Variety (Sep 1939)

26 VARIETY RADIO REVIEWS Wednesday, September 27, 1939 AliEC TEMPLETON With Daniel Saidenber; Strlnr Or' chestra, William Miller Choir, Donald Dickson Novelty Moslcale 80 Mins. ALKA-SELTZER Monday, 9:30 p.m. WEAF-NBC, New York (Wade) With the Saturday night WLS> Chicago, Barn Dance to captivate the lower orders, and the Monday night Alec Templeton session making a bid lor the ears of the presumably more sophisticated, erudite and conserva tory-bitten, it would seem that Miles Laboratories is spreading its sales shrapnel over a wide target. It seems like reasonable strategy. As for Templeton, the sightless 'wonder from England, it is merely the achievement of the deserved and the inevitable that his very unique gifts should at last be showcased in a program essentially devoted to that purpose. His musical 'impressions' are one of the few genuinely enter- tainment touches (orchestral show- manship excepted) in 1939 radio, a radio that has unfortunately been beaten and forced into flxed moulds that simultaneously represent an ef- fort to play safe in showmanship, yet belie the true meaning of the word. Templeton's li^ht informality of style and origmality of approach should make this half hour stand up. The supporting talent rounds and pads out the program. Guest singers, of whom baritone Donald Dickson was the first (and okay), booking, will contribute the change of pace. Templeton's creative piano work, plus his disarming singing and flair lor comedy elocution, make him a playing-singing-talking cinch. Land. 'GIBL ALONE' With Betty Winkler, Pat Mnrphy, June Travis, Henry Hunter, Joan Winters, Laorettc Flllbrandt, Les- ter Damon Serial li Mins. QUAKER OATS Dally, 5 p.m. WEAF-NBC, New Tork (Ruthrauf & Ryan) Author Fayette Krum dishes out ■ good standard girl-with-a-secret- heartburn line of radio piffle. The mental picture painted with a few deft strokes of a six-inch brush gives the listener the glamorous literary secretary 'flooded in moonlight on the deck of a shin returning from the jungle.' While thus flooded with moonlight and with soft breezes caressing her hair and dress (word pictures—not EOiind effects), along comes her brilliant employer, a scientist with sex appeal. He feels the moonlight and sees the breeze and ups and kisses her. Right on the NBC red. For one moment she gives as if to five. Then she stiffens. Her heart elongs to Daddy, a character named Scoop Curtis not present at this muster. It's all reasonably persuasive and ■ugar-coated, unless the listener is just an old meanie and won't yield a Quarter hour to the spirit of love- ■with-problems. Which is about all that needs to be said. tond. PAUL SULLIVAN News Reporter 15 Mins. RALEIGH CIGARETTES Dally, 11 p. m. WABC-CBS, New Tork (B. B. D. & O.) Paul Sullivan is the top personality et the WHAS, Louisville, talent staff. He has a clear, vigorous voice and handles himself well throughout a quarter-hour resume of the day's events. While those events continue to. pack drama he will easily hold a goodly sized audience. Makes no attempt to comment or analyze. Whole presentation sim- mers down to voice and arrangement of items. . Clarity is the presumed aino and the result One point that may be worthy of thought is this: Sullivan separates his sentences phrase by phrase like a school teacher at a blackboard. This makes for an almost too-perfect dic- tion that tends to call attention to its «wn perfection and . thereby might detract from the content, always more Important than the means. Land. SALUTE TO WCKT. CINCINNATI WItti Ray Block Orchestra, Gene- an'bm.'Jr'''' """^ SO Mins. Sustain Inr Sunday, 8 p.m. WABC-CBS, New Tork —J assembled some good stand- c*""^?^ welded them together Sunday (24) at the Mime hour of 8 p.m. to salaam L. B. Wilson, Its latest ally. Wilson has 60^000 watts he's kind of proud of This 50 kw. was considered dis- tmctly mentionable throughout the program. In fact it nosed out public service to cross the line an easy winner. L. B. himself spoke and has a nice delivery. He used to stooge in a yaude dumb act, but he's plenty ar- ticulate now. There was none of the gagster, however. L. B. was on his dignity. So was the program, with a lieutenant-governor and the city manager of Cincinnati present It was all part of a wholesale cam- eaign of ballyhoo on behaU of those ) kw. and very nice. Land. WALTER O'KEEFE SHOW With Bobby Dolan's orchestra, Merry Macs, Dan Seymour, Sophie Tucker 30 Mins. LEVER BROS. (Lifebuoy) Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. WABC-CBS, New