Variety (May 1936)

36 VARIETY W^ednesdfiy, May 27,1936 JOE PENNER 'Ziegfeld FolMe^ 60 Mins. PALMOLIVE^COLGATE-PEET Satiirdayi 8 |>.m. WABC, New York ^Benton & Bowles) Joe Penner Is due ito return . to network radio In the fall for Coco-, malt. This one-time guester for Palmolive served two purposes. First, It Introduced, a hew note in: Palmolive commercials which Pen- ner Inspired and hplp6<f. work. Sec- -Ond^ It w.as^ warning. promoters to beware' of niiateir:l^l weakness. Presumably on Cocomalt' Penner will be pjrotected *hr0ugh the. .support of. Harry Couh a* writer.' -WUtoQut such support P^n-* her will. be. on the critical cundltlon roster. A comedian whose former, flush of popularity wa.3/ based primaHly. on the eiweep, of catchphrases, Ptn- ner now needs material far ianr.e urgently 1;h'an would -perhaps, b'^ the case with comedians who had nevor ,set such a fast popularity pace. His material on the Palmolive hour was frowzy. ■ Specially ancient and nn-r fiitiny weire the burlesque bitis used. Comedy slant of Penner, was to exchange gab with jean Paul King. Spielier compliinents Penner, He's crazy about, comedy.. Penner in turn cont^gaes hie's .daft over com- mercial?. King starts to unroll the copy. Pehrter enthuses, oyer the luscious verbalism of it-all, repeats certain phrases such ' aa 'all-over loveliness.'' Pehner's twiist oh the commercial Is a, good one. biit c6py needs to be; written deflnlteliir with that in mind. Apparently the regular Palmolive copy that Would.haye been delivered in .any .event was the spnhgboard. And hot quite springy 'enough for th$ full friiltlbn of Penher'a thought. . , Palmolive'. has 'been having' hard luck with this present series. Twice the Illness ot Fannie Bjrice has^ dis- rupted the show.' Al Oopdman lalso was ,out' through sickness. Gradu- ally the original, conceptloiv of ,th^ .program has beep, wlropped. Th? Alice Moote 'story' th^t threaded through the ojpenlng • .weeks was abruptly terminated. Just written tfaS? of the script Very little of the •Ziegfeld Follies' angle left: Which niakes It jiist another variety pro- gram iislnsr guest stars.. , Bejiriy Fields not up to! standard. Didn't get pvfer too . well,' Seems to be tripping Mms6ir up with over- Involved orchestrations: all bbiiafato and no; enough 'melody, might be the comprint. Hadlo ■ ;IS- not the best place for Fields to spin his delicate shadings. Might be better to stick to. a broader vein of pop appeal , and keen, the .ultra-sop'ilstl-, cation for 'audience that will' be more apt to get It. JLond.. BOAKE CARTER Stunt Progrtkm 30 Mins. PHILCO Thursday, 7:45 p.m. WABCf, New Yor4< 'Phllco, aggressive set-selling out- fit, Is shipping its dealers and dis- trlbs to'Havana, Cuba, for a general blowout. For this purpose the Fur- ness line Monarch of Bermuda.IS temporarily diverted from . It^ Hamilton run to carry three sVjltii* loads of oceah-golng Phllco- con* ventloheferS 'to Cuba aiid back. Forming a logical stunt program tie-up with, this wallopy flourish, the manufacturer's radio program went to sea-also. JBoake Carter be- came a mai'ltlme broadcaster for a week as he made the first round trip with the Phllco whooper ■' uppers. . What broadcasting, from a ship via shortwave (converted. Into long wave at New. Jersey pickup iJol .t) ■'Tneans In terms of technical difficult ties can easily be Irnaglned: Only Carter did not leave it to anybody's Imagination but went Into consider- able detail'lit explanation. The ex pianatlon Thursday (21) had par tlcular point and interest because earlier In the program there had been a 90-second failure of service, whldh Columbia broke In to apologize for. Reception. was' never very satis- factory at any time during the pro- gram. Rapt listening Was Imperative and Carter's gatllng-gun delivery, ordinarily -a favorable slant with listeners, became in the prevailing conditions a further hurdle to in- telligibility. The failure of service,, the overall unewrtalnty of reception, and carter's description of the small cabin, from which he was speaking, did have the result of dramatizing Philco's ingenuity and enterprise. As to whether a floundering and un- certain pi'ogram is ever a good advertising, proposition, and es- pecially where the sponsor is selling' radio . receivers sui>poJ»ed to be Identified with superior merits of clai'lty, that is a problem the unswex* to which can only be guessed. Basically, the undertaking was marked by showmanship .and clever exploitation of a made-to-order opening. Land. Judy Starr, Los Angeles toi'cher. eas( to join up with Rudy Vallee* IMOGENE COCA Song I FUefSCHMANN TKurs. 