Variety (May 1946)

«ABIO RKVIKWS wVAnesday, May ], 1946 "MEET CORLISS ARCHER" I With Janet Waldo. Arlcne Becker, I Tommy Bernard. Sum 'Edwards, I Frederich Shields. Irene Tedrovv.! Writer: F. Hugh He rrt I Producer: Edna Best I 38 Mins.-. Sunduy, 9 p.m. j CAMPBELL SOUP ! W.YBC-CBS, N. Y. \ < Ward Wlieelocl. ' ' ''Corliss Archer" returned to Hu. network .sweepstakes Sunday (28 i., this lime under Campbell Soup i auspices, with the half-hour comedy ! show moving in as replacement for the top-budgeted "Roqiicsl Perform- I mice" which rang down its Una! > ciirlain the week before. '"Corliss," j to all intents, is in on a temporary basis, pending Ward ""— agency"s acquisition of a ....... . high-budgeted package to replace '"Request"' in the fall. (Mickey Roor.cy was all set to take It Was Quiet M'ay.i;- i< was tin- night belore Christmas and nothing was slir- ing—not even McCce. Hope, or Skcltou and in that order. Despite the date. April 23, all three piled on the comedy bob- sled to toboggan to as dull a thud as "murderer's row" has likely known of u Tuesday. The switch, of course, is that these three comics should consecutively un- cover poor scripts the same ever nine.. The network could hove closed with a platter of "Silent Night." ;.7u-T i 4 "'YOURS SINCERELY" Wheelock 1 wltIl Charles Celltncwood. Wilson mother Mld(f | ey ' , . Producers: Robert Heller. Godfrey James .-. was all set to take over | ;!a " M j ll9 .. Sun ., .12.30 p.m. come September but agency in " ; sustaining .sudden move, dropped its option, last ! WAKC-CBS, N. Y. weel;>. , CBS and BBC. which cooperated "Corliss" just about takes up where ".''during the war in one of the sock it loll o(T. which means it's pretty mild, lame stuff in terms of Sunday night major network programming fare, and as such probably rates proper bracketing as summer, fill-in material. All of which cues some wonderment . over the recent tvvo- agencv tussle and bidding for the show.' with Y 4 R ultimately relin- quishing its hold and forfeiting to Ward Wheelock. Which gives oiie a pretty good idea of how little is available iii radio today. limine .... international exchange programs via •Transatlantic Call." are at the game ot trans-ocean fraternization again. This time, it's called "Yours Sin- cerely." emphasis being on letters written bv people on both s:des. each wanting to know more about the other. ■ As aired on the preem (28 •. it seemed that the British brethren are not quite as suck as the people on this side are in putting over propa- „ -- .... 1 lortlessly. But the will was there. cumulated absuditics of the . ""Aid-1 nlK \ the know-how will doubtlessly rich" stanza. Last Sunday's opener | "develop. •was just , about on a par with past i a s a production job, too. the - ' ■•"—■=-■•■ chapters. Scripting ' American end seemed so much seasons' "Corlis.. , , was singularly lacking in originality, sticking to tried-and-true pattern. Janet Waldo does okay as Corliss and that goes for the resl .of the cast, although the parent roles .were inclin-.-d to be on the stiff and pomp- ous side. Del Sharbult wrapped up tlie Campbell- Soup commercials, but they were on the dullish certainly wasn't the type lo attract new custodiers of mushroom soup. .Il l,\ l tiu. • v..,, . smoother. Midglcy was coming 111 at odd moments when the guy ovei in London should have, signal-id him to silence. But this possibly chauvinis- tic judgment did not deter from the show's value as a whole. When the letters from both sides really start llowing. there's little doubt that gen- ii, , nine understanding should result iule It I among the peoples listening respec- >i copv I lively lo CBS and BBC. ! rtn ihn American side. to I'.ejiri Rose. "ABC CLUB" With Eddie Hubbard Producer-director: Howard Miller, Eddie Hubbard 55 Ming.. * nights a week: 16.0.1 p.m. I.IGGETT-MYERS TOBACCO WIND. Chicago (Neiecll-Emuieii • Ecidtc Hubbard has built a rep around Chi for his "Nonsense Cup- board" morning get-up shot, which is probably what cued his pickup by Chesterfield'' cigarets lor a Martin Blockish evening hirer. Sl'ange. though, that Hubbard' who is given a treasure ol freedom in the morning pros-ram.- is held under tight rein by the tol.-acco sponsor in the nighttime !