York (Rtithrauff & Ryan) This was the season's first example of the listener feeling embarrassed for the performer.. With fatalistic regularity there come each fall major premieres such as this that bungle, stumble and stagger to the point where tnose who didn't tune in will scarcely credit the report given by those who did. What never ouite gets explained each fall is how such fiascoes still can occur on network programs of considerable cost While the try-all-over-again rou- tine often straightens out some quite terrible debut shows, the responsi- bility for the initial clambake seems to be covered up, and. clinical analysis of how the mess got that way is made difficult The evi- dent absence from the O'Keefe re- hearsals of editorial judgment, coupled to authority, the failure of eyes to read the script criticalljr, or ears to revolt brings up questions. Sounded as if there might be two rival camps of writers or opinions. The program jerkily unspooled with spotty performances adding to the bad material. But it was the material that sunk the ship. A com- edy program with scarcely a legiti- mate giggle cannot be excused on the grounds that in the sticks they aren^ so discriminating. The sticks reject it as fast as anybody. This is plain turkey and not to be given the reputable name of 'good corn.' O'Keefe began by referring to his summer vacation on the farm and how, out of habit he came to the radio studio bare-footed and was re- ferred to 'We, the People.' He stepped on a scale and the card told him he was the husky type—weight 84 pounds. He turned on the cold water 4ip and three girls from Billy Rose's Aquacade came out He turned on the hot water and Billy Rose him- self came out counting money. At this point O'Keefe brought up the question of how he got the Lifebuoy :iob and suggested it was beccuse he laJ 35,000 more boxtops than any other comedian. Then the 'interruptions' began. It was all about Mary Martin's trunk and two stooges who argued long and not funny about who should put down his end (of the trunk) first The exchange' with Sophie "Tucker, doing a one-timer, suffered from the same script weaknesses. Looking at a photograph of Soph, besides the statue of Lincoln, the snapper was: 'That's not a statue, that's Lincoln.' 'I spray mv voice with an atomizer,' says Soph. 1 use Four Roses,' comes back the comic. And then the one about the missing't' from 'sink.' Re- peated frustrations in his announced intention to sing finally got O'Keefe into a novelty song, ^What Will They Do With Grover When the World's Fair's Over?' The humor be- gan and ended with the title. O'Keefe has heretofore made it a practice to try out next week's gags in the non-broadcast portion of his contact with studio audiences. By this method he sifted the wheat from the chaff. The lack of this op- portunity may help explain the first program. It. needs explaining. The Merry Macs were about the only distinguished item on the pro- gram, which otherwise was as in- comprehensible as a nightmare. Dan Seymour is the spieler. Land. BOAKE CARTER News Comment 15 Mins. Snstalnin; Dally, 6 p.m. WMCA, New Tork With a world war In progress and political matters both domestic and international moving at an abnor- mally fast clip, a news commentator confined to transcriptions is ob- viously under a handicap. Boake Carter's talents and reputation in this particular field should in no small measure counterbalance the disadvantage, but the grind withal doesn't look like an easy one. The Boake Carter on transcrip- tions doesn't. In approach to a sub- ject and general philosophy, sound like the Boake Carter that was rid- ing high and wide on a crosscoun- try network (CBS) two or three years back. Not that he sounds like someone that has beeh thoroughly chastened. The style is as pontifical as ever but his statements breathe much less fire and dogmatic asser- tiveness and lack that old seering sarcasm for persons, movements or principles that are hostile >to his own point of view. In last Friday's (22) installment Carter even accorded a liberal backslapping to the Roose- velt administration. It had to do with the letter's home building ac- tivities. His topics bt comment on interna- tional matters during that evening's 15;minute stint offered hardly any- thing that hadn't been heard over and over again on the air. But in his final Item the old Boake Carter made itself emphatically evident. He riemarked that there was much doubt about the Allies' conduct of the war on the west wall, and then added that the French