Variety (Apr 1942)

36 RADIO REVIEWS Wednesday, April 29, 1942 more women listen more to WOR's womens programs than to those on any other New York station^ Statistically we mean, women in Greater-New York spend 172,125 hours tuned to WOR's women's programs on an average weekday—294% more time than they spend lis- tening to the same t3'pes of programs on any other New York station. Actually, women listen 38,700 more' hours to WOR's women's programs on an average weekday than to those on ALL other New York stations combined. LUNT-FONTANNE WlUi Joseph E. Davles, Igor Gorin, George S. Kanfman, Mortoli Gould orch 30 MlDS. Sunday, 10:30 p.m. WOR-Mntual, New Tork As a result of a last-minute de- cision, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fon- tanne guested Sunday night (26) on •Keep 'Em Rolling' (War Produc- tion Board series) in a dramatic sketch by Arthur Kurlan, the show's director, instead of one by Arch Oboler, as previously announced. Why the change was made wasn't indicated, but what was immediately apparent was that the piece selected, titled 'Harvest.' was a thoroughly trivial, incredible and theatrically shoddy yarn, unfair to artists of the standing of this pair. Lunt was cast as an aged Russian peasant, while Miss Fontanne, for whom no'parf was'provided in the script, took on the narrator assign- ment. That would have been accept- able if the sketch had been worth- while, but it was embarrassing. It emphasized the helplessness of talent on patriotic benefit shows. Lunt and Fontanne ■ would never have sub- mitted, to .appearing with such mate- rial it' it had been a commercial show, but in the spot of donating their services to the Government, they could only make the best of an impossible situation. In contrast to that fiasco, Joseph E. Davies, former U. S. ambassador to the Soviet Union and author of 'Mis- sion to Moscow,' guested on the same program as interviewee of George S. Kaufman. The questions he . was asked, and his answers, were vitally topical, while his voice, delivery, poise'and personality were distinctly Impressive. In response to Kauf- man's queries, Davies declared he is not a Communist, Russia can hold out against the Nazis this summer and longer, the Soviet government is right in not giving the U. S. the use of 'Vladivostok, that we are helping ourselves rather than "Communism when we help Russia. Incidentally, Kaufman has improved greatly as an m.c. and radio performer. ' Igor Gorin sang a Russian song in vigorous style. Continuity for the show was written by Irwin Shaw, Martin Gosch and Howard Harris. Series folds after next Sunday night's (3) stanza, but may be suc- ceeded in the same spot by another show for the WPB. Hobe. HELEN MENKEN 'Second Husband,' with Joseph Cur- tln, Jay Jostyn, CharlU Bauer, Jackie Grimes, Andre Baruch IS Mini. DR. LYONS-BATEB Daily, II a.m. WJZ-Blne, New Tork ' (fllacfcett-SampIe-Hummert) After a five-year run as an evening half-hour emotional bender on CBS, 'Second Husband' has become a five- mornings-a-week quar.ter hour serial on WJZ-Blue. Helen Menken remains the star. James Church is director and Blackett-Sample-Hummert the agency. Bayer asperin, formerly the only product, now has the, plugs the final three days of the week, while Dr. Lyons gets them Monday and Tuesday. David Davidson scripts it. This is the story that has gushed its way from Montana to Broadway, to Chile, to Hollywood, through a maze of sobbing, throbbing, misery-swab- bing experiences. The lady has had nearly every kind of melodrama per- petrated upon her in the five years during which Miss Menken has held a firm grip on the script and her digestion. Nobody ever accused the program of understatement or sub; tlety, and no scene or situation ever passed until milked dry. As a daily quarter-hour it comes more into the idiom of which it was an arch-exam- ple, daytime grief in open valve fal- setto. Hubby, an officer in the navy, has just gone a'way after a brief fur- lough, and, from indications, may be in far seas and unable to write for' months-long Intervals. Being at 'lib- erty' at the moment, our heroine has taken a job in'a suburban dress shop, but there appears to be a Lothario waiting to storm her unwilling af- fections. As heard last week, 'Second Hus- band' had a farewell scene expressed in banal, mawkish terms and direct- ed for ultra-intense playing by Miss .Menken and Joseph Curtin: The commercial copy is long, em- phatic and repetitious. Andre Baruch reads it unctiously. Hobe. THIS IS WAR—No. M'. With James Carney Saturday, 7 p.m. All Networks Ranald MacDougall, freelancer, authored his second script for 'This Is War' under the title 'Jimmy Smith vs. the Axis.' While rath'er sgnsi tlvely and finely done, the script was slow and rambling and a little ob- scure. Jimmy Smith was a typical eight - year - old boy who moved through the proceedings pulling a stick along picket fences, crying 'Bang, bang, I'm a machme gun: you're a dead Jap.' Narrator James Cagney talked about the boy, like a philosopiier looking down upon him and his fam- ily and seeing all the routine of daily family life in the framework of the great crime of the Hitler gang. The dramatized sermon form and the failure of the program to say anything not said before made the half-hour relatively dull and repeti- tious. It demanded too much pa' tlence and .sympathy of average list eners. Its sentiments were 'right,' its people recognizable and likeable (although the mother seemed pretty sharp"- tempered and irritable throughout), but in final summation it's power to influence opinion seemed scattered and mild. Land. •PLANTATION PARTY' With Whitey Ford, Louise Massey and Westerners (5), Michael Stew- art, Dorlnr Sisters (2), Tom, Dick and Harry, Plantation Choir (8), Cliarlie Lyons 30 MIns. BROWN & WILLIAMSON Friday, 8:30 p.m. WMAQ-NBC, Chicaso (Russcl M. Seeds) This Is one of those hi neighbor, programs, tied together by Whitey Ford, billed as the Duke of Paducah.. 