Variety (Jul 1940)

a2 AADId ilEVIEWS I. Mozii]^ O^ia, 149 ¥ After 149 years minus a ^ew ihonths, Mozart'is : last bpieraj' Xa Clemehza Di Tito' ha4 its AmeriLaii premiere on two successive; Satur- days (22 and 29); It remained for radio to present the masterpiece lor the first time, with' Alfred Wallen- stein,. WOR's indefatigible maestro ■ V showing:the way.^ (The first petr formance of the opera was in tf agiie, Sept; 6, 1791, :t\vo : mori . MOzart;? de$th, and with the ejccep- : tiidin' oi ari occasional playirig of the overture and the singinig: of an isolated " ', no music from- the opera had tyev been heard here be-. . lore^v,; -rCi; ']. .■ While it is true theVopera does hot' equal the masterpieces: of *p6n Gio- vanni' or 'Le NozzQ di ; Figaro,* it literally abounds -in melody, and the genius of its construction would .put almost any ,nxbdern" composer to shiame^;.-., ^ . For the ^ most, part. t^^ ; opera is typically iviozartian. It is .airia, diip; trio; .recitative, etcV- / The; subject . . wKne npt filled intent is' ho less interesting; than scores of oth6f works; in. the standard ;reper- ' toire.;^^-. ■.; •• \,, .The performance oil .this occasion phowed . careful : preparation and jmatked '.Another .. milestone, in : the- ipath of Wallenstein, , whose con- ducting V and presentation tanked with the best. • Of the soloists Vivian delia. Ghiesi .y^as probably the best vocally; The 'soprano Js the posses- sor of . a. brilliant throat, sympathetic '■ in quality, and . abounding in . tem-^ peramenf. . The only criticism that ' might be offered of her work, was tliat f reqtuently' 'her . /recitatives . sounded more Vei^dian than ^Mo- . zarticn, .but her singing of the (diffi- cult aria, 'Parto Partb' wais ahhost in . class;by itself..-^ ': Genevieve liowei with not quite so inuch voice, but with apparently more training, in the Mpzirt school, did: a very fine:job of the. most diffiv cult aria, in the opera,:.'Nbn piii. di fidri,' and her coloratura work was. first; class; Hardesty Johnsbn, in the title role .used his clear lyric voice with ...much expression, and his prihr cipal aria, 'Se all'impero amici .Dei' •came o.ff well. :: The tenor is mbst. comfprtable in the lower:,and mid- dle registers,. for above the staff he is inclined tb strain. a bit. and the . voice wavers dangerbusly. "The dif- ficult cadenzas of the aria were; well Sling arid • iii concerto the singers, were' aU equally/fine. - The balance of the. cast had insignificant parts; which'they.all made the niost of, the artists, including Florence Vickland, Lpdema Legg. and. Jphn Gurney,- basso of the: Met. The .sudden popularity of Mozart opera the past, two years . as . indi- cated by the eho'rinpus -thrpngs at the .Metrppolitah, and; the decision .of that ,august . body . to revive 'The Magic Flute* next season: indicates Wallenstein again has chosen his time "wisely. ,The pirogram stirred much interest, and will be revived in the • .fall. BUKNS AND ALLEN IVith Artie Shaw orch, Smoothies (3) ■ 'Jo~hn. Hiestahd ,. HORMEL . . Mondayr 7:30: p.in. ; WEAF--NBC, -.New. Xorlt ..• '■\:. /B.-.B.-b.:*:-;o;).:; .> This show is a major' vientiire fpr^ Hbimel, biit. on the basis /of its debut edition Mbnday night (1) ^there's little occasion ;fbr uneaisiriess. Fpr if thb prbgrim lis a strain- on the spbri- isbr's bankroll,; it is., unmistakably punchy entevtainment-r-as potent as ariythirig. on this Monday slate and among the choiiie items of the entirie. week's ' layout.' .Series is .plugging Spam, a meat. jproduct, and should Srbvide a hefty sales stimulus. For lurns and Allen it represents a quick switchover sarts vacation from. Hinds Iloney . iand ,. Almond : cream .spbrisorship.'