Variety (Mar 1939)

28 VARIETY RADIO REVIEWS Wednesday* March I, 1939 BATHOND FAIOE-HILDEOAItDE •89 Uen » Girl' MBsle,. Sonea S* Mlns. V. S. BITBBBBu . Wednesday, M p. m. WABC-CBS, New TOrk ^Campbell-EtoaU) Raymond Paige, from Los An-, geles, where he has been Identified y^ith various-radio programs. Is con- ducting this manunoth orchestra of S9 men from a CBS playhouse in .New York. A musician who is also a showman, Paige tackled a tough assignment and on his first broad- cast last Wednesday (22) emerged brilliantly. Paige made out a strong case for volume. It has been customary to regard the radio orchestra as re- quiring never more than. 40 men. Symphonies, of course, were con- ceded to be exceptions. Paige now shpws that effects, can be drawn out of undertone-dominated arrdnge- ments which will fntroduce fresh SosslblUties to popular music ren- ered in the grand manner. An or- chestra need not have 99 men, but If it does and they are under au- tboritative. direction and manipu- lated for massive harmonies, the en- tertainment result can be music that Vill stand out above the common- place virtues of the monotonously good, average radio en<;embles. That's sun-clear. . Perhaps the train effect, as the regiment barged into a Dixie med- ley, best illustrated what blends and colorations can be extracted from the interplay of choirs of four and eight men per instrument This was a stand-up-and-cheer novelty. Other rich tone Innovations came In the Gypsy Airs, where the 24 fiddles caipe In like roses on the June zephyrs. The half hour, jn fact, was on wings. HUdegarde (SeU) was the skirted minority In the '99 Men and a Girl' title. (A compromise when Univer- sal wouldn't okay use of Its Durbin- Stokowski '100 Men and a Girl' tlUe). This was easily her finest radio op- portunity. Both as a showcase for tier talents and as a bright radiance In ballyhoo possibilities, this booking goes down as her dream-chance: . She came through the first broad- cast with a neat click and, in the weeks to tome, ought, by all the omens, to find herself on the esca- lator. Although prominent for some time In radio and in the class New York, Paris and London niterles, im- tll now she's been an In-and-outer. Dan Seymour, an agreeable a- nouncer, made the bowing of heads In honor of the sponsor a well-man- ' nered reminder. hand. TOH HOWABD, OEOBOE SHEL- TON With Bay Blooh's Qrcheetra Oai;*, Voeab^ Hqale 30 Mtns. V. S. TOBACCO ' Monday, 8:30 p. m. WABC-CBS, New York (KviZner) This one is right from the crib— com. 'I don't feel up to snuif re- marks George. Sbelton, 'Which is nothing to sneeze about,' comes back from Tom Howard, ^juick-like. 'The chiropractor kneads your back,' ex- plahis Shelton. T need it more,' puns the othei: half of the team. They kick around that knead-need routine like a- soccer tnatch and come back again with a prolonged discussion of 'ditto.* -It's unabashed, low I.Q., ton of bricks comedy.'Bears the caption 'Model Minstrels,' but the minstrel formula is. faint - Show is heavily-cargoed with ^e Old Apple Tre^' kind of hillbillylsh music ' played ' with workmanlike gusto by the Ray Bloch (consplca ously unmentloned in credits) house orchestra. It gallops along.' This program, which replaces Pic end Pat, has Its eye steadily on the 10c audience for pipe tobacco. It's «mall time, small town,' backwoods entertainment Biit lt,s clear, con- sistent forceful, unmistakably In true pitch, even though a low pitch. Frank McMann Is the producer. Land, CABET WILSON Talk MAXWELL HOVSfi WEAF-NBC, New York ° (Benton ft Boiole<) Carey Wilson, writer and also a commentator on Metro shorts,' guest- ed last Thursday night (23) on the 'Ciood News* show from Hollywood. Has an excellent radio voice, fine diction and clear mike personality. Both in style of writing anc' talk, Wilson sounds not unlike Alexander WooUcott though without the let- ter's preciousness. Spiel was a story of the unknown man who first planted seed to raise frain. As Wilson told It that dim gure out of the past was the dis- coverer of agriculture, by which man developed tiie precarious existence Of a nomad to the security of home life and an established family. Both scripting and delivery were concise and vivid. Hobe. JACK JACKSON Ukke a Ohanoe.' wlita Etfle Atherton, Hoffh E. Wright. Comedy with mule. 86 BUns. Tncsday, 8 p. m. BBC, London. Jack Jackson, one of radio's- top band leaders here, made his debut as ah actor, which was the only point at which this Ught and slight stufl rates 