Variety (Mar 1942)

*y NIOB HISS' Wtth Shirley Temple, EUlott tewU, Marnret Lansing, Barbara EUer^ Patsy Moran, FrIscllU Lyon, Hofh Bmndaee, David B«se oroh 30 Mlns. PBOCTEB A GAMBLE Wednesdayi 9 pjn. ABC-CBS, New York (Benton & Bowles) In Salley Benson's original New Yorker sketches, Judy Graves was something of a vrohlem U, J^f^ parents. In 'Junior Miss,' the radio version, she's obviously a problem child to her sponsors, Procter & Gamble, and the Benton & Bowles agency. That things were drastically wrong was obvious whea the pro- duction setup of the show was over- hauled cnly a day or so before the premiere. But on the basis of Wednesday night's (4) opener, Judy Is going to take plenty of bringing "'with Shirley Temple I. the title part, the program should get under way with a sizeable audience. And with Eddie Cantor, the principal competition currently on NBC, due to fola for the summer, there will be an opportunity for 'Junior Miss to cop a following. But it wont be easy. For there are a number of lerious Inherent flaws in the show. For one thing, Shirley Temple seems n.iscast as Sally Benson s in- tense but amusing young heroine. Her familiar screen winsomeness isn't suitable for the Judy character as originally written. And her per- iormance on the opening show was strangely expressionless for a young performer of her trouping experi- ence. If the present emphasis on comedy ij to be retained, something jvill have to be done about either the star's playing or to build the humor on situations Involving her" serious- ness. There will apparently have to.be more changes in the supporting cast than those made Just before the premiere, though possibly further playing will allow the individual characterizations to develop. Part of Hilda is now rather broad for a " comparatively subtle comedy show, but Patsy Moran got several moder- ate laughs on the opening stanza. Prlscilla Lyon also revealel a knack of cracking a laugh line, although her part., as Judy's fiiend is ap- parently being closely reined until the lead character is established. Part of Lois is reasonably well played by Barbara EUers, but there's possibly too little difference between her voice and that of the star. EUlott Lewis and Margaret Lansing are adequate as the parents. David Rose's musical score- was satisfactory and Mann Holiner, who was called in to redirect the show on only a few days' notice, did as weU as probably could be expected, t'lrst half of the debut was definitely slow, but the pace, laughs and obviousness Increased in-the second half. There were three commercials, bU musical. Plugs for Ivory Snow, cut In from New York, seemed long, repetitiously written, ovex'-elabo- rately presented and generally tedious. Copy on the Coast end was for Dreft. . . Factor not to'be overlooked in the future prospects of 'Junior Miss' is that the adaptor Is a woman, Doris Gilbert. Thus, the mistake frequently iriade .on shows of feminine view- point, of having male writers, di- ■ rectors and supervisors, who have no Insight into a girl's outlook and emotional approach, will presumably be avoided. The feminine quality of Sally Benson's original sketches, with their treatment of girlish inci- dents, situations and problems, was one of their appealing points. In its legit version, 'Junior Miss' is currently a boxoftlce smash at the Lyceum, N. Y. USO troupe is play^ ing the comedy at various army cajjips and a regular road troupe ■ will probably go on tour in the fall. Producer Max Gordon Is also pl?,n- nlng a picture version for Colum'.jia release. ifobe, JIMMY FIDLEB Film Gossip 15 Mins. ABRID DEODOBANT Monday, 7 p.m. KECA-BIue, Los Attecles It's pretty much the same old Fldler with the same ol' gab. He did come through with a promise to be more sympathetic, less the slashing picture-painter of other peoples faults as he sees them. The program was decorated with so-called news 'exclusives' that sounded rather like studio handouts, but perhanj this Is an imaginary distinction for radio purposes. Fidler plays up heavily marital bust-ups and obstetrical predictions. In both he probably knows ^st what his radio fans probably like best. But with his old-style clinical studies of Hollywood foibles and vanity omitted the gosslper does suiter from an impression of dishing dated and lifeless material. Not pretty are those commercials for Arrld, good for that unpretty smell under your arms. Arrld Is an eyebrow-raiser as an account. Hdw you gonna think about it, much less talk about it, without snlSlng? Fidler's editorial took Pollyanna turn when