>lH>Vs . Disk jock stalled in Baltimore, where he built a big rating with a completely informal, gagged-.un plal- 1i r show. "ABC Club" would prob- ably be improved if the -uy were gl .cn.a lillle more elbow-room. As it stands, the program honors all requests; but obviously 'ticks the On the American side, smoothness [ and proper. pacing was assured I through the production chore being i in the hand of the old "Transatlantic Call" producer. Robert Heller. ! Curs. Ed "THE MUSIC MAKERS" Produrer-wrlter-announeer: Kobak. Jr. 30 Mins.. Sat., 10-.no a. m. SusU'nine WBYN. N. Y. Disk jockey . Ed Kobak. Jr..'s vari- ation on. the platter theme—present- ing biogs of present-day pop com- posers illustrated chronologically by Iheir hit tunes—has its merits. Idea is always, timely and varied, with a wealth of material lo choose from. Salut'day's (271 opener, on Irving Berlin, of course, 'wus.it natural, songwritei-'s rich, full life being a mine of music-copy for a disk pro- gram. Unfortunately, the opening pro- grain, while appealing for its music selections, was otherwise fairly pe- destrian in its nature, biographical details being neither highlighted nor sufficiently dramatized. Both script- ing and delivery were too placid. all requests; but obviously flicks the a| - 0 , tj ■ AlthouBh Robak's belter tunas, or at least 'hi sc with i 1: ,..„ ; _ . ,. nIpaiJlint an \j cultival- llie widest appeal. Hubbard's chat H-r serves as a line in-belvvc-.-n. in- formal enough lo keep, lisle lers hap- py and slraitlaced enough I'" 1 " the sponsor s peace of mind. Tom 111. "MINORITY OPINION" Writer: Sidney Williams Director: Stanley Peyton 15 minutes: Monday !l:!>6 p.m. StisUiiniit^ W.1W. Cleveland Mere is a 15-ininulc holiest attempt to bring.to Cleveland's cosmopolitan' million residents an unbiased report 011 minority problems. Perhaps loo colorless, the program is prepared by Sidney Williams, executive chair- man or the Urban League, who has iviurned to C'ovcland after serving wilh l!>e Red Cross overseas during the war. it nothing else.. Ihc -program is a credit to the. .community lor bring- ing a Ne-iro lo Ihe mike to head a program devoted to minority prob- lems. Williams does a good job. although the program could be spiced more to attract listeners. 11 usually consists of a series "of talks, wilh Williams interviewing local ex- perts on minority problems: Tlie in.iteri.'l is good:'-but coming on Ihe. same lime as "Information Please." "Lux Radio Theatre" and "Spotlight Bards." ihc number of WjW listen- ers .-.| ilu- hour of "Minority Opin- io''" 'irs not do the stations efforf ercdi". The series on minority problems oc■—vonally presents a dramatic , si: ■ '"i by the sock Karamu Players: : a 1 ■ tiro which perlu-ps should be! reoeau-d oflcn as the group has wide' a< : -n. Vfi'iinnis" voice is good. He handles ! the : how well: material is to Ihe! put-'t a"d does not beat around Ihe-i hush with generalities. I Station officials merely "look over" thr script for possible Mbel and no at'empi to censor is made. Direction and announcing is ca- pably handled by Stanlcv Pevton. , voice is clear, pleasant, and cultival ed. ihe personality stuff was played down, so that the. biog facts came out loo flat. Musical selections - chosen were good, and their perform-! antes first rate. Program can be improved with some imaginative scripting and hy- poed delivery for an : interesting series. Broil. "FOREVER ERNEST" With Jackie Coogan. Arthur Q. Brvan, Lurene Tutlle, Billy May orch: Dirk Joy, announcer Writer: Rupert Pray Producer: John Guedel Olrrelor: Harry Kronman ::» Mins., 8 p.m., Monday ■EMERSON DRUG WABC-CBS. N. Y. This is the new Jackie Coogan package that Emerson Drug (Bromo : Seltzer' purchased ns rcplaceine.nl I for "Vox Pop." Regardless of the merits or audience participation ■ ' shows vs. situation comedy, it looks 1 ! like Emer.son might have to corner a I sizable chunk of its bromo .product ' to telieve the Monday, night head- ache that shapes up if it still wants to think in terms of the consistent high rating Parks Johnson pulled do\\ n. W-*, For "firne.-f" is strictly radios equivalent ol B grade pix stuff, hew- ing close to the pattern of the many oilier adolescent-slanted programs. Coogan, the ex-"Kid." now 31. has a pleasant enough delivery, but its only of a so-so quality that s on a par with the amount of inventive- ness thai went into the. scripting of Moudav's (2!)t aircr. Lillle more can be'said for Lurene Tutlle as his girl and Arthur Q. Bryan a- their glib friend. The trend today appears to be ilowtrd situation comedy. Only a few such as Ihe Ozzic Nelson-Har- riet-' Hilliard CBS Sunday night show, have succeeded in vesting them with a naturalness and a spark thai merits the bigtime in radio pro- gramming. This one appeared to take the easy way out on the opener. Dick ;jov handles the Bromo com- mercials. ' .. ". Rose - •WTIC VARIETY SHOW" With Bob Tvrol, Mary Os borne, Bruce Kern, BaUese. Larry Mavo, WTIC Melody Makers Writer: Bob Tyrol Producer: Georfe. Bowe 30 Mins.