Variety (Jun 1943)

M RADIO REVIEWS Wednesda}', June SO, 101?. JOIINNV MKRt KR"S Ml SIf SHOP | With Klla Mar Mor>r. Jo SlJlTurd 4ii<i V\*A Piling Paul Wr^toii I orrh: (uesl. Ilaruld Pruiy | ltii'««'(or: Arnold Ma(iilrr pkpsoi>i:nt Tun., It |i ni.: :I0 Miiis. WKAJ-XBl. Xr« Tork iKiiuli'. Cmii" & Bi'i'cdiiM' SniiimiM' r<'i>l.i(Oiri'i-.l fm Bo)) Hii|i.- i> A r^iir \ ptii.|iiiiin i. . Ulili'iii« 111-' Mii-i- Sli<':> p.iiUMi.: jiiV-.irii',l iiviT l»y .•..inmM iior-.-iiiaiT; J.i'iimy M<Mrri .' ilu' ririunnj v:\>\\- I iv:!i>li'i aiiil 'r»'i|iio-l>' si>H'.;> I Hiiil iTi iii iiilo. -:h-i>i' iIh'. .,|i.'i-iali;f> l)\ llio <'i>r|)-> tlir pi'P"- Thin sro iiiirniliKVii FH:i M;io Mor-o •u •'Cii«-Cow-B.inmi'.' "Ml-. Five-by- Fi\<*' (1i>k i-<-|»'ti'. .In Sl ifToi-.l anrt h.'i Pi.'ii PiiH-is ai»d llie Tiiiil WiMlon orihi'Sl.a. MtfiTPr. Iiini.-rll no si'iiich as -n Siiii^wiiifr. iii.sic:i<l iiiiiiidiici'd "Slii'.s Fiiim Mis-iiMiri.' aiiiioimcvil as 'wrii- UMi hv .Ji)linnv Biii ke of ClucaKo and Jimniv Van' Hi'usrn of Syracii^p. N. Y.' Tliis is a Dixitf" <Bii\i! C rosby i excel |>l. Miss Mf>r>c ropii-fs 'Cow-Cow- B»->i{ie:' Mirivri- essays B'lbhoui-fnl gaits which don'i qiiiio conn" o(T: th«i>> aie rliyn>o>: of "Miiiiin" and 'ilium" rPi'|)Sodcni iiiiirodicnl': Riiolhcr play iiii Coh)niia and Mar- coni ilelonram molifi. which also d'lesn'l i-eitisfcr. Mtfrcer's sones. such as "Louisville Lnu.' ai* pvor keynoled by oiigin- alii* and nnvolly. Bivsidcs which, his DKcii" diawlin' s!y!o of si'll.ns '<^"> vocally i< OK for jivo loo. Hanild Peary' i ^";ieal Gildcrslpcvc"! is In- lr'>duc);d as coniini- inio lli« "Mu^ic Shoo" fi>r purposes of makine a ie- tnrdir-j cln the Ciloaniinu" ■: .lo SlalToril and hor trio click wilh •You"r. Never Know:" there's another ■ttiiH icollecli fron) Bob Itooe on 'd-in'l kill my liinc;" and "Musical Ci)iirl of Poor Relations" is the topper-offer. This is done by Mercer in his characlerislic manner. Shiiw was impre-sively keynoled by remindinc lhal the slar of the .suniiiier re|)laeenienl is the coin- poM-r of such notable diilies as 'That Old Black Maeic." Slrip Polka" ■ nd "Bines in the Nijjh't.' Al'el. Ward Extends Spot Ward Bread last week okayed its s|)Oi .schedule for the l:l-week period buyond July I. All st3lion.< continue with their Ward cani|)ai%ns, e.\cepl WQXR. N. Y. .1. Walter Thompson is the agency. .I\.>U:S Itll.TON 1,1 .Miii>.: Miiii., 7:1.^ p.m. I.<M KIII-:KI>-V«i.\ W.\B< -<'B.><, New Vork ifiidie. (■•i-'C & Bel<l."M' .\|ip:ii i-nth lliillyxMMHf^ iiewe^l ■|ii-nil' i> ti'i si'eiiaii*:^ to bi'Cnnii' r.i'h 1 (•■iir.ment;il'ii> Recently Hu- : llunlie- Niai liMl a sei ies iit siis- l iirMi:- Sun.lay chats »n Wr.VK-NBC an.l n.)« .laine> Hill"!! ha> lieeii pi.k.'il up by l.i)ckheed-Ve;{a for its Ceiliir,; ("nlmiiled' |>ii>;:rani Monday M.i:!it- on WABC-CBS. The iiovelisi- .scii'i'ii writei'. who authored such in-~t-«eller> as •l.i»>t Iluri/.oii.' "Ciouil- tive. Ml Chips." "Randoin Harvest' an.l "rhe Siorv of \)v. Wassell." be- i;an the stint. Moiuiay i"J8' with a quiet, casual talk on seneral topics, includiiu an unpretentious di.scus- sion of Ihe new Vincent Sheean book. "Between the Thunder and Ihe Sun.' It was a dianit\ed. conteini>la- live di-coiuse—jnterestins^ enouuh for those who c;ire lo lake Ihe tiine to listen, but without Ihe dramatic tiavor to draw a mass audience. In his openinK remarks, the Eng- li.'