he defended Tony Martin and his navy recruiting job. His open letter was critical of theatre owners for giving away cash on premium nights instead of defense bonds. Fidler called it his bi| idea even though it has been kicking around ^Ince 'Any Bonds Today' got Its first airing. .He went for plant about Earl Carroll chorines 'adopt- ing' soldier boys and added what lie calls new department 'Hollywood Does Its Bit' which concerns chari- table and sympathetic acts by stars. As has been' his custom for years Fidler reviews new pictures and ^ves them beUs but with more bong ihan formerly. Sounds more like Big Ben. There's also mail catcher with sponsor forking over $25 for war slogans. He tags oil with 'and I do mean you'' which is more or less his trademark. Announcer gets in last bark after four solid commercials, before, aft and twice in-between. Helm. - A Flaw at La«t Thursday's (5) episode of 'Our Gal Sunday* on CBS for Anacin contained a curious bit of plot- ting. Heroine^ explaining to her husband how she'd known of hi* desperate Illness, said she'd 'found' a letter from So-and-So to So-and-So . telling about it She didn't say she'd been given the letter to read, or even that someone had told her about hubby's condition. The Implication seemed that the heroine, the personification of femme virtue, isn't above reading other people's mail. PENTHOUSE SEBENADE' yiiax Jerry Burton, Eleanor Bowers, Don Albert Orchestra 30 Mins.-^LocaI Sustaining Thursday, 9 pjn. WHN, New York ' Pleasant musical half-hour stanza, devoted largely to standard pops, is bolstered by couple of okay vocal- ists in Jerry Burton and Eleanor Bowers. Burton imcorks a nifty baritone -which marks him as a comer. He impress>^s as. a. singer in the semi-classical groove,' steering clear of crooning style. Warbled three numbers, 'Humpty Dumpty Heart,' "Well Meet Again' and 'I'll Never 'Forget,' all tuneful selections with his best" results in first'two numbers. Miss Bowers also came through nicely with several pops, both sing- ers backed up smoothly by the Don Albert 'WHN house crew. Mori. a work- and an- MOEGAN BEATTY Military Analysis 15 Mlns. Snstalning Dally, 10:30 p.m. WJZ-Blne, New York All military experts who make a business of voicing their views have found themselves, since America's ehtry into the war, limited pretty much as to factual data at hand or to spinning speculations. Despite these limitations, Morgan Beatty looms as an outstanding contribu- tion to radio listening, especially for those armchair strategists who ap- preciate a clear, realistic analysis of things as they are as compared to the usual prentltious bombast. What Beatty has to say bears much more than the ring of au- 'thority. The man has a mind that Is precise, concise and Incisive. The Sattern that Beatty follows is to rst present a broad outline of the Current status of the global fight- ing, then .proceed to analyze each Segment of the six or more fronts and finally draw all his ends together in a summary that evokes admiration for its lucidity, and compreheitsive- ness. Beatty has the added virtue of . a fine speaking voice. The broadcast originates from Washington. Beatty's background Includes 14 years in the foreign serv- ice of the Associated Press and as an analyzer of war news and drafter of large scale war maps for the same organization. Odec, JOHN CORCOBAN News Commentator 15 Mlns.—Local MOBRIS PLAN BANK Dally, 10:30 p.m. WFIL, Philadelphia John Corcoran is doing manlike job of reporting alyzlng the day-by-day developments of the war on WFDj. A former newspaperman, he brings to the mike a background of extensive traveling on the Continent. Instead of just reading dispatches, as many local spielers are wont to do, he pain- stakingly co-ordinates all the news so that it tells a comprehensive story, with the relationship of each event to the other. His British accent helps to give him the extra added touch which so many listeners seem to like In newsgabber, especially in world events. Commercials are handled ably by Tony Wheeler. Shal, 'GOOD OLD DAYS' With Ethel Levey, Pat Barnes, Ethel Gilbert, Lola Bates, Hal WHUrd Sonss and Talk 30 Mlns. CARTER'S PILLS Sunday; 7:30 pjn. CWT WLS-Bloe, Chicago (Stocfc-Goble) With 'Inner Sanctum' mystery pro- gram being used by Carter's Little Liver Pills in the east, the pill manu- facturer has seen fit to take a mid- west split of-seven Blue stations for a 30-minute weekly Gay' Nineties show, with most of the talent from the N. Y. Bin Hardey's Gay Nineties cafe. And the pill firm has a sure- fire winner in this program. Not only will it corral exactly the people whose age group fits in nicely with the period covered by the show, but it will attract all elements and ages, for the show Is basically good solid entertainment for everybody and for every home. There is something about the pop- ular music of the turn of this cen- tury that makes it ever-young, and always appealing. There are many young people who don't know the words to the music of the early '20s, but they all know the words of 'Daisy,' 'if I Had a Girl,' 'Red Wing,'. 