Variety (Mar 1939)

22 VARIETY RADIO REVIEWS Wednesdaj, March 29, 1939 •NAME THE PLACE* With Ben Grauer U Mlns. SnstatDtor Sunday, 3:30'p.m. WEAF-NBC, New Tork This one started Feb. 12 and has a peeve on against 'Guess Where?, which is sponsored by Philip Morris (see adjacent column) as a carbon copy. Seems to be a case of the. old vaudeville copy-act It didn't do vaudeville any good and it won t help radio. Unfortunately, proper ari- bitration does not exist in such mat- ters. Which leaves behind a bitter ash of mutual discord. "Ben Graiier "IS perhaps a tnfle over-enthusiastic in hailing the cor- rect answers. He tosses out hints of some locale (sound effects also used) and then the contestant guesses. Land. DICK POWCLL With Martha Baye, Parkyakarkas, Lnd Glaskln, W. C. Fields, Tiny BnSner M Mins. UFEBOOT Tnesday, 8:30 p. m. WABC-CBS, New York (Rttthrouff & Kyan) Dick Powell's substitution for Al Jolsbn made little difference on the Lifebuoy half-hour. Which is an oblique way of saying the show is not going along at its present pace and in its present form with any- thing comparable to real clickeroo. Show's entertainment .elements and results are short-circuited some- where between conception on paper and execution, before the mike. It isn't that the show is 'bad.' But It falls to match other shows of comparable payroll and pretentions. It may suffice; it can't enthuse. Take the corny ' introductions: Martha Raye's voice break-in on the dialog. ' She talks and then, as if utterv stirprised, somebody under- scores (in a shout) 'Martha Raye!' Of course that's to make sure every- body knows who's talking, admitted- ly a needful identification over the air at all times. But the device of pausing for the chord in G, the ap- plause, the stale hellos, the synthetic entrance, puts the Lifebuoy program on a low professional pitch. This is the sort of 'theatrical criticism' which radio frequently answers by iaying, 'Well, look at our rating,' or, 'Well, we want the D and E homes, anyhow.' Or even—unanswerable— •so what?' Practically all of Dick Powell's first script was devoted to a discus- sion of what Dick Powell should do now that he was master of - cere- monies on the program. Miss Raye had suggestions, Parkykarkas had ■uggestlons. Tiny Rufihier had sug- gestions. The best suggestion was that Powell should sing. It was all myth about his being master of ceremonies. Tiny RuCner has the star dressing room in that depart- ment Script trouble besets-the program thrbugnout Parkyakarkas is a com- edy threat rather than a comedian. He has few gags and no characteri- zation. Martha Raye has less of both than Parky. W. C. Fields helped a lot, because, unlike most funnyman, he can say practically nothing and make It stand up as humor. Perhaps from one point of calculation, a few minutes of W. C. Is a squarer. Egjnce the starting pre- mise Is that the show it's 'bad.' it must be recorded that It's just sloppy at the seams and frayed at the bot- tom holes. X^and. •GUESS TPHEBEr With Jane Walker. Bndd Hallck, Charles Cantor, Cliarles O'Connor 3« Mlns. PHILIP MOBBIS Friday, 8 p.n. WOB-MBS, New York (Biotv) This is the program that is in dis- puvC with an indie program strvice, Viking Radio Corp, Latter h,s been raising a howl that Its progi-am on NBC. "Name the Place,' is a forei-un- ner of the present Philip Morris pro- gram. Meanwhile the Blow agency has changed the name of this pro- gram a couple of times. It was finally piit oii the'air liast wesk as 'Where Are We?', which is dose to 'Where Are you?', the original title of Vik- ing's program. Since last weeks debut, Biow pulled a twist and the program is- now tagged 'Guess Where?' In the case Of the NBC program (see adjacent column), Ben Grauer bescribes places and, on a basis of hints given, contestants from the au- oicnce are asked to guess the im- aginai-y location. In this case ' the description is conveyed in the form of dramatizations. There can be no question that the programs are simi- lar in basis, despite the slight varia- lions in execution. As i.n entertainment, 'Guess Where? is okay. June Walker was a last-min- ule subsUttiliun for Nydia Westman, who departed for Hollywood. Miss Walker, , a gal with lots of legit ex- periences, has versatility for. carry- ing out the various demands made On her. Her voice Is distinctive and unlike any other commonly heard on the air. She gives the program lift Charles Cantor, the character kid, lends the radio touch: The dues are neatly, sharply and professionally in- terpreted. The script of Max Marcin; Broadway playwright, is very imporr tant Jack Johnson diriects for Blow. Budd Hulick'hasn't very much to do, but does if nicely. Charles O'Con- nor is the one who says 'no other cigarettes can make that claim.' ZiOnd. <CBOSSTOWN NEW TOBK' Dranatlo Sonnd Pletaro 30 Hlns. Friday (10). 