Variety (Sep 1938)

30 VARIETY RADIO REVIEWS Wednesday September 7, 1933 'GOOD NEWS OF 1938' Robert Young, Frank Morgan, Fanny Brlee, Meredith Wlllson, Henry Stafford,. Louis: B. Mayer,. Alice Faye, Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Father Edward J. Flan- nagan. Variety 6* Mlns. MAXWELL HOUSE COFFEE Thurs., 9 p. m. WEAF-NBC, New York (Benton & Bowles) First of the big-timers to return to a network niche for the fall, 'Good News of 1938' proved last Thursday (1) that it was still an adroitly fash- ioned package of solid entertainment. Practically all those associated with the program's click rise last season were again on hand. So was Louis B. Mayer, production chief for Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer, to offer his wishes for another successful season and also to introduce Father Edward J.. Flannagan, upon whose life and works Metro had based its current release, 'Boys Town.' About the Only thing about this installment that was different from last season's,, series was the heavy plugging given a picture from an- other lot; Brought in to fill the vocal high spot.-. Alice Faye got plenty mention for her connection with 'Alexander's Ragtime Band.' As an encore to a current pop tune she did a chorus of 'Alexander's, with the program's male chorus cutting in for a few harmonic licks. In the comedy department there were Fanny Brice and Henry- Staf- ford for a well-contrived Baby Snooks-s hd -her-choleric-pareht rou- tine, and. Frank Morgan, who has made his character merger of Major Hoople. Don Juan and Baron Munchhausen one of the brightest, laugh sources in radio. Morgan s ex- changes, whether -with Robert Young, the m.c; Alice Faye or Meredith Willson, the program's showmanly maestro, were uniformly funny. Blending together of excerpts from 'Boys Town/ with Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney playing their film roles, indicated exceptionally, good judgment for this sort of chore. The dramatic bits each had a sock quali- ty, and the chances are that the air plug will do much toward stimulat- ing an interest around the box office. The Rev. Father Flannagan, founder of actual Boys Town, came on" fol- lowing the preview to'thank all con- cerned with the way they carried out their conception of his philanthropic creation IViin musical interlude revolved around *Sylvla,' with Willson's or- chestrated interpretation getting sup- port from the male chorus. Even the plugs for Maxwell House stuck closely to last season's formula. Remark about retiring for a hot, re- freshing cup of coffee was interpo- lated at the program's halfway point, and the roaster-fresh and no-loss-of- flavor angles were stressed in the copy period which came toward the end of the show. Odec. THE LAW BEATEBS' Melodrama FEDERAL THEATBE, BADIO DIV. 3 0 Mlns. Wed, 10 p.m., EDST WOB, New York This weekly stint", depicting in- cidents in lives of mobsters and showing that law-beaters pay through the nose, has been rear- ranged and seems a more worthy-ef- fort than previously presented. Lat- est Is tagged as 26th in series, being based on Richard Connell story, and reproduced by permission of Col- lier's. As with other vehicles of this tvpe presented by radio players with Fed- eral Theatre (WPA), there is a wealth of sound effects and no lack of actors, numerically, at least, Re- sult is that there's to much sound manipulating and too many charac- ters introduced. Latter fault might have been overcome with more care In casting; as it is. there is much similarity between voices on some occasions. . Showing transition of scenes and passage of time by means of a narrator also.might help. Crooked attorney, who is depicted as bumoing off two enemies, and a notorious gem thief and killer, are spotted unfolding highlights of their criminal careers over a bottle. Climax has both beim? readied for the chair. Harry Goldsmith did creditable job bh the scripting. Wear. •HEADLINES AND BYLINES' News Comment With H. V. Kaltenboro, Ralph Ed- wards, Harold Brayman 3s Mlns. Sustaining Sunday, 10:39 p. m„ EDST WABC-CBS, New York ■ This Columbia sustainer has been on the air for nearly a year, pretty much in the same form, but with changes in personnel H. V. Kalten- born, dishing his interpretation of world affairs, is a fixture and bats in the cleanup spot. Ralph Edwards, formerly announcer on the program, is now leadoff man, giving general news in place of Bob Trout who has his own program and handles vari- ous outside stints'. Middle