'Whitey carries the program along nicely, and keeps the show well paced. Louise Massey and Western- ers, who have been around, hold up the musical end of the bill. Gang of five, are western type singers and players (who refuse to be considered hillbillies). Their ability at popular and Latin-American stuR is equally satisfactory. Michael Stewart, a tenor, has a smooth voice and lands well -with ballads. Dorlng Sisters, two gals, mike exceptionally well. Their songs are well selected for their voices and they go heavy on arrangements. Tom, Dick and Harry, a male trio, is on for the comedy songs and laughs thej provide. Duke of Paducah, rube character, of 'Whitey Ford, holds the middle stanza on prpgram and did a bit on tires and automobiles.. Ford has a new line of comedy, and best of all new twists to most of the old jokes. His down-to-earth material and friendly personality are sure-fire for this type of program. He keeps the KATE SMITH-TED COLLINS with U. S. Marine Band 'Spirit of '42' Sunday, 2 p.m. WABC-CBS, New Tork The former documentary program, 'Spirit of '42,' Is now devoted to the recruiting of officers for the United States Marine Corps. The formula worked out by Ted Collins is simple and direct First, there is vigorous language, a choice-of masculine ad- jectives, an overtone of pugnacity and fighting spirit. Then there is the stirring martial music of the United States Marine Band. In short Miss Smith and her manager-coUeague talk about the Marines and the war In an all-out idiom, then the music fills in the picture. Ted Straeter officiated at the piano for Miss Smith to render a number of pop tunes in her characteristical- ly flaming manner. The combination of all elements, not least' being the Smith-Collins name values, makes this a first-rate war contribution. Land. MARION LA'VElUDGE With Bobby Hookey, Bernle Daley Mnsioal 15 Itllna. IHRIV<^ DOG FOOD Sunday, 5:15 p.m. WBZ-Blne, New Tork (Clements) In the absence of Olivio Santoro, yodeller and singer of western bal- lads who had his appendix yanked last week, Marion Laveridge took over the major warbling assignment on stanza caught arfd helped make it an entertaining quarter-hour. Miss Laveridge came through In refreshing, youthful style with 'My Bill,' 'Always Remember,' and 'Pony Boy.' Latter number was also used with Interpolation which tied in with Thrive. Girl is a regular on the show, though subordinate to San toro when latter is on. ■The juvenile tempo and over-all kid appeal maintained Indicates a fa- vorable reception. Bobby Hookey, like Miss Laveridge, a recruit from the Horn and Hardart 'Children's Hour,' was a guest singer. Four, year-old gave out In lusty cowboy fashion with Texas,' while Bernie Daley, boy drummer, contributed '1-A In the Army' on the skins. Commercials are not too trying for length and explain the value of the dog food which now comes in the form of a dry mix. Thrlvo went oft the Blue net Feb. 8. then spon. soring the Moylan Sisters, due to the tin shortage. Problem was solved by cardboard packaging. Afort, 'Plantation Party' paced, and makes it the lively show that it is. Commercials for the program for Bugler Tobacco were well handled by (Tharlie "Lyons, who worked with Ford on one of the commercial stanzas. Entire show carries spirit of gayety and good time; Plantation Party Choir, consisting of Western- ers, Dorlng Sisters and Michael Stewart, stand out nicely In their spot with a soft evening ballad. Group Is well coached and turn In a splendid performance: Entire show is handled nicely, with production okay. •WE, THE PEOPLE, AT WAR' With Mllo BouItOD, Eve Curie, Rob- ert Nathan, Mrs. John D. Bulkley, Lt. Col. W. J. Canard, 'William Dunn, Harry Von.Zell, Oscar Brad- ley Orch 30 Mins. GULF OIL Sunday, 7:30 p.m. WABC-CBS, New "ork (.Young & Rubicam) After a brief absence from the air, this vaudeville show of oddities from the news returned Sunday night (26) to CBS as summer replacement for the 'Screen Guild Theatre' for Gulf Oil. Although the format of the program remains about as before, it's now pointed, as revised title sug- gests, toward war subjects, with peo- ple who are helping in the prosecu- tion of hostilities brought to the mike for interviews, in place of the more general- human interest-stuff- previously stressed. ' Milo Boulton has taken over the m.c. assignment, succeeding Eddie Dowling (and previously, Gabriel Heatter and Burgess