.h-borif writer noted tiial he"s not one of Ihe breed of broadcasters who know all the answers. Rather, ho sai.l. he can simsest a few questions. One of the (Irsl of the.se, he believes. i< what sort of a world we hope to see after Ihe war. lie talked of that briellv. without, as he had said, giv- in){ the answer. His estimate of Ihe Sheean book was favorable, but he didn't so much speak of il directly as speculate ot\ .several ideas it raises. All Ibis wa.5 offered . in mild, lhoui;htfu! and. of coui.se. literate style, with the characlerislic blend of reticence and friendliness of the Cnulish. and sug.;sestiim the senti- ment that Hilton reveals in l\is writ- in«. Althouuh he mentioned his F.injlish accent, ii is a mild one. His voice and mike style lack the <nioolhness of his scriptniK, which is a weakness for a solid quarter- hour of talk. There is one notable iiiconssniitv--thc orchestral inlro- diielion aiid clo.^-e for the show, ap- parenilv a haimover from the S|)nn- ior's previous dramatic series. Doubtless as a measure of Hilton s i)opularitv. there i< a i-iveaway offer of a copv of the script. There is no commercial co|)y on Ihe show. Hobe. Analyzing The Daytime Serials By IIOBi: i»IORRISp\ •WORDS AT WAR' ("axl: Rocer Of Koven, Leu Dainen, I Ian MacAllanler. Walter KinwIU, Victor Beerrofl. JarltDOu Berk, Vivien Bauer. Frank Black arc Writer: Richard MvDonagh nirrctor: Joxeph LMCy i 3* Minn,: Thum,, 8 p.m. I Suntalnlnir I WKAF-NBC. New Yark I In eonperatioii wilh the Council CkMRI, ril04iR.\>l, Thitrt,, I* »,m., KWT M(t.; I.OI' tTAVTON POP < ON('KRT Wilh flrvrljnd Summer Symphony, Ur. Rudolph RInfwall, director: James Mellon JO mlns.: Wed.-Frl.-Sal,: !• p.m, WIIK. Cleveland Refresliinx and uloom-dispcnsing is the three-a-wcek Pop Concerts by .the Cleveland Summer Symphony under Director Rudol|>h RiiiKwall. Before introducinR a selection. Dr. Rinqwall uives a brief backprouiid sketch of Ihe music and writer. Nothing heavy is attempted and complete informal altitude prevails. iiicUidiuK sale UL iced drinks during concert. Ciiiesfs arc encouraged to remove jackets for comfort. Popular .star is pre.^enled al each ueriormance. Met and radio star .lames Melton revealed a warm vi- brant tenor at its best al this hearing. Good-naturedly he continued lo give encore after encore when 'mike' went dead durine concert. Pre.senla- tioii of 'Martha" was oulstanding. Mellon also kept audience in good spirits with bits of humor and got a Iremeiidous recepliop at his finale. MaT);e\). xThis is (lie .s-i-co>id i/i nii iiiiiilifirc : on Books in Wartime srrivs nlioiii diiiylime ,seriiil.<. "Tlie i i.^fidv lirsi. irliii-li npfienred Teremlj/. rtedll I ' ' iritli '/Vpper ^"oii<i|;',s Kiii'iily Olhvrm n i l itil/o'tr.i One of the established daytime dramas i^ 'Di'^ Sister.' which has been on ll-e air for I.ever Bros.. Ihroiigh the KuthraulT A: Ryan aiicncy, since V)i6. It i.