Variety (Oct 1944)

24 RADIO REVIEWS Wednesday, October 4, 1911 JACK BENNY With Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Rochester, Don Wilson, Russell Hicks, Fred Allen, guest ' Producer: Robert Ballin Director: Charles Buck Writers: John Tackaberry, Milton Josef berg, George Baiter, Sam Perrin ■ 30 Mins.;. Sun., 7 p.m. AMERICAN TOBACCO CO. (Lucky Strike). .. -V.', (Ruthraufi & Ryan) ' Some day. historians and research- ers into assorted Fauna Americana will look back on a certain Sunday evening in the fall of 1944 and the '44-'45 broadcasting season in general and enjoy a field day on sociological footnotes pertaining to radio spon- sorship and personality rivalries. Thev'U be particularly intrigued by any" number of factors surrounding the significant (at least from a trade, standpoint) event of that memorable evening—the \ evening that Jack* Bennv and his $25,000 weekly, pack- age returned to the air; the evening that found him for the first time selling Lucky Strikes for George Washington Hill; the evening that - jjzt,^ '"ft?* opposition on CBS, namely Kate Smith and his ex-boss General Foods, bucking the Benny entry with a coin outlay that established a high- water boxoffice mark for radio (ap- proximately $50,000 in production- _ talent costs alon e for two ri val shows In a single evehlngT; ... ... They'll be intrigued, too, by an assortment of footnote addenda that were peculiarly part and parcel of the radio picture circa '44J45, and the attendant "Battle of the Hoopers" for Sunday night network supremacy and desire of sponsors to achieve maximum merchandising sales re- turns from their respective air pack- ages. They'll reflect on the switch in Benny sponsors which set the pace for unprecedented exploitation campaigns to sell the stars to Amer- ica; on the wide conjecture that pre- vailed as to whether Benny, in view of his wide juve appeal, was the right guy to sell ciggies; of George Washington Hill's sudden decision to yank him off the Pall Mall account and bolster the Lucky Strike cam- paign, and particularly of that Benny preem performance with Fred Allen as guestar to counteract the Kate Smith splurge. And in reviewing the findings they may wonder why radio, as the latest entrant in the field of entertainment, continued each season to raise the ante on coin outlay for topnotchers in that constantly narrowing "charm- ed circle" and yet seldom earmarked a segment of that coin for experi- mental ventures. Sunday's (1) teeoff for his new boss found Benny and his "family" back in all those old familiar places, once more firmly entrenched in that valuable 7-7:30 o'clock NBC slot, with the same capable support from Rochester, Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris (who just wound up a sum- mer series as replacement for Kay Kyser on the "Kollege of Musical Knowledge" show) and Don Wilson, with still no inkling as to Dennis Day's successor. Nor was there any indication on the initial broadcast as to just how Don Wilson, who built up those Jello and Grape Nuts com- mercials into an integral part of the Benny comedy package, will tie in with the L. S. format, in view of the standard auctioneering plugs. Of course Benny and his writers, with a boff assist from Allen, did okay by his new sponsor. In fact, that Allen-Benny set-to, which sparked a revival of their now-standard feud; was an eye-raiser in some respects, paying off sock laugh dividends from a Benny fan's standpoint and must have handed the trade boys many a guffaw with the intro of George Washington Hill as a skit character and some frank "more-truth-than-poetry" inside-stuff anent the Benny-Lucky Strike wed- ding and its attendant ramifications. Even Don Stauffer (Ruthrauff & Ryan radio exec currently on the Coast) was integrated into the script. That it all added up to a punchy laugh routine and solidified the Benny comedy pattern via the kid- ding of his sponsors is a tribute to his writers. Benny has again firmly entrenched himself; it's a safe bet his followers aren't going to desert him. And if the first show did noth- ing else, it unquestionably identified him with his new boss. Pending the new singer find, Phil Harris handled the vocal last Sun- day, with Frank Sinatra (alsoone of Hill's super-salesmen) guesting on next Sunday's (8) show. Rose. "TERRY'S HOUSE PARTY" With Terry Pepin, Ted Cole, Bobby Norris and Orch. Director-Writer: Del McCarty 15 Mins.; Mon.