Variety (Sep 1944)

RADIO REVIEWS Wednesday, September 20, 1944 KATE SMITH HOUR With Kate Smith, Ted Collins, Cor- nelia Otis Skinner, Diana Lynn, Harry Savoy, Phil Kramer, Woody Herman, Paula Kelly and .Mod.ern- aires, Jack Miller orch Writers: Jean Halloway, Al Garry Producer: Ted Collins Director: Ed Downs 60 Mins.: Sun.,'. 7'p.m. GENERAL FOODS (Jello) WABC-CBS, N. Y. - . ' (Young St Rubicami The $13,500 expanded Kale Smith hour-long package for General Foods went int£-the 7-8 p.m. Sunday, night spot on CBS for the first time this week (17), thereby launching the network's kingpin show in the widely-heralded CBS-NBC Sunday night "Battle of the Hoopers," It'll hit its stride when Jack Benny re- turns to the airwaves on behalf of George Washington Hill-L u c k y Strikes via NBC on Oct. 1. The Rip- ley in the situation is that the Benny oppbsish is now dishing out those Jello commercials that trade-marked the comedian for many years. . Program's budget this season rep- resents a $3,000 hike in the Teci CoN litis package aimed at wooing fans from the erstwhile super salesman for General Foods- who switched over to Hill for $25,000 a week plus that $250,000 slush fund for exploi- tation. Preem performance added up to a 60-minute layout which, because of the universal appeal of the Benny humor among all age brackets, sim- ilarly was cued to a pitch for jlives, oldtimers and the inbetweeners. Thus it embraced, in addition to Kate Smith, who presided per usual as general factotum along with Ted ; Collins, such assorted. talents as Woody Herman for the jive addicts; Cornelia Otis Skinner and the pix starlet Diana Lynn in excerpts from the Paramount adaptation of the Skinner-Emily Kimbrough "Our Hearts Were Young and Gay"; Harry Savoy, back for a new series of guestar comedy shots, Phil Kramer and Paula Kelly and the Modern- aires. All told it's a valuable rrierchandis- ing-entertainment package, with Miss Smith as its outstanding personality and wrapping the whole thing to- gether into a smooth-running and variegated show. While not out- standingly boff, it provided an enjoy- able, pleasant hour of listening, now slandard~for Kate Smith shows. But ■the question, and one that only the rating boys can answer once Benny hits the airlines, is whether, as a con- sequence of the pitting of one star against the other, both won't suffer. For wide impression is that the two personalities, although distinct and apart, embrace an overlapping of. fans. Just how far that Hooper shoots up for the second half of the Kate Smith show after Benny bows out may provide the telltale evi- dence. . ..." Program lost no time in getting Into/ the swing with Miss Smith's full-throated, smoothly-flowing voice In a novelty tune as the intro, inter- spersing her songs and emcee chores with her usual warmth and simplic- ity. Woody Herman came on for a one-shot with a sock rendition of "Who Dat Up Dere?" The excerpts from the Skinner-Kimbrough "Our Hearts Were Young and Gay." with Miss Lynn in the Kimbrough role she plays in the new Par release and Miss Skinner portraying herself..pro- vided the program with an enjoy- able dramatic interlude. Miss Lynn, an accomplished pianist, was brought back later for a "Pearls on Velvet" solo, a musical reprise of a Kate Smith Hour appearance dating back four years, when she was 14,; Harry Savoy, a last season guester click on the Smith show, which sub- sequently won him his own Thurs- ; day night summer show for Camel's, Is back in the fold again, once more confirming the impression that his particular brand of comedy sets bet- ter in small doses than bearing the brunt of a full half-hour show. He's become an integral - part of the Smith-Collins package and definitely Carries his own weight. Phil Kramer, the guy with the adenoidal whine, fell flat in attempt- ing to put over some very bland exaggerations about a henpecked, husband. Orch batoned by Jack Miller gave program strong support, as. Miller's done for many years, with Paula Kelly and Modernaires performing in their usual manner. The Smith-Collins dub treatment of the Jello and Sanka Coffee com- mercials was keyed to their usual patterns. Copy was good. Rose. NORMAN CAREY , With Henry Sylvern at the piano Director-Announcer: Dan McCul- loush 15 Mins.; Sun., 10:45 p.m. SIMON ACKERMAN CLOTHES WOR, N. Y. (Eftrtich & Neuwirthi Normal Carey, tenor with a pleas- ant voice and fine presentation, de- livered a ■ diversified selection of songs on his initial program for a sponsor over WOR last Sunday night (17). .