Variety (Mar 1937)

^edne0d«y« March ^1, 1937 ItADIO BETIEW8 VARIETY 39 <f aWTEES' DBAMA' wltb Mary BwrtMp Mary FralicM XaA Cyril Sharpe • EySMDOUN" ■AE ASS'N Thar«day> P« W£BR/Biiffale (Ellis Advertising Co.) This is the attempt to humanize and respectabiiize lawyers on tte air «Id to place betorie the pubUc a defl- ate idea o£ the services rendered by attorney/!. It's sponsored by local bar association. Obviously the pb- iMt is to combat unfavorable atti- tudes toward lawyers, and the idea fostered in tecent years that all ot them are shysters, iJangsters' buddies or -obstructionists lor corporations fighting refonris, «tc- ^ -First program Hiursd^y (25) sought to prove the necessity lor a lawyer in drawing up a will. Dra- matic sketch dealt with a son whose' •oMi^ was uiifriendly toward his' mother. He sought to provide gen- erously for his mother in a wiU drawn up by himself, but after he was killed in a traffic accident the will turned out to be improperly <jrawn, and the program ende^ 'with the possibility of the mother getting anytWiig seeming very slim. . Drama was simply imfolded in about the manner of any of the aft- ernoon network serials, and probably got the idea across. There's some question as to whether it was wise to include the mother-in-law angle. it invidious^ Although tiie latter was more sym- pathetically drawn than was the wife, it is;veiy likely the sketch pre- cipitated a moter-in-law vs. wife de- bate among many Mistieners, thus be- clouding the real issue, which was the improperly drawn will. Instance presented Is said to have been a true story with phoney names substituted. Pp^iibilities for nM>re compelling dramatic touches may be reialized .in future airings dealing with the law- yers .vs. rackets, etc. Should be plenty of basic drama. lieed. MARTHA lAvivT Tea Time Varlctleii* tMnserlptiOBi MBUas. Parttelpatlag Daily, 4iN 9^ CST WMA<), Chlcaffe To discover how many products are being sold by radio in this vicin- ity, all that needs be dohe is to tune in this daily half hour - on WMAQ, NBC's midwest key station. One musical selection, and one commer- cial ahouncemeAt is the routine. And sounds like the producer is crying for shorter tunes so he'll have time for more commercials. Shorter recordings of tunes that is, for this'30 minute; late afternoon, flve-a-Week program on WMAQ. NBC's midwest key station is one of records. Martha Linn, as the announcer of the program does a nice job, espe- cially considering that there are so niany commercials, and so varied in style. Handles them all, excepting those which are recorded. Reason for the name of Tea. Time varieties' is that it's supposed to be listened to over a cup of tea, and listeners are supposed to turn in hlbts which might be helpful to others who listen over their cups of tea. Tea, though, seems to be the one product which is missing among the list of commercials. ROGER BAKER Interviews 31 Mlmi.; Local ONTARIO BISCUIT Thursday, 11:30 a. m^ WGR, Buffalo (Addison Vars) Here's a case of smart capitalizai- tion on an obvious idea. *Phun Quiz' is an ordinary vox pop usually, com- ing from the streets of Buffalo. But with Roger Baker, the regular quiz- zer.^one to Plant City, Pla., training camp of the Bisons (he doubles as baseball describer), it was a natural to pipe in Baker from there with his q. and a. Baker made a good job of it, lining up the home town baseball stars ^as weu as several local political figures WHO are in the south with the team, ^nsor got plenty of mention be- wuse at the conclusion of each quiz »»ker presented the Interviewee with a box of crackers, making sure JO,mention the brand. This went on tor some 15 interviews. For his interviews With players »«*er Wisely picked those who live «s well as play here, to count ^ .^''t'^a interest from friends and relatives. ♦K^r a smart job, and one iM«-n,^"^^lo ball fans will prob- ably talk about. Reed. Si.^^ MOREHOUSE Heavens' i'^tas.—Local Wednegday, 3:15 p. ni. Des Moines Morehouse is pr-esident of Drake oir/u®'.!'