perch, normally occupied by a guest Wash-, .ington correspondent, elucidating the national scene, was held last Sunday night (4) by Harold Bray- man, reporter for the Philadelphia Evening Ledger and a vet. in Wash- ington for various papers: Any program of this sort naturally depends for interest on the degree of excitement in the current news it treats. Moreover, aside from the ex- ceptional last-minute news flash, radio seems better suited to news commentating than news reporting. That is the value of this show. '■ Sundays are traditloually unpro- ductive of major news, so this stanza, at the end of one week and on the eve of another, is admirably placed to offer analysis, interpretation, back- ground color and even prediction. That it generally carries out that idea makes 'Headlines and Bylines' one of the most pungent programs' of its kind, on the air. Best of the three spielers on the show caught was. naturally Kalten- born, who has .come to be something of a figure in his metier. Although the exrnewspapermah tends to over- dramatize his commenting (he emoted his piece last Sunday like an old. stock actor giving a Shake- spearean reading), what he has to say is pertinent, keenly-reasoned arid informative. Kaltenborn is a shrewd, analytical reporter: Edwards,' leaning more on the Press-Radio dispatches themselves. than on his editorial view of them, contrived to make his session rea- sonable and still colorful. His choice of subject matter was gratifying and, since he is an announcer of consider- able all-round experience, his deliv- ery is direct and yet vivid. When he abandoned feature and. background telling for straight reporting, how- ever, he straightway floundered into a familiar radio weakness. That is, his up-to-the-minute news flashes (about Lloyds refusing to insure against war or a third term for Roosevelt, for instance) were old stuff from the dailies. Doing a single appearance in the Washington guest spot, Brayman discussed the political situation, stressing Roosevelt's 'purges' and other aspects of the coming elections, as well as making explanations, de- ductions and predictions as to the President's plan's, aims and hopes. Spieler has what sounds like a west- ern twang, speaks a trifle. thickly' but fairly Clearly, and hasn't learned to make his reading sound like spon- taneous stuff. Also, as he continued, he began to drone. Pretty dull be- fore he finished. Hdbe. GRACE GEORGE AND WILLIAM A. BRADY 'A Penny a Loaf* 10 Mlns. ROYAL GELATIN Thurs., 8 p. m. WEAF-NBC. New York (J. Walter Thompson) While each has appeared on net- work assignments before, last: Thurs- day (1) marked the first time that these famous figures of the American stage, Grace George and William A. Brady, have jointly plied their tal- ents on a cross-country hookup. It was an ingratiating event, both as to performance and the script furnished them. Edwin M. Marshall authored the sketch, titled 'A Penny a Loaf.' With a theme that implied much .tumor. Brady and Miss George crisp- ly and charmingly retold the story of two Irish etderfolks who consummate a 20 year's troth only after the wom- an has outsmarted the procrastinat- ing groom in business.. The piece was deftly produced, and made choice listening. Odec. I DICK BARBIE ORCH 30 Mlns. Sustaining Tuesday, 10:30 pjn, EDST WOR, New York Saxaphonist Dick Barrie offers a program of very smooth dance mu- sic, hypoed just enough via a muted cornet. Band gets four shots weekly from remotes. Leader himself sings In easy crooner style and is augmented on the vocals by Eddie Metcalfe, also a crooner, and Anita Boyer. Trio are especially good in making their lyrics understandable with good enunciation. Band, is minus screwy arrange- ments and instrument specialties. Dont blast and don't boast (musi cally), but manage to leave impres- sion of having entertained, with danceable music. Hurt HAROLD G. HOFFMAN Commentator IS Mlns. L. N. RENAULT Sunday, 9 p. m„ EDST WOR, New York (White-LouieU) Making his debut as a hews com- mentator on the week's world affairs for Renault wine, former New Jer- sey Governor Harold G. Hoffman, on th- opener Sunday (4), showed him- selMo be still a politician. He em ployed politics mostly for his source of commentary, in the home. field and abroad. He also, and indiscrimi- nately so, reverted back to his home state for a couple of comments, dur- ing which the first person came in unwisely, Hoffman's voice lacks the fire and snap of the better commentators. Hasn't