Variety (Oct 1937)

- 34 VARIETY RADIO REVIEWS Wednesday, October. 13, 1937 JACK OAKIE with Stuart Erwln, Raymond Aatten, IVilllam Austin, Helen Lynd, Kath- erlne Kane, Harry Harris, Georgle Stoll's Orch. 30 Mins. CAMEL fuesday, 9:30 P.M. WABC-CBS, New York {William Esty) Grade of humor hasn't been el- evated. Last year the program never found its legs for really hearty go- ing. Experiments wei-e made, cast changes were fairly fx-equent, and the show often gave quite obvious evidences of being 'in the works. All those factors negated it some- what for full audience appeal and grasp. Program is still, at this seasons start, 'promising.' It's an original enough idea and a fecund field for amplifications of entertainment via singers, choruses; comedy sequences and stooges. That the program con- tinues never-arriving is. a problem for the producers. Oakie, as the debt-dodging prexy, has a capable r<^tinue of supporters in Stuart Erwin, as a corn-led foot- baller similar and. seemingly drawn on from the character he played in •pigskin Parade' (20th); Helen Lynd as a femme straight; William Austin as a pontifical, science-spouting prp- fessor; Raymond Hatton as a harass- ing sheriff; Pat C. Flick as another stooge. Katharine Kane is a con- tralto bjlues bawler, Harry Harris a semi-scat swing singeit. That's a line- up that, can be worked on. Program caught last week (5) pre- sented such weak, comedy bits that often the tag-lines were mumbled into their beards by the players as though they iVere ashamed of the material's watery. qualities. Fact 'Oakie's College' . precedes' a half-houf .of Benny Goodman and his orch, also under Camel sponsorship, should make the framers of the first program -strive to hold the' audienpe for the Itist half. - Goodman has his following and he delivers, b\it there's something in keeping those tuned :in for the first portion holding to their dial-settings throughout to. be claimed for thel lapt half automatically when the Swing King and his crew of cats get into the groove. Bert. HOUSEBOAT HANNAH Transcriptions Mon. Throueh Frl., B:45 a. m. PROCTER A . GAMBLE'S LAVA l>ally, 9:45. a. m. WGY. Schenectady iBlackett'Sample-Hummert) Title suggests a lusty, earthy character, but as the discs Untrdck, 'Houseboat Hannah' is ir r'athfer syn- thetic creation set among other dramatis personae .in the type of sketch which has come io be con- sidered surefire with the average housewife-listener. Typical daytime cheap budget show. A thing possi- bly in 'Houseboat Hannah's' faVor, as spotted here, is that it leads oft the morning marathon of homey hoke. This one deals with the struggle be- tween Mrs. O'Leary, nvoving in from a houseboat, and hoity-toity women neighbors, determined to snub her and to protect their children from Hannah's 'witchlike' influence. A one-armed husband, Dan, the O'Leary and neighbors' youngsters, and friends of the O^Learys from the other side of the track (including Mrs. Pasquale, of Shantyfish road), figure in the action. A foregone con- clusion that the stout-hearted Han- nah will be able to match wits with her onponents and that heart throbs •will be plentiful. Sketch 'starts slowly and not too clearly, on voice contrasts, until Mrs, O'Leary, Mrs. JPasquale and Dan corce into the- scene. Even then .it i.s leisurely naced. Episode in which a little girl dissects her mother's motives and tactics is psychologically unsound. Actress playingf title role uses something of a 'stai?e Irishman's brogue,' as does Dan. Real Emerald L<der.s will probably not feel flat- tered, Enisodes run 10 minutes. Rest of time taken io plug Lava, to explain previous action, and to space a niano signofT. Jaco. ♦YOU DON'T SAY' With Sid Walton Pronunciation Contest ' BARNEY'S CLOTHES, Inc. Thurso-ay, 9 P.M. WMCA, New York (Austen) .Bigger audience would probably provide heartier laughs for., this pro- nunciation contest. It's another of the how-smart-are-you affairs which, along with spelling bees and other quizzes are now common on the air. Sid V/alton, imported from Balti- more, is Mr. Wordmaster for this one, in which contestants are asked to pronounce correctly not oyer- difficult words. Program went on Sept. 20, and will continue nightly for 14 weeks until Xmas. Six syllabic twisters are selected by lot nightly from about 100 who show up at the studio. Only restric- tion is that they must live in the borough or suburban area for that night's