8:30 p. m. BBC, London First broadcast In January and rC' done by pop bsmand, this narrative effort L<! contribution of BBC's New York office to the programs. Travis Ingham wrote It wifiiam N. Rob' son of Columbia Workshop produced It and entire program was recorded In the U. S. and shipped In canned form to London. Siibject Is 'S2nd street and treatment. gives an ob- jective picture of that, strange alley, as it passes from abject squalor by easy stages to extravagant luxury (An?ei-lcan editorial note: Oh, yeah!) and back by more easy stages to fur- ther squalor. The associations, which would per- haps give nostalgia to Americans resident In London, might have no sentimental message to the English listener, hut dramatic treatment of picturesque material made fine pro- gram fare of a type at which Ameri- cans are so adept BDSHEY and HALEY Songs 15 MiDs.—Local Bnstalning Mondays, 7:4S KOKA. Pittsbnrgh Dorothy Bushey and Pat Haley make an attractive air team. Voices, while not particularly - strong, have personality and kids manage to shoot a cute quarter-hour Into the ether. Tunes are smartly selected and make no demands upon them, except the projection of a nic« light ana aiiy •tyle. Gal's also a mlmle and manages to stick several amusing 'imitations through the lyrics, with Haley get- tinjg In some «ood solo - Uoks, -loo. Occasional patter Is wcU-wrltten and d«ftly timed. Cohen. •WHEBE AM 17' With BUI Shermaa 30 Mlnsw—Local Snstalning Mondays, 8:30 p.iB. WAVE, Lonlsville Another raidio quiz game, based on the geographic angle, and strictly lo- cal in interest Similar idea has found expression on the NBC Red network. So this session saems to be keeping up with the treiid, at least At first session caught, BUI Sher- man, station's special events an- nouncer, handled the show from the studio, and paced the proceedings nicely for laughs and Interest His questions were all on local places, and were in the groove for the ma- jority of the quizzees, most of whom were local residents. Sherman was quick on the npbsat and alert, to build legitimate laughs whenever possible; Stanza should build a following, for the reason that the q.s and a.s stimulate the imagination and test the powers of observation of the listening audience. Many of the questions were adroitly worded, but in no sense meant to be confusing. Gong is rung at intervals, toL keep the participants from stalling, and cash prizes are awarded to the win- ners. Studio audience'seemed to be genuinely enjoying the game, and on the listening end it stacked up as good entertainment with an educa- tional angle which will help local residents to know their town the better. Hold. FolloW'Up Comment 'AUTHOBITIES ANSWER* Qoii 30 Hlns.—Local PETEBS PACKING CO. Friday, 8 pjn, WWSW, Pittsbnrch Strictly a 'Three-Eye league edi tion of NBC's 'Information, Please.' Show lacks pace, humor and all of the other necessities for this type of program, being merely a stis, ter- ribly formal half-hour session that must bore the Visual audience as much as. it does the listeners. •Authorities' is hardly the word, more than half of the questions go- ing unanswered and .the cash regis- ter merrily ringing up the extra five bucks' that go to contributors of the stumbling blocks. Board could have at least hazarded a few guesses and pepped up the proceedmgs. As it was, Walter Sickles, who Fadimans for the bank- roller, practically had to. carry on a monologue, only Dr. Harvey Gaul, the music expert, coming through occasionally with a bright quip. Others 'were practically mute most ot the time. For the most part, too, questions were quite simple, and minus a roving encyclopedia like John Keiran or. wits on the order of F.P.A. and Oscar Levant, this sort ot thing can be deadly. 'Authorities Answer' is. In addition to Dr. Gaul, other so- called authorities on show caught were Douglas Naylor, art critic of 'Press'; Margaret Garrahan, maga- zine .writer; Henry Hombostel, di- rector of county parks, and Dr. B. J. Hovde, head of .Pittsburgh Housing Authority. Couple of them didn't even, open their mouths throughout the session. Sickles handles the in- terlocutor duties nidely but often wasn't quite sure of his Information sources. Alan Trench does the commercials. Sponsor, incidentally, contributes $50 to a designated charity each week, with the board naming the recipient Cohen. 