8 p.m. EDST WEAF,. New York iJi Walter Vhompatm^ Commedtenne Is. a member 4>f 'New Faces* i cast, spring , revue which opened this past .week at the Vanderbllt She's a half-plht performer and relays in Much the same, fashion over thp air as upon the stage. Thpre'tf quite a, juvenile 'peep quality to her .yplce which Is easily icaiiiturecr wiieh-^brbaaciSattng. Sfa- terlal was a chatty song., adapted for Intimate atmosphere primarily. Qpehed first on variety program to /mild results. ■ Rudy Vallee said In Introduction, that she was a Jiard-luck star, liii that she was being discovered an- nually, but never got a break. This date didn't help overcome the .hoodoo. ' Broli' 'MARYLAND MYSTERIES' With David Kurland, .Katherihe Dierkeh, Lois Benson, Gariy Mor- fit, Shelton Young, Tom 0'Con> riall,^ Rex Reynolds Dramatization 30 Mfhs. Sustaining WBAL, Baltimore Roland Bradley, redently sent dPwiv from Hearst's WINS, N. Y., to publisher's Balto broadcaster, where he is'now asst;; program director, tapped a -fertile well with this series .of weekly'Script shows whlcl. debuted last Frl. (22). If succeed- ing programs .nudge .sai^e niche of high-merit,, .sponsorship may .be at- tracted... In a statd as old, traditional dnd legendary as Mai'yland every -native knows of dozens of str-nge, weird yarns told^i^t the region and long- dead Inhabitants. Not remembered' that any other local station -ever drew on this wealth of material, aiiid the boys may be chagrined and rightly now that^ they, realize that a newcomer of but .a fortnight's residence beat 'em to. the' ore-bed. Initial period about beat' produc- tipnaliy Baito has heard from local source! among the all-too-few such prograitis statibns hiere haye vouch- safed listeners.. 'The Amputated Finder* was the label of the first; using tlihe-trled formula of a curSe being au-xed to a chunk of Jewelry right down the ages.' In this Instance, based- on a i» .'end that , has occasionally gone the rounds here over after-dinner coltee cups, . gem-gUstened ring made for the Borglas ended up by bringing woe to wearer In Maryland In 1711, was lost at that, time and has never popped up again. Dra- matically, yarn -was. o.. k., thougb suspense was somewhat snatched away because the'finish was tele- graphed from"' start when that curse was put on bauble. Cast:" David Kurland, Katherlne Dierken, Lois Benson, Garry Morflt, Shelton Young, Tom O'Connell and Rex Reynolds. Four of above are on station stafC, and remstining three often called in for specific spotting on programs; as a e[roup, about do the story justice. ART KAHN Pianist 15 Mins.. STARCK PIANO CO. \Dik\\y, 12:15 p. m. WBBM, Chicago For years Kahh has been tickling the ivories throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, in theatres, nite clubs, ballrooms, clubs and now on the radio. And on the air his style remains. typical of kahn, 80% im- provisation, adding new color, new .pictures, new sidelights to standard popular and semi-classical numbers. Angle here In selling the Starck pianos is that' Kahn is plugged at the Starck warehpuso and playing stock pianos right on* the ware- house fioor. It's good, giving a t\<-ist to the spiel, permitting mention of the tone and value of the actual pi- ano that Kahn is playing at the time. During the 15 minutes Kahn-Shifts around the warehouse, announced ,as playing various priced and tagged Pianos.' A smart program-comraer- clal tie-up. Gold. FOLLOW-UP COMMENT CHARLES LAWRENCE 'Sound Effects Man' Novelty 15 Mins, Sustaining Sat., 8:30 p.m. WpR, New York One • thing that -was icreditable about tlie initial installment (23) of this prpgram. was the restraint .ex- ercised in not tipping the listeners off as to hbwj:h"ese sound effects are produced. It Is the absence of the b^hind-tlie-sdehes unveiling that gives the stanza its only touch of novelty. Otherwise "it's a dull conglomera- tion of sounds produced to simulate waves, storms, airplane crashes, croud noises, chariot races, battles, auto racing and whatnot, accom- panied by a running fire of what was intended as him-\orou3 dialog. Charles Lawrence had the