Variety (Mar 1941)

34 RADIO REVIEWS Wednesday^ Marcb 12, 1941 Preston, , Sherer, TLL FIND MY WAY* Witb Phyllis Jeaniie, 'lack Arch Schmidt* . Leoqard Billy Kenton 15 Mins. Sastalnidr Dkily,.i:45 n;m. : , , : WOE^Mntual, New York This flrial of Mutual's new quartet, of daytime serials piles on the. hoke in mo'derately skillful ..fashion ancJi with, jadded tuning, should garner a sizable Audience. Like the bthers in. the solid-hour group, it's shrewdly hot arrayed agaihst the strongest of the commercial seirials on NBC or CBS. I'll Find- my Way,' origihatihg at WGR, Bijlfalo, hit: the ozone laist week .(3), a .week behind its three conipanion shows: It's scripted by Herbert Rice and . Joseph ' Slotkih, with the former"-also, directing. iritroduct.bry..spiel for the show is kindsH pomtwusi Gal:sings a couple of bars of 'Sbnie Day I11. B,e Free; Again,' followed' by a violin theme, after which this: announcer explains that the program tells of . 'the strug- gle of a beautiful atid talented; .girl -to find Tiappin^ss.' ; He adds that ■she faces life braveiy, keeping her spirit alive by the constant'thought, •rii, Find My Way.'' - yarn is hot as bad. as thait would indicate;. In, fact, it's rather acceptable taffy. Idea. i& a small-town belle's ambition to bfe- come a stage actress, with her ailing father's failing hewspaper an im- mediate, complicatioh. Gne of. the key characters is a cantankerous but lovable^ old ■printer.: And ph the initial chapter .theire was- the kindly: fartiily doctor arid a brash big city slicker plotting to take over the bid man's paper. That takes care, of everyone but the herd, .who'll doubt- less turn up any di^y now: - ■ ' Scripting is Tvsasonably workman- like. ShiJw hj^s clearly and. quickly, planted ; the . thaiii characters, it moves briskly through . successive scenes and thOadialog is pointed ^nd' sufficiently colored. . Phyllis Jeanne, the Onlv member of the cast getting air billing, is olausibly eager and . tremulous, as th^' aspiring actress, just, skimming the:edge of overplay- ing, but so far not goinf overboard. Jack Preston is believable as the aging editor, while Arch Schmidt leans a triflie hard On the character part of the Tirinter. teonard Sherer and Billy Keaton are passable as the doctor arid city intruder, resoective- ly. Show isn't over-produced, Hobc, 'PFF :'rlIE BECOBD' With visitinf celebB- , 30 Mins.-r~Local ' : KSTP, llVinbeapolls. This show, produced by George Grim, Star-Journal promotion maYi, and aired over KSTP' every Sunday afternoon^ nboiinds in huirian inter- est'. In its 30 miriut^ programs it may run from strip tease dancing to re- ligious endeavors. It is sprightly, irreverent; happy-go-lucky and amusing. Sample of the variety incorporated Into it is afforded by the particular stanza ■ caught; This included Ann Corio, the strip teaser. Father Flana- gan of Boys' Town and Lily Dache of the chapeaiix fariie, while also nian- aging enough tiriie, too, to drag in a dog act frorii the International Casino Revue at the Orpheum,: ■ Celebs here for theatre or other engagements, or just; on visits/ ap- pear in -persori on the show or, if that's iritpracticable, are plattered for presentatiohi Occasionally, to flu gapsi a local screwball is picked up and adds his touch to the bit of ether sur-realism, which a KSTP wag retitled 'Dali In Minneapolis.' On this occasion, Miss Corio pre- ceded Father Flanagan—probably the first time a burlesque strip teaser and Catholic priest ever have ap peared together on the same pro- gram—and told how she makes strip teasing an 'art,' studies philosophy durmg her spare moriients and acts in eastern strawhat summer theatrfe legit dramas during the ofl-seasonis. This was edifying and also good for Bome laughs. The Boys'. "Town setup was In- terestingly . .explained . by: Father Flanagan during his plotter inter- view. .'Then Lily Dache prophesied the wilnter feminine hat styles. For a finisher Al Gordon gave instruc- tions in dog training and several of his canines.answered his queries with barks.. ■ ;■ Aees. HOLI^YWDOD TATTLETALE With Erskine Johnson . 15 Mlns.