Meredith). David Levy continues as director, with Laurance Hammond, assistant and virtually the same wrlUng staff. Phillips H. Lord orlginated' the show way back and still gets a royal^. Initiar broadcast of the new series was moderately impressive. Boul- ton was handed a tough Intro spiel, but rranaged not to get bogged down on it. In fact, he built it to a fair climax. Flaw in the subsequent continuity was that little attempt was made to keep the spiels like inter- views. There was little or no "ques- tio'n-and-answer stuff, but the sub- jects merely waded their material, in most cases obviously reading from script Among the guests were Eve Curie,, telling of what she saw on recent visits* to India and Russia; Robert Nathan, assistant to 'WPB head Don- ald Nelson, urging greater war ef- fort; Mrs. John D. Bulkley, telling of her hero-husband and, by short- wave to Australia, Informing him of his "new namesake; an interview be- tween CBS correspondent William Dunne and Lt. Col. W. J. Cunard, shortwaved froni Australia, and such people as an Ohio housewife who with her husband has turned their home into aviation small-parts fac- tory; a Fifth Avenue bus conductor who sells" war stamps during off hours, and so on. It was naturally spotty, but had several highlights and was generally good commercial radio. Oscar Brad- ley batoned the orchestra. Gulfs copy stressed Its car service for con- servation. Hobe. GEORGIE PRICE Comedy, Songs 7 MIns. TEXAS CO. Sunday, 9 pju. WABC-CBS, New Tork (Buchanan) Prior to this date (26) with Fred Allen It was around five years since Georgie Price had hls_ last fling at radio. By the time tliat Price had faded out of his session with Allen there-was a well-grounded impres- sion that the little fellow -was still hep In the business of entertaining Price carried on as th6ugh a go be- fore the mike was just a weekly event tot him. The timing and em- phasis in his give-and-take with Allen did much to keep the laughs rolling In profusion and when Price cut loose with his old routine of mimicry, the output not only struck several familiar cords but it glowed jvith, crack, trouping Allen picked an apt theme for their raillery. It had to do with Price's broker career in Wall Street The lines were consistently funny. The subjects of Price's takeoff comprised his favorite gallery, namely, Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson and Georgie Jessel. Price ran them Off in that order, getting, his. .Ijiggest. reaction from the Jessel vignette. As usiial, his un- derscoring of the Jessel penchant for going off key proved a firecracker. Odec. THE MAGIC LANTERN' With Xuacine Fox, Lynn McKinley, Parley lOaer, Francis Urry, Mitil Ponlton, and Mary de Lamarr . Sustaining Dally, 6 DJn. KSL, Sali Lake City Parents should like this kiddle ap- peal show. No screams nor arti- ficial excitement from the sound ef- fect department. Story caught was a serial, "The Golden Bread,' and mood was per- fectly established at the outset by Miss Anna's narrator voice begin- ning the recital—a voice which has a quality to put the listener instantly into the wide-ej^ed mood which ac- cepts fantasy atits face value. Lowell Hicks, providing organ background, doesn't hurt any either. Luacine Fox, who is Miss Anna, also writes, directs and produces the show. Timing Is excellent. June. •OUR STAKE IN THE WAR' With Harold. Fields 16 Mins.—Local Suslainint Thnradsy, 8:15 pjn. WNTC, New Tork Municipally operated station WN'YC has an excellent wartime public service series In these 'War Lectures' judging from the Harold Fields stanza under heading of 'Asy- lum for the Persecuted.' Of the two series of broadcasts ('Role of Science in the War* is reviewed separately) sponsored by the Civilian Defense Council of the City College of New York on Thursdays and Saturdays the 'St^ke in War' series, devoted to the significances of democratic free- doms. Is the more Interesting from a general audience llsteiluig stand- point Fields, member of the Board of Examiners of the New York city school system, contributed an Intel- ligent analysis of the anti-social forces In Europe which made Amer- ica a refuse for the oppressed since 1789. More Important, he made his talk listenable as well as academ- ically worthy. In examining America's Immigra- tion policy, first dictated by eco- nomic reasons and later restricted when measured In terms of labor competition, Fields held that these factors were a challenge to a humane approach to future immigration pol- icy. He suggested that the U. 3. should embark on a policy of Immi- gration blueprinted to the needs of various nations after the war, that the problem was real and should not be permitted to be confused by either obstructionists or pro-alien groups. Fields said that the .word 'haven' did not necessarily mean an 'open se- same.' But he stressed necessity for intelligent handling of immigration after the war In connection with the development of neighboring countries and the rehabilitation of devastated lands overseas. He advocated 'that a check on immigration should not act as a bar and that social and humane factors be the basic prin- ciples upon which future legislation be molded. Mori;