- Whether or not he garners a-large- enough audience to warrant bank- rolling at ah hour when competition on the rest of the dial, especially among the other network stations, is; extremely tough, remains to be seen. Not that Carey doesn't do a good job of giving value for this 15-min- ute once-weekly stint. But the same- ness of his style, and the'-apparent FANNY BRICK SHOW With Fannv Brice, Danny Thomas, Ilanley Stafford, Carmen Dragon's Orch. Producer: Al Kaye Writer: .Everett Freeman 30 Mins.: iSim, 6:30 p. m.) GENERAL FOODS WABC-CBS, N Y. :'■;'; .' (Reurol! & Bou'les) ...... - Designed to bolster the . Sunday oai•iv-evening segment on. CBS and provide tor a better sequence in pro- gramming which segues into the 7-8 p. m. Kate Smith show, General Foods' is now spotting Fanny Brice in .the 6:30-7 o'clock 'niche.- Return of the show, which preemed this, week (17).. marks the split-up of the Brice-Frank Morgan combo, latter now heading up his own "Maxwell House Coffee Time" program Thurs- day nights on NBC. .'.--• Spotting of the Brice comedy half- hour into the new time hypoes in- terest in the stiff competish that pre- sents itself this fall, with the dial- twister having a four-way choice of top programming for the 6 to 7 p. m; ride over the major nets. It pits the Philco "Radio Hall of Fame" 60- mtfjuie show on the Blue with the Ozzie Nelson-Harriet Hilliard layout followed by "Baby Snooks" on CBS, and "Great Gildersleeve" in the 6:30- 7 slot on NBC. ' :. • ..-;"' New program'marks a two-way in- novation both in the de-emphasis of Miss Bribe's "Baby Snooks" charaer teiization to make way. for the intro of a new character, Irma, coupled with the replacement of Morgan by Danny Thomas, the nitery comic, in for his first permanent air spot. Brief sequencing of the "Baby Snooks" routine at the en'd of the program, which provided a minimum of laughs, attested to the need for the spotlighting of the new Brice character, a forlorn and rather frus- trated old maid. However, instead of developing comic traits in the 'character,, in keeping with the pre- vious Brice show, the scripters have depicted her as a rather pitiful crea- ture. Somehow the transition from "Baby Snooks" to the full grown and colorless Irma didn't jell and the weakness of the script was in no way mitigated by Miss Brice's portrayal. At this stage of the game the come- dienne's too indelibly stamped. In any event it wasn't made quite clear just what the scripters had in mind in the way of character development. Program has a continuity format, with a set locale, centering around a small town with Danny Thomas as a postman. Necessity of backgrounding the theme on the initial stanza took the comedy edge off the Thomas con- trib. which was a far cry from his usual nitery buffoonery. As in the case of Miss Brice, the Thomas char- acter wasn't defined any too clearly and once more the comedy aspects were bogged down by plot develop- ment. Thomas gave the impression of being tense, not fully relaxed, with his delivery at times too fast However, from the opener there's every indication that innumerable funny situations could arise from the meeting of such two small town characters as the postman and Irma. Hanley Stafford, ir. addition to the rather tired Daddy stance, fits into the newly-created picture easily as the town druggist. Carmen Dragon's orch provided the musical break. Comercials are devoted to plugging Post Toasties. Rose. "DUFFY'S TAVERN" With Ed Gardner, Florence