^ now heard at r.2:l.'i p.m. on C"BS. The oriKinal author was Lilian Lauferly. who was succeeded in turn by Knowlcs Entri- kiii, Marjorie Bartlell and the pres- ent scripler, .luliaii Funl. The show appears lo have deleri- oraled in its seven-year run. "Va- riety" said in 19AT that it was a 'well- managed meller' done in "quiet loiie.s* and not 'guilty of makinu the cast berome hy.sterieally histrionic' The dialog was termed 'nicely written." Those statements are no loiiaer true. The sei'ial is now a tediously re|ietilious. pulp-mag treatnient of neurotic emotional niclodrama. Us char.tclers seem synthetic: ils silii- alions transparently contrived: its motivation arlilU-ial. and its lone generally commonplace. Durhic the la<t month Ihe show has wound U|) one plot .sequence and is now into another. Vet the net cITect of 1.1 broadcasts heard during lhal inter- val is that little has hapi>cned. There is n.i war slant aiid no evidence of .sVici'il philo.so|>hy. The characters talk everylhing over endlessly. A listener soon learns thai if anything happens on the series every nicmber of the cast will sooner or later chew il over, like an idle dog gnawing an old bone. And after the obvious has been .ground to dust the narrator in- variably dwells on the moral. K.ich installment tends to coii.sist m:iiiily of iiadding. with a nudge lo Ihe plot in the closing lines. The heroine. Ruth Wayne, ll-e 'Big Sister" title character, is the stereo- lyjje to end all da.vtime serial hero- ine.'-. She's beautiful and noble and warm-hearted and wise and tendr which is al pre.scniing various other shows designed to u,se the printed wind in cryslalizing morale, NBC has started a now series, 'Words at War,' dramali7.iiig best-seller war books. First of the scries, heard Thursday night (24). was ba.scd on 'Combined Operations: The OITicial Story of the Commandon," by the Brili'sh government writer Hilary St. George Saunders. As adapted by Richard McDonagh and dhccled by Josepli Losty, both of the NBC staff, il was an eiigro,ssiiiB show, with Frank Black's musical cues and back- ground an eloquent addition. . Whether or iiol the broadcast did justice lo the original material Is a question for those who have read the book. However, it should have had some inspirational elTecl on its own and nuiv stir inleresi and .sales for Ihe book itself. In the cast of the subsequent jjrograms the value of the r.idio versions will probably depend to a major extent on the odapt- ability of the books. Announced for pre.sent.'ttioii are "I'hev Call II Pa- cillc." bv Clark Lee. tomorrow nighl iTIiursdav). and "One World." by Wendell Willkie. .luly 8. Hobe. 'XOT FOR GLORY' With James Landlx nireelor: F.dward Dunham Writers: Wade Arnold and Marvin Rein Sunday. 38 mlns., S p,m. SuslalninK WKAF-NBC. New York A well conceived, dcflly executed drainalixalion of the Ohio river flood :it Wheeling, W. Va.. last December teed olT the Office of Civilian De- lense series, 'Not for Glory,' Sunday >">7i. The intial .stanza, highlighting the activities and poleiillalilies of the OCD bode,- well for this new 13- weeU public .service offering. The major portion of the show originates in New York and employs J , the documentary idramolic-narra- aiiil patient and uiidei standui.:--:ind 1 ,o icchnic. which, forlunalely, is quite dull. In recent years .-he has j ,„„ „verrioiie. The Hnal 111 minutes apiiarenlly leiulcd" to become more | ,.„„^i>;, „f j, WashingUm pickup fea- :i slraiaht for the oiher chaiacters | ,,„.[„„ j.,„„,^ ^ i^,„dis. nalional di- Ihan the driving force of the story. I „f oCD. who discu.sse.s Plenty ol 4F« .