comedy assignment. His Was supposed to be the character of a good sound eftect.q man running berserk among his plaything.s. Alvin .Tosephy, a WOR staff scrlptlst. was ropnon- sible for Lawrence's patter. Odea j WriglcyT* 'March of Time' (GBS, through BBD&O) is now. hitting a clip minus all the wobble^ and squeaks that at first- characterized the 'March's' mass-^production: job when- the. oncfe-weekly basis ivas ab- dicated last fall. A surer, aim is evident ih Arthur Pryor, Jr.'s direc- tion. Backgrounds, are nicely filled In, and thf^ phblce of news strikes a good balance between red meat and h6veR%' Bxpe ' encn' 'appareht• ly haS been a*v^' -ible teacher. Prime Improvement - to do five to seven items per proit«....ii Instead of three or four and'thereby step up tempo. Recent stanza (22)' made the most of a dull day so far as news was concerned. Started out with novelty (Father ^ Divine's coal biz), then rambled through hsavler fare cohr slstlhg of ah electrocution, Town send plani a mistaken Southerp Ijrnchlng, and English war prepara- tions. Time pacinig'^2% minutes, 2^ minutes, 2% minutes, S jnlnutes and 4 minutes—-showed a nice feel- ing for pace and values. 'March' will march through the whole sum- mer this year for the flrist time. Fleischmann yeast, commercials cPntlhue to skirt the border of bad taste. That 'unsolicited' (and Un signed) letter of endorsement which Rudy 'Vallee mentioned and .Oraham McNamee read "Thursday (21) Is a casp in point. References to the system 'working better* ..and the general tone of the spiel Is pretty close to the pbjectlohable. There is evidence that the yeast for-health campaign may be near ing the end of its sales valued 'plm pie. copy was tossed "overboard on the radio program, but Is still Used extensively in magazines and news prints with somewhat nauseous re- actlpns to the highly, graphic illus- trations. It Is a. provocative theme for speculation if the pimple thing did not do plenty of damage in many quarters to the yeast's good will. These are Intangibles not al- ways immediately reflective In sales charts. Frank Fay either peeds a new authPr 0^ another formula for Royal Grelatine. Somehow the self-plug by Fay for the .gelatine doesn't jell. It hasn't the'unction and the In- souciance of the tongue-^ln-cheek with which Jack Benny, Don WIl son, Johnny <>reen, 6t al.- endow the Jello product when slipping in the commercials. Fay's technique is too orthodox and to make a comedian also a 'straight' peddler of the commodity thaVs underwriting is. too brash, even for radio. On top of which Fay's half-hour still remains too tough a chore for any one man- With the advantages of lights and personality, the aVeragP comedian can't exceed 15 inlnutes on a rostrum, in the flesh, without pall- ing. It becomes the more difilcult when the time allottment Is twice that, and in the cold abstract, via a mike. Death Valley Days (Coast com- pany) rounded out three years without a break last week and has built up one-of the strongest fol- lowlngs in the west. Neither pat- tern nor cast has changed since break-in, in May of 1933, and for the type of show is expertly pro^ duced and acted; Dramas of the desert,' in 30-minute takes, open with a narration by OeOrge Rand, the Old Ranger, a ca able cast taking it through the enfoldment. Charles Marshall, the Singing Cow- bow, gives the piece a melodic in- terlude. Author of the scripts is Rulh Cornwall, who has been at it since the opener! Cast includes .Henry Shumer, Lois Austin, Bert Horton. Earl Lee and Charles Macr. Alllster. Twenty Mule Team Borax sponsors. Jay Fllppen on WHN, New York* makes an effort to vaseline the Loft candy commercials with comedy treatment. He keeps giving the an- nouncer a comedy impatience as the spieler rattles off thfe toothsome specials. This is pretty sophisti- cated and smart stuff for a local station. Kate Smith's twice-weekly ses- sions for A. & P. Coffee hold a nice consistent average of melodic ap- peal. Leans more.to ballads than anything, but delivered with abun-: dapt class. Cpwles on Zeppelin : Cfardner (Mike) Cowles, Jr., of the Iowa Broadcasting System, returned from a vacash in Europe last Wed- njBSday (20) via the Zeppelin Hin- denbitrg. Remaiined In New York a few days ^giving things the o.o. Jay Flippen Eenewed Jay C. Fllppen has drawn a re- newal from Phillips (magnesia) for his .weekly amateur show on WHN, New York, Xew tei-mer starts July l for 2G more v.eeks. BILLY ROSE With Dick Jjl«n»y DialPg FLEISCHMANN Thursday, 8 p.m« WEAFf New York (j. WiiUer ThomPBon) . Billy Rose and his press agent, Dick Maney, - did tfds Itbr nbthltig. Usually 'talent' doesn'tL appear on the. heavy-sugar Standard Brands variety hour on those terms.; But Bill Rose did. For nothipg-^but it was—still—* commerclal;..