Variety (March 1944)

42 RADIO REVIEWS Wedncaday« March 1, 1944. } "AbSIGNMCNX U S.A." Cast: Gerald W. Vaughn, John Griggs, G. Swaync Gordon, Norman LIovil, Joseph , Boland, Mildred Ciniton, Joseph Latham, Zamah Cumiiiig- ham. Writer: Itichard McDonagh Diicrloi. Anton M. Leadet One shot, 11:30-13 p.m., Feb il Sustaining WEAI'-NBO, New Toilt . . WEAF losscd a bomb -into, the Dead Sea^Tiiesaay; niglit,';feljv 22.: It' amoLinted to the same thins because it was. 11 30 p m and Who heaul il' Two houis egiliei and the phone calls would have binned the insula- tion off the wucs at NBC Win' Be- cause this was.it' and reinain;-, among the outstanding, pvbgi'ams ol The stufl.with which this hait'hoih' • scorched the an- . made . your. ears. ' b.urnl. It Vvas h.ard .to beliqvs even attci you heaid it, Thats the kind ■ol program it .was. i Thc. .kind- the country needs. The knid radio needs. And hidden away at 11 30 at night How man\ stations earned it, oi just WEAF alone' . The shp.w rippecl. the, coiintrj' apart section by section. A. task ■ force, miciophone style which let go wiln everything it hads and it had plenty. Ever hear a' ■metropolis .'eastigaled,. on the?: air to' the.; point \vhere the : :■ script. finally .detrlaTes^.-'-WellriTaxen to set about gettini; Boston into the United States" They wcie haiiRing Boston, and they hung it up loi a'I . .to beaif. Boston s Irish were given a lacing, too. A relentless .one. Ever hear, radio speak o.f a town so reeling with war wealth that it,s boys aie going to school diunk' That was said of Mobile, Ala It was lufther. .statedi "Mobiie,' ain't", fit' to live in." And the prograir.'s multiple voices kept on maehi.ii.e-, gunning then way a c i o s s the country ■, Tile, anti-Sertiitism-. o|. -Nevv' iing- .land. (wfith,.;ekam;pl,esV; Vth.e slothf.ill- ness and raeial; prejudice of the South (with details), the isolation- ism of the Mid-West which has now slufted off into mdiflerence (with remarks,),; the ab^enleeisrn and: riTan- , agemeht-labor. clashes of. the West (with quotations) It was all here, right down, the line and on the liije. Nor did the picsentation miss its oppoitumty The production side and cast were excellent. Indeed, radio, will seldom offer a better example of itself leai- irg up to defy the conventions of the an* while trying, to .whip . the country into roalijy. !■ It doesh't;seem possible, that NBCv . will rio,t. rep:,eat this ■■prdgrara, .if not. already having done so by the time this reaches print;, . And at an hour when it will get some eiiculation . Wayihg it back ■ in, the , aftetiibbn; with annouiicertielits. of the , tijTiB : it ■ will again be repeated in the eve- ning, would be rdoinff • it. 'tbe right way. ■ ■ ■ .• ■ ..■ This IS ones of.' those shows which makes the -networks' , ban against' .transcriptiotis iidiiulous. . However, a dqllar for every, station, that :du,c.k It on a rebroadcast will keep you: in crullers tor days.:. Sending -this one out takes guts "Asslgnmerit 'U.S.A." is from the .book of that name by S.:C. .Menefee: who spoke briefly- toward the pta- gram's close. Excerpts used were ■ presented - ' a S ., a n ^episo.do. In NBC's. ^^WO'rds;' at ,' War" serie's; which, incidentally, has Keen consist^' ently good and occasionallv -very good. - As 'the, series', desigii'afioh i;iri- plies the purpose as the transposi- tion to the air each week of a book tlealing with some aspect of the war. The series is not new. Matter of fact It |n;ust be: appi'riacliing.its. i40t,h week and too few people are aware of it. , Is: it NBC'S, faultiKat .'fASsignmetit'' vas given no advance attention" '"Variety" only happened to be tuned in beGause -it knew,"Words at Way'' was : coming and tliis:;.is: a . series: in ■which something may explode at aiiy time; , : It, did'.. . .On, . IVashingtonis! Bii'thday.': 'Was it, a.secret at the iiet' wflirk? :Somebpdy. at NBC mu-st hSve known,about the fireworks, that were on the way, Wa.sn't anyone tipped off? When, or if. nothing goes out on a program like this it amounts to a publicity crime. The show would ihave, lived' up to any spot,announce- ments, NBC, might-, have cared to make, about it ..tlirQUgfiout the day: Did Oboler hear it'.