-Fri., 1:15 p.m. - Sustaining WOR-Mutual, New York Mutual has cased gal singer Terry Pepin irt a 15-minute across-the- board musical package that is a pleas.ant early afternoon interlude, indeed, if the teeoff stanza last Mon- day (2) is any criterion. Miss Pepin, who is well known in New England having been vocalist with several name bands that: have toured through that section prior to her joining the Yankee network, has a pleasant contralto voice and sings a swell ballad. Her speaking voice, too, is easy on the air, as her m.c. chores illustrated." Backed by Bobby Words' WNAC "RADIO HALL OF FAME" With Ed Wynn, Keenan Wynn, An- drews Sisters, Ted Busing, Alex- ander Knox, Geraldlne Fitzgerald, Paul Whiteman Orch, Alfred New- man Orch, Glenn Rlggs Producer: Tom McKnight Writer: Mori Lewis > 60 Mins.; Sun,, 6 p.m. PHILCO WJZ-Blue, X. Y Ui^^^^^MU!£hlSJLl "Holding to the same formula es- tablished last December when Phil- co's "Hall of Fame" bowed in with its hour-long Blue network stanza, this season's initialer broke fast Sunday evening (11 With Ed Wy nn ; his son, Keehan; the Andrews Sis- ters, Ted Husing. Alexander Knox and-Geraldine Fitzgerald. . , v.' . Latter two. of course, were in ..as' part 'of 20th-Fox's 35-minute pack- aged version of Darryl P. Zanuck's "Wilson" piped in from Hollywood to constitute a solid last-half block on. the show with Alfred Newman's orch . handling music from there. Idea of trying to condense the 154- min. film into little more than a hall- hour presented a tough scripting problem w hich was hurdled as well as could be expected. Nevertheless, the enforced briefness of many se- quences, which packed plenty of socko in the pic, weakened the ai.r- lahes version somewhat. Specifical- ly, dramatized, version of the 'Presi- dent's early, career at Princeton and as governor-of -New Jersey—might better have been covered by con- densed commentary, leaving more time to punch home worthier high- lights of timely significance- i.e.. Wilson's war days in the White House and the isolationist-interna- tionalist struggle in the interlude that followed. . v This is not to imply that "Wilson" and- Knox and Miss Fitzgerald didn't come through as a noteworthy con- trib to the early season's airfare. It's just that there seemed room for im- provement as far as the mechanics of adaptation were concerned. Show closed dramatically with Knox pitching in his most effective thesp- ing as the stricken Wilson, thwarted in his desire fo ( r a lasting peace, voicing the fervent hope that an- other generation, fated, despite his efforts, to engage in a bloodier war, would find the means and the strength to put an end to interna- tional strife forever. Because of length of the Coast excerpt, teeoff "Hall" presentation had to be split into two distinct seg- ments—light and heavy. Comedy and music burden was deftly shoul- dered by the jivey Andrews Sisters, Ed and Keenan Wynn and the White- man band with Ted Husing doing an effective job as guest emcee. He's in. direct contrast to last season's Deems Taylor, and provided bounce and, a down-to-earthiness which tied in nicely with the first-half talent. The "juke box kids" grooved all the way with "Is You Is" to open proceedings and the maestro followed in turn, after a little reminiscing with Husing about their former associa- tion on the Old Gold series 15 years ago. Husing. incidentally, Was iri- troed as the "grand old man of sportseasters" which must have act- ed better than vitamin pills on Grant Rice and Clem McCarthy. Whiteman chose a Whiteman oldie, "Avalon," for his orchestral bit and. after giving it the old mas tfer