-A-_.'comr. merclai for SlUy Rose, a.UttlP fpr Maiiey, a lot for the Fort Worth Centennial, but most of all for BUly iRbse.- It was the sort of stunt that New York and show business -would eh- joy. Perhaps the radio listeners as a group did, too.. That's not easy to surmise. How far, if at . all, Billy Rose is recognizable to .the cross- roads of Amprlca (hot Texas) .as a houseliold word and Grade A celebrity is a matter of conjecture. It takes ye^s to make the public conscious of a mere producer. But as to that the regulEur following of the Rudy Vaiiee program is certainly accustomed to a varied and motley group of Visiting lllumlhatl, so Rose qualliftes. For nothing—what could J. Wiilter Thompson lose? And how Could Billy Rose get a nation-wide publicity brea.k of cbhiparable value at the same pricp? ^ Rudy Vallee did straight. He asked' questions,- Rose gave IntelU- efentt realistic answers. Mauey in. each case stepped in and translated the mundane responses of his boss Into the fanciful lahg;uage and Imaglnativp exaggeration of clrCusy press-agentry. Punch had Mahey trying to make a five-dollar touch and Rose firing him—again., Both Rose and Maney spoke well, although there inras not a sharp vocal 'differential such as' -would have made' the effect -stronger. Which will probably seehi like a mighty-picayune criticisiii down in Fort Worth. Land, DOUGLAS BROWNING 'Who's Who in Raei ' Interviews 15 Mins. Sustaining M-W-F; 7:15 p.m. WCKY, Cincinnati . Period reviewed (22)' sprung the barrier on new series, wnlcK will introduce listeners to officials,, own- ers, trainers, riders and press handl- cappers identified with, current rac- ing meeting of Latonia Jockey Club at Latonia, Ky., opposite Cincy. In- itial heat, paraded a pair of track notables to the. mike in. Polk Laffoon, chairman of the Kentufky Racing Commission, , and Judge Charles F. Price, presiding steward of Bluegrass ovals . and who has judged 60,000 races during the past half centurv. Assortment of questions wisely pointed at subjects of general in- terest to . admirers of the' gee gees in everydav language of that sport. Truly Kentucky speech.of the'men interviewed was as refreshing 'a? a mint julep, as was their references to such things as 'bosses, selling platers, thoroughbreds, foaling, starting gates' and other stock farm and track terms and ite;ns. Each was asked to tell of stand- out horses, races and Jockeys.. Thoy claimed that racing of today Is faster and cleanri- than er. It was noticeable that Judge Price pronounces the word 'derby* as 'darby.' This run of sustalners may ensily be touted js hot stuff with track fans, of whom there are plenty hereaboutg. koII RAY SAUNDERS 'Voices Out of the Sky' Guessing Cohtest 15 Mins.- HEARN'S . ite;.^.*!^" P*:'-. 7:30 p.m. EDST. WHN, New York Guessing contest idea is not- new to radio. In fact it's standard if not antiquated fare for gauging listen- er's interest. However, main nov- elty in this program, which Hearn*s Department store sponsors, is sta- tion's" .access to MGM sound track recordings which relay voices of pic- ture stars. Clark Gable and Charles Laughton in a scene from 'Mutiny on the Bounty' rated attention this time. General pirogram is a primer for memory acrobatics. A short essay is to accompany each note submitted. Variety of voices covered included a torch singer (Ethel Merman) and French singer (Maurice Chevalier). Be- sides the disk portion of production Ray Saunders is present for weld- ing purposes. He drops hints fre- quently o£ what is coming, such as the next one sings in a straw hat and has a heavy under-slung lower lip.' Same type of tlpping-olf is given for the others in similar Juvenile fashion. Only the last one, a Met. Opera singer, might cause some headscratching at this hear- ing. Sponsor puts out $225 weekly for the three programs, with first prize amounting to $50, Magnetism of program is confined of course to the money awards. £j'oZ, 'BOBBY BENSON and POLLY' With Billy Halop> Nelll O'Malley. Cal Tinney. Flprfncf Halop Kid Serial ^ , 15 Mins* HECKER H-Q: M-W-Fr.