'mention. Jackson has done a spot of spouting In his band shows, which was what drove producer Max Kester to cast him in. a full- length role. Not that his Job as a somewhat hysterical young- physical culture expert condemned to live in the same house as ia girl he loathes (at first) wasn't competently done, with- in limits. But he made the charac- ter at time so - bumptious and ex- uberant that any sympathy dissolved into thin air. However, he's still a good band leader, and his boys, with Bill WU- llamson deputizing at the waggle stick, put some' pep Into a thin story. LYN HUBKAY 'Moods for Modems' with Genevieve Bowe, Earl Bogers, Fenr Clnbmen and Walter Gross 3» Mins. ' Snstatning Satarday, 1:M pjn. WABC, New York Musical show, with chorus and orchestra of 37 conducted by Lyn Murray, is one of the International Exchange programs which CBS is trading with BBC in England. Show Is thus pumped abroad as well as into the domestic web, so an attempt is made to present typically Ameri- can works and folk tunes, which re- sponse from abroad has Indicated click well with foreign audiences. Music Is of the light classic style, with nice variety shown in intro- ducliig an inoffensive comedy num- ber each week. It's entirely class from gabber Charles Stark's intro- ductions to the manner of pi'tsenta- Uon. Orch, when caught, was slightly heavy on the string side, but not Objectionably so. Soprano Gene- vieve Rowe, tenor Earl Rogers, the Four Clubmen and the chorus were all good. Aside from standard bal- lad and folk stuff, standout was the comic number by the Clubmen, There's a Hole in the Old Oaken Bucket' (and there wouldn't be if ma hadda took better aim when tossin' It at pa). Well done and good contrast CBS got in a good plug for Itself with three portions of the Tjcnox Avenue Suite,' written on its com- mission last year by William Grant StilL Two parts, uist .d of three, would have been sufficient here. Show, produced by George Zach- ary, swell for its purpose. Leslie Atlass sitting in for Donald Thornburgh at KNX (Hollywood) while latter east for NAB board meet and huddles with William S. Faley. Follow-Up Comment •SHOLINa JACK* Cerlal 16 Mlns. VOOTSIE BOLLS ' M-W-F, 6:30 p. m. WOB-MBS, New York. (Milton Biow) Tootsie Rolls (Sweets Co. of America) Is trying out the radio with an experimental.three-market (New York, Chicago, Boston) hook- up via Mutual. Its entertainment ' choice is a newspaper syndicate mel- odrama, 'Smiling Jack,' which is as full of action as an anthiU. Episode caught concerned the ar- rival of two airplanes on a° frozen waste and the hi-]acklng of one plane by a couple of nasty Neds bearing the names of Dude and Top Hat But In stealing the one good ship, their Ignorance of how to get off from an Ice' runway wrecks the second gondola. That creates the standard stock situation of .'Smiling Jack'—the good guys and the bad guyfi sharing a comnjon predicament ' —bu^ the worms always in charac- ter :' It's broad, hokey, obvious and con- sistently Incredible. But Just the kind of foolish exaggeration kids usually Iflte. Rather well done as to clarity Of dialog 'and movement Land. Helen Hayes and Kate Smith en- gaged in a.reminiscing spree on the latter's CBS stanza for General Food last Thursday night (23) after Miss Hayes had completed her chore in a dramatic sketch. The twosome re- called tiieir amateur efforts- In Wash- ington, when Miss Hayes had ambi- tions to become! a singer and lAIss Smith wanted to hoist the drama. The chatter led up to a wisecrack In which Miss Sniith made herself the target She referred to their past meetings as two ships passing In the night 'me the ocean liner and you (Miss Hayes) the canoe.' Pas- sage woimd up with Miss Hayes try- ing to shig and her contemporary tackling Stokespeare. - The sketch, itself, 'Molly Stevens,' was one of ,those maudlm moi^sels. A girl meets, a boy she knew in their orphanage' dajr^ - She kids him Into believing'that things have been pros- perous for her until hunger over- comes her and she faints. After that there's recognition -that they're made for each-and talk of marriage. Spen- cer Bentley gave a highly Ingratiat- ing performance In the part of the boy. ' Besides acting talent Bentley has a voice that conveys lotd of per- sonality. Hedda. Hopper's "Brentwood' serial on NBC.Blue Saturday nights at 8:30 adds up to a rather 'boring half hour. Sixth episode (25) dealt with at- tempts to gather material for a biog- raphy of the life of Barbara La 'Vere, the sale of which,, once