touch with strings, woodwinds and muted brass, turned back the clock 15 years to kick the tune around with a slide whistle solo and Mike Pingatore's banjo sparking an on-the-beat - if - nothing - else back- ground.; Ed Wynn closed the N. Y. portion of the program. Billed as the per. former responsible for bringing stu did audiences to airshows, he pro ceeded to make those in- attendance glad they came. With Whiteman and Husing 1 playing it straight, Wynn reverted to the days of his early radio triumphs to pump, home a volley of gags delivered with gig- gles, tonal ascensions and the^ other vocal props for WhicH~h~e's~ famous. Surprise guest was Wynn's son, Keenan. piped in from the Coast for a transcontinental pere et fils rib bing routine. Best material was the gagging at end concerning Wynn, Sr.'s new radio show for Borden's during which his claims of long- term contracts, boff Hoopers, etc., finally were broken down, cuein„ his admission that he'd "be on the air next Friday night, anyway!" Commercials, by Glenn Riggs, were cut to same pattern as always —Philco quality, now helping to win the war. will be.available for, better living- when peace arrives. And Riggs knows how to put those plugs over. ,. ■'■ ■ ...... "Variety" again is selecting the show's talent, which it did last year, too, when the program debuted. -'.' i ;'' ',;■<■ \ Donn. "TIME TO SMILE" With Eddie Cantor, Harry Von Zell, Bert Gordon, the Sportsmen, Nora Martin, Joan Davis, John Brown, Arthur Q. Bryan, Leonard Sues orch Writers: Izzy Elinson, Bobby O'Brien, Johnny Qulllan • '.' Producer: Ted Bliss 30 mins.; Wed., 9 p.m. BRISTOL-MYERS- WEAFv-NBC, -N. Y. —-—■"•^-fYojrng-^ftirMcarirr^""^—?r* The little guy with the pop eyes came' back to the air Wed. (27) with a show that was right on the ball. With some new talent, notably Leon- ard Sues, his trumpet and qrk; plus a new running gag that's strong ra- dio showmanship; plus a tag line that may catch on for exploitation a la the late Joe Fennel 's "Do you wanna buy a duck? line indications arc that Cantor not only will have little trouble holding on, to his standard Hooperating, but has a good chance to boost it. That's provided subse- quent shows maintain the pace and laugh, quota the preem offered. Running gag is a takeoff on radio's singing commercials, with two stoo- ges, John Brown and Arthur Q. Bry- an (unbilled), breaking in at various, times to sound off with gag sing- eroos, excuse having been planted that Cantor's sponsor has sold time to other; advertisers as an economy measure. Tag line also comes in through the jingle takeoff, each jin- -gle-eiiditig-vvith-the-Hrie, "Or do-you- waht 'toT be a pig'.'" That tag Was good for bellies on the opener., and warrants repetition. Sounds like a gag kids will go for and if they do, it'll be one of those things. With Cantor this year, as before, are Harry Von Zell, doubling from his customarily potent spieling into stooging; Nora Martin, a plenty good songstress who both soloed and duet- ed with Cantor; Bert Gordon for his standard laugh-getting Russian rou- tines; and the Sportsmen, male quar- tet. Emily Kip (Myrtle from Brook- lyn), billed in advance for the ini- tialer, did not show. Guestcr was Joan Davis, brought into the script through a gag jingle as Sponsored by Mme. Fin's Girdle Shop, one of the program's sub- lessees. Her crossfire with, Cantor was okay, but their "Mr. Skeffing- ton" satire was the one weak link in an otherwise strong chain.-.