'THE UGLIEST MAN IN THE WOBLD* With Baymond Edward Johnson, Ann Shephard, Betty Calne, Frank . Lovejoy SOMins. . Sastalning . Satnrday, 10 p.m. WEAF-NBC, New York First in a series of plays written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler and aimed by NBC a$ a sort of intellectual prestige-grabber along .the lines of the Columbia Worlcshop, •Ugliest Man In the World' was in- tentionally cerebral stuff offered in an experimental form. Likely to have toush going for the next few weeks with the NBC- symphony con' current on the blue network, but judged by this stanza it-is an unusual brand of drama, -with a psychological slant that should hold adult listeners. Highly imaginative yam used what might be called a 'stream of con- sciousness' writing technique uniquely suited to radio. Dealt with a man so repulsively ugly he is about to kill himself because he has been shunned by other men and scorned by wpmen. But at last having found the love of a beautiful and blind girl, he cannot face the prospect of her regaining her sight and recoiling from 'his appearance. Most' of - the drama consisted of the Ugliest Man's mental retracing ot his lite, with oc- casional bits of dramatized incident Without pounding home the obvious. INSIDE STORY* With Cel. Bobert Gerard, Noman Dyne, Michael McDongall, Fred Snlllvan. Pani Lather ' Drunaticailohs 30 Mins. PUBINA-BALSTON Tuesday. 9:30 p.m. WENB-NBC, Chicago (Gardner) Good formula should make a win- ner of this program, though its weekly ?ing depends almost entirely on the type of guests the agency is able to dig ud for appearances. Pro- gram primarily Is designed to tell the story of unusual occupations, espe- cially those occupations which bor- der on adventure. . On program caught were a card- sharp exposer. an insomnia curer and a former Foreign Legion officer. Not too good a line-uD..'but the handling of the material made the most of It Were It not for the excellent han- dline and the tying of the various episodes Into a single picture, this program would be yesterday's hash. Michael McDougall delivered a puriMrted expose of card cheaters, though, In reality, he came through with little that hasn't already been said in Sunday supnlements and the pulns. Dyne chatted about his 'sleep shop' and told'the listeners how to nut neoDle to sleep with sound ef- fects. With a bit of stretehing this could have gone off the dccn end into comedy^ Best was Col. Gerard with his dramatic associations with .the Foreign Legion. This was solid. Sullivan turned In a workmanlike Job as general Interlocutor and m. r_ while Luther handled the plugs to thf noint Rates as a program wlih an Idea, and should cateh its share of pars. GoM. nsEBE's youb pabty* With Larry Page's band, John Slagle Drama, MnsIc 15 Mips.—^Reirional MTCniGAN B^L TELEPHONE CO. Tf .-Th.-Snt, (!:S0 p.m. WXYZ and MBN, Detroit (N.W. Ayer & Son) A light skit rolled up with pon musical selections, form.<! a vnluable 'oroppiranda' piece for the Michigan Bell Telephone Co., bankrolkr of this new ouarter-hour show over WXYZ and its ."stf te web. Skits, enacted by the Bell (WXYZ) Play- ers, are short nenny end accord nrominent spot to the telephone or telephone operator, as cose may be. "Musical portion, sunp'ied bv Larry Ps«e's.i.'?-piece bnnd. Is helpful. John Slafle's spiels bit too len(»thy. Bally phone comoany's loni;-d]stance rate.<:. which have been subject of considernble sfnte D"b::c utility r.Tn-nissinn deliberations of late. Thl<i i."! heinir closelv watched by A. T. tt T. and may lead to nntlon- wide series. Pete, Sanka coffee's half hour (Tues- day) continues to out-march the March of Time. The same'Mllitaire' style of orchestral pick-up, the same dipped off-wlth-the-old-on-wlth-the- new-item way of routining. Whereas Time deals with the newspaper front pages, Sanka occupies Itself with the passing parade of personal oddities— like a whole vaudeville bill of freak bookings. , . Combination of the material and the presentation keeps the engross- ment level high. Some of the Items are occasionally silly and dragged in like somebody met on the way be- tween two cocktail parties. Mort Lewis talking unfunnily about his dislike for Jokes belonged only, by adding tbree-oarts tolerance. A lot of skill is displayed most of the time in assorting end editing the 'People' with something to say. Ordinarily Its just a minute; or two, or three per person. That maintains the zip. The music cues are smartly woven into the running order to off- set any tendency to talkiness. Hav- ing