it got Into print would' keep Miss Hopper's publishliig firm in the running. Char- acterizations are convincingly done, but the subject seems too weak and esoteric to hold listeners on Satur- day at 8:30. Pre-program ucplanation clarifies preceding events, but even so the thread is sometimes hard to follo\7. Miss Hopperls voice stands out above the other okay members of the cast Johnny Green's music held nice change of pace and 1939 arranging when heard on the Philip Morris cigarette stanza Tuesday (21) on the NBC red. Genevieve Rowe sang helofuDy. . This particular Max Marcin mur- der quickie was not too good in that the smell of the typewriter was un- mistakable. Syntiietic .composition left the listener expecting more than the script delivered,' and there was leakage in the logic Involved. Un- pleasant too, that a wife, with not very much justification, should spring on a murder opportunity and carry it through with unsympathetic cold- ness. Al Jolson's program '(Lifebuoy, CBS, Tuesday) was hot a model of a nifty radio revue when heard last week (21) with Dolores Del Rio and Margery Wilson as guest personali- ties! To the contrary, it was a poorly organized entertainment running on the frowzy side as regards humor and zip. It was neither broad enough to be good slapstick, nor fast enough to be deluxe amusement Cluttered with puns and such sillylsms as nam- i^g a perfume 'Stool Pigeon's La- ment' Heavy going was especially appar- ent in the sequence with Miss Del Rio, who was figuratively left strand- ed in a balcony box, where the spot- light picked her out and kept ner standing doing nothing while Jolson, Martha Raye and a stooge dropped back into the small time. Puns took the form of word play- ing on Liberty and-Life (magazines), on •'Valley Fudge' (Washington's Birthday topical), and there was half a dozen dragged-in-mentions of Ruby (Keeler)- which Inevitably must strike' many ears as aping Cantor's questionable display of filial pride, a', question in good taste that quite literally divides the nation. - Script is the obvious weakness. It Is not drawing cl6an-'cut character- izations. Martha Raye is made to mouth such phrases as fmiitilate my earmuSs with crep^ siuette.' Guest stars are not Integrated with the comedy. Indeed, the whole enter- prise sounded as if it had been on a toboggan lately, with -slackness noted in all departments. - Parky'akarkas was down to a couple' of minutes and running ' on the battery. Margery Wilson, charm expert was made to seem less than charmlhg. Indeed, her treatment was faintly Ringed with belitUement Entertaiimient score not snappy. Easy Aces continue to amuse their followers in behalf of Anacln on NBC Red. Current neatly written theme, in serial form, has the pair separated, most of the' time but still trying tb outwit each other. For modernization, and a few laughs, the game angle is covered by Mrs. Ace being partner, unknown to Mr. Ace, in a tea shop made profitable by Bingo. Etheir picture of the hulabaloo of Bingo, its money counting aftermath, and the idea of Mr. Ace trying to' recall the shop's lease, granted at a low figure, in order to lease it to a prospective tenant at a lucrative fig ure without letting on that-the white elephant niece of real estate had turned valuable, all congeal as enjoy- able entertaljnment. . BIng Crosby and his cohorts were In fettle Thursday (23) on Kraft's WEAF Music Hall. Hour turned up Henry Fonda, Who first found him- self between Bob Bums and Crosby In a comical sequence .based on Fonda's Missouri experiences while making the film 'Jesse James.' Bit, of course, dragged in Bums' Arkan- sas locale, isecond place involved Ellen Drew, featured in recent Crosby films, and'pictured Fonda as a bashful hillbilly lover (accent and all) seeking advice from Cupld-as- sisting Miss Drew. Fonda also, toted In his trumpet for a dual session with Burns' bazooka. Sounded like Tin Pan Alley in full offkey blast and was good for more laughs. 