'Shade of the Old Apple' Tree,' and 'In the Good QJd Summertime.' It is a time in our country's history that makes it stand out as the standard of the nation, and for that reason, the music of the period will go on foi-^ ever. This program captures that heart- free spirit of those days and does a beautiful job of imparting that flavor of the times to the listener.' For .30 minutes the program lilts to the strains of this country's great pro- gressive period, with the sopgs rip- pling through the loudspeaker. Ethel Gilbert does the tear-jerker with 'Ring Down the' Curtain,' and gets the'Spirit over excellently, 'with juSt the right amount of scenery chewing. Lulu Bates, Hal Willard and the quartet were just right 'with such oldies as 'Sailing Do'wn Ihe Chesapeake,' 1 Had a Dream,' 'Sands of the Desert Grow Cold,' 'Silver Bell,' and 'Red Wing.' But the outstanding item on the show caught was the guest, Ethel Levey, one of the great performers of show business when vaudeville was vaudeville. Miss I.evey Is up there on the calendar, but she re- main; a brilliant showman and per' former. She clowned and gagged with m.c. Pat Barnes with real ebul- lience, and then went to work with two tunes, 'Alexander' and 'Alex ander's Ragtime Band,' the latter particularly Impressing in . the man' ner with which Miss Levey whammed it through the radio. She sang it 'With that ofd-tfme rag tempo and it was great stu£F. Later in the program she is back for the real bell' ringer, a run-through of some of the top George M. Cohan tunes, socking solidly with 'Yankee Doodle Dandy? Age has nothing to do with show- manship, aiid today Miss Levey is as brilliant as ever, and is a lesson to any performer on how to sell a per- sonality and ho w t o s fW a s ong.— Gold. BAKVKT BABINDf a 8laf«r, riaalit, OrguM 15 BUmw— I<««d Snitalnlny M-T-W; M. WHH. New irark Harding, a barlton* and a good one, also playi a mean plan^ 'a steamlng-at-the-seams organ, and Is, when not otfiarwisa engaged, « writer of hli own material, notably Jingles which he has recorded as radio conunerclalf for sundry adver- tblng agencies. In Invading the local New York one-man entertainment field, he brings to WHN an unusual combination of talents. This sug- gests that after a suitabla length of time and some puttering around witii the formula to project hlmsell, Hard- ing should begin to pick up an audi- ence. Most needed Just now is a more personalized touch in the gab. This is more than going after informality in tone of voice or lau^. It means giving the .listener little hints of :iardlng't versatility, perhaps of his professional activities. As heard last week his accomplishments and per- sonalis were not highlighted. Lis- teners could easily imagine it was a studio organist or pianist helping him out. Harding's deep voice lends Itself the hymn which hf throws in each broadcast This Is probably- a good hunch, as there is a wide audi- ence for tiia sentimental remem- brance theme songs' of' the churches. Land. SAN QVENTIN 30 Mlns.—Regional Snstalning Sunday, 7 p.m. KHJ-Doit Lee, Hollywood From behind the walls of San Quentin, with its 4,000 inmates, comes this musical program.'which Is comparable to some of tn6 pro- fessional radio outpourings. ' 'That musical talent abounds at this lock- up Is evident. Program is pre- ponderantly tuneful, with only a few interludes of talks by inmates and Warden Clinton Dufiy. (Incidental- ly, the only warden In the country born on the grounds; his father was a steward at Quentin.) His remarks are mostly inspirational' and givfe outsiders some mslght on what goes on when the gates clar {. There is no attempt to make comedy save for the 1 vlty of theme song, "Time On My Hands,' sung in slow tempo by the glee club. Group combined with the orchestra in a rendition of 'Ballad for Americans' that . had professional sheen. A Negro carried the lead with a tonal quality that hinted experience in music before incarceration. Program has picked up a Coast listening audience and wul be con- MONTBEAL WOMEN'S