a-bunch of harmonica kids play to illustrate a businessman's hobby was typical of the devices employed. Last week's session included the much-Dubllcized ex-immigrant who sent $10 income tax to the govem- thent, although not obliged to do so. It included a doctor who denounced superstitions as a problem of medicnl practice; Herbert Kline, who made pictures in Czech-Slovnkia; an ex- thlef (who opened the show). It wa.s all soeclacular and loaded with 'sell- ini; headlines.' Emcee Gabriel Heatter and An- nouncer Harry Von Zell continue to compete to be the voice alive with imprisoned carbonation. Both are of the typlcallv radioesque school of elegantly' full syllables, as tnnal as a vacuum tube, as artlflcipl as only a h.igh-salaried radio spieler can be. There is' a certain beautiful lilt' to their styles. It is radio's eou'valcnt to scenery-chewing, exquisitely oho- netlc and slightly phoney—but don't get us wrong—it's swell radio hokum. It strongly hinted that the gal al- ready knew how ugly the man was and arrives in time to prevent his sulc.'de. Aside from the novelty of a broad- cast dealing with the suicide ques- t-on, the piece was an intriguing and absorbing drama. Writing wais un- usually compact and forceful, with the characters, situation and atmos- phere emer/iing into vivid clarity. Musical brldRlni; was also effective and the direction highlighted the dramatic intensity. Show also had an appealing quality of being out of the norm-1 radio dramatic rut In the acting. Raymond Edward Johnson .wave an eloquent perfotmance as the Ugliest Man. while Ann Shepherd was an appealing heroine and Betty Calne a satisfactory sideshow tari Frank Lovejoy narrated. According to the Initial show, the series Is likely to have-a limited but ardent audi- ence. It could hardly rate a.* enter- I talnmeht for broad appeal. Hobe. Benny Goodman goes on the air (Camels) with a roar like unto the greeting when the varsity squad comes on the field. This needle- shoklng vibration is lioted on various Hollywood programs, enthusiasm marshalled on a cheer-leader basis. Maybe It's the fact that Goodman bropdcasts ''rom theatres (last week the Earle. W8shin.»?ton), or maybe the mixing panel has somethlne to do with It. Accidental or purposeful, the net impression Is of dynamic ex- plp.|>'ve-like popularity. ProfTam retains its essential vital- ity' of hard-working, hard-blowing hot jazz. John. Steel, speaking from London. i»ave a • clear newsy summation of European events over Mutual last •Thursday (23). It was .so good that it emphasized that Mutual misses a swell prestige bet in economizing on its London plck-uos. A quarter hour every second week Is not enough to build an audience for Steel, or to obtain the advantages Inherent in his well-informed analyses. He's spent 30 years In Europe and when he speaks It's plenty authoritative. « Reception was not good, but lie could be heard above the cosmic vacuum cleaner noises, NBC's' Town Hall program Thurs- days continues to provide a lot. of excitement to listeners. Program now opens with an audience rendi- tion of the national anthem. This was particularly appropriate to last week's symposium on pressure groups with alien ties, and v.'^at to do about them. A professor, Harold Lasswell. and a SEC commissioner, Jerome Frank, were the flanks for a' Republican congressman, who dragged in by the scruff of the neck an attack on the President and the administration that had the crowd shouting "No, No, No' (because it was not germane to the theme), and the moderator pounding the gavel. The symposium was, in the process of bemg dramatic, a good, example of the best and the worst in democ- racy. .Towh Hall remains radio's one outstanding contribution to counter-attack propaganda, which, as Lasswell' emphasizcdi is notably laggard In this country. Latter, In- cidentally, has a splendid radio voice with syllable-pcrKct diction. Perhaps tops in something was the congressman s response to a ques- tion concern.Ing the previous ante- cedenta of a Dies committee investi- gator. 'It takes a thief to catch a thief, you know,' he blurted, and then added—lamely—'so t > speak.' It was a breath-taker. It was almost possible to hear George V. Denny gulp hard. It was a difficult night for him. Grace Moore delivered handsome- ly for Ethyl (CBS), on last Thurs- day night's Installment She was not only In fine singing voice, but she did an ingratiating job at ex- changing cross-fire with Walter O'Keefe. Miss Moore did at one point get mixed up In her line read- ing, but the after effect was much funnier than It would have been if the quip had been i :ad as assigned. The soprano'^ vocal repertoire con- sisted of the'soothing 'Depuls le Jour* from 'Louise,* the lively 'Funiculi Funlcula' and the lyrical '111 Follow my Heart' from Noel Coward's 'Con- versation Piece.