*^' I>€s Moines, and ah autuotity on astronomy (author of »^eral volumes on subject). More- "vuse has an excellent voide and the toili^ft iifiatter wias presented welL Jj^definitely top profound for the JProgram dealt principally with the rSH^ox arid the change in the po- Miiohs of the celestial bodies for eye observation, Moorhecd. . lOCKET CLUB OF THE AOt Racing tiaae St Mlns,—Lecii ALKA-NOX Friday, 9:S« KFI, Los Angeles (R. H. Alber) Mythical horse-races are broadcast With sound effects and so arranged that radio .listeners in their homes can inake book. For towns that are horse daffy^ this race gag should catch on. The -gambling element is; strong en'ou^ to make the dialers'Want to lay a few washers on the imaginary nags. To get into the game purchase of a package of the alkaiizer is necessary. Package contains the rules, a dope sheet carrying the ^entries' for s6ven weeks of make-believe racing. . Dope. sheet is patterned after a real track program with all the info on each race including the wise- tracks in^ the comment column and the probable odds. Every move of the horses is broadcast from the time they leave the paddock. A bell bongs closing ttie betting ring and that*s the signal for the bookie in the family parlor to close the books. Leading nags get the call just like at the track and. the winiiing hay burner is pickied frOm a hat Four races are run off each Friday night Track is laid jiist outside of Reno (Where gambling is legal). Produc- tion lacks none of the atmosphere of the McCoy and the crowd noises are there tO whoop it up in the stretch. Three spielers are Used; one to . call the races, another on the buildup for each running, and a third. Cliff Howell, on the commercials., y There's plenty of laughs in the nsimes of the nags. Some are Prosit, Tippler, Headache,. ElbPw Bender, Morning After, Ptc, the gag being that Alka-Nox is a pickup' for what ails you after a night out. One of the Jocks: is even tabbed Al K. Knox. Helm. 'HOLLYWOOD IMPRSSSIONS' With Beany Kyle's orchestra; Jewell Players, Al Chance 'Walklkl Wedding' at MIns. UNITED DETROIT Suiday, i 9. m. WXTZ, WWJ, WJK, WJBK, WMBC, Detroit, As part of an extensive bally cam- paign on 'Waikiki Wedding' flicker opening Friday (26) at the Michigan, Detroit, this half-hour program over all Detroit stations shaped up oke. BiU footOd by United Detroit the- atres (Par subsid). Whether itll bring the desired results at the b. o. is another thing. Using all but one. major station In the Detroit area (the biggest single- sponsor setup in town's history), the show naturally got plenty of cover- age. But the time, 1 to 1:30 p. m. Sunday may not have been ideal. Howevei*. this particular spot ap- parently was the only one available on the five outlets, simultaneously. . Supposedly providing a pattern for exhibs to use in-advertising their attractions, show ran pretty much along the lines of a film trailer, de- noting perhaps that the program was planned by a theatre staff. Included, besides a chanting male quartet which ballyhooed the picture and stars, were impersonations of Bing Crosby (best of the lot). Bob Burns, Martha Raye and Shirley Ross. 'Crosby* turned in coupla nice tunes from flicker, with the ensemble, ork and other personages also providing a few ot^|er of the Hawaiian melo- dies. , , ^ Unlike other programs which tabloidize films, this show contained very little of the plot. Mostly a plug of the tunes, and only a coupla minutes of conversation between 'Crosby' and Miss Ross. Thus it left plenty wanting for fans to trek to the theatre and see. Perhaps too much. , , mv^rr Program originating m WXYZ studios and piped ( to others, wasn't seasoned by any means, but a good try for initial effoft. How effective, or ineffective, it really was await b. . figures next week, Pcfc. CHARLES IRVING 'Llfhts and Shadows' Dratha is Mins., Snstainlnc Friday, 8:00 p.m. WMIN, St. Paul-Minneapolis One of the punchiest periods harked to in a long time hereabouts is this IS^miriute spot scripted by Robert Greer. Not that the script is the whole works; it's good but Charles Irvlng's handling of all the , voices (four on this program) is outstand- ingly smooth, , , Every wieek the script is dramatic, and timely. Recently thie floods were given a dramatic dressing-up. This period (26) was the story of Cam, first born of Adam and the worlds first murderer, killer of his brother, Abel. Timely, because of the Easter season. Irving handled the heavily dramatic passages of Cain-s suffenng. and the 2.000-year-old story of Christ on the cross, with such feeling and finesse as to cause shivers up the spine, Sound effects of the storm over Calvary, and Cain's reaction to seeing the Christ with a crucified thief on either side, splendid and in religiPus taste. ' Irving's performance of the con- verfiation between .Cain and one thief on the cross (taking both voices) was powerful and sincere. Rash, MART BOLAND Wltti James MeMon, Harald Vcr- mllyea, Lyn Marray