Variety (Sep 1945)

26 RADIO RiiVIEWS Wednesday, Scplciiiber 5, 1945 THE JOAN DAVIS SHOW IVith Andy Russell, Harry Von Kell, Shirley Miluhell, Verna Fclton, Paul Weston or«h Director: Dick Mack Producer: Dave Tilus Writers: .lay Sommers, .lack Harvey, SI Wills, David Victor, Herbert Utile S5 Mins.; Mon., 8;:!0-R:5.% p.m. LEVER BROS. WABC-CBS, N. Y. . i,YoniiB & Riihicuiii). Tiailei'ized by a three-way, (op- biKigtted agency - spoiLsor - network .'pi'oniotipn ■ campaign, ' Joan; Davis Wioveci, into; (lie, Monday night :?:30 CBS niche, for Swan Soap this weelc (3.) as .succe.-'Sor to Burns ancl Aneii, ■ The top' fenime comedy, draw in jacJiQ■.•her .NBG SRsltest show with '.vjack Haley \^^^s: con.sistehUy in Ihe tipper Hooperating brackets last sea- son) now has the billing; all to her- self. Regardle.ss of the apoloj3;ist.s' cracU.s ■ that "you can. spot almost anybody ■. with that , free audience ride jn the •fio.^t-Crosrby Th'ur.sday , night (Seal- ■ testV spot, and you can't possibly miss," the lacL rcmaini! that Swan Soap has a potent biO. draw in Miss ■ Davis and her 2,')-mlnnte sho,w. The: tact that it's spotted in the pre- "Lux Radio Theatre" .'{lot won't hurt it, cither. And any way you look at it, it's a sfzable hypo lor CBS' iWoii- day niffht programming layout; ■ .■w.hie.h already ..ihc!Ude.s two of Ihe top Hooperritin^ shows-on the air—■ "Ha^io Theatre" and Screen Guild Players. The new Davi.s show has been given all the trimmings from the Young & .Rubicam toprdrawer pro- duction shelf. It also marks the comeuppance of Andy. Hus.seii lor. .his fir.-it' blgtime network commer- ■ eial. ABC (Blue) had previously, spoiled Ru.ssell coa.strto-coast as a sustF.iner, spent considerable coin in rieveloping him for potentialj,spon.sor- ship; Lever .Bt'OS.-CBS. now reap the benefit o£ hi.s talents. He fits snugly . into.the Davis'show. not only vocally but as an integral part of the comedy .paekage^.. Initial script hit the right tempo and pattern, with the switchover of , Mi.ss Davi.s from the Sealtest village store to the S.wanviUe tea shop neatly effected via capsule drama- tizations and a documentary report^ age technique Unking all the-charac- ters for their converging on 'tJoanie's Tea Room." It was a good comedy bit and. Ret the groundwork for. the new format. From here on, depend- ing on the scripting talents of the quintet of: writers, assigned to the ■ show, it .should be smooth sailing. .■ As with Ru.ssell, Harry Voiv Zell essumes a major role in this new comedy layout, acquitting himseU well. The two vet foils, Shirley Mitchell and Verna Felton, are in . again. Paul Weston's orch does a sock musical backgrounding job. Von Zejl's Swan . Soap commercial plugging, integrated humorously ~ into tlfe script, i.s, of course, a throw- ■ back to; the Burns & Allen-Bill Good- win technique, and just as effective . here.■■<■■■■■ This. one's . in the chips frotti fccratch. Rose. CHARLIE McCarthy show With Edgar Bcrren, Keenan Wynn, Carmen Miranda, eiiesis; June Kil- itoVe, Ray Noble orch, Ken Car' pcnter, announcer Producer: Earl Ebi Writers: Z«no Klinker, Allen Smith, Royal Foster,: Howard Blake SO A1■u^'.; Sun., 8 p. m. STAND.\RD BRANDS WEAF-NBC, N. Y. (J. Wfltter T/ioiiipjiOii) Edgar Bergen and Chailie McCar- thy slid right back into their groovcy 8-8.;i0 Sunday night NBC .