'Good News' show from Hollywood via NBC red last Thursday night (23) was an - In-and-out edition in the usual pattern. Guests included Miliza Korjus and Carey Wilson, with Gertrude Niesen joinhig the troupe as regular singer. Latter of- fered two solo$, then joined' Mere- dith Willson and his orch In a dem- (Continued on page 62) DOC BOCKWELL'S BBAIN niVST With Al Both orebestra, Joseph Liiley elMlr, Fred Irving Lewis, Eonloe Hyde, Ian Martin, Agnes Meorhead, Elsie Hay Gerdon, Sally Ward Comedy, Mnsle 30 Mlns. Snatalnlng Tnesday, 9:30 p.m. WJZ-NBC, New York Doc Rockwell, a bright and origi- nal comedy mentality, has Concocted an engaging formula that has the makings of a popular entertamment subject to the if—big—that the ele- ment- can be brought together bet- ter. Imperative is the drastic Im- provement of Rockwell's comedy as- soclates—assistaAts would be the wrong word—who must be clarified as characterizations and strength- ened as lines in the script The comedy was on a sprained ankle every time the professor or the club- woman character spoke. The third member of Rockwell's lunatic brain trust, a businessman, did not emerge from the typewriter smudge on the sheets of paper in the hands of the cast This became a ca$e of the come- dian sounding big timey and the feeders sounding like fugitives from OPEW, Podunk. In . fairness to the performers Involved, it must be recorded that the script damned them in advance, although miscast- in : can scarcely be disputed. Im- pression was that competent radio character actors had been tlirust int9 comedy stooge-roles requiring specialized talents. Painful contrast of Rockwell himself with his strug- gling, but sunk, support has to be ended before this program can go places. Meanwhile, basically it's a good- natured spoof on our deep thinkers, a quiz show to culminate all quizzes, a fancy-free blend of scientific pat- ter and vaudeville nonsense. NBC is producing the program as an ex- periment to build up the blue net- work, which needs more good pro- grams. -The bu,dget is way beyond sustaining averages and, most sig- nificant of all, the stations are com- mitted and NBC is committed to hold time inviolable for 13 weeks. Rockwell, of course, is doing it the hard way. Gagging.about glands and .Inferiority complexes Is suffi- ciently bold. It's talk, and it stands or falls as talk. ' That makes the future of the' stooges vltaL Without characterization and inter-play it's just a Rockwell monolog, and 30 minutes is a long soliloquy from chimes to chimes. The music of Allen Roth's orchestra, was helpful and nicely arranged. There was a bit of pleasant choir singing, too. Show had considerable zip despite the uneven progress of the gab. 'Which fact bespeaks the sturdy shoulders of Rockwell. But he can t carry the whole load all the time, or the brain trust will develop' brain fag. Land, ALLEN BOTH Orchestra With Glenn Darwin, Karen Kemple Moslo, Songs 30 Mina. Snstalning Sat, 3:30 pjn. WJZ-NBC, New York It's a more dignified Allen Roth billing for this sprightly Saturday afternoon half hour with Glenn. Dar- win and Karen Kemple as vocalists. The musical portion is in the same suave orchestral manner which first distinguished Al Roth's baton when CBS brought his 'St Louis Blues' show east on a national hookup,' He's since veered over to- NBC as a staff maestro, debuting* last week also with Doc Rockwell's . variety pro-, gram. This 30 minutes comprises slick orchestral wOrk by a full-bodied combination, aided by Glenn Dar- win, baritone, ^nd Karen Kemple, soprano. Their vocal chores run to the concert platform or - oi>eretta school; Roth's dansapation Is chiefly culled from the temporary pop's. Combination of the two makes for a nice weekend blend. Abel. MILIZA KORJUS Songs MAXWELL HOUSE Thnrsday, 9 p. m. WEAF-NBC, New York (Benton & Bowles) Metro's Viennese import, who made her U. S. picture debut In 'The Great Waltz,' has a pleasant so- prano voice,, but iteeds more ^ mike experience to become a radio bet Is apparently ill at-ease on the kUo- cycles, on one occasion even cough- ing nervously just before her selec- tion began. She concentrates - oh concert style of number, which also limits her popular appeal. On last Thursday's (23) stanza she offered a Rimslcy-Korsakov selec- tion. The Rose Has Charmed the Nightingale,' for the opener and wound up with 'The Gypsy and the Bird,' latter being a coloratura se- lection with fiute obbligato and plenty of trill stuff. Her voice is softer In the low registers and a trifle hard on the high notes. That her recording technique is not wanting has already been favor- ably evidenced on her Victor wax- Ings of 'Great Waltz' excerpts,' so It^s seemingly-chiefly a radio mike ■ diortcomlng—at least judging from this performance . Hobe. LIFE AND LOVE OF DR. SUSAN With Eleanor Phelps Dnunatte Serlal IS Mlns. LUX FLAKES AND SOAF Dally, 2:16 p. m. WABC, New York. (/. Walter Thompson) Since the advent of The Life and Loves of Dr. Susan' the writers of several other daytime serials have advanced the claim