be a £;ood deal of hesitancy in her voice on the couple of shows caught with evidence that Miss Mc- Cormlc is overly careful In her nilke enunciation and tonsil handling. A more enthusiastic, fiery and treer approach to her singing such as has heretofore Identified her work would give her warbling here more personality than she has been ex- hibiting over the air. Gold. TOLEY and GLENN With Glenn Shelley and Clarence Tbiman Organ, songs, dramatic readings 15 Mins EDWARD HOLMAN & SON KEX, Portland. MacWilkins and Cole lenn Shelley and Clarence Tol- nian opened a new. series of "pro- gram over KEX under a long time contract with Edward Holman and Son, undertakers. Stars of 'Me and My Shadow' arid 'Cheerio' again present organ and vocal numbers. In the new act Tol- man pushes romantic ballads, songs of old, modern nunibers and. bits of hoiriely philosophy. Before Joln- Ine .KGW-KEX Tolman was with Dobbsle and the amount of- fan mail received by the two boys proves that their work Is clicking with dial twisters in these parts. Shelley Is slick at the console. Dedication of numbers for weddings and birth- da:ys and the reading. of special sclectlonsf for shut-ins is' Included. .Toining Shelly and Tolman On the program Is Larry Keating, announc- er, doing dramatic readings. Pro- gram Is released dally except Sun- day. 'THE HEMINGWAYS' With Fred Bishop,. Jane Day, Frank Rand Serial 15 Mins. Sustaining WNAC, Boston This Is a natural for AM listeners who go for the 'down-to earth' stuff. Hemingways are an average,family of man and wife -who have been air- ing their dlfllcultles and joys over WNAC for some time. Each episode .Is complete in itself, but ties in with what has preceded. Bishop, le&i character, is scrlpter .and director of the skit and he rates a nod In all three departments. The dialoig Is. easy to listen to. It moves right along. It's' sensible aind in no way overdrawn: Jane Day, as his wife, has. good radio personality, al- though on show caught (21) she sounded least natural In her delivery of the three performers. Recently, for a Character man, Frunk Rand, from the Yankee Net office staff (and formerly in vaude), was drafted into service. A smart move for the skit, for now Rand is handling most of the laughs as a negro handy-man, 'Henry.' He has found his stride. In episode heard, 'Henry' was having plenty of trpuble with things in general and a yellow automobU'e. 'Couple next door' enter the story occasionally, but not In this particu- lar broadcast. Better than most pro- grams, of this type. Fox. MUSIC FOR TODAY Msrtoh Goiild, Bert. Sheffter, ari- lyn Duk) and Orchestra 30 Mins. Sustai ing WQR, New York Morton (3ould, 21-year older, new- _corrier to radio, revealed budding: (and of times niature) talent In his first major series over the Bam- berger Station last Wednesday night (4). He arranges, executes neat pianology and .conducts. Station has taken extra pains to Impress listeners on Gould'S" age, and his ability to do a little bit of everything in a musical way. Such phrases as 'freshness of style,' 'something different'" etc. are used as opening, palaver and they sink in convincingly as thj program pro- gresses. It's not overdone. . A gay Spanish number was used as a start*r, followed by a Cole Porter n-.'-.lley both presented with new twists and flourishes. Program welded together firmly, without any lapses and the piaino duets between Gould and his partner Bert Sheffter arrived rather unexpect- edly. No breaks or pauses, jiist the two pianos swinging into the spot- light. Two numbers in this fashion.. Marilyn Duke on for Sonie throaty warbling. All In all a smartly con- cocted sustalner. On Wednesdays at 10. p.m. GRACE MOORE^ With Josef Pasternack Orch. 30 Mins. . VICK CHEMICAL CO. WEAF, New York Cecil, Warwick & Cecil When Colunibla Pictures engaged Grace Moore, they had a rare coni- modlty. Here' -was an opera star who defied every popular preeotf": ceptlon of stuffiness. . Grace Moorai was equipped with blonde hair, a good figure, and. a face that would bear a smile without resembling a grotesque distortion. Sha could prance about with .llvellhese. Wl^jsli; (Jolumbia cast her 'iri'"roies 'that" brought