-lot this week i2) following their summer layoff, and. while not a particularly bofl' scripting job, it tipped off that here was to be another .sock sciifcon ot the now-standard Bergen-McCiu- thy-Morlimer Sncrd quip routine. There's no reason to suspect that the show won't be risiht up there with the top Hooperating bovs again; \i anything,, the new ' sequencing of Standard Brands shawa matching Bergen and Fred Allen' back-lo-back should invite a new and fresh ap- peal; in view of the proieclod ."Mlen- Mceartliy .feuclin' that's iii the.offing.' Sunday night'.? preem invited: spe-^ cial interest, since it marlted the first ot four guestar appcarance.s of Keenan Wynn; the pix comedian, who's currently / being groomed for his own: top-budgeted air show vvith Lucille Ball. Unfortunately, the brand of Wynn humor that's clicked in pix and in some previous air guest shots was lost in .a routine scripting: chore that, while geared to the Mc- Carthy-Bergen byplay, failed to point up Wynn'i? potentialities.: Yet- the feeling was inescapable that, bracketed.wlth writers molded to the Wynn technique, he might be right .lor radio.-: . ■- . ■:■ ■■■■. ■ ,,■ .•■;•■. .. Otherwi.se,. the Bergen .show ad- heres to the usual format and gues- tar slots, with Carmen Miranda al.so in for the opener with a Latino rou- tine -and some humorless talk with McCarthy. June Kilgore handled- her'vocal efl'ectively, and announcer Ken Carpenter .slid into the con- tinuity with ease. . . Chase & Sanborn GofCee's commer- cial copy wa.s ter.se and to the point, primarily slanted toward the yoiir caii't-go-wrorig with the C&S iced beverage. Ro.se, <'EIGHT TO THE BAR RANCH" With Andrews Sisters, Curt Massey, Riders at. Purple Sace, "Uitcle Jim," Vic Schoeii OrcK Producer: Herbert Poesic Writer: Mabel Englnnd . 30 Mins.; Sun., 4:30 p.m. NASH-KELVINATOR WJZ-ABC, N. Y. (Geuer, Coniell & NeweU") Tbi.s show consists of good music, sprightly vocals and tired dialog. It , hasn't much to recommend it as something to wait for weekly in its pvesfent state,: except for those who , follow the Andrews Si.sters. Its musical portions are weakly lied to- gether by varied repetition of the question, "Well, how about you do- ing something?", or "Let's have a song from——," For a progrivm sponsored b.y a nationally known iqroduct it's pretty v\eak 'construc- tion. (Show is switching to CBS, •with Andrews Sis-.spon.sor fcudin' re- 1 ported at an end.) However, the musical portion of this show was very li.stenable, except for a rather draggy-tempo version of "Tumbling Tumblewceds" by the ' "Riders of the Purple Sage" and an overarranged performance of "Paper Moon" by the orchestra under Vic Shoen. It was pretty, but too dis- torted for satisfaction. : Andrew s- Irio- soirnded ""good"" "oif fivery confiibiition. For some leasoii • their singing is better, a fact they demon.stialed on everything except "Dream" which didn't late with such things as the opening "Every- time," "It's Gotta Be This or Thai," "Pcnn.sylvania Polka," et al. Curt. Ma.ssey, who's slaying on the , show, also did a neat job, riisplaving clean diction, good phrasing and generally fine perlormance.s of "There Must Be a Way" and other nunibe.rs. Tlici-e"s a :(;haracter on ■ the show .called •'Uncle .lim" who spcms to do nothing but get in the wav of .annolincement.s. CommereiaKs, now. that the war is over, empha.size forthcoming Nash ears and Kftlvinalor .stoves. The^y-'re nicely worded and not too heavy- handed. Wood. RUDY VALLEE SHOW With Xavier Cneat orch, Billie Burke; Truman Bradley Director: Howard Wiley Writers: Selma Diamond and Jack Robinson 30 Mins., Thurs., 10:30 p.m. DKENE SHAMPOO WEAF-NBC,. N.. Y. (Kd.slor) Rudy Vallee still rides the airlane.s, drawing down that heavy coin each weck,-«,<and doing, a strong selling- jO'b.^' ■•■,.■'■ •: This .season he's running Villa Vallee, a nitery, tor the inakeis of Drene Shampoo. He has surrounded him.selt w.ith> Xavier Gugat and his maracas shakers on the musical end, and Mary Boland lor the comedy element. Latter didn't .show for the initial stanza, and Billie Bui'kc subbed. Vallee, of course, flits in and out of the proceedings, deliver- ing"the vocals on: the several tunes in his nasal but nice style, backed by Gugat's orch, and exchanging ver- bal banter with Cugal, Miss Buike, et al. Truman Bradley projects the sale.s message in forthright fashion, briefly' and to the