had given orders not to bomb certain industrial areas in Germany because, as he said, British capital had heavy investments In those spots. Odec. FORD SUNDAY STMFHONT CON' CERTS With Lawrence TIbbett, Eogcne Or mandy, guests 60 Mins. FORD Sunday, 9 p.m. WABC-CBS, New York (N. W. Aver) Back for its sixth consecutive year, this series still rates as an ad mirably fashioned mosaic of classi cal music. And it still has its capsule of concentrated verbal stuffi' ness, W. J. Cameron. The program offers no innovations, but- there is a slight change in policy. All soloists will be Americans. For the first time in five years John Charles Thomas didn't have the opening assignment. It went this time to Lawrence Tibbett, who made the occasion one of fine, ro- bust lyricism. His interpretation of 'The Earl King' registered as a nug- get of deep poignancy and he also put a wealth of musical reading into Franz Schubert's 'The Wanderer.' For Eugene Ormandy it's the in- itial two programs. His choice of symphonic items on the introductory event provided a range that was wide enough to embrace all levels of classical music appreciation. And as usual the program closed with a hymn. Cameron devoted his raspy Into- nations to a mess of generalities about what constitutes true and hon- est neutrality. . As Henry Ford's soundingboard, Cameron did, how ever, make it clear that he was against the lifting of the embargo on war supplies, "rhe talk's aroma of propaganda was uninistakable and may embarrass. Odec. BIG TOWN' With Edward G. Robinson, Ona Munson 30 Mins. LEVER BROS. (RInso) Tuesday, 8 p.m. WABC-CBS, New York (RufhTouff & Ryan) Dynamic newspaperman makes It hot for local crooks! He-man editor shows the cops how to do it! This is the first half hour of a 60- minute slab of Lever Bros, time on 60 CBS stations. Rinso gets the plug on the dramatic episode, Spry oc- cupies the entre'acte and Lifebuoy is underscored for the Walter O'Keefe revue that follows (see separate re- view). The commercial copy in both cases is a bit too. alkaline, but leaves little doubt that soap is being sold. The mental picture of dirty clothes is perhaps a trifle vivid for the fas- tidious, but it all comes under the head of good, socky advertising. The very successful 'Big "Town' program of previous seasons has, upon its return, risked the exchange of . its former leading lady, Claire Trevor, for a radio unknown, Ona Munson, evidently on-the-theory^lt- isn't too important who does the heckling in the managing editor's office. Miss Munson handled herself okay, was clear and alive. She's broader and more flip in delivery than Miss Trevor, but that may not matter. The Lorelei role has been an eavesdropper. ' She talks about and observes and has opinions on the action, but is not directly con- cerned as a rule. The romance with Robinson goes on indefinitely, but is never consummated. This per- sonality equation was more pro- nounced for the getaway broadcast than usual and may reflc ; an inten- tion to do more with the sex angle, or may simply have been to empha- size Miss Munson, The episode picked for the new start was relatively weak and punch- less (there was an apology at the end that no offense was intended against 'reputable auction rooms' by the story), didn't have much_sus.^ pense or mystery and the villain was simply painted on the scenery. Land. BILLY CONN-MELIO BETTINA Light Heavywelctat Championship Forbes Field, Pittsburgh One Hoor, 15 Mins. ADAM HATS Monday (25); 10:15 p.m. WEAF-WJZ, New York Third major outdoor fight within 10 days to be broadcast by the same sponsor. Previously the Louis^Pastor match in Detroit and the'Galento- Nova bout in Philadelphia had been sent over the same network. Scrap between Billy Conn and Melio Bel- tina lacked the sensational features of the other two melees in which there were knockdowns and kayos. While the crowd buzzed with excite- ment the announcer could be more clearlj; heard since the fans were not so vociferous. The Pittsburghers ap- peared to be thrilled over the. vie tory. of Conn, their home' town champ, who gained the decision and retained the title after a slow start. From, the radio account, the match was a close contest until the last two rounds when Conn opened up and wearied' Bettina, from whom he won the crown at Madison Square Garden on July 13. It was a quick return match, sought by the con- tender on the grounds that their first meeting was so close that it was not decisive. Blow-by-blow description became monotonous, for the fight was waged much the same