that 'Dr. Susan,' In characters, theme or plot, has much in common with their own works. Writers concerned must be short on memory as to the sources of their material. If those respon- sible for 'Dr. Susan' are guilty of anything. It's in foUowlnjg Its recent daytime predecessors in gleaning from successful serials and building a composite.set-of characters, theme, and plot that, because of easy fa- miliarity, assures quick Ingratiatlon with the housewife. Characters and theme of 'Dr. Su- san' were given the mosaic treat- ment within the J. Walter Thompson agency, and the job of daily script was farmed out to Edith Meiser, one of radio's standby craftsmen In this particular field. Everything about tiie show hews closely to the estab- lished formula for daytime serials. Hardly any tried and cllcksome de- vice, is passed up. Added to these factors Is a high standard of acting and production, with the combina- tion Indicating a substantial and faithful following. Story has to do with a Dr. Susan (^ndler, who, after losing her hus- band-doctor- In South America, re- turns with her twins to their father's home town; The plot so far tells of the stiff opposition she encounters when she tries to crash local medi- cal research and practice. Though' Inclined to maintain a permanent air of high tension, Eleanor Phelps makes the central character gener- ally absorbing. The supporting cast Is of the upper grade. Plug pursues- Lux's' peculiar s^le of rationalized sales appeal. 'What does a woman want' most? Love; romance. With romance goes charm; and no charm counts without dainti- ness, and for true daintiness there's Lux and the daily beauty bath. A crooner weaves in at this point with a bit of dainty yodeling. Another angle, of course, is that nine nut of 10, screen stars use Lux. Odec. A. L. ALEXANDEB'S 'ABBITRA- TION' Andlenee Partlolpatlen 60 Mlns.—Loeal Snstalning 9 p. m., Frt, WHN, New York ^ A. L. Alexander, whose Good Will Court caused so much controversy' among legalltes that it was finally forced off the air by the Bar Asso- ciation three years ago, comes up with a new Idea much along tha same lines, but this time on WHN. Good Will Court started on WMCA before getting a brief networ': com-' mercial. 'Arbitration* looks like a certain- ty to attract a large listener-follow- ing. It's probably the first program dealln'g ; with - himan relations to present both sides of a dispute; It's arbiters on the first broadcast were outstanding personalities, including Dr. Frank Kingdon, president of tho University of Newark; Kenneth Col- lins, general manager of the N. Y. TImies,-and Deputy Welfare Commis- sioner Edward (^rsL The onus of competition with tha. profession of law is somewhat re-, moved in 'Arbitration' via the expe- dient of settling disputes on human' aspects rather than giving legal ad-, vice. Alexander also made it clear that the program was working hand- in glove with lawyers, '\^ho, he claims, In many Instances prefer in- formal settlement of controversies rather than going to court The liti- gants assertedly sign an agreement to abide by the radio arbiters' deci- sions before going before the mikes. The program, however, has one. major and dangerous fault by per- mitting both sides to hold the mike at the same time. . In two of the four cases presented on the first broadcast for Instance, tVe litigants got into heated disputes and began spewing some serious recriminations. The danger of libel and criminal slander that might involve the sta- tion are too great to permit a situa- tion of this Und. One way to side- step this would be to permit only one side to have the ihlke at a time, plus time for rebuttals and re-ques- tioning by the arbiters. One of Alexander's chief, draw-, backs on the Good Will Court his propensity for sllnginig verbiage in large doses and a tendency to pomp- .ousness appeared' to be missing this . first broadcast He naturally spent: some time at the opening detailing the program's purpose, but from there on wisely remained in the background, subordinating himself. The intelligence of the arbiters was a marked feature of the teeoff, also the worthiness of the four cases heard. All of them were heavily driamatlc, but sounded legitimate and holding clear-cut Issues. If the 'average Is maintained this program looks like a click. It Isn't, for in- stance, as tongue-in-cheek as John J. Anthony's 'Good WiU. Hour* (sponsored) on WMCA, and Its pro- cedure Is as matter-of-fact as a Serv- ice of this sort should be. Scho.