Robin- son, Eddie Green, Charlie Cantor and Matty Malneck's orchestra Writers: Abe Burrows, Bill Manhoff, Alan Kent Producer: Jack Roche 30 Mins., Fri., 8:30 p.m. BRISTOL-MYERS WEAF-NBC, N. Y; . (Yoi<ny- & Ruoicnm') A new segment of the potent line- up radio is presenting Friday;nights is "Duffy's Tavern," moved over to NBC from its Tuesday Blue niche. In its three years under varying sponsorship. "Tavern" and its' tent' avenoo denizens have built a sizeable following and since the pattern re- mains unchanged, there's no reason why the show shouldn't do well this season. Principal problem with the show is that it has become too.form- ulaized and the question now is how long that formula can be milked for laughs by Ed Gardner and his writers. ' -' ,. > Thus, on the debut show (15). with Rudy Vallee as guest, the laughs all stemmed from-the same familiar in- gredients; Archie's malapropisiiis: Miss . Duffy's (Florence Robinson) perennial man-hunt. Finnegan's (Charlie Cantor) boobety, the never- present proprietor, Duffy, and, since Vallee was guesting, his curly hair, Yale and nasology. These have been the laugh-sources-.since the show be- came a commercial in '41 and if sameness helped kill vaudeville; somebody on.rne "Duffy" production staff ought to start thinking about these gimmicks wearing thin. Might be that the film now in the works on, the Paramount lot will, give the show a shot in the arm along the idea vein. From a performance standpoint, the radio bistro's regulars are . tip* top. Gardner, the Canarsie kid, is a natural Archie: Cantor's Finnegan is a boob par excellence, and Eddie Green as the tired, skeptical waiter, is a strong foil for Gardner. Florence Robinson has the toughest job in the cast, following Shirley Booth as Miss Duffy. Suffers by comparison. Bristol-Myers is splitting the plugs between Minit Rub and Ipana. Sales gab on the preem was pulled in by the short hairs and was. distinctly below the Young & Rubicam aver- age, Owen James does the selling. With a Vitalis hitchhike following, product identification should make interesting reading. Merr. SINCLAIR QUIZ CLUB With Guy Wallace, Jimmy Hilliard's Orchestra Writer: George Marks Directors: Marks and Gil Faust 30 Mins.; 9:45-10:15 p.m. CWT., Sat- urday SINCLAIR REFINING CO. WBBM, Chicago (Hixon-O'Dormell) Here's an audience quiz show that has a little different format. Con- testants, usually four during the half-hour, are selected from the stu dio audience by the numbers of their tickets, same as the Phil Baker show Each is given five questions, four of them worth $5 each if answered right. Last 6ne is worth $10, if con festant selects the "current event" question or $5 if he selects, the "easy" question. Contestant can, therefore, earn $25 or $30. Money for each question missed goes into the ' Hope Chest" which already has $25 in it and money is divided among contestants who answer the "Hope Chest" auestibn. If puzzler is not answered, money is carried over until the following week. Reg- ular questions have to do with geog- raphy, local events and the identify- ing of musical selections and quota- tions. Listeners are given $25 if questions they submit for the "Hope Chest" are accepted. Guy Wallace, as the quizmaster, keeps things moving at a good pace and helos the script by some fair ad libbing. Script could be made funnier, by the injection of some good gags. Commercials are short and to the point. Musical, back- grounds by Jimmy Hilliard's orches- tra are okay. ''■•'•' , Morg. let-down between tunes, fails to hold (he attention of listeners at all times. Among the songs he presented on the opening session "Were: "One Alone." "I'll Be Seeing You" and "Stouthearted Men"—all expertly done. Accompaniment by Henry Sylvern, one of the busiest musicians in radio, at the piano, was forte and in.good taste;. , . ' i Commercials are. overtone, but Dan MeCullouRh handles the spon- sor's spiel capably. . •'■■■■; Sten. GET OUT THE VOTE" With Jimmy Durante, Olivia De Haviland, Gene