contest. Nightly winner gets a Burrus watch, weekly winner a Stromberg-Carlson and champ gets $100. Walter Kelley of Barney's ad de- Rartment is in charge, though Emil [ogul of the Avin Austen agency is given credit for the idea, Sam Brown is the announcer assigned by the •tation. GEORGE JESSEL With Dorothy McNulty, Norma Tal- madffe, Amy Arnell and Tommy Tucker Trio, Tommy Tucker or- chestra, Eddie Cantor (fuest), Josephine Starr, Edward Steven- son (guest) Variety-Comedy 30 Mins. CRAWFORD CLOTHES Sunday, 6 p.m. WOR-Mutual, New York (Red^eld-Johnstone) Barring the error of putting 60 minutes' worth of material into half that space, this stanza sounded as good on the opener (10) as anything yet piped over the Mutual wires. Errors can easily be eliminated, be- cause there's good production for a backbone. And competition from the big chains at this time period amounts to only one first-line show —the Joe Penner opus. Commercial background of '30 Minutes in Hollywood' (label for the series) is similar to the department store program on Mutual a couple of years ago. Which is to say that a lot of local sponsors cut their blurbs into a package sent around the web wires. In New York, (Crawford clothes pay the bills.' In Detroit it's a brewery. And so forth.. Rocke Productions built the stanza and did mueh of the peddling, while Redfield-Johnstone acts as agency for everybody. Jessel, in his first full-length web assignment, gdve a good account of himself backed by a fair scripting job from Sam Carleton. Same goes fpr Etorothy McNulty, his comic vis- a-vis, Jessel can plug a tdg-line or a comedy twist with emphasis, while Dorothy McNulty comes as close to sounding like Gracie Allen as any femme on the web ether, Rfesem- blahce. of course, is by way of a coincidence. Pattern of the program sounds like a hash of the Benny, Cantor and Burns-Allen shows, and this is the major weakness; Unscrambling the omelette should be the producer's next task. There's simply too much of everything. Jessel has a .couple of stooges, one t»f whom i*s liAjeled Schlemiel' in- a hebe.role which Is' tbb Close in every respect to Benny's ^chleppern^an. Singing of Josephine Starr, a seven-year-old kid, sizes up as one of Cantor's prodigies. With the McNulty voice somewhat'echo-, ihg' Gracie Allen, the whole program too closely anpr-aches a pot-pouri from NBC-CBS topnoich comedy. Remedy here is simply one of de- tail, rather than tevamping a po- tentially able show in its entirety. With half as many wheels, it would be a much better clock. Another unfortunate turn^ln the opener was a fashion interview be tween Norma Talmadge (Jessel's wife) and Edward" Stevenson (RKO stylist). ■ While the fpfmer had nlenty of poise and a nice voice, the latter's stuff aired as though he had a lily in his hand. Interlude any^ way is one of those lah-de-dah things that would fit better in the wastebasket. If Norma Talmadge is to be on the show, she has the equip- ment for a legitimate role rather than Dhoney gab. Eddie Cantor came in for a brief, and Okay, guest interlude (on the condition that Mutual not advance publicize his appearance). Tucker orchestra performed nicely, with Tucker himself doing a bit of clown- ing. Sticking Josephine Starr into a spot where this infant had^-to strain through the 'Street Song' from 'Naughty Marietta' was nice showr off stuff, but it'll sound like cruelty to children to keen this up. For her age she ought to be assigned simpler stuff, now that the show-off is over. Edga. Those Entrance Receptions Several of the heavy sugar productions are wasting time and an- noying the rank and file of listeners with their Gaston-Alphonse stuff. Gotten so certain programs write the scripts to give the star, the lead- ing lady, the orchestra, the tenor, the announcer and each separate stooge an individual welcome, a deliberate pause to encourage studio audience applause. Repeated week after week the build-up, while flattering to the performers, is not helping the show. Nor helping radio. MARY MARGARET McBRIDE Commentator 15 Mins. MINUTE TAPIOCA M- W-F, 12 Noon WABC-CBS, New York (Benton & Bowles) When caught (11), . the former newspaperwoman who dame up in the world after a start on the Paris (Mo.) Mercury, concluded by offer- ing a recipe booklet to her listeners and said 'please, please, please' write in to me.' That nicely describes the manner in which Miss McBride tries to please (better, known as 'Martha Dean' when on WOR), Miss Mc- Bride might profitably find for her- self - some 'wrong' - to occasionally editorialize against; as is, her copy is sweet to an occasional danger of lieing cloying. And being so nice and complimentary and cheerful in her comments means h'er" mentions —and they're too frequent—of the product are too gooey, .even for .the ironing-board brigade, - Commentator has a prime -pair of pipes and a swell air personality and a sw^ll record -as a saleswoman. So it may be captious to emphasize as defects exaggerations which very likely-are the essence of her success in peddling cookies, ' . Bert Follow-Up Commeiits HAROLD BETTS Songs, Piano ' 15 Mins. Sustaining Saturday, 12:45 p. m. WHN-WLW Line, New York Betts is an air vet, having been broadcasting a decade or more on a flock of stations, chiefly in the mid- west WHN is now broadcasting him out of the Big Burg to the WLW-Line. It's a mild, nationally standard sort of one-man program, with Betts pleasantly warbling to his own Steinway-stabbing. Dress-up is the song-travelog trick, with Betts an- nouncing visits to various parts of the country and warbling songs na- tive to and suggestive of the locales; When caught he was in the west- ern badlands, which, next to. Dixie, are riper in material than any. other spot in his broadcasting Baedeker. 'Home on Range' and 'Last Round- up,' etc., served nicely. 'Nigrht at the Inn? on WCAE, Pitts- btu-gh, has wisely recognized need fOx comedv in half-hour show, with result that sketch describing the do- ings of the 'Snaffles' family has sup- planted the customary heavy drama- tization. Penned by Fnaii Siegel, skit has Carl Do^er. Stephanie Dia- mond and'Jimmy Fitzgerald, as Ed, Susie and Jimmy Snafi^es, the plagued husband, dumb-dora wife and hard-boiled kid, respectively. It's geared for laughs and introduc- tory idea had plenty of .them, with gal getting the lion's share with a voice that suggests Jane Ace and Gracie Allen without being an imi- tation of either. Opening adventure had to do with'Susie buying a set of books, only to have hubby discover that an insurance polic.y he had just purchased called for free delivery, of same volumes. *■ Cast seemed to be feeling its way aroimd a bit in opener,, but should coine around and give Old Shay's musical half-hour a much-needed laugh punch. G.eorgie Price has a corking switch on the amateur gag, using the ama- teur script writer as the focal point. It's a free-for-all, the selected tyro authors contribing four minutes of comedy material. Instead of the gong. Price has a showmanly 'groan' (siren) as the hook. WOR offers a contract as a grand prize. Idea is new and novel and should help land Price a commercial. Show has been a Sunday night sustainer but is on a new Monday groove" in view of Georgie Jessel's new MBS regional commercial hitting N.Y, at the same Sunday hour, 6 p, m., from the Coast, Morton Gould's orchestra is a zippy combination backing up Price whose expert manner of song sales- manship and ingratiatingly easy style of comedy should command commercial underwriting. Andrews Sisters are a new sister team in sup- port with their scdt singing. ARTHUR MARKEY Sports Commentator 15 Mins. Sustaining Daily, 715 p.m. WJAR, Providence, R. I. This one rates as a leader among the sports programs going over the local ether waves. Markey, sports editc^r of News-Tribune in Provi- dence for 14 years, is handling this job with breezy and refreshing style characteristic of his writing in sports column. Diction good, and comment is kept at a racy clip, Markey covers entire sport field of the day, interspersing his comment with items of interest to local fans. For the most, however, he makes observations on national happenings of a topical-nature. • Marc. RCA's Mag:ic Key program a week ago Sunday (3) cashed in heavily on up-to-the-minute news events by presenting recent French cinematic importation, Danielle Dar- rieux, enroute to Hollywood for Universal and a press interview by NBC's own Linton Wells and N. Y Times' chief European correspon- dent, Frederick T. Birchall, between N. Y. and Geneva, . If initial U. S, performance of Mile Darrieux is any gauge of what is to be fexpected in her film chores on this side then her chances of clicking are in the proverbial bag In one French song she practically poured charm into the mike with an extremely light and altogether pleas- ant