any style, all seeming to- be a recitation. He lent a note of pathos with his discussion of the homeless children in Spain, but that's ';een done before, and often. Diction, too, fails to measure up. His weekly broadcasts are due to be transferred to Tuesdays, same time, after Sept. 27. TEDDY HART and LOO PARKER With Hlldegarde Holllday Comedy 7 Mlns. FLEISCIIMANN YEAST Thurs., 8:30 p. m. WEAF-NBC, New York (J.'Walter Thompson) Teddy 'Hart, who clicked in such Broadway comedies as 'Room Ser- vice' and Three Men on a Horse,' did not do so well in what was pre- sumably his first effort. in network radio. He had teamed himself up ,for the occasion with Lou Parker, for whom CBS had tried to do things in a sustaining way as well as com- mercial auditions. Parker proved himself fairly effective in dishing 'em out via the mike, but in the case of Hart not only, was the piping fal- setto hard on the ears, but his tim- ing might have caused listeners to wonder whether his taglines. were sudden . afterthoughts. His was a cuckoo-clock delivery, with the Jer- kiness of his style killing many a line. The script that the boys dished up aided by the skillful Hildegarde Hol- iday, was not so hot in itself. The theme (a rundown summer resort), the set of characters (the fast-talk- ing room, clerk, the fresh bellhop and the granddame guest), and the situation blowoff have been heard over and over again on the air. There were some nifty lines, and the fade- out gag,' the . havoc wrought by a long-restrained sneeze, was well car- ried off. Another thing that marred the in- ning was line bungling. At one point Miss Holliday had to go back a couple paces so that Parker could, catch up with her and come in with the punch line. Odec. FITCH BAND WAGON With Gay Lombarda's •roheitra 30 Mlns. F. W, FITCH CO. Sunday, 7:30 p. hi., WEAF, New York (L. W. Ramsey Co.) First of a series of American dance bands to guest on the F. W. Fitch Co. weekly Sunday (4) program' was Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians, aired over 41 stations of the NBC web. Outlet was through WWJ, Detroit. Half-hour spot showed several flaws, chief of which was the exces- sive plugging of the shampoo prod- uct. Opening the program, Lombardo Went into a song and dance on his use of the product since way back when, which, immediately left a de- sultory impression. Then, imme- diately following, that, announcer for four solid minutes proclaimed the product once more. Other indis- criminate plugs followed intermit- tently. Otherwise, the program,, when hot plugging the shampoo product, went to town for Lombardo's crew. There. were brothers Liebert.and Carmen who came in for bows, along with Guy, in narrations of their early ex- periences when they were breaking into the. biz. It all had a . corny touch, which wasn't at all com- pelling. Outside of that , the Lombardo or- chestra still-showed itself to be one of topnotch bands with its soft, sweet music. Richard Himber's orch is on tap for the second program next week, while others scheduled to follow In- clude Hal Kemp. Benny Goodman,- Vincent Lopez. Eddy Duchin, Tommy Dorsey and Ben Bernie. Follow-Up Comment OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND With-Don Ameche Dramatic Sketch CHASE & SANBORN Sunday 8 p. m.. EDST WEAF, New Yprk (J. Walter Thompson) For Don Ameche's return to Chase St Sanborn's Sunday evening hour after his European trip and subse- quent illness, Olivia de Havilland skipped Warners' lot for a duo with Ameche in 'When the Sun Rises.' It was strictly dramatic stuff, somewhat stalemated by this time due to pres- entation of similar themes over the airwaves of late, but, nevertheless, all to the good due to the splendid approach to the subject, by Miss de Havilland. Her comparatively recent popular- ity in films' can be defined similarly for radio. Her flair for drama, evi- denced in pictures, was made a diffi- cult transition for her on the air due to the difficult theme. Latter reached out into the medium be- tween life and death, with the in- terlooing forces of each threatening to part \meche and Miss deHavil- land, as lovers, after a near-fatal auto crash. Dialog was on the much- beaten path, but rrianaged to main- tain interest with dramatic savor given it by the guest star. There was a little to-do with Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen afterward, but it was the usual stuff between the dummy and program's guest stars. 