^Local NASSOVB SHAMPOO Mon. and Fri., 5:15 p.m.: KECA, .Los: Anceles . (Wilton .Weinberg) Pretty much of the sariie piffle that . the othier tattlers peddle is poured irito the microphone by col-; uirinist .' Erskine Johnson twice a w6el<; as a sales stim'^ulant for ft hair oil. . Gals who. devour what they riead iri the fan mags, will make up his audience. . But it ^von't woo riiany -of thiem bn account; of the time. Wbiking goils aren't hanging: around radio:'sets ;at 5:15. . ; Johnson's dielivery hasn't the sell- ing quality arid is little mbre.thain a reading. .Herb Allen, who' straights for him and spiels the coiriiriercials, makes him; sound .worse by compari- son. A rtiike vet; Allen knbws hpw to shade and punch, a technic John- son haisn't yet riiastered. Fbrriiula varies little froiri what Jimmie Fid- let has done before him. Only, the' wbrdinig and~ appiroach are different' and at times pretty sappy . For ' in- stance, ;:did yoii knqw that Hedy Lamarr. tises rouge irt her nostrils? Another variation is :his 'bobs, arid bbws' - department,. with . Charlie Chaplin getting chastised for being un-cobperative and Alice Faye lauded fbr her philanthropy. There's a Contest too,, and those labels or bottle caps better start coming in... A dinner: at the . Para- mount, commissary C'dihe with the stars') igoes to. the.:gal who writes the best lettei: on 'wh^ I like, etc.,' and buyis a bottle of the hair wash. Don't "forget: that labet sister. ; Guess: he's no worse, than the: others. , Helm;. 'CBEATED EQUAL' With Ed Latimer, Wendell PhlUlps, Micbaiel sage, Biith Bartlett, Shelly Hull, Paul Talbot, Pan! Weaver, Judith Carflll/ Sandra Waring, David Enton. 60 Mins. ■ ■.: Sustaining. Snhday, 5 p.m. .WNYC,.New York; .- •• ■ "•;,■.•': . As. part of : its 26^week series of: 'Created Equal* dramas about lead- ers of democratic thought and ideals, WNYC, New York's municipally- owned station, offered last week, this stanza, about Mark Twain. It Was a .fair attempt; in View of the limitations of civil service budgeting, but didn't compare with ebriimercial or network standards. Scripts fpr the series, by. several different writers, are gratis jobs and the pro- duction is necessarily skimpy. How- ever, the direction and some of the individual, performances were good. Louis M. Horowitz authored this edition, which was a. wavering ac- count of Samuel Clemens* youthful introduction to Mississippi navigation until his return to the U. S. as a. successful writer arid his subsequent marriage. Wrltlrig was diffuse, lack-: ing a straight riarrative . line or definite theme. It failed to indicate why Twain should be considered a leader or exponent of democratic thought and gave oiily dubious hints of his ability as si humorist,: It also iignored the^ evidence, uncovered re- cently in Twain*s private writings, that he was personally a sharp-temi pered, bitterly critical man. Apparently because of inadequate budget or e(^uipment, the production, like the writing, failed to Inject vigor into what might have been the stpry*s dramatic highlights. Thus, the scenes on the Mississippi packets of- fering juicy opportunities for vivid production tireatment, were mild. So was the. Civil War incident, the Cali- fornia arid Colorado Interludes and :the Hawaiian sequerices. In addition, the yarn had no Climax, but simply faded away in several vague lines by the narrator. Mitchell Grayson directed.. Ed Latimer was acceptable in the titlfii part, while Michael Sage: and Riith Bartlett registered as a Mississippi captain and his daughter. Shelly Hull was uneven as Twain's brogue-ac- cented Man Friday, Sandfa Waring and Judith: Cargill Were' lively as Twairi's bride and mother-iri-lawrto- be and- David Eritbn impressed as a ship's purser. Wendell Phillips ap- parently didn't fully appreciate the function of the: narrator. -Hobei- PQIS'T MISS PALMOUVE'S BESS JOHNSON By Adelaide Morstbn Dedicated to the wpnien of Ame The atofy: of a woman whb mu«i chooBo between love and the careisr. of raising: other women'* children. WABC-CBS-4:30-i:45 PJ4.. EST 79 Stdtipns CooisMd-Gbast . Direction WARD WHEELOCK CO- Management ED WOLF, BKO .BUILDINci, New York TEST FLIGHF With Bad Thorpe an4 Bnlbted Hen Lowry Fleldr Denver 'Quis -.■ : ADOLPH COOBS BEEB ^ 30 Mins.—^Local , f Fridays, 9 p.m. KLZ, Denver KiiZ moved into Lowry Fieldi Uf. S.^ Army technical flying school with 5,500 enlisted men, for ai novel weekly half-hbuc of: quiz.: With h^lf a dozen contestants, cbmpeting; against each other, the quiz is split in' sections arid named softer flight terms—fledging, dual, blind, bail out and check, flights. Check flight^ has; tb do with a technical problem.