- Sues lived up to the buildup Can- tor gave him, playing a fine trumpet, crisp and tonally okay. His arrange- ments, both for his solo work, and in the support given vocals on "Hot Time in Berlin." "Is You Is" and 'How Many Hearts Have You Broken?" were "socko. Apparently Sues will be built into a stooge as well, along the simple ingenuous kid lines. Plants for the characteriza- tion were imbedded in the first show. Plugs were for Sal Hepatica and Trushay, hand lotion, latter repre- senting a change in spelling from Toushay. In any event, name did not come over clearly. Hitchhike for Minit Rub followed. Cantor closed the show with an appeal for Christmas gifts for hos- pitalized GI's to be mailed to the American Legion. Plans similar ap- peals for the next 12 weeks. ' - Merr. band, comprised of several excellent soloists which round out this solid musical crew, she delivered "Amor" and "It Had to' Be You" in good fashion. Ted Cole, baritone, ren- dered "I'll Be Seein' You" capably, while the "band soloed "Kerry "Dance" in topflight style. Numbers played were diversified in nature, and the 15-minutes zoomed by. ' Mutual plans to spot this session at 1:15 each afternoon Monday through Friday. It should garner a substantial listening audience. - Steit. "PRUDENTIAL FAMILY HOUR" With Howard Lindsay, Patrice Mun- sel, Reed Kennedy, Jack Smith Milton Rettenberg, Al Goodman orch, Frank Gallop. Producer: Leslie Harris Writer: George Faulkner 45 Mins,; Sun., 5 p.m. PRUDENTIAL INSURANCE CO. WABC-CBS, N. Y. (Benton & Bowles) Despite the dropping- of Gladys Swarthout, the Prudential airer con- tinues to purvey the same musical fare albeit via a more varied cast. Session continues to be a delightful admixture of light and classical music ranging on preem from "Time Waits for No One" to "Una voce poco fa" from Rossini's "Barber of Se- ville." Patrice Munsel, youngster who made her Metropolitan Opera debut last fall, tops the vocal lineup on the stanza with competent back- ing by baritone Reed Kennedy and tenor Jack Smith, Howard Lindsay, producer-starrer of "Life With Father," emceed the opening stanza with possibility he may carry through the series. He was a little too stiff and formal for a program of this type but another session or two—might mellow his radio approach. Vocal " standard's were consistently high with highlight being a montage of tunes from Reg- inald de Koven's opera, "Robin Hood." Miss Munsel exhibits the same weaknesses on the radio as are noticeable in the opera house—her tones, have a certain thinness al- though most of the notes are clearly hit. Kennedy, and Smith do compe- tent jobs without, stealing the spot- light from the star. • Latter introed "Here's What You Are.'" written by radio: seripter. Elaine Carrington. Instrumental divertissement was provided by pianist Milton Retten- berg who gave a dynamic interpreta- tion of the "Warsaw Concerto." Al Goodman orch provided tuneful ac- companiment for. the vocalists and Rettenberg. Commercial copy was the florid wordy type usually dis- pensed by Frank Gallop. His word pictures of the future security pro- vided by purchasing life insurance is the perfect transposition of the in- surance salesman's usual pitch into the radio medium. Tttro. "TEXACO STAB THEATRE" With James Melton, Alee Templeton, Mary Martin, Pete King chorus, Al Goodman orch, James Walling ton Producer; Jack Wyatt Writer: Frank Phares 30 Mins.; Sun., 9:30 pjn. > , TEXAS CO. '. WABC-CBS, N. Y. (Buchanan) With Fred Allen out of the broad- casting picture for at least the first ^'Btl-xycrerhns~perctiTTO-^ placement, James Melton, continues to hold down the sponsor's Sunday night franchise with added starters bringing added strength to the line- up. The Melton airer provided en- tertaining listening through the sum- mer but has taken on sufficient sta' ture by the addition of Alec -Temple- ton and a string of rotating femme guests to be a more than adequate entry in-the fall lists. Session pro- vides a wealth of musical talent in an informal setting—.all adding up to a spicy, scintillating stanza. - Much of the added spice can. of course, be traced to the satiric, top- notch musical abilities of Alec Templeton, Where the hot weather stanza was forced to depend on gaps between musical numbers for humor, some of these very musical interludes now provide, large dashes of fun. Templeton has organized what he calls "The Three-Ton Opera Com- pany" (MelTON, WallingTON and TempIeTON) which will give an opci-ar ic tw ist to popular-tunes- The victim : on the initial stanza was Swinging On a Star" which became