* O'Keefe piped through a consis- tently diverting script It's unfor- tunate that this show Is spotted oppo- site Kraft Music Hall, which holds No. 3 rating In the CAB reports. O'Keefe is dishing out a standard of comedy that is deserv' g ot a much bigger audience than probably has been his as a result ot this situation. •The Sonnd Track' (WNEW, 7:30 p.m., Thurs.) David Lowe's sustain- ing film' gossip session devoted en- tire 15 . minute., to guest-starring Maria Ouspenskaya. Lowe has smooth, ingratiating delivery which serves to put guest speakers at their ease. He paved the way nicely for Russian actress to speak of her career on stage, and In films and ot her dramatic school. A fair dinner-hour filler. Marilyn Hare, 15-year-old daugh- ter of the late Ernie Hare, sings pret- tily if somewhat Immaturely on the Sachs program over WMCA, N. Y. Her pi-esence' on the program- has sentimental value as a continuance of the long-tim^ partnership of Jones and Hare. She speaks ot Billy Jones as 'uncle' and ditto for Jim Brennan. Program ' is good hokey - pokey small-time vaude that translates into probable appeal for the middle class audiences to whom Sachs sells its wares. Compounded ot punning, harmony and good-natured kibitzing, the program fills a half-hour Sunday afternoon in a disarming manner. Jack Bobbins, the music pub, was the subiect of the WLW-Mutual •Lucky Break' show Sunday night under Josef Chemlavsky's baton. The publisher's recent 25th anniver- sary celebration—with the an- nouncer mentioning the Variett salute a fortnight ago—touched off the review ot Bobbins' tin pan alley career. It emphasized his Metro fllmuslcal affiliations as the keynote 'break' in his success career. Bert LytcU was heard from Chi- cago Triday (24) on his quarter-hour stint for that tummy tonic, Tums. Given a script that is all sermon and no action, and with only routine sup- port, the veteran screen-legit player held attention on performance and voice alone. Some' of the earlier scripts in this series were rather bright and crisp, but this meander- ing' tale of a man that could' have been a millionaire, but tended gate on a railroad instead, was so-what- Ish. . (Editor's note: Lytell has since l«/t the proflrom.)- Phll Spltalny set a brilliant tempo and example for the Monday night (27) musical span on the NBC red. Eddie Duchin-Morton Downey and then Marek Weber follow in a 9-11 filler. General Electrlc'a all-glrlers par- ticularly achieved fine tonal ef- fects with their choir work on an ar- rangement ot 'Ava Maria.* Dorothy Thompson's pungent, punchy seven minutes midway was an absorbing session. Incidentally, Miss Thomp- son's vole; now'comes over the air much better than a year or so back, when she first began regular broad- casting. Sharp contrasts In the Pall Mall session between Downey's falsetto and the torrid swlngology ot Duchin but withal pleasant listening. Weber, from Chica.'o for Carnation Milk, deviates hardly a hair's-breadth from the standard formula ot the pro- gram. It's nice, lush "familiar mu- sic.' Madeleine Carroll guested on the Chase & Sanborn program last Sun- day night (26), teaming with Don Ameche In a romantic sketch by Diana Carlson. It was unusual for a show ot the kind, since the piece had a realistic wind-up Instead of the usual happy-ending pap. Also It employed an artificial writing technique that was effective ana unique tor radio. Yarn took a man and a girl,, for- mer sweethearts, who meet by chance and taxi together to work. Opened with their polite, making- conversation kind of palaver, then '^ent into their unspoken thought* and memories stirred'by the meet- ings, finally Using flashback drama- tizations ot standout Incidenta ot their blLffhted romance. - Wound up with their mutual (though unspoken to. each other) admission thgt they are still In love despite his marriage to another girl, and their every-day courteous goodbyes. Although the writihe could have been compressed a bit, it was an attention-getting and absorbing Job ot the kind. Miss Car- roll gave It just the right shading ot gent\e emotional appeal, while Ameche was suited to the lighter moments and managed to negotiate the more Intensive bits without se- rious lapses. James Saphler headed east from the Coast to look over , summer shows for Music Corp. ot America.