point. : : There -should be,plenty of frivol- ity at Villa Vallee during the com- ing season. . Sien. "ADVENTURES OF. SHERLOCK HOLMES" With Basil Ralhbone, Nigel Bruce, Joe Kerns, Paul Freexe, Elixabelh Harrover, Gloria .lordon: Harry Bartell, announcer Writers: Dennis Green, 'Anthony Boucher Producer: Edna Best Supervisor: Glenwall Taylor 30 Mins., Mon. 8:30 pirn. : PETRI, W,INE ■ ■.WOR-MB,Si,.N., Y.': ■ (Young & Rulricflin) There have always been two schools of Sherlock Holmes fans: Those who considered Dr. Watson a nuisance, and the others^for this re-, viewer's money, the more dLscernr Ing—who could look behind Holmes and see Watson, tongue in cheek, as the manipulator of the strings for his more illustrious: puppet. In the sea- son's tee-off of the Sherlock Holmes program (3), Basil Rathbone must have sold out; toi the Watsonites. He fluffed at least three times,- sounded altogether hollow and unconvincing, .seemed ill at ease. Nigel Bruce as -VVatsonron the-athBr-h"aHd7'vvas"auli'- fully self-effacing, the masterful stooge, dependable as the stout rod without which the principal could never stand, alone, . : The.story, a trite one about a gho.st that limped through a Scotch castle, was however in the Holmes tiadi- tion. Supporting cast was com- petent, and direction was in :tbe g-ro.ove. ■ A particularly felicitous jobwa.s done by Harry Bartell who not only integrated clever Petri ad copv with the action at hand—especially'in the penultimate plug—but also acted as Dr. WaLson's interrogator. The final commercial, done in stilled melbdy ending on a note that .sounded for all the woi'ld like a Lifebuoy warning again.st B. O., soured the last diops of this otherwi.se ggod wine stanza. Ciirs. I "HOBBY LOBBY" With Ed Rerley, Mandel Kramer, Cathlcen Cordell, orchestra under Dudley King, Tony Maevin, an^ nounccr; Capt. Eddie Rickenback- rr, guest Writer; Ed Eitinger Producer; Dave Elman : Director: .'Vddison Smith 30 Mins.;Thnrs., 9:30 p.m. ANCHOK-IIOCKING GLASS CORP. :WABC''-CB.S,: N. Y. . :.: (Weintroiib). ' l-kibby Lobby''.; returned last THvirsday (30) \vith the u'sual>ac-' coulremtuts brought along by the liobbyist.s for the fun, D;we Elinan's package has a new hobby, but sim- ilHr to the one a lot of other pro- sirsn-is are cultivatinsj., E;ich week iHe program wiH: have as a guest,an: outstanding personality whose new avocation it is to help-solve, the re- habilitation problem of es-service- nvGit:'!' ■';■"'■ • ,:r ■. Opening, stanza featured Capt. Ed- die: Rickonbackor, who is Jobbying lor the reinstatement of ampiitallon casii's in civilian .iob.s. His appear- ance at the end of the program, lol- lownig a gradual buildup with weli- paced cap.suled incidents, and-com- ing as he did after the participation on the program ot one of the atomic bombardiers, produced a most titling climax. Subsequent pronrams will iiave to go some to produce equal eflects. fn the proce.s.s c-reconversion, the program has changed a portion of its manpower, and the new emcee is Bob Dixon. Since the program's novelty content depends on an em- cee with an; exuberant vita11ty to give it a definite personality, it was surprising to hear Di.xon's ton sober- ing technique, which, in turn, al- mo.st aU'ectcd the program's pacing. : As for other portions, good selec- tivity was apparent in presence ot show's guests: train conductor whose hobby is crocheting; night, watch- man who rids him.self of loneiine.ss by clevierly producing music from practically anything he can get his hands on-r^incidentally,-the amusing, highlight of the show, etc. . Thumb-nail dramas by Ed Etttn- gcr introduced each feature in terse la.shion; musical interludes: provided by Dudley King's orch w-ere ade- quate; Addtson Smith's direction was competently handled. Tony Mar- vin's extolling of Anchor-Hocking glas.s' virtues was done m good taste, although