Screaming On a Star" at the hands of above-mentioned trio aided and abetted by Mary Martin, first of the femme guestars. Beatrice Lillie, Grace Moore. Celeste Holm and Rise Stevens round out the list of rotators. Melton continues to dislay im- proved vocal abilities each time but his voice has certainly picked up in quality with his entry into longr hair activity. His treatment of Mas- senet's "Elegie" was a particularly fine bit of work while his rendition of "Perfidio" wasn't far behind. Mary Martin also was up to, high standards. Her chirping of the "Trolley Song." while not in the cul- tural level of other numbers in the show, certainly was on a perform- ance parity. Entire cast joined in a finale medley of Gershwin tunes which was a fitting climax for an exciting listening period, Commercial copy was along the typical serio-comic lines regularly featured on behalf of the Texas Co. by Jimmy Wellington. Tttro. "SIDE SHOW" With Dave Elman, Johnny Olsen, guests Producer; Adrian Samish ■; „•«■ 30 Mins.; Sun., 8:30 p.m. Sustaining WJZ-Blue, N. Y. If the 1940's postwar era brings forth the flagpole sitters; marathon dancers and other assorted crackpots that followed World War I, this pro- gram might turn out to be an im- portant Hooper contender. But, if as hoped, American civilization sticks in a more sensible groove and the citizenry pitches in with, a sen- sible approach to the problems at hand, "Side Show" seems doomed. The idea of collecting a gang of self-confessed nutcakes on the stage of a radio studio to have them show off their mental aberrations for the millions (it's hoped) listening in, might have sounded surefire, pro- vided it was advanced by a super- lative salesman. But listening to the result was something else again. Aside from the fact that what amusement this stanza might pos- sibly have afforded was, of neces- sity, 9Q% visual, the claims. to "fame" offered by Dave Elman's par- ticipants were bizarre, to say the least.- First guest, from Brooklyn, (where else?) was a Tarzan who liked to run up tree trunks, squirrels not- Withstanding. He engaged in a very dull verbal exchange with Elman to describe his hobby. Then came a Negro typist from Washington, prob- ably the same one the newsreels played up sometime ago, who tickled the Underwood keys to music. Even Elman's hushed announcement that the guy hit one key 25 times a second couldn't save him. ■' ~ ' What was supposed to be the wow was a gent from Chepachet. R. I., who has nothing better to do in his spare time but memorize the con- tents of a Sears, Roebuck catalog. (And they thought Willie Stevens was crazy!) This guy. proved he could do it. Pages of, the catalog were passed out in the audience and he told the lucky holders what -was described on the pages they held. All-they had to do was tell him the page number. ' Standard gimmick, it was an- nounced, will be chance for outsiders to volunteer and get on the show to air their, pet peeves. Gong stops the guy and applause meter , tells whether he can continue. Bi-ook- lynite on preem got the go-ahead for putting the blast on his wife. She only allowed him $5 a week for walkaround dough. A liquid air ex- perimenter and a West Virginian with a machine to pull up his pants rounded out the show. ;. Next Blue web venture to hypo their programming structure .should be watched with interest. Maybe they'll stage it on a merry-go-round —at least it would be different, if that's what they want. Ddtin. "TWO ON A CLUE" With Louise Fitch, Ned Wever. Ron- ny Lias Producer: Harry Ingram .. . Writer: Louis Vittes 15 Mins.; Mon.