Kelly, George Coulourls, Lud Gluskin's orch Producers: William Spier, Charles Lewin Writer: Ranald MacDougall 30 Mins.; Wed., 10:30 p.m. Sustaining WABC-CBS, N. Y. They've got the Schnoz talking Latin now. If, any question existed as to radio being a miracle business, that ought to settle it—the Schnoz talking Latin! What did it was a one-time broad- cast (13) urging citizens to register for the Presidential election, pro- gram taking the air under the auspices of the Radio and Motion Picture Division of the Mayor's Com- mittee on Registration in Los An- geles, non-partisan group. A good script by Ranald MacDougall, plus good performances all around, made not only for an effective program, but for a, highly informative one. Also a lesson in how not to talk Latin (courtesy of the Schnoz). .Opening stressed fact that pro- gram was strictly. non : partisan and that its mentors didn't care how lis- teners voted, as long as they regis- tered. Made the point that only by complete registration and balloting can the forthcoming election result in a true picture of national senti- ment. First half of script, for. which Du- rante was narrator, told the story of voting, from early Spartan and Ro- man days down to present, tracing the ballot from Sparta, where votes Were cast vocally, then through days of Caesar, when warriors voted by beating on their shields, to the pres- ent-day voting machine. Script also showed that even the Romans had their troubles keeping balloting on the square. Voters were bribed; dead citizens enrolled and soldierr gimmicked their votes by removing shield linings. That made their votes sound louder than the opposition's, even if latter had a majority. It was during this recounting of Roman his- tory that Durante did. his Latin biz: Made for laughs and was good show- manship. Rest of script stressed the urgency of a complete registration,, striking hard at those who feel one vote more or less makes little difference.. Argu- ment here was that the Nov, 7 vote will help shape the future of the na- tion and will bear heavily on the peace. Listeners were told that their votes might help avoid a repetition of what happened in 1919, When.'a "small group of willful men," to quote the script, prevented U. S. participation in the League of Na- tions. That crack at the willful 1919 Republicans didn't sound, exactly nOn-partisian but CBS let it go. Script packed plenty of facts into 30 minutes and was "given a taut fast-moving production. It also en- abled the show's four stars, the Nose. Gene Kelly, George Coulouris -and Olivia de.Haviland, to turn in con- vincing- and/ frequently moving per- formances. ■;" : m err. "MISS HATTIE" With Kthel Barry more. Loll Wilson, Andree Wallace, Dick I* Van Pat- ten, Eric Dressier, Warren Parker, John Gibson Writer: Charles Robinson Director: Robert II. Nolan 30 Mins.; Sun., 3:30 p.m. ALCOA ■ WJZ-Blue, N. Y. (Fuller & Smi th Ross) The Aluminum Co'. ' of America, which made its radio debut last year with. the Saturday nbontimer, "Lighted; 'Windows," . .on NBC, is sticking to the same general ap- proach to get over institutional plugs but has switched to the Blue on Sun- day afternoons and has added a name in the person of Ethel Barry- more. " '.'.; ..''•..' " ' * . Whether-the addition of a full- fledged star possessing acknowledged dramatic ability will serve to lift this stanza into prosperous Hooper circles remains to be seen. After all, "Miss Hattie," as was "Lighted Win- dows." is nothing more than S con- ventional daytime serial treatment of one of radio's well known "typical American families." this time the Thompsons. Teeoff show < 17) pro- vided little in the way of dramat highlights, either for Miss Barry- more or other members; of the east. But it did demonstrate that the dis- taff rep of the "royal family" can hold her own in radio thesping and, without much doubt, could really carve a niche for herself if pro- vided with scripts worthy of her tal- ents. ' ■•• ... -;'.:.'-'.;'•:'••.-;■•' .•;;.''«':■.