10 WHAN OUT WEST Hollywood, Sept. Columbia's Lawrence Lowman, vice prez in charge of operations, planed In today (Tuesday). While here he'll huddle with Don- ald W. Thornburgh, Coast topper, and Arthur Rush, Columbia Manage- ■ment headman here. Politics were given the temporary go-by Thursday night. U) by Con- gressman Bruce Barton, who revert- ed to the field in which he gained prominence^advertising.' Launching Nationally Advertised Brands Week over WJZ, New York, Barton showed himself to be still an astute copyist —he didn't commit himself. He left that to Jerry McQuade, editor of Drug Topics & Drug Trade News; and the latter certainly let himself in for plenty. Since the program was intended to push the drive of the National Assn. of Druggists, in its attempt.to bQOst nationally advertised brands, Mc- Quade answered the clarion of his readers and sent the. nationally, ad- vertised drug brands soaring. He intimated that the consumer would never go wrong in purchasing such products. Barton was more general and yet showed a sense of proportion. In- stead of extolling the druggists' na- tionally advertised products, he went jnto the. more humane phase, show- ing how the 'druggist helps his com- munity, his problems, etc. . Allen Josephy and WOR are do- ing a good job on the Hines side- lights. The hourly flashes by the station point up the interest so that when Josephy's scheduled 6:45 p. m. resume period comes round there has been an arresting continuity all through the day; The Mutual's commentator has a carefully prepared, but. extempo- raneously-sounding script of high- lights, which does something .the press-radio news dispatches are sup- posed not to do—make unnecessary the-further reading of any news- paper accounts. The 15-mihute re- sume is thoroughly complete as to what transpired, plus also the hu- man interest sidelights on the pro- ceedings. NBC has two mono-named maes- troes who bespeak of romantic dahs- apation and neither disappoints. From Boston comes Rakov and his 'Easy Rhythm,' and from San Francisco comes Rendezvous with Ricardo. Both R's do their terp tunesterlng in tip-top style, Ricardo is more Lat- inesque, as the name implies; Rakov forthright and rhythmic. 'Gang Busters' is back on the air, again via Palmolive sponsorship, and say what they will about gangsters cycles being passe, it's still arresting stuff,. Certainly the sales of detective Action would disprove and so does "Gang Busters,' with its sagas of crime and, of course, eventual pun- ishment. There's an authentic air lent the general structure, with the usages of famed, criminologists like Col. Schwartzkopf arid Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine interspersing the recounting of the cases of eminent outlaws. The broadcasting of real-life clues for wanted men is another socko touch. Raymond Seett. Quintet somehow didn't come off as socko on the White man-Chesterfield show as might be expected. . Maybe "Siberian Sleigh Ride' and 'Egyptian Barn Dance' sound too much alike; or maybe there's not enough contrast between an integral band unit and the major Whiteman organization. But it was just passingly fair, al- though the Scotters have performed to more socko. results on other occa- sions; via air and screen. Bill Stern was quite a little mixed up in his broadcasting of the season's debut football game, that between the. Washington Redskins, pro champs, and the Collegiate All-Stars. Stern stumbled frequently on iden- tities; only followed the passers, and missed on commenting on the other plays or niceties of the game. It was NBCd from Soldier's Field, Chicago, where over 80,000 attended, last Wednesday (31). Stern usually does a good grid job, so maybe he was rusty because it was too early in the season. On the subject of sportscasters, Ted Husing did a calm, collected and his usually expert job from the Ger- mantown Cricket Club in spieling the Davis Cup matches. While ten- nis is never exciting to follow in the abstract, via the mike, Husing's fine knowledge of the game helps con- siderably. His side-comment on the bad gallery,' which was talking up the game and seemingly bothering the players, was rather unusual, but apparently quite in order; Colonel Stoopnagte was away off his usual comic flavor during last Wednesday night's (31) installment for Bristol-Myers on NBC. The gags sounded consistently pointless and overstrained, particularly when Stoppnagle, aided, but dubiously, by Harry Von Zell, tried to make some- thing funny out of the theme of radio advice givers. Hank Morgan's string and whatnot combination, recruited as guesters, sounded melodious enough, but it must have been exasperatingly puzzling to listeners what' the mirth in the studio was all about while this was on. It is possible that the Shote show had been routined strictlv «K studio; appreciation and that' th» .