repetitious outcry that should be deerea.sed. All ot which indicates, however, that prolific pro- ducer Elman should be kept quite busv once he begins to auction off Rensin Watches over Mutual starling Sept. 17. "INNER SANCTUM" With Paul McGrath, Larry Haines,, Elspeth Erici Myron McCormlck, Santos Ortega Producer-Director: Hi Brown Writer: Emil Tepperman - 30 Mins.,'lues., 9 p.m. LIPTON'S TEA - , WABC-CBS, N. Y. - , (Youiifl & Rwbicolu) Paul McGrath, the replacement for Raymond Edward. Johnson as the bogeyman host of "Inner Sanctum," does a neat, ghouli.sh chore, adding polish to adept acting performances by other members of the cast in this murder-for^profit series. Initial story enacted, on the series lor this season was "Dead Man's. Deal," by Emil Tepperman, a p.Sy- chological thing dealing with a voice that repeats a scarey message to the murderer. It was a .shocker that held interest surprisingly well throughout the 30 minutes. Direction by Hi Brown kept pro^ ceedings moving right along, and aided, loo, in the cutting of corners of .scripter Tepperman's story. Com- mercials for Lipton's condiments were not especially brief, but never- theless; did not interfere too much witH what was going on; All in all, this stanza should hold up well, as betore, during the forthcoming sea- ''On- Slen. Victory-Act 3 Commercial programnn'ng again went by Ihe boards Saturday night H) as all radio w.i.s ..lerted to another great chapter in history—the sequence ot tust-niovnig events that marked the lorniai surrender of the .Japs on the U.S S. Missouri in Tokyo Haibor. For approxiniHtely 4,^ minutes, the peoute ot America wrere treated to the stirring, first- hand, eye-witness account of the oflllcial .signaturing of the uncon- ditional .sun oiidcr terms. Tiie pooled broadcast ot the "play by play" description ot the formal surrender, the finely detailed points of Iht fumbling lor fountain pens, the mixed reuctiqns and emotions of the' paiticipants; the pickup of President Truman in Wa.shington for his dcdicalion ot V-J Sunday, Sept. 2, as £i day of retribution; the switch- back to General MacArlluir and Admiral Niniitz tor their glow'irig tributes to the boys who made the victory possible^—here Wa.S the fitting clima.x to radio's recognition through the vvar years of its I'e- ■ .sponsittility .to the public and the magnificent role.it played since PearJ Harbor. ' NBC's "Victoiv-Act 3" performance by Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orcliesti a ot the Beethoven Eroica Symphony in ring- - mg down the curl.iin on the finale was one. more illu.stralion of the dignity and taste with which radio cloaked it's programming, not only tor V-Ji but through all the historic chapters of the war. Ill equally good taste, too, was Sunday night's half-hour Army Forces Radio Service sliow beamed to.U. S. fighting men throughout the world and earned by the lour networks and independent stations. It was an eloquent expression of thanksgiving by the people of show busine.ss, with the- "Marconi handshake acro.ss the two oceans" oinceed by Bing Grosbv- wlio pointed up tire radio industry's outstanding wartini'e con- tribution. Other conliibs were by Dinah Shore; Bob Hope. Frank Sinatra, Frances Langlord, Or.son Welles and others; with a cut-in to Washington tor Pres dcnt Truman'.s tribute to the men in unitorm. : ■,•: - .Rose.... " "STORIES ABOUT THE STARS" With .lulian B. Tuthill; Eunice Greenwood, Tom AlqUist l.V Mius.; Fri., 3:30 p.m. MARY ETTA CLEANSING CREAM WTHT, Hartford , This is a smooth; I.'i-minute cap- sule n doings in the entertainment field. With .Julian B. Tuthill, Hartford theatre editor, at the handle. Vet theatre critic briefly reviews current cinema tare m this territory, extend- ing-his coverage to-legit .shows-fir New Haven and New York as well as vaude shows at the State here. Tuthill's reportagii .is