Variety (May 1941)

Wednesdayv May 14, 1941 INTEIINATIONAL RADIO 19 ^ >>> MMM>ttttttttttttt»ttt**^tt*ttt*ttttttt»»ttt London Calling ranging •ntertainmant for the Navy, of whose show biz group she's chair- man. : ;4.4M t MtMtttttttttfttttttttttttttt^tttttttttttt- London, April 22, neirlofc Mid Terfne« Da Marne^ have carried their teamwork to the ether, going on In a weekly sejfial by Peter Creswell, 'Robbery Under Arms.' Piece Is adapted from Aiis- tralian adventure yams of Rolf Bold- rewood. The DeMarneys also have a film production unit In operation, turning out brlefles In which they act, direct and produce. Piece brings them to radio for the first time to- gether—all previous chores being along the solo route. Benee Honsion and Donald Stew-, art drew two ether Interviews in a week; former quipped, they're now open for dates. Evelyn Laye back to radio for a special alrer for her by Charlie Tovey. Songstress has much of her time taken up these war days In ar- CUy of Manchester as a try-out spot for legit shows, given an ether buildup by S. R. Llttlewood, dra- matic critic, in a series of recollec- tions of stuif that's bowed and come West End-lng. He's doing a smooth job, along with support from vocal- ists Denis Noble, Helen'Clare, Hor- ace Perclval and Sylvia Cecil. Georfe Shearlor, blind pianist, etherlng with the Ambrose aggrega- tion- on his own compositions. Ann Shelton and Sam Browne, warblers, are also booked Into the session. Gasmask Blurbs liondon, April 15. Latest thing In spot announce- ments, style 1941, is uncovered by BBC. At opening and clos- ing, with frequently a cut-in during the show itself, announc- ers ask listeners 'Are you car- rying your gas mask?' The short, punchy lineage will \indoubtedly do more to make the nation gas- conscious than press blurbs. It's being done systematically, choosing the better shows, but being cued in by the name per- former in order to mesh and, at the same time, sidestep annoying.. Frank Celller from leglt will take' on the star guest spot with BBC Drama Group, for month of May. Steel's London Trip Johannes Steel, commentator for won and WMCA, New York, left Saturday (10) by Clipper for Lisbon and London. He'll be in England 10 days or two weeks, looking over the situation and interviewing govern- ment officials. Mexican Radio Substantially Better; XEW Alone Is 20% Ahead of 1940 CBS KEEPS MOTHER { OF WHITE INFORMED Hollywood, May 13. Mrs. Mary A. White, • mother of Leigh White, CBS correspondent in the Balkans, is receiving regular bulletins whenever possible about her son's adventures with the British forces. I,atest Information was that her Mexico City, May 13. Radio business at Station X£W here is 20% ahead of 1940. This fact is revealed by Othon Velez, general manager of the station. 'The Mexican public and business* men have at last become decidedly air minded,' Velez declared in an in- terview with Vaiucty. 'This falling in line is on the part of manufactur- ers as well as distributors. There is now far less sales resistance. Mexi- can businessmen in the provinces boy had been wounded by a German i notoriously reluc- " v-- .Ir__r- ■ tant to take on modern methods for machine gunner in an airplane, but wound up safely In Egypt after har- rowing days In a small boat. Oak Harbor.—James Barnhart has been named technical operator of WGTC, Greenville, N. C. MARKS ARE CHANGING by The Spordng thing to do Is to tune to Mutual. The Baseball World Series has for years htn a Mutual exclusive. «o, too, last year was the Professional Football Playoff. And now (starUng June ISth) aU World Championship Boxing Bouts come into our comer. All are sponsored by GiUette. Bayuh'ThilBes" found out long ago that sporting people are loyal to Mutual, that'a why they have presented "The Inside of Sports" over this network 8 days a week on some stations (6 days on othersl) for 156 consecutive weeks. advertising their wares are now be- ing rapidly convinced. 'In 1940 all commercial radio sta- tions in Mexico had a very good year, indeed.the best year they had since radio was really commercial- i2ed in this country in 1930. There are strong indications that this year will be perhaps even better for all radio in Mexico. Part of this is due to confidence in the government, thanks to the really important works President Manuel Avila Camacho has accomplished since he took office last Dec. 1. Also there is less of war jitters in Mexico than In most countries. While there is certainly no boom in this country, as some had expected, tihings are going along pretty nicely.' Radio stations in Mexico are free of labor dlfflculti^ for the present The manager was careful to say for the present, for the biggest, strongest and toughest of the four unions with which they must deal, the musicians, will be asking for a new work con- tract in September, and 'quien sabe' what their demands will be. The musicians' union has 3,000 members here. The other unions the radio stations have had to deal with are: the song composers; general white collar staffs; technicians and artistes, and, of course, carpenters, bricklay- ers, painters and other artisans. These unions and the stations now get along very nicely, Velez said. XEW Is the largest and most im- portant station in Mexico, now that 'Doc' Brinkley's mouthpiece (150,000 watts), at Villa Acuna, across from Del Rio, Tex., has been at long last silenced. F.D.R. A Puzzle 5S Continued from pate Z's^ whether It's the right one. That Is that Mr. Roosevelt was horrified when Ethrldge 'let the world know he had received a 'Dear Mark' letter asking him to make a comprehensive study of the many controversial mat- ters related to government versus radio. In view of the President's Illness,- which meant no press conferences last week, nobody has been able- to ask direct question that might clear up the Situation. Attaches at the White House have failed to throw any light on it. Ethrldge was unable to get the interview he hoped for. Chairman Fly has been unwilling to Indicate whether he had the Presi- dent's backing, while other regula- tors either say they are entirely un- informed or act mysterious. Industry front men profess not to believe that Mr. Roosevelt gave Fly et al the nod. Not In view of thf Ethrldge letter. Their only explana- tion—based entirely on deduction— Is that on one of his recent trips to the Executive Mansion the Commlsh chairman talked In generalities about' getting out the report and the Presi- dent, without knowing exactly what was intended, agreed it would be • good idea to clean up the matter. If the President was taken' by surprise or the F.C.C. majority stole a march on Ethrldge, a chance remains- that the rules may not go into effect. A week has passed, though, since the report was issued, and the 'White House hasn't shown any dlsiMsition to interfere oi: re- spond to squawks about the news- paper criticism. 'The effectiveness of the regulations can be averted by a Commlsh motion to hold a hearing. Such a move would cause blushes, but if the White House gave the word there would be no reason for not backing down, no matter how embarrassing. Remonstrance by the Chief Execu- tive naturally would . make the crack-downers think again. If the chains or individual Ucenseea formally petition for a chance to .argue against the new rules, It Is possible' to stave off the execution. Then tiie-Commlsh could decide It tad msde * serious nUstake.. America's ONLY Station - Operated Network