as the first contest. Bettina is rated the harder hitter, but failed to really tag the winner. It was supposed to be a contest be- tween a slugger and a boxer, Conn having the rep in that direction. But it was his willingness to wade in and mix it in the final rounds that en- abled him to retain the champion- ship. Sam "Taub delivered the blow-by' blow account, too frequently men' tioning the fact that Be.tina is a southpaw. A rather accurate check on which man was winning could be observed, however, and that does not often apply to fight broadcasts. Jack HoUister batted for Bill Stern in be- tween rounds and delivered most of the commercial. In his pre-fight comment he opined the ma' h should b* worthwhile, and not infrequently when two boxers or two sluggers get together the result is liable to be a stinkeroo. Jbee. Follow-Up Comments Lois Ravel, who has been absent In the west returned to eastern radio attention Monday (25) when she sang on the Quaker Oats program with Tommy Riggs. She impressed again, as before when brand new, as having the style and color neces- sary to a successful pop singer on the kilocycles,. Her delivery and diction, plus the inherent melodic appeal of her voice, registered vividly against the able support of Freddie Rich's orchestra. Charley Kemper, from vaude and niteries, has been stooging with the Riggs-Betty Lou set-up. As he is not introduced in advance, it is hard to pick him out of the welter of voices. There were stooges galore and rather more action than comedy. However, it did appear that Kemper might be close to having something for radio, Riggs' own Betty Lou stuff con- tinues on the cute side. A clever chap, Riggs, like the program, has had, and still suffers, a material problem of major size. Alka-Scltzer's Barn Dance enter- tainment from Chicago Saturday played host to a crowd of American Legionnaires gathering for the na- tional convention. In anticipation of the patriotic side o£ the radio pro- (Contlnued on page 27) RAYMOND GRAM SWING Commentator 15 Mins. WHITE OWL CIGARS Monday, 10 p.m. WOR-MUTUAL, New York (J. Walter Thompson) The American commentator who was first 'discovered' by Englishmen over the shortwave, radio has been making up for a late start on this side. In the past year he has been tagged as a comer and in the events cuhninating in the Polish affair and JKac.Jbjs_£la5s_has.Jjeen conclusive. He Is, by common consent, the one personality to clearly emerge from the present upheaval with its strains and hardships on commentator."!, many of whom are not that at all, but simply glorified rewrite men. Swing has remained carefully dis- passionate. He has been liberal, but not hysterical; learned, but not ego- tistical. In fact he's very advanced by being none of the flashy things that attract spectacular attention, only to peter out leaving a sour ash behind. The calm '.judicious use of lan- guage and the restrained considered delivery is particularly clear now that he pauses to alio-,/ a commercial announcer to step in. The shrill whinnying of the latter when thus painfully contrasted is a grueling ob- ject lesson in how wrong advertis- ers can be in demanding over-em- phasis. Swing's completely effective -Cal.m_ren.der^. cQmic<d_the_feai:.of the announcer that unless he shouts and pummels the copy the listener is too deaf or dense to savvy. It seems like a basic absurdity to think the follow- ers of a man like Swing will not respond to reasonable sales copy bet- ter than these typical thick cuttings of bologna the agency has ordered. A significant note on the censor- ship was given by Swing as he opened his remarks Monday. He said (verbatim): 'Since this is my first broadcast for a commercial sponsor, I want to say a personal word, I am happy to be able to tell you that my sponsor, the General Cigar Co., is permitting me to give my Ulks just as I have given them for three years over this sta- tion and network without exercise of any censorship whatever over my script* Land. NICK LUCAS Singer Sustaining Wednesday 8:30 3 LO, Melbourne Well known over here via his waxers, Nick Lucas, by arrangement with Tivoli Theatres, is doing a span for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, Spotted in a variety show, Lucas was before the mike for some eight minutes. On premiere date he warbled 'Wishing,' 'Music, Maestro, Please' and 'Mexicali Rose.' Had no trouble in hitting popular air favor and looks a good bet for the A.B.C, plus his vaude dates. Rest of the show was made up by local talent; some good, some so-so. Lucas