^ aTid; one must have had. flying trairiing:to answer. Show is built along lines to. forego stalling. The .Various: flights riiust move on'schedule or result would be ia pancake landirig. Questions get tougher' as .program (test , .flight) progresses, arid "pilots maiy go into nosedive or flat- spin at - any .time: With a flsh bowl of halt dollars at hand Emcee Bud : Thbrpe pays the prizes, as. wdn.- -' Whble prbgrarii is plotted bit a ritiythical Jiying course, say from Denver to Miami,; and any contestant completing the firll flight grabs- the: jackpot which Jiricreases Weefclyi To do : this all questions must be answered by the "quizee: ~ Program is staged in theatre at the field, with . 450 atteriding. Tickets Used and rotated so all have charice of seeing show once In 12 weeks. Contestants ::failing, and' especially those..'bailihg out'., are giveri plenty of razz by their buddies. Anything gbes in applause exceptjfeet stamp- ing—with a board- floor it'would sound worse thari -an air raid. .,; Credit for. writing and ifroducjng, from original^ idea, ■ gOies to Derby Sproul, production manager, of KLZ. Sponsor.. the • Adolph Coors Co., whose principal prbduct is beer,; diplbrriatically: refrains from "Sing; •the wbrd beer on program. Plugs held to less than 45 seconds, unusual in radio advertisirig. Goors wanted ■ therii even shorter, biit the program needed* a- break. One plug at the istart, one In the middle, and merely the. name pf. the spbnsor at the end is indeed refreshing. cEyery Seven weeks the winriers In the previous si:^. week^ will be pitted against each bther..-This will terid tb maintain' and build tip interest amorig the soldiers, arid students at the fleld-r-^a grbup of men to'whom a usual type: QjE program would soon be nothing mor^ than a routine ri^Ttiee flight. Rose. WIN, PLACE AND Show Qdlz Show • 30 Mins.—Local FBANKENMUTH-KENTUCKY BBEWING Satnrday, 7:30 p.m. WAVE, LonisvlIIe ; (Fred M. Rondall) . Brewery sponsoring this quiz show is a new entry in. a Southern market,' but is well-established in the Michigan terrltbry. "This local quizzer is . held on the stage of Co- lumbia Auditorium,. arid audiences have been averaging about 800. Basic idea which has been worked out by Graeme Gilmore, of WA'VE produc- tion Staff, suggests the ''Inforniation. Please' type of quiz, in that there is' a board of experts, made up of Bur- ton Blackwell, Don Hill, of the sta- tion staff, and two well-known citi- zens. Another. board of' four per- sons is sielected from the audience. Gebrge Patterson, program direc- tor^ . handles . the Clifton Padiman role, and {iropounds the questions sent in by listeners. If the bbard of experts fail tp answer the. query satr isfactorily, it is then passed on to the second board, made up. of selected persons from the audierice: If these likewise miss the - answei:;: the question is tbssed to the audi- erice. Each time the question is unanswered, the persori sending in the question gets an additiorial two bucks. A- total of $100 is given away on the. prbgram, part of it to' the send- ers of questions, used on the air, arid the baiarice is: distributed to. the audience iri the theatre i^ a quiz ses- sion after the air program is over. Program is pullirig plenty oiE mail firom - a wide range: of states, both north, and sputh. arid: it's only rieces- sary to Send iri the questibris-^rio box tops/ labelst-and the like. : Nice jbb of production by Graeme Gilmore, iarid .while the setup on cash prizes ; sounds coriipliCated,: it works out smoothly ,and. entire show irioves along with few dull: spbts.: An okay effort in the quiz show line, by a local station." ; :' . eomriierciais arie brieif.'arid to thie point, . Hold. FolioW' Up Commeni Those Biarryiriore boya appeared on two consecutive NBC programs last Thursdaiy night (6) with Lioriel topping both John and everyone else on either ol the two showsj Lionel guested for Birig Crosby on Kraft Music Hall (9-10 b,rin.) and Johii was with thie Rudy vVaUee trbupe (lO- lOtSO p.m). ■ Lionel ':Wai3. in what is known as rare fotiiti on script. Called the hardest working member:; of the Barrymore. «lari hie said that work was: just: a nasty- habit . with him.: Ethel Was the talented one. -As for Jbhrir^well, John was -the greatest Hamlet of his gerieration. He played it in Shakespeare's hotrie toviti and the critics, abroad said John's was the greatest Hamlet they had ever seein. . After that, quipped Lionel,: there was nothing more left for John to do and he's been doing it ever since.' The guester then took a poke at Bob.Burnsi saying that pprtrayirig a character was okay but when it cairie to being a character Buims \yas overdoing' it^::-.