-.•■;--. Debut stanza didn't measure up to this by a long shot. Sponsor aim, it's evident, isn't to go-in for something too heavy or meaty but.it does seem that something a little more; worth- while might have, been worked out. In character of Miss Hattie. the star is cast, as the aunt of Mr. Thompson who arrives for a -visit and with neatness and dispatch quickly straightens out a few domestic prob- lems that have been troubling the family—son, daughter and parents. Stanza had its touches of mild humor and the supporting cast supported in okay fashion. Miss Barry more, as was to be ex- pected, came through with a first- rate performance and did her best to overcome the weak story handicap. Should be pointed out, though, that the combination of a. name and typ- ical daytime radio serial fare might prove to be a successful format. But it's hardly likely that dialers at- tracted to the Alcoa show by Miss- Barrymore's participation alone, will go for the type of vehicle she's been handed for her return to radio. Commercials, institutional and stressing labor relationship angle in connection with Alcoa employees, were • capably handled by Roland Winters with musical bridging, etc., delegated to 14 musicians batoned by Doc Whipple. Donn. "CARTON OF SMILES" With Henny Young man. Carol Bruce, Eddy Howard orch Writers: Lee Segal I Director: Jack Hill 30 Mins.; Wed., 8:30 p.m. RALEIGH WEAF-NBC, N. Y. . ;':,,;.. ; (Russel M. Seeds) Spotted on NBC Wednesday nights to replace sponsor's "Beat the Band" show, which never recovered from the loss of Hildegarde to "Raleigh Room," this new Brown & William- son stanza has the ingredients for a lively musicomedy series and indica- tions are it will evolve into a smooth running show. In Henny Youngman they've got a radio staple who's proven time and again his ability to stand on his own in competish with the rest of radio's funnymen. Youngman's material on preem (13). unfortunately, was spotty, mix-7 ing in some very acceptable gag fodder with other stuff falling way below accepted standards. Intro of another male character to work with Youngman might be a smart idea. Miss Bruce, although eminently sat- isfactory ip; her song selling chores, seemed to lack the necessary en- thusiasm when working script with Youngman. There were times, how- ever, when she entered into the spirit of the occasion, pepping up her delivery which made for better all around results. Likewise the choice of Eddy How- ard's orch for "Carton" might be subject to criticism in some quar- ters. There's no doubt that the out- fit's danceband technique doesn't fit into the commercial network show pattern but the band sounded suf- ficiently versatile and well-trained to be able to make the switch with- out trouble as soon as more satisfac- tory arrangements are! propped up on the music stands. This particular item of show fixing should not be hard to accomplish. - The Howard voice will do. He was a last minute addition to the show, original casting having had Phil Brito spotted as vocalist with Harry Sosnik's orch handling, music as it did for "Beat the Band' and does for "Raleigh Room." ' .-•;.' - Commercials by Tom•-' Shirley, holdover, from :'Beat the Band," sounded like good selling copy and the show as a Whole should be able to.hold on to the spot. . Don.!. BOB HOPE SHOW With Jerry Colonna, Frances Lang, ford, Vera Vague, Skinnay Ennis orch v . . Writers: Albert Schwartz, Norman Sullivan, Glenn Wheaton, Fred Fox, Ray Allen, Paul Laven, Roger Price, Chester CastelUw. Producers: Albert Capstoff, Charles Buck.; .