-ome aspects of OCD work and prc- Onlv two of Ihe curreni rhaiae- sents citations for outstanding indi- leis of the .show seem to work for a I viiliial or community OCD accom- ' plishmenis. Sunday i27i the cil.i- tion was awarded to Charles II. Bonneson. director of the Wheeliim and Ohio County district, for his own and the communily"s work in reduc- ing the lavages o^ last year's Hood, which Ihreatoiiod lo wl|)e oiil war plants and communilics in the i.oiiiity. In Ihe dramatized pari of Ihe pro- grain, the real name;< of persons en- gated in civilian defen.se work de- .scribed are used. Thi.-i was in keep- ing wilh the ring of aiithenticily which characterized Ihe initial stanza. livinsj. They're both doctors. Most of the other men ai>pear lo be in- valids. All Ihe women are cm- broiled In perennial emotional cri.ses. Nobody in Ihe story has a regular job. 1 he lii'io. Dr. Reed Bannister, can't .seem lu maneuver the heroine lo the altar, although for the sake of suspense he currently has her temporarily headed in. th:it direction. Desi>iie his failure with Big Sister, however, he's the yen for tiracti- cally every other femme in the yarn. To a non-serial fan. it all .vi'Cms pretty desperately fatuous. It's also probubl.v Ihe kind of radio that iii- furialcs the anli-serial fanatics. There doesn't appear lo be any con- vincinu rca.son why it .should do any emotionally-balanced listener any harm. Il might conceivably upset emotionally unstable or psvchopalhic peonle. but what wouldn't'.' The production of the show is reasonably gimd. but a trifle ponder- ous in character wilh the scrinl. The dramatic pace is slow and the ac!or.< lend to emotionalize every- IhiUK. thouith the overdramalie nar- rolioii possibly hel|is create lhal Im- pression. Tom Hutchinson is the di- rector. Tliere Is no music on Ihe .series' Cast includes Marjorie Ander.son 'Bin Sister'. Arnold Moss iReed' Biinnisteri. Santos Ortega iDr. Car- : veil. Elspelh Eric i Diane i. Dick i Widmark tErici. Paul Gordon •Chris". Alan Devill "Mr. Baxteri.j Michael ,1. O'Day iNeddy>. Pa"ila ; Baiiersmllh i,fu1la\ Vera Allen; "Mr.s. Kelton'". Eric Dre.-sler "Frank ; Wayn"). ,Ioa;; Tompkins <Dor!,'!i, , Hiirace Brahain (Monet i, Les Damon \ "NarratorI. ,Iinf Ameche "An- ■ noiincer i. Commercials on Ihe show are not ; |)arliciilarly notable for any reason. There's invariably a singing hitch- hike at the openi>ig for Liplon soup mix. followed by Aineche's reading of the Riiiso copy. Laller Is .some- times a siraighl spiel, ."lomelimes draniali/.eri. .sometimes.a testimonial. Allowing for Ihe inevitable enlhu.s-' lasm of copywriters, the claims .seem legitimate etiouKh. though the writing is frequently coy. For this article, the broadcast.^ of May 19. 21. 24. '2H and 31, and June 2, 3, 4, 9, 14. IK. 18 and 21 were caught. Tliere were .57 parts In- cluded In tlin.se broadcasts iexclud- ing Ihe narrator and announcer i. for ah average of slightly more than four actors per script. it runs off smoothly and pad:. ,i | ,| of entertainment, in the ca.-ini. ef. forlle.ss inaiiiier lhar,s a traric.iijiit of l-hc Sing Crosby gei-toitetl.i.i.v Talent is lops. Shield, in aitM,i,an to writing Ihe session, al.-o mc's it ill an ingratiating, intimute \\ i\, and his tiexible format allows fn,- jiieiitv of variety. Bernie Ariii.