\ ; Talking about his famous 'Dr. Kil- dare' chariacterization in: films sonie- brie said Barrsrmbre was. s.b perfect, 'I don't think of you as an actor.' Retorted Barrymore, 'Neither do I.' Reading of' homespun philosophical poem, 'Doctor's. Elegy,' by Dr. Will- iam Rice vfas a. lulti. Further inter- changes ; betweeri . Barrymore arid Burns again gave^ the radio: comic the Voorst of it. "There's sbirietliing about my sOngs- that sticks;' said Qiirns at one pbi^t. 'You can speak TOore .plainly than that,' Barrymore countered. : . RerriinisCing further about John, Lionel alsb recalled the time that a niewspaper critic callied the. younger brbthei: a celebrated actor and .'John has been celebrating ever sirice/ . John was not in such rare (script jform): on the Vallee prograrii that fo.llbwed. Banter .:with Frank Fay W'as somewhat tepid, arid riameTcall-' irig ; didn't get any further than Barrympre's reference to 'faded Fay', and lattei' calli]:ig Barrymore/ a 'legend.' ■ : Helen Hayes, by virtue bf, her tal- ent and lustrous personality, par- tially redeemed a commonplace script on her Lipton's program Sun- day (9) night. Play was "The Com- stock QUeen,' an' original roriiantic drama of the: 19th century west by Therese Lewis. Said to be based on acttial history, it dealt with an am- bitious Scotch girl's iron-willed de- teririination to gain wealth and power as a prospector. Piece had, movement and plausible develop- ment but it failed to provide sufii- cierit dramatic scope fPr: an actress of Miss Hayes depth and power.. It. rarely rose above the level of a stilted daguerreotype. Elliott Le'wis, as supporting ~ lead, was a trifle heavy,-but Anthony Ross gave per- suasive intensity to the part of the tragic husbarid. Mark Warriow's musical backgrburids were expres- sive. In general, hbwever, the en- tire Hayeis program lately has been disappointingly below the standard tb be expected of a prestige series with a star of her magnitude. ' Walter Haston gave, a techriicallly rough, but dramatically effective performarice. Friday (7) night on the 'Campbell Playhouse.' Piece was an expert adaptation of 'You and 1/ an early Philipl Barry play. Noted as a slow study, Huston muffed a num- ber of lines, :yet gave ari underlying impression bf authority, siricerity, understanding of the part , and, coh- seqhently, of plaiisibility. Play: it- self is an. unusually adult: one .for radio, posing the internal problem of ho>v a man. must compromise hli avpcation-ambition to everyday de mairida of business, family, etc. Aj usual, the guest delivered:: a sign-o£ plug for Campbell's sbup>: That mai help sell the prbduct, but it is palp, ably phony and in dubious taste. . . Frank: Morgan^ Munchausen rpu tihie oh MaxWen House last Thursite] was orie of the hrightest interlude! that shbw's uririeeled in sbnie time Morgari's excellerit timing, plus skill ful foiling by John Cbnte and Mere, dith WiUson, were unique show bh examples in propef line pacing. In. cidentally,\ the ad-lib trailers for th< Morgan (Wupperman). family's An. gostura. Bitters. Is becoming a -sei libretto. Carol Bruce cbhtinues .to,be an at. tractive member of the Ben Bernic program (Biromoi Seltzer, Tuesday NBC) which has recently. been re, vised In regard, to the quiz pbrtibr arid with the addition: of Eddie Green. .The entertainment portior^ Miss Brupe. being a- case in point seems sbmewhat . played down al times in ^)rder to play up the quiZ' biz. But this is typical of 1941 radio Just now Green is not fully worked into the new formula. : Instead. of studio contestants try- ing, to identify numbers.'iri musical stories .(submitted by listeners), theji now vplay ♦New: Army ;Ganie;' This, dealing yvith i all . 