can be classed as a major air hit In Australia. Rick. SCREEN GUILD THEATRE With Roger Pryor, Cary Gi-ant, Judj Garland, Ann Sothern, Mickey Reohey, Oscar Bradley Orcbcstra, John Cont« Variety 30 Mins. GULF GASOLENE Sunday, 7:30 p.m. WABC-CBS, New York (Youno & Rubicnni) A successful premiere. Tight and, barring a couple of minor tongue- slips, thoroughly professional. Moved with breezy ease and, while consist- ing of -nothing in particular, made the general total of light spoofing, warm singing and tingling music stand up as first-rate Sunday night entertainment As is usual when Mickey Rooney is the pivot his fresh behaviour of- fered chances to snub him, set him down, and otherwise employ him as cement to hold the program's blocks together. Cary Grant is always deft at the light stuff. Miss Garland was a strong factor, Ann Sothern rather underprivileged in opportunities, and Roger Pryor suggested he will be an able and likeable m.c, al- though he needs some more and bet- ter lines .and not too much of the 'your swell' cutie stuff. He is some- what over 21 and thi boyishness might become dyspeptic. Make a note of that Moe. Emphasized as 'the stars own pro- gram, with the disposition of the $10,000 to the Screen Fund fully ex- plained, it's a good buy so long as the name values and the production finesse matches this sample. Land. 'TOM MIX'S STRAIGHT SHOOTERS' Serial 15 Mins. RALSTON PURINA Daily, 5:46 p. m. WJZ-NBC, New York (Gardner) ■ A character bearing the title of the one-time western film hero is the central figure of this late afternoon excursion into juvenile' melodrama. It's been going on for years, to the reported delight of the urchins and the substantial royalty of Ranger Mix, otherwise not much heard from these days. . - The program celebrates the he- mannish qualities of Ralston cereals. The characters are all-bad or all- good, and the plot is no strain on the cerebellum. The characterizations are captions in large type, easy to read far off. There s a low comedy cook, named Washington Jefferson Ralston. He's black and a minstrel, judging by his dialect Two pieces of luggage mis- taken for four are explained by two of. them being his feet A lawyer to end all lawyers, a vulture named Snood, but pronounced (laughter) 'Snoop,' turns ashen when he is told the man just arriving is Tom Mix. He rings up a mysterious no-good on the long distance and warns him Mix will raise trouble when and if he finds out what's been going on. And that's where installment one ends. It's good funny paper dramaturgy. Land. JACK ARMSTRONG' With John Gannon, Sarajen'c WclK James Goss, Robert Barron, Ken- neth ChrlsUe Serial 15 Mins. GENERAL MILLS Daily, 5:30 p.m. WEAF-NBC, New York CBlacfcett-Sample-Hummerf) The crimes charged against the kid lirograms include nervous indiges- ' ion and softening of the brain. The first installment of the new series of Armstrong' shows some si?ns of the latter mental complaint. It is pretty difficult to profess or prove a case for the uplift contribution of a pre- sumably modem 1939 tale when in- troducing quite seriously, a character * named Blackbeard, who is frankly labelled as an ex-pirate (not Pitts- burgh). The Blackboard thing is just a gag. It's Popeye the Sailor turned wicked. _ Adults must' necessarily be bad ludges of these matters. That goes for such fry as trade paper review- ers, as well as those self-opinion- ated creatures known as parents. Blackbeard, the non-Pittsburgh pir- ate, is so wholly beyond adult cred- ence that right off the question comes up as to what age this pro- gram Is aimed at Nowadays, with girls having permanent waves and girdles at the age of 11 and boys wise about the stork before they can distinguish Wheaties from Huskies. Its awful tough to know whether a writer like Talbot Mundy is a proper heir to Mark Twain, or just somebody Hill Blackett met at a party. . It starts out vigorously with a song for good old Hudson High. The whole tempo Is vigorously congenial to the basic thesis that young lis- teners should put their chins up and 'get in training for that champion- ship, career.' Lots of fre.'h air (15. mins, every day with NBC turned on), an abundance of soao (a gentle- manly gesture to P, Si G.) and the usual dose of Wheaties is what Gen- eral Mills recommends as a sure way to build muscles and a good press. Maybe we ought to take a rain check on this program. For example, what was that quaint pau^e for the message to the boys from the Grand Llama of Tibet? At that it's a relief from the war commentators. Land.