-troiii;''^ KDKA slall band furnishes tlie |,n,. sic, and the band has the riiii> o( 3 topitotch network organi/ntlon. 3,,^ vocals arc worked in ea.-il> and there's no sameness about iheni— Three of Us, fcinme sweet hnrinrmy Irio: Bu/>. A,ston, who is a neat addi- tion to the croon-swoon fraternity, and Ray Beuehner. romantic bari.' tone. Comedy's supplied by Ste- phanie (Stephanie Diamond, who used to do comic fcmine cliaraclcri- nations 0(1 late Joe Pcnner's net- workcr> and for inaugural prograni she lore Ihe lyrics of 'As Time Goes By' apart a la Frank Fay. A little too long, bill otherwi.se all right. Shield also cooked up some anui.se- ment wilh his so-called 'inside' on how Ihe show came to be and how lille wa^'Hiially arrived al. All in all, a very satisfactory half, hour. Too bud il doesn't liave a studio audience, though. That would improve the show considerably, (or it's the type that can use one. Col" en. FoUow-np Comment | V T T T T T T TT^P 'March ol Time' installment (NBC of last Thursday i24i might be ri'garded as a sharp lapse Irom the usually sound editorial jiKlgnieiit exercised on this series. Il allowed ill-tempered name-calling and iii- teiTiperale abuse 10 lake the place ot fact presentation, .lodge John G. Montagu, mouthpiece for a group of large cattle growers in the .south- wesl, spent a minute in citing llg- ures and four minutes in .shouting imprecations on •bureaiicrais' and referring 10 them as 'looi.' The judge, il was to be .■issumed from his polemic, docsn'l like sul)siilies. In sharp conlrasi wilh Hie pro- gram's Irealment of the subsidy issue was the pithy, .sober rei-ital bv Michigan Gov. Harry F. Kelly aiioiit the Detroit race riots. The uoveriior called Ihe riois not a local |)ioblem, but a national one. He praised the 'law-abiding' Detroit citi/ens for their paJ'l in bringing the riots under control within 24 hours and admitted that the riots not only cut deeplv ii«' war production, but endeii in 31 dead, 500 injured and 1.300 arrested. IT'S THURSDAY NIGHT Wilh Bernie Armstronir orrh. Bob Shield, The Three •t V». Ray Btochner. Stephanie, Ban Alton Writer: Bob Shield Dirertor: Bob While Sustainlnc. Tbura.. 8-8:3* p.m. KDKA, riltiiburith Lot of effort has gone Into this new siistainer over Pittsburgh's Westingliou.se station, and program shows it, A lively half-irour, built wilh an obvious effort lo snare a baiikroller lelasing crack on opening show wa.s 'next week we pre.seni "The Case of the Missing Sponsor') Helen Hayen did a giiesi api»ear- aiiee in a .script called •('ontnuiea Story' for the Girl Scouts Friday (25 ". Slorv dramatized solutioti of a juvenile p'roblem brou.!!hl abmit by unadjusted home and aggravated by. war-litne lensioii. Story was nicely developed and Ihe entire east seemed lo respond lo Ihe excellent performance by Miss Hayes. AND HIS .ALL OIRL.OBCHESTRA Now On t'SO Cnmp Show Personal ManakemrnI KKNKST LIKBMAN 144* Broadway, New York lo PAUL H. RAYfNER CO Anne Lawton to Philly Anne Lawlon has reluiiied Philadelphia. selling time for WCAU. after six months in WC.\U's New York office. New York selling job ha$ been taken over by Harold Davis. lOTH ANNIVERSARY Blue INVlwoi'k Club' to YOU BLUE DON McNeill rrrwBHl 1li>iiii(*mpiii FRANK BURKE ARTI8T.BUREAU liMM-.t MrrranrtlHi .Marl. «'(il<'*«"