'sorts of musical questions (dialiers asked to supply), starts them , off as a 'private.'; If ari- sWeririg correctly; quizeei are paid $1 arid advanced to: 'sergeant.' Queries in that rating '^draw -$2 awards; as 'lieiuteniant,' $5, .'cap- tain/ $10, -cbloneli' $30. If qualify.: ing as last namedt they have a chance to witi .$100 as .'general.' , -Money scooping by winners from bowl, which clairined. old.. schedule arid caused much laughter among visuals (meant'little ta.:.dlalers), has been dropped.: 'PUT AND! TAKEV r Quiz: Show. 30 Mins.—Local :McPEAK'';TIBE .CO.-;" Fri.^ 8 pjn, '. • ■ ■ • WWSW, Pittsburgh .; This is another new varlatiorf bri cash giveaway programs. Doesn't pick, its quizees from the. audience but Imes: tip. a couple of teams fbr the battle of wits. ■ One week, it may be three ; models from Kaufmann's and thtee from Gimbel's sparring for the silver dollars; the. next week it will likely be a team bf flrbmen Vs. a team: of policemen, or again a trio of columnists from the Post- Gazette : and a threesome from the >uri-Telegraph. • Rather entertaining half-hour. ■ Coheii. : 'BLOOD AND INK' With Bichard McLaughlin, Andre Maiirois ■ Interviews : 15 Mins.—Local Sustaining' Thursday, 10:30 p.m. WEVD, New York New siferies of interviews •with fa- mous authprs is tied in with thie Bundles For Britain campaign. First of the. series "had . Andre Maurois^ French author, : as the. .guest star, with Richard McLaughlin; interro- gating,' '. '..•■;.. Stanza did riot iriipress very .fav- orably;' Questions about literaty activity in France under •war cbn- dltibns seemed rather futile and academic. Most of- the chatter is likely to elicit 'so-what' response from listeners. Questions pointed at Maurois about his own 'writings at times took color of a fan or school.^ girl riewspaper reporter interview- irig a celebrity. . ' Mori. ' Gary Cooper, Joan Benriett,. Ed- ward Arnold, Frarices. Langfbrd arid 'Fibber McGee and Molly' combined .were riot eripiigh to rescue a dreary attempt at whimsy ori the Giilf- Screen . Guild shbw Sunday (9) night. It was quite bad. Piece was obviously , aimed at: the .fan-mag- reader type of dialer. It had all the stars playing themselves arid, by presenting, them; attending a party at Arriold's home, was supposed to give the listener the vicarious thrill of hobnobbing with thie film idols. 'Fibber McGee and Molly' (Jim and Marion Jordan) were there ostensi- bly as crashiers, but were mistaken by Arnold for the butler and maid. There were many grim attempts at comedy , lines that mrist have made the actors squirm inwardly,. but could scarcely have amused -many beside the author. Sole redeeming spot on the show yras a vocal by Miss. Langford. . Agiency must be desperately hard-pressed for mate- rial, to use scripts such as this. Lncy Motiroe and Conrad .Thi- bault joined 'Manhattan Merry-Gb- Round' on WEAF-NBC Sunday (9) night and provided 30 minutes of agreeably nostalgic musical cbmedy sentimental balladirig. Program is smoothly, if' unpretentiously, pro- duced and performed. Both singers have pleasing voices and style. They're, soothing to hear, in solo, blending in duets or; backgrounded by the choruses^ Show's formula is to take the>listener on a riierry-go- round of Manhattan cafes and night Clubs, with Thibault, Miss Monroe or the chorus doing numbers from each. .Ford Bond reads the Dr. Lyons toothpowder commercials as if his oWn molars depended on it. 'Victor Arden is thie musicar director. The Free Company presented Sun- :day .(9) afternPPn as. the third of its pro-democracy series. over CBS, - 'An American Criisader/ drama about the abolitionist editot ' Elijah Love- joy, by Robert E. Sherwood, . Fran- ehot Torie arid Gail Patrick played, the leads arid Burgess Meredith Was again riarratpr.. It was a powerful and, affiecting play, somewhat rigid in the • scriptingj biit with, overpbw-. ering siricerity, conviction and emo- : tiprial wallop. As directed by Irving Reis it motmted steadily to a satis- fying climax. Its quote from: Dan- iel" Webster, about how. truth will always Prevail, arid the finale use of Lincoln^s words ■ that ^the govejnr mieht of the pebple, by: the people and; for the' people shall not perish from the earth,' has enormously in- flammatory uplift at the present time.. And that's the all-impottant purpose, pf the program; 5000 WATTS DAY wNIDHT ypUR BeST NATIONAL SPOT BUY ANEWAmMCH TOm NEW YORK MARKET