«;15 p. m* WABC, Npw YM-k (Erioin-Waaei/) This vrograrii npnters a. neW cyclb aftet an extended broadcasting ca- reer that has been marked by a good deal of showmanship and suc- Cpss. While sonde sponsors of kid programs have been* driven off the air by criticism of the goosepimpie Btuft that-reached-Its^f till accretion the season before the :oh6 just clos- ing, this program has sought to adapt itself realistically to the point of view of parent-teachers, etc.: In the neiv Stoi-y twist the aus- pices. feel, and -with plausible jua- tlficatlon, that-adultS'Whb fret about lltttP junior's -nervous indigestion from too much melodrama'will feel nPt only relieved, but ehthusla:stic. New story thrusts Into the adven- tures of the "cowboy youngster and his girl friend an element of fan- tasy that. Is supposed, theoretically at least, to be good for kids, to- stimulate- their imagination health'- iiy. ■ ! ,■ In a hidden valley of the obscure', far West is located a race of peo- ple six inches tall. They got that -way, as the first Installment ex- p''ains, by their ancestors drinking <:ertaln waters , which caused them to shrink like a $12.7S all-wool suit in the rain,. Ah .Indian chief, Irked at a white man's . perfidy, had brought about this unique situation. Frail, mldget-llkp. other worldly voices are used In the program to mark the. nornial humans from the thlmbie-slzed • citizens. Polly, the cowgirl, gets a big thrlU out of holding the six-inch Ingenue In her lap and: comparing her, repeatedly, to a .'rpal.livp.d.olL' -, Obviously,in installments to come Bobby Benson, and. his fellow-ad- venturers'"will pay a visit to the val- ley of shrunken mibrtals. And Dean Swift's Imagihatlve glimpses into mjrthlcal clyillzatlon will presum- ably be re->enacted with modern ra»' dlo trimmings. It all sounds prom* Islng although, of course, it may possibly definitely fix the age ceil- ing of the program's appeal. Which, however, is probably okay with th« sponsor. Two Halop youngsters and others In cast give workmanlike perform- ances. Land. ITALIAN INTERMEZZO MMsi'cale 30 Mini. GIOIA MACARONI Sunday,. 12:30 p.m; EST WHAM, Rochester - This program aimPd especially at Italian audience has an out- standing appeal to all listeners. The soloists, former Eastman SchPol ot Music students, are popular both; In the Italian community and th,e city at large, as both are singers! of excieptional talent, ■ VIncenzo Fagcu orchestraTdlrector,! has a keen understanding and grace- ful Interpretation of Italian muslo. and has gathered an orchestra. that- plays -with spii-It. Andre Luotto, an;, old-timer at the business, cam©! from New York to arrange the show- aiid serve as .master of ceremonies; He swung from Italian to English' announcements with ease. Lena Milanetti adds life and' gaiety to the program and udes her lyric soprano intelligently. Romolp De Spirlto, who won a scholarship: at the Jullliard School in New York, commutes each week to Rochester for the broadcast. Has mellow tenor. Closing number is usually a duet by De Spirito' and Miss idilan- etti from ah opera. Announcements of Gloia's mac- aroni products are subordinated to the music. Program is repeated each week and fed by special wire to WBEN, Buffalo-. Cord. W9XBY SLIGHTLY IRKED Barred From Aud—It's An All- Star Proposish Kansas City, May 26. First broadcas't from the Munici- pal auditorium was made Tuesd <r (19) over WDAF-when station aired the Kissinger-Gsirrison fight, Kan- sas City. Star gave the fight a big build up. Barney Ross wias on hand' to do the thl.d man job. W19XBY, high fidelity station, un- der the ImpressiDn it was oke foi^ them to air the affair; as they had broadcast fights In Convention hall across the street, nabbed a sponsor and chased to the auditorium to make arrangements for equipment.- lien were, shown their spot and re- turned to Install-ti-ielr gadgeta but were refused admission, Sidney Noel, W9XBY button-holed the aud's dii'octor and was told that nothing qould be done for hi.a. Noel Was given no reason for the action. Aud's directoi; later said that W9XBY arrived too late and it made him mad so no soap for W9XBY. WDAF, also sponsored, .''tilted that the affair wa-s un 'e.Kcluslvo cpmmercial broadch.st.'