-■ :-•... ;, 30 Mins.; Tues., 10-10:30 p.m. PEPSODENT WEAF-NBC, N. Y. (Foote, Cone & Belding) Back from a South Pacific tour in which he chalked up record mileage on the GI circuit, Bob Hope returned to that Tuesday night 10 o'clock NBC slot last week (12) with the same surefire gag technique that'll prob- ably keep him right there on the top of the Hooper heap. Which means that the Hope show has taken up where it left off—same format, same cast, same pacing, all aimed at gar- nering those howls from his GI audi- ences. ^Even that same infectious spirit stemming from the GI boys' reaction to the Hope quips continues to transmit itself over the ether. Which'is probably one of the reasons why. though some of those Hope gags could have been lend-leased to the Japs in the South Pacific, Hope con- tinues as the fair-haired Pepsodent salesman.. . When' comes the peace and the GI's break camp, that's a different story; Hope'U have to slant those gags directly for home consumption without benefit of those .yowling service boys who'll take anything, especially from a Hope, with a topi- cal slant. That's when Hope'U have to pay a little more attention to his gag writers and maybe do something about a format that, after seven years under the Pepsodent banner, -might benefit from—an overhauling. But under its areseht GI setup;'the Hope show remains radio's natural: He's Pepsodent's gold-mine—for the duration. Frances Langford, "Professor" Jerry Colonna and Vera Vague are right back in stride with Hope— with Skinnay Ennis, out of the armed forces, also back in the fold as the baton wielder, and fitting into the picture as though-he had never left u: .*'.; -• ;■:-.' ; -:,-'. Even those Pepsodent commercials are intact, still too-frequently punc- tuated, but part and parcel of the overall Hope package. - Rose. DOROTHY KILO ALLEN-PAULINE ALPERT With Allan Jones Producer: Keyes Perrln Writer: Dorothy Ktlgalten 15 Mins.; Sun., 2:45 p.m. BIEN JOLIE FOUNDATIONS WOR, N. Y. ;'-:-- (Alfred F. Tokari Dorothy Kilgallen's "Voice of Broadway" a irer certainly doesn't do rignt by her .syndicated newspaper column. If she's trying to pull a Winchell she's short of the mark. Her material is dated, a good part of it having been in the dailies mora than a week preceding the broadcast, while her treatment of Allan Jones, guest on stanza caught (17), cer- tainly underlined her awkwardness on the air. If Jones, hadn't carried more than his share of the load, tha interview would have been a com- plete bust. Miss Kilgallen's business about bob- by-socks and swooning in segueing into the intro to Jones' appearance was a t-.red bit. Only redeeming fea- ture is fact that gal columnist's voica has a good quality and gives promise of real radio personality if its owner develops mike presence. It's all the more surprising in view of her past radio experience, having had a show of her own for Johnson fit Johnson, on WABC, N. Y„ back in 1941. What Pauline Alport's doing on the stanza is also a matter for conjecture. She's a competent pianist, but since when was it necessary to have mu- sical breaks on a Broadway and Hol- lywood gossip stanza? Her chore Ii completely out of joint on tha ses- sion in spite of its musical excel- lence. . ■.'-;.. V; v As if to round out the poor quality of the whole show, the commercials were overlong and poorly written, dwelling on the lengthening waist- line provided by the sponsor's gar- ments. Tmto. "SOLDIERS WITH COUPONS" With Daniel P. Woolcy, Santos Or- tega, Bill Qulnn, Frank Love joy, Alice Reinheart, Joan'Banks Producer-Writer: Tex Weiner 15 Mins.; Wed., 9:45 p.m. ^ . Sustaining WNEW, N. Y. .";,";■ Series designed to inform public about their rights under OPA regu- lations, and procedure to be followed to insure these rights, bowed in Wednesday night (13). Session, in the main, was well-scripted and pro- vided informative and entertaining listening, fulfilling the purpose for which it was organized. Attempt to sugarcoat the stanza's message, how- ever, led to framing the session along the lines of familiar commercial air- ers. Thus the shows intro was pat- terned after "March of Time" and fell down badly—the timing and co- ordination of the announcer and mu- sic was particularly bad. Music also suffered because of use of an organ- always a limiting factor when used . to simulate brass sef-tion fanfares. Daniel Wboley, OPA regional ad- ministrator, acted as narrator on the (Continued on page 44).