/^'^S^;-' ,:..■?■"/'.■■'■ \^V- - ,Iiv pace, smbgthhess,:'solid mate- rial and consistent' finish, the opehei: had all kilocycle marks bf -a - click. Instead of the usual sharpening iand tightiening, the production staff is here-faced with the problem of here-: after maintaining the tempo set. Burns . is m.c. and, besides two sizable laugh spots, he and Misis Al- ien are ih' and but of the script throughout. Artie Shaw, rieturriing to the air for the first time since his 'retirement,' has ia large band, with a Sizable and: lush storing section; In a double-tsilkish bit : With announcer John 'Bud* Hiestahd, he explained thait he isr attempting a 'new kind .of music,' sbrt of a cross between classr ical and swing. Whatever it is, it's plainly of high calibre. As a themer, Shaw is;usirig,a slightly revised ar- rangement bf'Begin the Beguine/the tune, bf ten identified with his first popularity rise. The Smopthies (3) have .'i. single riumber, which they handle :hiftily^ ■ . . Shaw hirhseLf has some dialog, and his guitarist, identified as 'Senor Lee,' is being built intb a cpmedy character. Also apparently, slated to become a standard bit on the show is a guy they refer. tO' as: the sound man. He wias the center bf- a fiinny running gag on the debut chapter. Commercials are aS smartly handled as is the rest of . the program. Fact that the sponsor is willing ,tP have his product ribbed- a bit prPvides neat entries for the selling pialaver, ■ Hobe. AMERICAN TREASURE CHEST With I^arry Keating, Thomas Carr Howci Edward C. Counter, Lpiiis • Ford.Orch.;. 3a Mihs., Local: Sustaining Tuesday, 9:30 p.m,:;: , KPO, ^San; Francisco.....;;-:/ Tugging at the heart-strings and prying into the inhiermbst circles of. the American family, 'American Treasure; Chest' draws, heirlooms out of attics aind basernents and. . with, th^m stirpriising : stories,; of tbmaricb. and tragedy. It's .'Hobby Lobby' Without: the freaks.; • .: Written by Leonard Cox,, who tried ;;iinsuccessfully - fbr iribnths .to get a hearing until Al NelsPn ar- rived at NBC here -arid okayed the idea, tlic show is based entireljr on the fragnients' bf history hidderi in weistern homes. Single mail, for exariiple,. drew strip; of lace' from Martha Waishington's petticoat^ eivil war-cannon ballj- ah aiitogfaph bpok; of the jOs aiid ah ahcieht ' pbllce- rnan's, biliy carved by- an old-time! prison: inmate. ; -; Each - bbj ect"used, oh show is: hand- ed to ;Thbmas Cai^r Hbw; curator; of a local art hiuseUrh,. and Edward C, Gounter, Jr;, a collector, who do not see.it until they face the mike. They describe it and: give their opinions as to what it seems to represent, after vvhich Larry Keating reads the actual story pf the Pbject. ; Stirihg prchestra furnishes .ai>prb- piriate background music during de- nbument. . Stdries behind:- the bb- jfects are what give the program its colbP. Items bn stiovf caught ; in- cl.iide.d civili-.war newspaper printed oh wiall-paper found; tacked bii wall of a dead Negrb'Si-.shack, by a; small boy . 