out her Vivacity as well aa her voice.. And the b. o. oh 'One Night of Love' and 'Love Me For- ever' was sijch that even the "Wall ^Street Journar. made a to-do over It,' " .Last Monday (16), after a sum^ mer Befofe' Eurbpean'fbyaTJyrt^^ Moore resumed, her radio role for .Vlck's cold remedies, and almost from the opening minute of the pro- gram It was apparent that Mlsa Moore and her sponsors forgot every lesson Columbia ever tried to teach. In short, -ivhat the radio audience heard was not Grace Moore, the Vivacious soprano, but Grace.Moore, a quiet honie girl. Except for the soprano voice it might have been a retired dlya at her knitting. Opening of the program consist- ed of. Miss Moore introducing her husbiEind, who coyly said 'hello.' Then she immediately broke Into •Through the Tears,' 'The Last Rose of Summer' and 'Can't You Hear Me (Tailing, Caroline.' Followed (t short commercial and an'orchestral selec- tion. Next came a scene from 'Love Me Forever,' with Miss Moore's husband playing the part of Co- relll. It was enacted minus all ani- mation i everybody racing through the lines with scarce a pause, and hardly any leeway for sound effects. Works wound up with renditions of 'Love Me Forever' and 'Bstrelllta,'. the.latter hard on the heels bf the' former. Miss. Moore said 'Good night, and may God bless you all!'. Just as Ernestine Schumann-Heink might have done, and all was over except one minutely proportioned commercial. "What the program obviously at- tempts to do Is make a Southern hostess of Miss Moore, who halls from Tennessee. This attempt in' itself Is of questionable value. It permits almost no showmanship, and showmanship Is integral to the Miss Moore as the public knows her. Further, the current set-up apparently demands that Miss' Moore sing tranquil, quiet songs. But after hearing 'Madame Butter- fly,' 'Mlml,' and 'La Boheme' Via the films, it is scarcely to .be expected that the radio audience would en- joy 'The Last Rose of Summer,^ which is better suited to a deep, resonant contralto anyhow. As a last straw, josef Pasternack's back- ing up bf Miss Moore leaves much to be desii-ed. Her flexible, colorful ybice needs a proper accompa,nlment to keep it from seeming to -trail ofC^ into high space.' Pasternack's back-* Ing, however, was almost lethargic, and appeared too faint and hesitant. A different type of program was originally announced as a premiere. —one in \vhich.parts of Miss Moore's life would be re-eriacted-r-and pos- sibly the postpbnement of that idea brought, on a weak substitution. At any rate, this Is not the Grace Moore that two continents know, and un- less the real McCoy is resurrected, the sponsor Is failing to make the most of a golden opportunity. The least that could be done would be to Inject studio applause between the songs—anything, in fact, to keep Miss Moore from racing from one song into another as if she had an eye on the studio clock. CJommercials are almost too well- behaved. 'LOVE DOCTOR' With Mrs. Howard Chandler Christy 15 Mins. . KISSPRCOF WOR, New York Blackett-Sample-Hummert Kissproof'S business Is conducted primarily across the counters of the dinic stores, so this program alms for the gum-chewing' audience and pretty nearly goes the limit.. Idea is that the ^love doctor' (name kept under cover) reads agony letters, and then dishes out advice Inter- spersed with songs like 'You Have Taken My Heart," etc. It's distinctly the opposite to a prestige builder for radio itself although program possibly .succeeds m. its avowed purposes. Doc's singing isn't much, and his enunciation, is completely ih reverse. —i.e., he lingers, on consonants and slurs oyer the vowels. Probably, supposed . to indicate an earnest touch. Everybody is addressed as 'my dear,' includihg the married women. Commercials, which are long,and full of price mentions, are rendered by guest stars. Mrs. Howard dharid- ler Christy doing them now follow- ing a spell by Ona Munson,: film actress. ' '"But be It said that administering adrenalin f6r ailing love Is still one good way to lure a femme audience, and so thl.'s progriam proiiably gets Its share, of dialing, brash as the whole thing Is.