voice and manner. Sight unseen, she's plenty oke and if her phiz matches her voice she's a gem. Air break should help her in western ventures. Other interesting event was first in series of international gabs be tween the two journalists. In analy tical answers to Wells' interrogations on European war situation, Birchall completely overshadowed the ques- tioner. Norman Terry, formerly with Oak- leigh French Advertising Agency and the Laclede Gas & Light Co., is newest addition to KSD, St, Louis sales staff. WE, THE PEOPLE With Gabriel Heatter, Mark Warnow Novelty 30 Mins. SANKA COFFEE Thursday, 7.30 p.m. ^ WABC, New York (Young & Ruhicam). One of last season's more success-: ful samples of the novelty group re- turned last week (7) with but three changes. . Gabriel Heatter has re- placed Phillips Lord as the perma- nent m.Cn. it has an evening spot on CBS instead of running Sunday matinees over the NBC-blue and Mark Wamow has been brought in to bolster the incidental niusic. Gen- eral Foods is still footing the bills, though Sanka coffee has been sub- stituted for Calumet Baking Pow- der foe the plug alliance. Standard of production is up to that-which prevailed for last season, items dealing with human behavior, adventure, opinion and whatnot are skillfully fashioned foi: listener con- simiption, with much restraint shown in not resorting to melodra- matics and others exaggerations for sensationalizing purposes. Good judgment is used in aligning the tj^es of personal adventure exhibits with the 'result that tragedy, humor and curiosa are pretty well mixed. Initial program. dealt with the daredevil cameraman who had a narrow escape when his balloon stunt went awry, a woman who suf- fered a iail term because of mis- taken identity, a public library worker who finds the remarks' of book boirowers amusing, an eye- witness of the Chicago Fire who knew Mrs. O'Leary's cow, and gn Idaho farmer who turned the mis- fortune of sinking terrain 'into a sideshow promotion. Also a mem- ber of the Lost Battalion, who in sombre tones expatiated on the hor- ror pf war. and wound up with a plea for peace. What dramatizations were inter- polated proved fitting and well done. Mark 'Watnow did aptly by the musical .selections, while Gabriel Heatter just about filled the bill. One plug interlude had Heatter giv- ing personal testimony to the virtues of Sanka Coffee, whUe the other was delivered by Harry Von Zell. who stressed the lack of caffein and the non-insomnia producing quality of the brew. Odec. ZION VARIETY SHOW Music, Singing, Dramatized News 30 Mins.—^Local ZION NATIONAL SAUSAGE Monday, 7:30 p.m. WMCA, New York Designed to reach the ear of Jew- ish families, this new variety show has several new angles and should accomplish its purpose. It will ap- peal to those counted on heaviest as consumers of the meat products ad- vertised because bulk of singing, choral work and quartets is in Yid- dish. Artists prt program are sup- posed to come from the east side stage, with Abe Ellstein, native composer, credited with having participated in framing the broad- cast. What is announced as sort of Hebe 'March of Time' consists of a weekly news dramatization of Jewish events. On premiere broadcast, new events in Palestine, Hugo Black's reference to his friendship with a Jewish resi- dent in the south and a sketchy handling of the butchers' strike in N. Y. were included. All well en- acted though the latter event might well have been dropped considering the sponsorship and the manner in whicii the commercial was Im-. mediately rung in. Aside from several nicely blended voice combinations and such artists as Anna Faber, Bobby Miller and Oscar Julius, highlight of vocal work was the voice displayed by youngster Bobby Miller, Wear, JOSE ESCARPANTER Rhumba Orchestra 15 Mins. Sustaining WJZ-NBC, New York From a new Cuban nitery in mid- town Manhattan, La Conga, cbmes one of the crack rhumba bands of the land, Jose Escarpanter, It's little wonder the . NBC is giving this combo an ideal sustaining spot for a periodic series of broadcasts, Escarpanter sounds smooth and ultra, assisted vocally by Hilda Sa- lazar and Panchito, two femme vo- calists. His tempos and rhythms are very daiquiri, and the usage of the odd conga drums (actually the jaw- bones of a horse) is a new and un- usual effect for the radio. It's a surefire b.o, builder for La Conga and a novelty for the air, amidst the