SYM- PHONY With Ethel Stark Snstalning CBF, Montreal Montreal Women's Symphony Or- chestra, under baton of Ethel Stark, got its first airing Thursday (5) over CBF. Used as a stop-gap in the night's program layout, reception-waS not altogether satisfactory with long waits between playing to allow lengthy descriptions of pieces to be played given in French "and Eng- lish. Occasion was the opening of sea son's concerts by the Symph with EUen Ballon in a Rachmaninoff con- certo (which, however, did not come over the air). Moussorgsky's 'Bald Mountain' was chopped off at finish to allow for time exigencies which also did not endear the radio con- cert listeners. Lane. tlnued by the Don Ijee network be yond. the Initial span set by the prison board and WarJen Duffy. Listeners seem naturally sympathetic and marvel at the quality of the broadcast. Also odd to hear the an- nouncer sign off as Inmate No. 62576. Entire program is smartly produced and unravels smoothly. Only out- sider identified with the show is Mel ■Venter, who participates for the net- work In various phases of the pro duction. Helm. SONGS OF MEN' With Arthur Vinton, BUI Bargrave, Nine Stont-Hearted Men 15 Mlaa. Sustaining Monday, 9:30 pjn. WEAF-NBC, New York Say a thliig loud enough and often enough and people wIU start echoing it For example, this quarter hour, conceived ana produced by Lester O'Keefe, is an echo to an Idea, now pretty obvious, that wa are being tested in this war to see whether we are toughies or butterballs. 'What we need to win is guts. Everybody agrees and not . least of all Clarence Menser, program chief of NBC; who ha s al ready 'Shown an angiy mood in 'WEAF's morning chlp-on-shoulder. Let's Fight' Now comes 'Songs of Men,' which la frankly devoted to the idea that muscle and hair is bet- ter than lard and fuzz on the male frame. In a quarter hour that picks musical pieces of a he-mannlsh na- ture ana talks about them and the war in gravel-edged language, the main idea li to glorify masculinity. There is even a dlsiUnct tendency to. get superior about things, songs and attitudes of fundamental fem- ininity. To borrow one of O'Keefe's own phrases, no frilly tra-Ia-la' Is to be warbled by the basses and bass- baritones 'Who rejoice in the stun- ning appellation TTie Nine StouU Hearted Men.' To complete the gutsy setting of the quarter hour, the narrator is Ar- thur 'Vinton, who la the voice of retribution in ttiat slap-'em-dowii program, "Mr. District Attorney.' He {mts a figurative plug of tobacco In he program's mouth. Little omens like this program sug- gest 'witii growing explicitness, the deep rumblings of something. Maybe it's a reversion to the simple idea of the frontiersmen who used to get mighty put out with those horse- thieves. Substitute Germans and Japs for horse-thieves. liana. 'LYDIA' With CUadla Morgan, Kay Brlnker, David Gothard, Frank Lovejoy, Peter Beanvals, Don MeLanghlln, Joaa Shea, Ernest Chappell, WU' Ilam Heeder IS Mlns. (TrsnMrlbed) WBEAIXNA Dally, 10:80 pjn. WOB, New York iCompton) As its final story' of the season, Wheatena Playhouse' Is offering 'Lydla,' adapted from the recent Alexander Korda picture of the saitie title. Like the fihn, it's a senti- mental lavender - and - old-nostalgia valentine, somewhat episodic, rather innocuous and only mildly tiresome. And like the others in the 'Play- house' series, it's produced for the Compton agency' by Ed Wolf AssO' cls^tes, with Herbert Little, Jr., and David Victor aclapting. Carlo De An- gelo directing, William Meeder prO' vlding organ, cues and Ernest Ghap' pell anno.uncing, Claudia Morgan plays the title part, of Lydla as a .young, romantic, garrulous and. sappy gal; with Kay Brlnker handling the same character as a reminiscent and still gabby old woman. It seems Lydla had four grand passions, each highly infec- tious, but none fatal. From the epi- sodes'heard, the heroine must have been a eye-filling dish, but given to anesthetic conversation. That and a hellion grandmother apparently proved too much for her successive swains, 80 she's left with only rem' inlscent dialog, and dramatized flashbacks, for the listeners. Eighth in the season's lineup. •Lydla' is being heard on WOR, New York, at 10:30-10:45 pjn., Monday- through-Thursday, instead of the for mer - time ot 4:15-4:30 p.m. dally. Switch was necessitated by WOR-'s broadcast of the N. Y. Giants train- ing camp baseball games. ' Series ends April 6, on a Monday. Hobe, THIS n WAB.