Cfekolr, Donald PloksoQ, Lacia Graescr^ Rabert Polan orchestra 10 MlBS. SEALTEST Satarday,. • pjn. WEAF-NBC, Ntew York (J. W«ltcr Thompson) ^ Sealtest program silvered the temples of N. W. Ayer's production department last fall and has since given J. Walter Thompson a ditto Siunprise—namely, that the once- combustible guest star niixture doesn't always detonate with the listening public. Now, after ishlfts,^ rpatrangements and experiments, the Sealtest program has apparently, be- come a singing society with a comedy interruption; First ;of all, there's a singing ring- niaster, Janles Meltoh; . Thompson works him as .Benton & Bowles has long steered Lanny Ross on Maxwell show boat Or again, as Frank Parker has been heard on other com- mercials. Or, more recently, Fred MacMurray for Campbell. Lines ;given Melton strive to lighten him up without of course, convert- ing him, into' a comic. He does, a- smiling straight. Melton has been vibrating in the tiigh register, several years and has also had a spin or two on the cinematic spools. Vocally he's okay. Oh the Sealtest dialog, his diction is: clear and his manner gen- erally pleasant Program ialso includes another tenor, Donald Dickson. In the Pld vaUdeviUe booking days. ' would draw a rap for thie layout, man- who contrasted two acts of similar char- acter in 4 single program.. Excuse here—realistically—mUst be that the agency is. having enough headaches .filling out the hour without bother- ing with ' (if it knows about) thea- trical traditions. Dickson, is first rate. Lucia Graeser for soprano and the Lyn Murray choir (very nice) are ottier singing elements in the pro- gram. Original 'Party' idea and pro-, gram listing is preserved with a line ot two of dialog, but otherwise for- gotten. Surgical removal of sorne of the prPduction lumps has smoothed the much-involved prograih. into a fairly compact offering. Its present flaws are no longer major. Mary Bolsoid, . with Harold Ver- . milyea of legit as an excellent never- pverrfaokey foil, tpssed -off a session of hOr character. Mrs. Baffin. Latter decided to attend the Coronation be cause American 'should be grateful to the country that .gave them bull- dogs, potato chips and Noel Coward.' Her demented interview with a travel bureau agent docked a nice.tally of giggles.. Land, SPELLING BEE PASTT With George A. Fairldge, Joseph Lopes SO MIns. Snstailiilag Mondays, 7:3Q p.m. WICC, Bridgeport Attempts of George A. Patridge, formerly associated with Bob Emery at WOR, to establish spelling bee Vogue in Connecticut have been plenty spotty. Show got into double trouble when WICC matched etymological teams representing Bridgeport newspaper- men and lawyers. Sounded like a showmanly stunt, but event got so much publicity that it had to be good or else. Latter turned out to be the case, and local columnists especially Ethel Ifeckwith of Tost,' turned on such heat that station was compelled to stage a pliay-olver following sug- gested new rules. . Resultant repeat, put on before, audience in Hotel Stratfield ball-l room, was marked improvement, but nevertheless reshowed weakness of adapting spelling bees to radio. All- important time limitation makes it necessary for word-picker to swing into tough syllabters before contest- ants iand listeners are warmed up, and it is practically impossible to achieve a finale thrill. Joe Lopez, WICC supervisor, tries to effect party spirit with communal singing, and instrumental interpola- tions have been used for same pur- pose. Music doesn't seem to mix . in with spellfests, however. Elem, THE PUBLIC SPEAKS' IS MIns., Local Sastaliilnf Mob.) 7 p.-IB. WCBM, Baltimore Studio invites volunteers to talk threie minutes on any subject they wish. GuPst hiay sneak at will, per- sonaliticis and defamation barred, with only request that script be pre- pared in advance and In stitdib's hands 15 hiinutes before broadcast- ing. No rehearsals. Charles A. Boeder and Michael t>, Murray handle program from notes only, giv- ing therii iree hand to step into an embiarrassing situation possibly arisr ing from sudden ing away frohi apnroved script. Opening program caught biroiJttht two women and a man to mike with subjects ranging froin the inevitable Supreme Court discussion to plan for solving townis increasing traffic problem. Straight talk, no questions and answers Or comment. Reauest for volunteer speakers had phone ringing before conclusion of doings. Roeder and Murray work smoothly, handling matters in easy fashion. A good