3; ;geheratibri 'agp; ■. an African- fettish snatched by ah American woman during a; jungle bil explora- tion. tour ;with; good instead of; the exjpected evil liickifollowing; an Esr kimo-carved;bone pipe with a metal bowl made from -friagments of the ill-fated r Wiley: PostrWill Rogers plane; an ;.18th . century. Jade Hprse and rider, and a. necklace handed down from Empress Eugenie.; Five dollars is offered for each. Pbr je4t- described, .: • . tVcrn/;; ^MUSICAL TREASURE CHEST' With Horace Heidt Orchestra 30 Mins. LEWIS-HaWE (TUMS) Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. WEAF-NBC,;. New York Turns now has tWp NBC sessions. / Its socko 'Pot o' Gold' has switched to the Blue network Thursdays and in the vacated NBC red Tuesday, niche this 'Mu.sicai 'Treasui'e ^Chest' has bfeen revived. It was previously used; on the air by Horace- Heidt durih,i the period of waiting for the: •Pot p' Gold- format to be clepired by ' the NBC lawyers,\whb feared lottery: • 5tignia; ;■'-; ;..-. ^■ :.'::, , Last Tuesday (25) ; the 'Treasure .Chesf^^ .iirifplded in drab' style. - The ; audience, pairticipatioh aspeptr^which ,; is' the; whole. show essentially> ^ de- spite;; a few ■.ftius.ical; nunib.ers—:was obscure; in method and, phphey- seemihg iri; the extreme vagueness (as real people) and the nearly .jcom-; , .plete retitence of mpst of those sup- 'posedly brought tb: the mike .from . the studio public;tp be tried by mii- Bically-described questions,: ■Program . v/as sagging all the way on, the eve- ning- heard due to .' seeming Vinertia and.lack of ^spontaneity/.:-: .- : Heidt; got .a Ipt .out of this idea, originally developed during his long . stand i at the Hotel ;Biltmore, N. Y.,. blit most of the vitamins have been, dissipated \ by ; the- present studio method^—or. lack; of nxethod-^f the broadcasts. It suggests that like a long-run legit show, . this one needs a' jolt in the arm to/ overcome the boredom of too. many performances. Land. ■■■ .'ON .THE SPOT^. With Russ - Morgan's Orch, : Henry ; Morgan ' Music^. Quiz 30 Mins.—•Lobal.' vaNti PA-PI-A Monday^ 8:30; p.m> iWOR, New Yorlt •; (Efwin-Wasey) Billed as a; quiz show, this session turns out to be a muScal sfcetch Idea of the Vanti (beverage) spon- sors is • to buy up Monday night at Mrnhattan Beiach, Nv Y,, charge an admissibh of/three: bottle caps from its Pa-Pi-A .product, select: contest- ants from the ■dance floor and use \vhatever band is ;bobked' fpr dahcihg at the sppt, on the. air. Contestants are/allowed to decide whether they'd like a ^hard': or 'eSsy' query- pUt to them.. Payoff is $5 or'$1; respective ly, if correctly answered, or: six bot- tles of the sponsor's: soft drink if they're stumped. As set up, with one query between every one or two b^hd riumbers; it becomes a musical'show> the quality of which Will depend weekly on the band used. There were onliv' . five queries sprung, at contestantis: the initial airing (1), neither of which took; up much time to put or answer, M.c. Henry Morgan (nb relation to Russ) did a faiirly good job seirving ;,'em up. ^. !;"• Idea turns but - okay, though ;the quiz; biilih.Ef should be minimized if that's all the attentiori :lt is to get.: It's; a cheap enough:setup' This show cost $15 for virinnihg contestants;, and a couple dozen bottles .of; Pa-Pi-A. Nbt much is being paid;ipr the band; and, the price of a; Monday nigHt at Manhattaii ;.Beach prbbably , isn't back-breakinig; At that scale' the iplehtiful commercials' on opening: airing weren^t costly and; the: tnonby was well.spent. : ; : Wood,; ■I^RpESt.: wii<w,s ■• 'r ':-: .Curb-Quiz.-: \ ^■■ -15'Mihs.-^Lbc'al ■.■.:,-■" ■';; -■■ : .■• :'v.-■ SHA^mO & HEPP'S JEWELERS Dailyv-3-'p.nl.'