vstraight .and mat<er of fact, occasiohally coloring with personal anecdotes of liis rela- tionships with stars, etc. Feature of his stint is guest appearance of local theatre manager, in thi.s case Tom Alqiiisl..: Guester iS allowed to criticize the critic and, on stanza heard, there was plenty dill of opin- ion on merits of Crosby and Sinatra. Format also includes a que.slion-and- answer period on stars and careers. Tuthill is new to radio and shows somenervousnes.s, exuding an uneven pacing and .some stumbling m the leading-of his copy. Eunice Green- wood aptly reads the opening and closing commercials,, which are art-' full" moulded into the conlinuity. £cfc. ' SMOKE DREAMS" With Tom Moore; Virginia Speaker. - Wayne Van Dyne, Frank Worth's orch, others Writer: Merre Northrup Director: Norman Hevne ■ 30 Alius.; Sun., 1 p.m. II. FENDKICH. INC. WENK-ABC, Chicago i/?ii!/ini!i.(/' & Ryan} .Mtcr an absence ol several years this show, a popular program ot old, has been brought back by the same spon.sqrs \\;ho baiikrotled it on an- other ivetvi'ork before it went off the air. No change lias been made in the old format and show still revolves around the dreamer (now played b.y Tom M;Ooi'c I. who .sits 'in VhiS; easy chair and reflects.ol the past as he blows ;snioke. rings and talks to his dog sprawled at his lect, his reinm- isceiiees being the cues tor .the vari- ous mu.<ical numbers/ ■ During the course of the.halt-hour, soprano Virginia Speaker was heard ih : ''L'Ainou.r J Toujdtn.'s" and "Zir geuner' and "Giannina Mia" m duet wiih tenor Wayne Van Dvne. who soloed "In the Still ot the Night." A It-piece orchestra diiected by Frank Worth coiitributoid "Holiday ■ for Strings," "Dancing in the Dark," and entire- ensemble including: orcby Speaker, Van D.yne and a tcnOr quar- tet did "Donke.y Serenade," all of which were musically okay. How- ever, it seems that the numbers could have been spotted more effectively than they were on the opening ■stanza, a laull casil.y remedied. Moure's voice is ideally mellowed as the dreamer and Merre Northrup's script, tor the most part, tie.s up vne numbers peilectly although it takes a stretch of the imagination to figure out how the. barefoot school days of the dreamer would remind him ot Dave Rose's fairly new "Holiday for Strings." Cigar commercials, delivered by at. the beginning,.in the middle and at the end ot the program. Middle one starts off well but ends up too long taking the listener out of the m()od -of the program. Norman Franklyn Ferguson, are brought in Hcyne directed with a smooth hand. Morg. "VIC .AND SADE" ' ' With Bernadine Flynn, Art; Van Harvey, .Inhnny. Coons, Fikrrest Lewis; Clarence Harlxell v ' . Writer: Paul Rhymer . Director: Alan Wallace 1.1 Mins.; Tues; through Fri., SilS p.m. (CWT) PROC'rER « GAMBLE WI'MB-CBS, Indianapolis iD(mcer-S<imple-Filzgerald) I-^ong a popular daytime serial over NBC before being taken off the an last year, new nighttime version is now heard over 13 CBS southeast slalions Jour times weekly and will 80 to five-a-week on Sept. 10 when Monday spot is relinqui.shed by the Hedda Hopper stint. Originating in Chicago, main characters of the cast conlinue to be played by Art Van Harvey as Vic, Bernadine Flyhn as Sade. and Clarence Hartzell as Uncle Fletcher. Johnny Goons is new as the, son.: ■ ■: - ■ , ■ Only basic change In the format is -tlrat .au±hocJ?aul-Rbymer--h*is added a new character lor each episode which acts as -i loil for the doings and sayings of the eccentric Gook lamily and .serves to bring out the humor a liltic more of: the peciiliar family ;that lives ."half way up in the ne\t block.' Be-t de.scnption ot Rhymer's -.scripts is that Vic, .Sade' and Uncle Fletcher are radio coun- terparts ol the "You Can't Take It With You' variety of charactei-f. :Rhymcr's':scriplingtop-notch, and his particularrstyle of comedy lli,f,s the f,uiiiT.y.