idea if kept in bounds with further broadcasts a sure test Burm^ •WARNING SIGNALS* DraauttlEatloB SO M|Bs.T-Lo«al Sasiaiaiar Friday, 10 p. . WMCA» New Tork Scripted and produced by Burt McMui^^^trie and Geraldlne (xarrick. ^Warning Signals* has the blessing of the National Better Business Bureau, Ainied to slap down the countless rackets preying on small business men and Mr. John Q, Public Be- sides being occasionally instructive, they're Okay for entertainnient though subject oh first hearing to considerable improvement. In general, program is dramatiza- tion of various rackets. But. ishow needs more cohesion and more nlirect line Of routine. Might be better if time was cut to 15 thinutesi and each show devoted-to a single example of fraud and punchier treatment As it aired in this 'preview', shot, .-program :seemed mixed' up. Hut it tarries plenty of jpiromise and should grow into strong series. Musical interludes should be dras- tically shortened. They retard the action. Hobe. TRUDT LtTTLE With Bill Lewis. <3ordoa Fleming, Wally .TawBsend, JobB StlBsaa SiBgIng,) Music IS MIbs.; Laeal . DETROIT VOCATIONAL BUREAU Snadays, .2ilS'P.Bi. CKLW, Deirali. A eommercial on Sundays and a sustainer en Mutual Jtfondays, this quarter-hoUr stint has plenty to rec- ommend it. Trudy LltUe, who. pipes a ; coupla tunes, also turns in a nice job with the m.c. chores. Miss Little and Bill Lewis com- bine tor pop duet following which Fleming solos a number..Orgafi mu- sic is provided by GofdOn Fleming, and piano by Wally Townsend. Lat- ter pair also contribute a nifty or- gan-piano duo. Early afternoon 'show has zing, and blah about job agency isht over- bearing. Pete. 'CALL IT A DAT' With Roland Sonng,. Olivia Be Hav- lUaad, laa Hantcr, Walter Weolf KIbc, Frieda laescort, Boalta GraBvllle 26 Mlas. CAMPBELL SOUP Friday, f :30 p. m. WABC-CBS, New .York (F. Wollis ATmstronff) Better suited to radio adaptation than' some recent Hollywood Hotel subjects, 'Call It a Day^ made fairly good kilocycle entertainment It may or may not have advanced solution of- the question of air plugging -for pix. But it left little doubt that in some cases it is possible to Offer such programs . entertainingly without dishing out too much plot gratis. 'Call It, a Day,' in fact might be ex- pected to intrigue curiosity about the story's ending and a desii'e to see the pic. As radio fare 'Call It a Day' was neatly scripted to bring out the char- acters of the various players. While the voices tended to become-cpnf us- ing to listeners from time to time, the persons of the story emerged as distinct and intereisting individuals. Characters, moreover, were all in- volved in their several difficulties when thei show ended. Scripting capably outlined, the story situations, but left the listener curiosity iinsat- isfled. Performances, for the most part, were okay, but not memorable. Hobe. 'CROSSROADS OF THE NATION' Remote Interviews SnstalBhir Tacs.-ThBrs., -4:11 pja. KFAB, Oaiaha This is an adaption of the man-on!- tbe-street Idea bringing him indoors. Worked out on the premise of Omaha as thie heart of the country where raili bus and airlines. criss-croiJB. Studio has installed remotes in spots where travelers can be easily en- countered, namely the Paxton hotel. Union station, Union bus depot and. the Muny airport At least two spots are aired daily reduiring two or more announcers and accompanying technibians. Announcers roam lobby at these spots picking up, conversa- tion with travelers stopping off or awaiting connections. Interviews proceed alonii line of 'where va going,' 'where ya been?', 'wheire'd ya like to be goin?', 'how ya doin'?' Biggest percentage of interviewees are from adjacent trade territory and stunt thereby proves its worth in picking Up out of the city listeners. Less frequently a widely travelled and well informed talker gets the mike, and occasionally real personalities are. encountered. On such an occasion is a genuinely interesting broadcast. At other times beginning to get stilted as announcers rely on same quefiies; handicap is that of John Q. Public up against a personal radio appearance and pro- gram suffers some thereby. Pursuit of a daily theme of questions related to traviel and provocative of dis- cussion would improve and draw the intellectually curious where now it draws mostly the idly curious. Program has been changed from time to time (has already operated .several weeks), however, and present torm is considerably improved over first issues. Quin. ANtCE IVES Honseheid-Hlnto SO Mlas.