-' Wheie was Corwfin'? ..All:,,radi.o' shoiild hear.it.if for no other ..reason :than .to keep' it from becoming : known: . as NBC's "ghost" ShoWi. "Variety'' Has yet' to. find anyone who heard il. ■ :Presehfatidn xredit -. for . VAssigii^ jment USA" goes to Anton M Leader, as diiectoi-j and Richard Mc- Dipriagh, who Wrote the script. 'It/ rot passibje to identify.,the cast'-hirf (Jividually 'but they ijnade M^kiSkie' ■rea41.tJ,g.,. .l^he . ,diret;,ti,on:. -drove,.-tHe- players .at thfe . pace. .the., sc.rifjt' 'de-' mahdedi aiid^ liept- .on driving. '. :■,,;, "Assignment ■ lj.&A,."' is , certain io be one of the' hi^hlight pr'ogivsin.s of the .year.... SbttletHin'g;.to:.'get.,.eN,citod about. - ; It '''is.'rJBC!s, fetjuivalerit ,'t6 CBS" "Letter on Race Hatred," and It seems to be a seciet. What a blunder. '''''''',' i"::'--;'"' ■ :You hear a lot .'Of: iirograms - aiiS yoii forget^ a: lot ;df prbgranis. Btit,. you never foiget one of these OWI should demand that it be repeated Sid, "GREEN VALLEy, U.S.A." With Wendy Barrie, gucsl; Santos Ortega, Dick Widmark, Myron IVItCuimick,.. Elspeih Eiie, hi ■ Begley ■■. ,■..','"■ Wiitei: David Driscoll Producer-Director! Himan Brown •to Min.s., Sun., 5^5:30 p.m. TMERSON RADIO CORP. WOR-Mutual. New Yoil< ., (WeMit-rttlit!) ■;■;'■,: :''/;; Returning to thg ajr, tliis time .uh- :der . spons.brship,'■ of the Emerson :Radio Corp.^,''Green .yai:iey,':U.S.A.'V- the- Hi Brpwn :pTodiictipn inte:nded .to'. ,d:epict\the.' American W'ay' ^of:. ii-fe in: \<:artiine, bowed in Sunday ,(27) ,over ihe Mutual .i3,et w'itii- an :episode. that only seived to point up anew the crying' hB,^'d', for drigiriality: ifi' rodip. drsimas. Asidig- fr'on^' Dayiij Driscpirs: lininspired,: uniraaglnjjUve scv^ the.: grodliotiori.:'. aii'd .'direction.: by Blown weie of lun-ot-the mill, hardly c'alculatedHo,.: remedy the.:lii:- herent defects, of :a: hackneyed plot. ■' "Cjreen . Valley,"::.. unfortvinat^ly; falls into the gioove that seems to be supplying most pf the drama con- sumed by radio It's about as ouginal as the thpusarids p'f .y&rfts that .flowed from! the story,,mags before radio took oven: ,Eveil, the'.'particular story tashioned by Diiscoll for the initial pi'dgrani,; capitalizing ■ohitlSe/emotio that can easily: be awakened nowa- days on any soldier hero theme, came a-cioppei so far as originality wai concei ned. Although Brow^n label.? his "'Green Valley" seues as having the primary puipose of eiitci taming, ' \et to make all of IIS get to know each other bcttei," Sunday's piogiam had noith'er the: siitiplicit.v nor the down"- to-oarth , qualities to justify such piotensions Tlie injection of a one- man listening post amt naiiator of the Fi.iiik Cid\ en-' Oui Town" school ■tailed to create the edect intended. . Fust of a seues of guest stais who will ha,ndle the lead roles was Wendy Barrifr, who mode the most of her lines Santos Oitega has been aa- sigried the role ::bf ',the: harrator,:: and lie too did full justice to the pait as wiitten Dick Widmaik played op- posite Miss Baiiie and did an eflectue job Ceitainly the opening piot,iam's limitations could not be laid at the doorstep of the peifoim- eis Commercials tended toward over- lengthy with the copy emphasizing Emerson s experimentations in radar, which it shrouds in : a flliri. of tight- lipped.' w:artime : restriGti6hsi :KoSe', ': AUDITION BLUE MYSTERY "Invitation to Danger," half-hour comedy-mystery, was auditioned late last week by the Blue '.Being Considered for a once- 'weekly su.staincr. \ "HOLLYWOOD BTAR