-; ■■ -•■ -':;: ;-■■; WABY, Albany • : Curb quiz fnoves rapidly^ smoothly in handsvof Willis, .Who:prpbably has haiidled more, commercial. progEams than anyone: hereabouts "duririg past 10. years. ; He possesses ia: good voice, pleasant; niike pefsonality and. defi- nite: sales ability. Flaws; are minoi". Willis goes .so far as to address rneri arid unmarried wbmeh by their first names;; even isometimescalls womeri with small children 'Mommy.' Does it- without kickbacks, too. ; He uses a set question (theatre passes, offered; for queries arid a merchari-! di-sc: prize for best Pf week), on each salvo; . rest: is more . or less . ifri-; promptu. Joco. ' - tred ;Bate, • ■yvho, ■ In 'an easy,; uh- spectacular manner,-has. been brbad- castirig. f or; NBG keen apalyses a^^ jreports of England's part, in the. war, deliyiered ; pertinent remarks abbut lbb!5e iise. of term 'fifth ;"coluntiriists.' Did so in; cbitimenting on an editorial in The Lbridoh Star whicb declared Germany wiaS. making an intense propaganda; drive in United States, using, radio and press comihentators to . spread istories B;rit.airi; wais weiak- eiiing ih her effoi-ts and was prepar- ing to sue. for peace.- Paper referred to - this , as' ;part of !fifth coluriin-. acr tivitiies.: :■^■-:-/;.: .v..-/.;'-'';- -'-: ;'- .Bate said - the term .was misused, 'Prierids'; who questionied tKe^ 'timing' of a prograrii, whether the maximum effort had been put at the right' riiO- ment, were: not 'fifth columnists,' he added. Frbni this arid following ref- erences to civilian population, - infer- ence seeiried to be. Bate thbught Americans, were, justified in ques- tioning, whether. Britain had. 'gone all the way out'-wheri-it had tihle; : Said even now. he did not think; English- men-in-thQ-street • realized fully this danger which confronted them; that When they did, 'civlliari spirit, at . least* wbuld. not be found wanting,: Bate and bther broadcasters from London appear to erijoy remarkable freedom iri their comments .copiipared to thpse in Berlin or Rome. Berlin riiike):s from German capital, riow seldorri ; question Nazi stories and viewpoints. .Mel Allen did it solo jPb deSciribirig the; Giants-Cards gamie last Wednes- day night (26) over : WMCA, New York; , Camel cigs sponsors the Giants-; arid Yanks . games, normally over. WABC, but when night contests are played the broadcasts go ■ to WMCA. ,:Althptigh a single :voice over the entire game latks the varia- tion of. two' men handlirig the de- scription;-Alleri kept abreast of the play, (as the listener coiild tell by the. sound of the baitted'ball, yells' of the crowd, etc), seeriied relaxed and maintained" a;steady fire of cbrpment without-ever-talking:just to be say- irig something. / Also ^handled com-, tnercials, .stressing; the .sponsor's 'slow-burning' line. . For. the -Satur- day afternoon (29) broadcast bf: the YarikeesrAthletics game over,-WABC. Allen. waS;joirie'd by Jay C.-Flippen iOT, ; the. :' betweeri-ih'nirigs breaks. Latter; brings a thbr.ou'gh. knbwledgie of the game ;to. his familiar light bariter,.:prpvidiiig a ::sRicy touch: to the airings.- ■ ■. ■-' ■ «WINGS OVER AMERICA' .■ With John Maclntire, Jacicio Kelk, Warren Parker, Ray Bramley, WH- fred Lytell, Robert Ober. Ned Wever, Clifford Stork Aviation Cayailcade Sustaining 30 Mihs.: Sunday 12:30 p.in. WJZ-NBC, New York . . Richard McDonagh has authored, with the able technical and historical assistahoe of jiin Ray, an excellent iand stirring cavalcade:. of aviation; history which isn't as: iacadenriic as it sounds. What could easily b,e a . dud is a vigorous,: trehchant halfrhpur sustainer Sunday at 12:30 p.m. It ties in perfectly with America's presentr day. alr-miridedness, accented by militaristic -aggi'iession on the; other side via blitzkriegs. Harry MiacFay- den direbts this series. .