-Fri., 3:15 P. M. GENERAL FOODS WABC-CBS, N. Y. (Young & Rubicami New daytime whodunit cued by desire to get away, from the soap ogerajTormatj^-a. good bet^to jyjrraL "a respKtaTJle au3ieTfce"irom among housewife-fanciers of the mystery story. It's dished up with a gay dash of sophisticated humor- simi- lar to the. lull-blown "Thin Man" and "Mr. and Mrs. North" evening stanzas with an added asset in the person of Mickey, the nine-year-old son ol the principals, Mickev s somewhat cynical and adult observa- tions of the foibles of his elders are a clever garnishing to the usual tale of the wedded couple tracking down a clue. Hep counterfoil to. the general so- phisticated air of the session is the hoked-up introductory commercial which presented a femme inmate of a prispii deathhouse asking to be permitted to wash her things in Sat)-"' na as: her last request. Meat of the show, the mystery itself , was clever- ly written and directed and gave just enough of the story to serve as a tease to force carryovers through the week. Each case will run for several weeks, and it takes top scripting and direction tu hold" irr^~ terest over such an extended period. Initial stanza wpuld seem, to point out that these attributes won't be lacking in future episodes. Ned Weyer and Louise Fitch provided the session with suave make-believ- ing as the loving Spencers who are drawn into messy murders by a combination of the husband's occu- pation, the practice of law, and the natural curiosity of the diio,: Commercials on the session were the usual straightforward type, ex- cept for the opener, with stanza on Monday (2) plugging Satina and La France. Other sessions during the week will also plug Postum, Post Raisin Bran, Grapenuts and Grape- nuts Flakes. Ttiro. "ROSEMARY" With Betty Winkler, Lawson Zerbe, Mary Jane Higby, Marion Barney, .lone Allison Writer: Elaine Carrington Director: Don Cope' IS Mins.; Mon. through Fi i., 11:15 a.m. PROCTER St GAMBLE WEAF-NBC, N. Y. -\> (Benton & Bowles) P. & G. has replaced the classic "Vic and Sade," one of the few day- time stanzas with any character or originality, with "Rosemary/' Shapes up as being just another soapie,. geared along standard serial formula. Betty Winkler plays Rosemary, small town stenog, character being projected on the preem as the kind of gal who acts as mother-confessor to everybody, but never gets herself a sweetheart. Lawson Zerbe is a young lawyer, with a strictly pla- tpnic approach, who asks her advice as to whether he should accept an offer- of a job in N. Y. and cut the old home ties. Other characters in- troduced on the debut included Ma Dawson, standard homey mother type, played by Marion Barney, and Rosemary's kid sister, a typical bobby sock sort, played by Jone Al- lison. Show apparently aims at the junior miss slant through the younger sister, who larrups from one puppy love affair to another. It all sounds very familiar. Commercials in the east., done by Ed Herlihy, are likewise in the usual long-winded groove. Show carries three products and three agencies, with regional announcements. Ben- ton & Bowles, which produces, has 56 stations for P. & G. white laundry- soap; Compton has 24 stations for Ivory Flakes, and Pedlar & Ryan has four outlets for Dash. Merr. "STEEL HORIZONS" With John Baker, Betty Ellen Mor- ris, Fred Dvonch orch Producer: Keyes Perrin 30 Mins.; Sun., 9 p.m. ALLEGHENY-LUDLUM STEEL'/, WOR-Mutual, N. Y. (Walker & Downing) Reflecting, perhaps/ the conserva- tive leanings which have made American iron masters preeminent in their field, this half-hour airer on Mutual for Allegheny-Ludlum Steel, of Pittsburgh, offers nothing new in the radio entertainment field but banked, for it's teeoff Sunday night (1), on familiar orchestral and. vocal selections and placed them in the hands of capable and pleasing performers. : --','.. lS -.. ''■'■." : <' Nice touch was the spotting of a young soprano from Pittsburgh, Betty Ellen Morris, in her bigtime debut and she demonstrated she was ready for it. Miss Morris' vocal talents were nicely showcased in her solo, "Italian Street Song," and showed up equally as well duetting with Metopera baritone John Baker in the signoff, "Will You Remember. Baker lent strength to the stanza with professional contribs of "Stout Hearted Men" and "Hills of Home'' on his own, and the Frederick Dvonch orchestral group h^ld to the high standards set .by the . singers. Orch numbers included "Only a (Continued on page 28) :