*■}*«■ constituted just so much added audience. .'"ucn Information, Please,' which goes out over WJZ-NBC net Tuesday night at 8:30, EDST, still i s the brightest 'question-answer' program to hit airwaves recently. Sponsor that-. Anally snags this 30-minute stint'is certain to get value. Clifton Fadiman, literary critic for New Yorker magazine, again was master of ceremonies last week (23) Marcus Duffleld. day news editor of New York Herald Tribune; Franklin P. Adams (F.P.A.) of Post; Percy Waxman of the. Cosmopolitan mag and John Kternan of the RY.. Times sports, department, made up board of experts, Stealing • march on other bands Horace Heidt Rave what amounted to a preview of college gridiron songs'on the Alemite program Sun- day (4) night over NBC. Built his entire show around the idea of the band's current bus tour through the midwest, shifting alma mater tunes according to state and towns. In- cluded in his repertoire were- foot- ball songs from Pennsylvania, Iowa, Marquette U. Minnesota, Indiana and California. Heidt employed his glee club heavily in putting over numer- ous familiar school songs. . Symphony concert from Grant Park, Chicago, last Sunday night (4) was mostly tepid fare, even for clas- sical music bugs. Session was carried by CBS from 8:30 until 10 and picked up for the ensuring half-hour by NBC blue. With due allowances for the difficulties of outdoor pickups; the music itself was aggressively or- dinary. Walter SteindeL's conducting was painfully uninspired, while the orchestra merely played against time. Solo portion of the program by Al- bert Spalding, however, was just the reverse of the orchestral part Vio- linist's playing was finely concelv , skillfully executed and vividly col- or ■ Jim Ameche and Betty Loti Gerson continue to bat along near the top of wackiness in .their 'Win Your Lady' series Sunday nights over NBC blue for Woodbury soap. Piece is in the 'My Man Godfrey' groove of ro- mantic comedy; that is, reason is tossed out the window, and anything goes for a laugh. As. it happens, the idea works pretty well. It's all broad farce—romantic, dizzy and shot through with humor. Last Sunday's (4) session, the 10th, related how the ardent swain ad- vanced another step toward getting his gaj, this time by getting a nitwit dame through her college entrance exams. Since the college is even goofler. than the girl, it makes a happy farce combination. No.effort is made to hide the fact that the hero is ultimately going to realize his real love is his femme helper- Jim Ameche continues to sound like a carbon of his brother, Don Ameche, while Betty Lou Gerson Is properly dry . and wise-cracking as the hero- ine-to-be. Commercials do every- thing but choke the listener with suds. Station WOR, in co-operation with the New. Jersey motor traffic author- ities, haa been conducting an excel-' lent safety campaign all summer, with its regular weekend broadcasts of traffic conditions along the pop- ular routes in Jersey, Westchester, county and Long Island, etc.- It came to a climax with extra broadcasts guiding the heavy Labor Day weekr end motorists, detailing just how congested were certain roads, etc: LUM AND ABNER Dramatic Serial With Chester Lanck and Norrls Gaff IS Mlns. GENERAL FOODS Motti. Wed., Frl, 6:45 p. m., WABC-CBS, New York Crackerbarrel comedians returned Monday (5) for their eighth season as rube gaesters and sages. Continue their familiar routiner of broad' com- edy.in their hayseed voice.character- izations. And since it's been stand- ard stuff for seven years there's noth- ing much to be said about it at this date. It obviously rings the bell, as witness its continuous sponsored run. Situation at show caught. (5) had Lum just returning from a fruitless trip to England to collect an inheri- tance that had been left hi .-Al- though Lum had disposed of nis business to pay for the trip, he dis; covered the estate Was in litigation. Whereupon Abner wondered where litigation is. It's that kind of com- edy. It unravels slowly and noth- ing much happens.. ^ Sponsor plugs Postum with the series. Compared to most of radios super-colossal claims, the commer- cials are fairly painless. Hooe.