- In a capsule table of cbritents, as chiefly arinpunced by John Maclntire,. the exposition detailis " the dramatic highlights of what's tb conie in fUr; ture weeks. It's not merely the cut- urid-dried history of the Wright Bros, at Kittyhawk, N, C., in 19.04, but em- phasizes the ;cpmmariding; mariner in .which arrriy and ;iiavy' research arid irigenuity : has done; sb much to fur? ther the progress'of aviation. Fbr one thiiig, it's at one and the same time a :very effective, yet subtle' re- assurarice to Americans that perhaps we're not as languid in. our prepared-: riess; that bombers, divei'is. pursuit, recbnbissaricc , and combat pVaines didn't conrte into existence with Hit- ler's parachute; and Stuka flyers. ' ;; In authoritative riianner, U. ■ S; Ai and. U., S. N;,;experts aire cut in frorii ■Washington; arid other, pbirits tb point lipi aviation's. progress. For pne thing. John. Q.. Piiblib iis given chief credit, as witness;the early post-war (clarrior for mail plariie'stathps. Comes ailso the episbde; of 1926 when some anpnyriious; ICS-poUnder was : willing to have enbiigh starhps, (at 8c per ounce).stuck on him so-that he tnay be flown :as ; parcel ;p;ost frbm; New York to, Detroit;; (Several have Since: claimed to be that individual.) . ' Lieut Tbwers, nipw Rear-Admiral John H.* Towers; the No. 1 aviation expert of; the ; Navy,. thus takes, tip the chore bf highligntirig t^e transi- tion frohi liDll,:when he first dared to. do experiihental thirigs; until 1940, iinder his present, command; Fbr the other brartch of the service, Happy Arnold, how Majbr-Gbrierial Henry H; Arnold, chief, of the Army Air Corps, tells his end of it succinctly. Arid Fowler Bartlett, secretary of .the Air Transport Ass'ri,- detailed punch- ily: -and effectiyely: how ; there have been no major plane .accidents in commercial .aviation for 15 mbnths, during which period 2,50(>;0()0 pas-? senger.s flew over lOO.OOO.OOO miles, a far cry indeed frorri OrVille and Wil- bur. Wright of 1904. It was Capt. Chambers of the Navy, in 1910, who ericourap.ed Gr.ville Wright's seaplane experiments, and it was Curtis. (riot the Wright firm) that successfully pioneered plane ;takeoffs f rbrii battle- ships (Preserit-day airplane carriers). : Spieler : Maclntire uses an -air- :rninded ybungstei'.. capably played .by; Ja'ckie Kelk, as his vis-a-vis for this discburse bn 'Wiugs Over America.* which, :as the; arinouncerrient states, 'recounts the. histbry of ' :Ariverican dviatibn without hokum.' That's lit^ erally SP; beeiause the basic story is sufficiently wallopy to require noth- ing more; than shpwmiariiy- nresenta- tipri.; ■ Authbrs McDonagh-Ray have seen to that very satisfactbrilyl ': • ■ . ^•:■ . ^ 'Abcl. .: ;; Marion Claire. waS iri glowing voice Sunday night (30): on the rSyriiphoriic Hour, over Mutual out' pf: WGN, Chi- cago; Soprano ihandled several ;dif- ficUlt arias; with impressive- breath, power, and expression. Henry. Web- er's batoning; w^s- satisfying.