cavalcade of post-10 p,m, dance bands. Abel. •LET'S PLAY GAMES* With Jane Martin Parlor Games Novelty 15 Mins. VAPEX Friday, p. m., EST WOR, New York Reminiscent of qiiestion-bee and spelling bee studio seances, even down to filling in missing stanzas of familiar songs and the cash prizes, this entry should provide some amusement for tunner-inners and the studio crowd. Smacks too much of these other predecessors to rate as A-1 novelty. Jane Martin conducts the games and questioning with eclat, though perhaps a bit too school marmish at times. Tongue twisters, in which four contestants were asked to repeat three like-sounding words-, with rap- idity predominated in the so-called Games and grabbed most laughs and applause. Nearest to outright game was that of guessing from a definite description the object or person de- scribed. Awards go to those sending in- best game ideas and $25 to prize competitor on broadcast. There's also Miss Martin's booklet on games if the box tops, are sent in. For a small budget local show, however, this one is probably getting .good value doIlaV for dollar on WOR. Weor, YOUTH PAKADE With Jaok Flyan 15 Mins. BBESLAW BROTHERS Satnrday* S a. m, WOT. Sohnectady {Leighton & Nelson) Chain furniture outfit, which has niade great strides through continu- ous use of radio on WGY since 1929, is sponsoring its first children's pro> gram. Parade marches on same spot filled by a musical clock the other days of. week. 'Smiling Jack Flyhn' (Ed Flynn) drum majors' the' pro- cession. One caught did not- move with quite the speed, the warmth and the human interest expected. Two slow- ing-up factors were the direct ad- vertising, And, more so, the repeated announcements on manner in which six to sixteeners can obtain an audi- jtion. There were about four Spiels of latter type. Took four minutes to get the Parade strutting. A fair array of talent came up to the mike, but too much cold studio atmosphere seemed to creep in. No applause for or by the kids, and lit- tle of that high-good-time .spirit which should prevail. A small'au- dience might send youngsters' Spirits soaring. Best and longest bit was harmonica playing, solos and duets, by Italian lads from Schenectady Boys' .Club. Return dates by pre- vious week's wihners-^a boy singing- to his guitar accompaniiiient and a seven-year-old girl warbling a pop. Two final mikers were older girls singing standard numbers, but their stays were brief. A minimum of ex- hibitionism among eight entertainers heard. Flynn, a clear-voiced chap. Intro- duces juveniles and explains pro- cedure to secure an audition." He. might strive for a more 'fatherly' approach. Two merchandise awards' are dangled weekly. At end of eight week.<? individual winners will com- pete for more valuable prizes. Jaco. 'THE FUN BUG' Music-Comedy 30 Mins-Local. Sunday, 1:00 P.M. BARNSDALL PETROLEUM KTUL, Tulsa, Oklahoma This local program is a credit to station. Compares favorably with programs of much bigger commu- nities. An orchestra. Colonel Courtesy as m.c, a tenor-bass group in a singing debate, an eight-year-bid singing youngster, adS^ up to nice program. The 'Fun Bug! Stuff comes in with a musical bug w'ho buzzes about and suddenly lights upon someone in the cast, generally in low spirits, where- upon that individual forgets his gloom ■ and despondency and bursts forth into cheerful music or song, whichever the case may be. Generally, such programs overdo themselves, to such- an extent as to pall on the audience; but there's no such over-dose in this. Fair. 'SOUVENIRS' With Mischa Kottler's Melody Strlng^s, Winifred Heidi, G. Herbert Peter- son, Wynn Wright, Rita Alcock Miisic, Songs, Rcminiscendes 30 Mins.—Local Sustaining Tuesday, 7:15 P.M: WWJ, Detroit As one of WWJ's new-policy shows, which won't be moved from the 7:15-7:45 p.m, daily bracket, regard- less of commercial prospects, 'Souve- nirs' ranks among station's better all- around shots. It's been on ozone before, and returns with added sparkle. Although its appeal may be some- what limited, show is more than a pleasant relief from usual stuff. Built around Grandad and Nancy, en- acted by Wynn Wright and Rita Al- cock, respectively, and recalls the past with story and song. Both turn in meritorious work, especially Wright, who's ^Iso sh.ow's producer and station's production manager. Old-time tunes by Mischa Kottler's Melody Strings, Soprano Winifred (Continued on page 53)