TIMI" With Cddi« CantQr, Ray ICyaer Oroh, Georfl* Carroll, Glncer A Lala Roveis, Adolphf Menjou, Gary Grant, Oarjr : Brecknar,, Larry Keating Producer: Arnold Magulra Writei s: Ti ed Runyon, Tom Pettey IS Mins.; Mon. through Fri., IMi p.m. (P.W.T.) RKO PICTUR1E9 KECA, Hollywood (Foot*, Cone t BuldnioV RKO launched itt. new »ludio series by tossing about e\ei> thing into a quarlerrhour that happens aiound the commis.sary at midday feed time. Half do^en stai* paiaded up to mike Plugs were generously sprinkled for foui 01 livepictuis! Geoigia CauoU waibled and the love scena fiom "Tender Comrade" was transci'ibed ofT the sound track. Also shoehorned into brief stanza wera .spot mtsr- views and 'flip byplay by Eddie GaiV- tor, Adolph* MenjoU, Kay Kyier, Caiy Grant, Foi a slaiter it was loligh aiound the edges, but should improva after a pat formula has been achieved. As presently set . up it'a too' much of .fl- mixture wuthno focal point,. It skips hither and : yon hi touch-and-gO fashion... It's much too crowded and the acts run off as if under gun all the way. Cantor flipped a few pleasanlues about takeoff, got in plug foi his pic- tuie 'Show Business" and pas-sed cua to Ky.ser, who went for ea» Intarview with Miss Carroll and then got In his plug for his picture befoie Misi Carroll canarled "Don't Believe Eveiything You Dream" Ginger Rogers and her ma, Lela pointed out stais at then repast and later set scena for transciibed sequenca from "Tender Comi adc " Emcees Gary Breckner and Laiiy Keating didn't hava much to do what with most of otheis ha\inir' more )ines than they, "Lo\ely Wj^ to Spend Evening," fiom Fiaiik Sin- atra's "Higher and Highei," got mosi attention from Manny Harmon's oi- chestra and was plugged as RKO's hit song of the week. As if piogiam wasn't loaded enough with plugeioos for studio product and people, a local cut in was hitchhiked at sighi off for "Up in Arms." Dialers had so many pictures tossed at them it s, doubtful^if any otie stayed with tlicn after it was all over. Seues is tes,- ing along Blue as far east as Den\ er and if it pleases RKO bosses it goes full length of network span Helm. WIP'S 100% EENEWAtS Philadelphia, Feb. 29 WIP last week announced a lOCl lenewal of all its 52-week contiacts E\eiy one of tha 45 sponson who aia on a year-round schedule signed new termers for 1944.: , In just a moment .. .the World might pass you by TT^ROM sunrise to Vespers and on through th« night: great sounds aie filling the air. Grave and portLntous sounds—ex- citing-and joyous sounds. '■ " I'lTe sound of news~fr6m distant^ l.mds that even Axis propaganda cannot distort for long. ; ; Frorfi;: dttwn;. to>dusk''iind araui'id: the,' clock. ' The sound of marching feet and tha roar of battle and the whir of pro- , poller tQ remind us that there Is greater Strength in free-thlnking in- dividuals than in slave-whipped hoi des. As each seeond passts around thg clock this sound b«eom'es clearer- clearer. And as the hours march In paradt there is musie aild fu«—gaiety and Jaugjner—great ringing speech and the whisper of lullaby, Thers Is stirring drarna for the ask- ing, the thirobbing evidenee of man's will for progress—and tht hush of prayer. The minds of our allies to listen to— the thoughts of alien lands to hear and understand—and by under- standing accept or reject as they may accept or reject the principles we hold with. There is much to hear—and having heard—to heed—and having heeded —to act upon. This is your world. Know It. . Listen to your radio, In just a moment, the world might pass you by I It Is tha sober Intent and solemn pledge of the Blue and Its affiliated stations that every program emanat- ing from our studios, sent across the world by our transmitting towets, shall be worthy of the greatnes'? of man's newly-found power—Radio. THIS IS THE A M R I C A N SROAOeAMTlNO NETWORK a y s T M M , t N e