-:S6ne., A musical qoni- binalion:-consisting ot Elwyn Owen organ; Fred .Tacky, ba.ss'oon. and Ruih Marlowe, piano, add materially to the show, with Alan Wallace's di- rection keeping the show nnJving at a fast clip. Two cominercial.s, at the beginning and end and not • taking over two minurs, are capably deliv- ered by Charles Irving. - Mory "THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE" With Harold Peary, Louise Erichson, Walter Tctle>. Lillian Randolph, Earle Ross, Richard I^eGrande, Shirley Mitchell. Ken Carpenter, .- announcer Writers: .lohn- Whedon, Sam M)i4ii'e Producer: Frank Pittmaii 30 Mins.; Sun., I>:30 p.m. KRAFT CHEESE WEAF-NBC. N. Y. (Wecd)iH-m, LoHi.s & Brorhi/) Throckmorton P. Gilderslceve came back to^he jn;^ last Siinday 12) after a .summer rest. Mi'. G~ of coiir.sc, must laugh—since tlials the; way Harold Peary created him on the, "Fibber McGet and Molly" show some 10 years ago. and that's the wa.v he has ted Peary on this pro-- gram, now entering it.s filth year; A stronger, more exciting, less obvious-, -script might give Gildersleeve more: lile, or at least more logical reason lor roaring. But as,heard on the tee- off, the'comedy was tired. " Among the stock characters, the only grown-ups;wcre the .youngsters in the troupe^and the announcer for- the Kraft cheese.>i. Gildersleeve is amiable-but too obviously a sap; his maid tLillian Randolph) IS an old. stencil; Peavy the druggist (Richard LeGrande) is too utterly spineless, and Judge Hooker lEarle Ross) is no more clever than his pal Gilder- sleeve. - ■ ■■ The acting was okay, and the di- rector seemed to .squeeze the last ounce of juice out of a dry-situation involving Gildersleeve's refusal to go to a re.sort for the t^nbor Day holi- day, his capitulation, and his expect- ed escape. But" none of them could escape the script- None but the an- nouncer;- -wlTose copy ca me- from « different source and who did well by ihe sponsor—or as well as might have been expected under circum- .stances which well may have found listeners turning the dial in droves long before the .subject of cheddar chee.se came up at the end.; C«r». "MAYOR OF THE TOWN" With Lionel Barrymore, Agnes Moorehead, Conrad Binyon, Gloria McMillan Writer: Howard Breslin Producer-Director: Knowles EtttrikiB; Music Director: Bernard Kati 3.t Mins.; Sat., 8:30 p.ni. NOXKEMA WABC-CBS, N. ¥. {Rulhfautf & Ryniiy "Mayor of the Town;'' with Lionel Barrymore again enacting the title character in his standard, cantanker- ous manner, is still family-time en- tertainment of the .sort that never .seems to lo.se an atidience. Some of the situations may appear rather corny, but then again it's to be re- membered that this is no program lor the sophisticates. And with Barrymore still a name, ''Mayor'' has some measure of draw even for the so-called hep.sters. The initial program, following Noxzema's summer la.yoff of the show, .sought to bridge the gap of the hiatus, dealing with vacations, etc. It seems the mayor lost some dough ill a poker game, and his housekeeper fAgnes Moorehead) was giving him the devil for it. And he got back at her with some innocuous revelation regarding some supposed escapade in—w>ieh.r-she-had--been- in- volved during the summer. Then, too. there's the puppy-love angle, played by Conrad Biiiyon and Gloria McMillan, both of whom; as, do Barrymore and MLss ; Moorehead, play their roles salisfaclorily. . The cominercial.s, handled; by Carlton, Kadell. are on a par with the rest ol the show, tight and to the point. . ■■ :■•■ Kuhit. "TENNESSEE .lED" * Writer: Howard Carroway Producer: Paul de Fur Director: William Hamilton m Mins.; Mon. thru Fri., 9:45,p.m. TIP-TOP BREAD '. , WJZ-ABC, N, Y. fj. Waller Thompson) Obviously Tip-Top Bread figured a wesiern soap opeja would atlrart the youngslersi and'.tliey wnulcl iu-; (Continued on page 32)