- Col. Robert R. McCorniiick, publisher bf the Chicago .Triburi.e , arid, boss of WGN. Gontributed - an" intermissibh talk ori possible Nazi methods of in- vading England^ , TOMMY bOitSEY BAND With Connie Haines, Pieia flpe'rs, '.; Frank ^Sinatra-: - 30 Mins. .:■ PEPSObENT Tuesday, 10 p;m. WEAF-NBC, New York (Lord & Thomas) , Squire Porsey provides (over 62 NBC stations) .a thoroughly agree- able'half hoiir in the Dorsey idiom as a surtiriier time-holder for Pepso- dent's Bob Hope program; The mu- sical selections are nicely varied in pace and consistently on the sun- burst side."The continuity is of -the saucy slanguage type, -employing glittering adjectives and: elegancies of alliteratibn like iUmpid and lucid' as a charjicterizatiori of- an arrange-, merit,. Singing, gab and CttiusiC, com- bine for easy pleasui^e;.- If proof- were needed, : this - half hour revealis ..t)brsev as a showman capable of spteadirig his carivas byer ai full-sized radip lot. .Larid'' THE PLEHALS ~-'.i' Harmonica btio CAMPBELL WABC-CBSv New York : ■ (Woird WJieelocJc) , :; : : Tpiri and Eddie PleliJil' have 'been duettirig- .bri their:, harrripriicas. for- WCCO, Minneapolis, mbi'e thari four years. •: They ;were selected - for the Al.:Pearce. program last Friday ;as orie of the local persoriality bbokirigs prpyided .by various stations.'. Air though a one-time .'showing, \i was an; event in- the ;career.s of the PlehalS, who •went tb ' :HollywoQd, where the Pearqe show originates..-' • I'Duo's cbntribiitibri ;was for ;three pfiiriutes, . the boys ;dbing well :ialr though they would proTDably have stood put had they; been allotted a little more tirhe. More of a stunt than a; standout the showing nevei:- theless may .boost.: the Plehals on their way. . ;- ■ Ampng others; froiri WCCO who have, shown on the. networks are the Andrews Sisters, johnny Green, Four . Norsemen and Eddie Dunsted- ter. Jbee. Wetlucsday, July 3, i94o QUIZ KIDS with Joe Kelly, Ford Pear.^on 30 MIfis. --;: alka-selt2e;b Friday, 10:30 p.m. WEAF-NBC, Nev/ York ; It's a long jump ffoiri the bld'Avei newspiaper-walloping Nine CrazV Kids: of small-time vayde (remember the blizzard of '98?); to these moderrL streairilined, radio-spoutirig younel sters who, when asked a tough qiies. tion on something. they have a right not to know abPut, pop ■■ put, with plenty of assurance, that 'undoubt^ edly, what; you refer to is the Ethi. opian gaga -which is rapidly becbm. ing extirict.'- These; kids are offered as remarkable; If Alka-Seltzer is ai reriiarkable for a hangover as thesi snriarties,,. then ■ the cui'e-all; of thi century coriies in a long glass tube Unfortunately there will spring "to mind (that is, in inirids: tainted bis commerciiil suspicion) a wonder if kids could be. so wonderful, sb alert so quick, so iinhbsitatirig. Because :even J;ohu Kieran; hesitates on' occai sion, and the fight word; sometimes eludes F. P. A. In short, (5uiz Kidj; is a gbbd layout fbr; : cheap-pricedt:- addition to the audiience participaT tion parade, but, the first prograrii, ast firist: programs will be, was geared! up as high and as tight as a slot ma.I chine in a summer resort; It riiayl have been spontaneous, urirehearsed' mccoy arid 100% kosher, but if the' average listener can't believe it; the' production will have to riiake mbroi prbyision for 'spbntarieity.' Questions that reveal: cbriimori :sense: arid opin^ ion on current events might riiake i better ^entertainment . than mere riiernory-testirig. . : , Those questions aibbut Greek rinytholbgy answered by a seven- year-old encyclopedist are apt to nuzzle adult listeners.. (Arid who has those hangovers: that rieed Alka- Seltzer anyhow? Adulthood riiustbe left some: prerogatives!) • Also the kid? were i bit too quick to sing snatches frbrid faiirly obscure songi given but by title alorie, (Progfaiii has an brgari for'.accbrrtDanimerit;) ; Lou .Cowan, Chibago press agent, .brigiriated this urogram,. It's 4 gbod idea iritripsicall.v, although :it ap- pears, :to havei'^ beeu hampered bV agencyr^r possibly network-r^reyf- sions. The main task is tb allow the innate hiimor to coriie through, to se-: lect the kidsmpre; for riormalcy and les."5 for incredibility. The emcee was definitely .pbor; He was iricaipable of exploiting his bpporturiities.: LdJid, :: ■:| DUKE ELLINGTON ORCH » Short-Wave from. N; .Y. .30 'Min^.-'. ; :lVlohday, ,3 p.m.; . BBC, Lohdon'; - 'America' Darices'—-sb; this -short-ii wave series has it; but at this hour? in the afternoon it wias a cinch Erig-'i larid cbuldri't.: It riiay . even have | been that program arrangers, aware bf the hp'uir' drawback, so spaced the numbCr.s as-to show the pdividuality of the Ellington congregation, rather than its dattsapatiorii Atmospherics ;wcfe not;kind tb the first half of the airing, muffling the only -vQcal of the session; arid, haridirig a beating tb Ben Webster's teriof saxing bf 'Got-.' ton. Tale'; piece brily reached ap-.| preciable clarity at the finale.:; As though in recompensb; the bad air- waves * cleared cbnsiderably. for Coot Williams arid 'Cbncertb' iri C arid ■Boy Meet Horn* for Rex Stewart, all new stuff for ;th)s side; London's 52nd street. Charirig. Cross, took- the sessibn like-gospel.^ . ; Aricnt this CBS ishbrtrwave series, one thirig the listener rasks here is 'Why :doesn',t the; leader . speak?' They're accustomed to a word org two from the.: batoneers; around | town, and seemingly ; take the ab-1 sence of the personal, touch as a .i loss; Elliriijtbri, however, did leave j an indelible signature on all of the ^ ei^ht nuriibers aired; Selection of t 'The Sergeant Was Shy' was a neat V gesture^ to the troops, over ^yhicll | wavelcrigth the session aired ' this ; ■side.-. / ■■■■ ■" LESLIE HOWARD 'Makini^ Films In Wartime'. Monday, 6:30 . ; B^BC,: London ; ;> /:;' .Filmite turned this appearance, his secbrid on the 'Close Up' sevles, into a plug for. continued British produc- tion of filriis throughout ; the war peripd. Stressing ;the / prop.aganaa value of these ;:films when; distribr uted overseas, Howard's reference to 'Pygmalibri,' ;which he. co-directed as well as , handling ;.playirig chore, Cbvered the $2,000,000 it; grossed the; .U...S. These, he said; weire handy dollars to turri over in payment for American airprartes. .The Lbridon financial, groups dame ;in for a-plea riot .' to go cold • bn backirig; hbine prbduct,; to-:'view: it as 'aiv-exportable Goriiriibdity {irid;in that, way keep :the cameras turning synchrbriized to the .wheels of the Gbverrimerit's .expoiT effort to increase overseas balanoes.' Leslie Mitchell, bn the interviewer; end,' lead; Howard iritp •. some cqmr. riient bri picture Hbward is to, make as: an independent prbducer, 'a"° listeners heard; something of the trials' of pictUre-riiakirig during: war- time,, with'.its:; blackout. of ,"$".¥' edorioiriy moves arid repeated caiis on' induitry labor all making dini- cult the: setting up bf a tight. schea^ ule. ; A Significant; observatipn; wa^ actor's reply tb the qucstipn bf wi^P would happen tb film-making ^"^ event bf evacua:ti on: He. .'iaid riiove would be made tb Canada..