-IV' With Tyrant-rcwtrf Hertea Qenld Oreheitn 30 BUBS. Satarday, t pjH , All Networks Stephen Vincent Ben.et, who-hw a° number of eloquent radlb'pleces to his credit, wrote the fourth script for the 'This Is War" series last Satur- day (7). Dealing with the United States Amy dad, especially, the War Department In Washington, the script played fairly well on the air, being a warmly-worded Inventory of the human stuff that makes up our fight- ing strength. Most of the 'way the script stayed close to the line of realism. Here and there a slightly phoney touch, like the soldier-boy shortwavlng a mes- sage from Iceland, jarred the ear. Now and again some 'propaganda' ' interpolation may have raised some eyebrows, notably Benet's defense ot 'brasshatlsm' and ^ scattered refer- ences that.seemed to express Army irritation with civilian critics and Guam-blind Congressman. It's probably smart to build up the prestige of the high command. Confidence In leadership is obviously need of the times. (It's'probably soundly democratic, too, that the U. S. high command' is sensitive enough to public opinion to take pains to explain something of its fimctlonlng.) Probably not too many Americans have reflected that merit is the basis of Army advancement Neither money nor social standing count at West Point. And It's worth underlining that our officers are rea- sonable-mlnded disciplinarians, not the sadistic and arrogant beau Ideal of MItteleuropa. Quite humanly the U;s. Army does not wish to be blamed In this war for situations it foresaw and tried to prepare against. (Irritation with some of the mediocre mentalities in Congress Is by no means confined to the military t> It was, oh the whole, both instruc- tive and Interesting to discover some 'army viewpoint' on controversial matters showing through Benet's more or less conventional mustering of Actional cooks, bombardiers, mas- ter sergeants, stretcher-bearers and jeep-jockeys. An Army does not exist divorced from politics and economics, and so it was appropriate to the occasion to have it pointed out that our existing army of 1,700,- 000 men was the triumph of the po- litically clear-sighted over the bad advice of the Lindberghs, Ham Fishes and others. On this score the Benet script was tantalizing. It suggested that the people's Army and Navy have per- naps been too timid in speaking up for themselves. They have not found ways to let the people understand the military viewpoint on a lot of political questions. Americans may justly fear the 'caste, system* that military Jlfe does tend to nourish, but on the other hand why is It un- democratic for the high commands to speak to the people more directly? 'Why Is it superior democracy to fil- ter expert recommendations through the biased, parochial intermediaries, viz, coneressional committees, alone? Our military might not be so much a breed apart If we did not force this pariah attitude upon them in peace times. Production-wise the broadcast was routinely capable, although the or- chestra under Morton Gould seemed far away from the performers.. Ty- rone Power carried the main voice, less the 'narrator' than usual for this kind of morale show. It was an able reading by the film star. Other radio programs have, of course, told us a lot of Interesting detail about training camps, selectees and the tasks facing us militarily. 'This Is War' made a fairly effective, and (tenerally clear, addition to this broadcast literature. The main in- terest of the script was In the clues author Benet gave the public con- cerning Army attitude on Congress- men. For-the—first time on the series Norman Corwin as director shared billing. Howard Nussbaum aot air credit, too. Lond. •LIVING HISTORY' Interpretative Talks 15 Mlns. Tuesday, 4:15 pjn. WABC-CBS, New York This is to be a series of talks by historians and ofher learned gentry. It is likely to have class, not mass, ap- peal broadcasting. 'Which is no rea- son for CBS not paying more atten- tion to the microphone skills of Its guests. Dr. Henry Steele Conmager, his- tory prof at Columbia University, seemed uhlnstructed in the proper tempo for radio reading. He marred splendid analytic material by a lack, of modulation and variation, produc- ing a monotonous level. JtfCo. XEQ Honors S. Zweig Mexico City, March 10. A memorial service,' the first of the kind to be given in Mexico in honor of a foreigner, was presented (3) for Stefen Zwelg. the noted Aus- trian 'writer, who with his wife, Elizabeth, committed suicide in Brazil, March 23, was rendered by local radio station XEQ. Program used Margarita Marls, Austrian contralto, and orchestral numbers under the direction of Ernest Roemer.