—Local NATURE FRIEND, INC., BISCEG^ LIA MlOfS. ANip MANHATTAN ..WAREHOUSE Maa. Ihra VM,, 11:16 a, ai. WMCA. New York fGardner,,Prc9b]/, and direct) Anice Ives is a -household hinter and salad whipper-upper from Philly with kiiack . of selling herself and participating. products. Her .current program iis intelligently framed« ringing in the birthdays, letters re- ceived^ recipes, anniversaries and other sure-register ' ihaterial. Even reads poerhs, and gets away -with it. Whole. 30 minutes is framed in front of background of tasteful music, and warbling ■ of hizda (one of - sponsors is selling.bird food). Com' mercials are trimly dovetailed into Usual chatter. Program appears geared to go places. Wear. 'THie LAND WE LIVE IN' Oraaui, Music SO Mlas. UNION ELECTRIC LIGHT ft POWER CO. Sub;. 6:1S pjn. KMOX, St. Loals ifJim Dauflihertv Co.) First of a series of programs built around this Mississippi Valley metropoliis, starting^with the out- break Of the Civil War and evei^tu- ally to be brought up to date, Is packed full of dramatic wallop^ Somewhat akin to Du Poii;t's 'Caval* . cade of America.' Lots of resiearch work indicated.by the.first episode. Whether KMOX or Unton Electric Go. Is ehtltlad to credit they'll be thanked by dialers for not breaking the continuity thiat maintains high tension throughout the 30 minutes j allotted for proftam. ! Starting: In April, 1867, when St Louis was in the throes of excltie- ment as a city divided against itself on qtiestion Of whether Missouri would secede irOm the Union pro- gram moves quickly into dramatic situations as Francis P. Blair, one of the city's foremost citizens, jumps into breech to prevent secession;' His speech to,his tellow citizens demand- ing loyalty to the Union in the days ot unrest,!his iniluence in persuading Gov. Claibume F. Jackson from breaking with the Notth ^hd the ultimatum he delivers to Gen. Frost of the State militia after, he and his men are made prisoners iii a surprise maneuver at Camp JaCkson; now tha site of St Louis University, by Gen. Natiianlel Lyon reach dramatic heights. Stirring music by archestra under Ben Feld scored by Howard Sarlow of New York. Cast Is directed by G. G. 'Tiny' Rehlelr and Arthur Casey. Maury Cllffer does an- nouncihg job in swell style and sound effects are okay. If the re- mainder of Episodes of %and We Live In* are in keeping with high plane set in initial offering KMOX and bankroller should receive plaudits of listeners in this territory fOi^ hot only the entertainment but the educational values, in this pro* gram. r Sahu. 'ALL STAB VARIETIES^ Transcriptions IS MIns. NORGE WGY, Sohencctady iCramer tt KresioXt) Name bands, singers and enters* tainers are used as bait to catch the attention of listeners On this series advertising Norge kitehen equip- ment Twice weekly it's spotted at WGY on the 2:15-2:30 p.m. block, following another platterized hpuise- holder. Although program boasts ian imposing talent list the head'<* liners are spread over an extended schedule,, in most cases, one to ■ record/ First rubber is ^ an excep*> tion: Barry McKinley and Ray Noble's orchestra are .co^-starred. Second grooves the comedy of Tim and Irene; third,' Freddy Martin's music; fourth, East and Dumke. Added to stendard entertainment' on the discs is household advice., developed through questions a^ed of Mary Modern, hostess for a, kitchen party 'attended' by a group of women. Combination of music- comedy and tips should make the stanza interesting to femme dialers^ regular pr casual." First and third turntables pack more sustained punch perhaps^ than the second; which weakens toward the finish. Tim and Irene were called upon to go too long a talking route, with only a pianist to support them. Use of an orchestra, -as spacer would have Improved the record; East , and Dumke also have an - extended spot With piano ac- companiment, but they have culti- vated a peculiar brand of nltwittery for household shots; filling it out here with several. choruses of a comedy chant. Miss Modern is a clear-voiced and unaffected hostess. Femme guests applaud the artists. Advertising is rather diffused, with five important pieces of kitchen equipment, Norge refriger- ators, washers, ironers, ranges, and < heatingrair condition devices, tabbed. Terminolojjy is a bit technical, too. Station mikeman drums,, over the music, on the ffeeze boxes. Some of the qiiestion-suggcstions also dovetail into product plugs, but not lengthy. Jaco.