-, Mon.-Frl., 1:3* p.m. SusUininc WTIC, Hartford. This half hour interlude of music, comedy, patter, etc., is a pleasant re- lief from the usual dull afternoon shows. Its appeal is directed at both classes of genders, going down to ihc bobbysoxers. those that aren t attending classes at that time. It lakes a heavy nut to produce a show or this kind and station isn't skimp- ing on expenses, although majority of the talent is station personnel. Reigning high is the music of the WTIC studio orch. tagged for the occasion as Melody Makers. Under the baton of Rudy Martin, this aggre- gation produces . music of many diversified moods and types, all to good salable effect. Vocalists Mary Osborne and Larry Mayo, on shot heard, sold the tunes assigned them although latter still must get himself more mike presence and firmness. He's new to radio. He splits the male vocal assignments on alternate days with Lenri Collins. ! Bruce Kern handled mike assign- ments capably. Emcee Bob Tyrol, who also writes the show, did, pass- ably well in crossfire with Kern. Scripting could stand tailoring with inclusion of better humor. Bateesc campaigns the humor department effectively with his broken down Canuck accentuations. Interspersing the show are daily plugs for various public safely drives as well as a bit called "Good for Nothing." Herein, listener is advised to dp something worthwhile without receiving any- thing in return. Producer George Bowc. with limitations imposed upon him. did well, although he should lighten show, and eliminate dead air. Pacing should also be improved. Eefc. Burns, Allen & Strotz NBC solved Ihe new-talent shortage last week. No longer need the . web worrv about Ihe source of fresh blood for replacement of such veterans as. sav Eddie Cantor or Fred Allen, when age lias—at it must —taken its loll. Just throw in a vcepce, says NBC in effect. And there's ' never a shortage of veepees. Showcasing the veepee circuit for the network was its vice prexv in charge or the western division, Sidney N. Strotz. It happened on the Burns S: Allen show (.25), It couldn't have happened to a better pair. F.or Stmt/, playing the role of NBC's vice president in charge or the western division, proved to be, to his'fingertips—a vice-president. His job was to get himself enmeshed in the arms of a siren, so that Gracie Allen might wangle out of him an extra half hour for this week's <2> performance. The advance ballyhoo spoke of Slrotz step, ping into a special comedy role, created solely for Stroiz; But the flackcrv erred on the side of conservatism, for once. Strotz was sock,- and as'caulious a vecpee as one ever met. Strotz was correct but imt cute. Strotz—well, just. SRy he was Trammelled in the best vcepce tradition. One might hope that NBC will now go on from here. The air wilt never again tack fresh talent. The air will be fresh, clean, buoyant— and so will be the executive offices. For, what more useful manner 'is'there for utilivatlon of a veepee than making a comedian out of him? And there's never a shortage of veepees. DON GODDARD With John McKnighl. annonacer 15 Mins.: Mon.-Sal., 1Z:S» p.m. MANHATTAN SOAP CO. WMCA, N. Y. (Dunup Jones') After eight vears on WEAF and several vears on NBC. Don Goddard has gone over to the N. Y. indie, WMCA. to do a cross-the-board 15- minute gabfesl al 12:30 p.m. It's to his credit that one of his bigtime sponsors. Manhattan Soap, imme- diately bought him for three days a week," Mon.-Wed.-Fri.. leaving him open for sponsorship the rcsl of the time. , , ' Goddard is an old hand al the game, and knows how to wrap up his show. Nullum Straus, WMCA prexy. had put him on even before the bankroller came along, wanting an experienced man to handle post- noon news thai Would combine world-wide • sttilT with material of local interest. Goddard does a good job al jusl that type of show. ■ On Ihe opener (29) he ranged all Ihe way from the international sceno to purelv local mailers like a drive for New York charities, and held the thing together wilh expertness. His old fluff habit was apparent .and may have been due lo debut jitters. But he kepi his intimate tone throughout, and was a decided . asset—except when he did the middle commercial, and. thai is probably not his fault. The resl of the commercials were handled by John McKnight who kept them neat and terse. Cars. Transcription Reviews , "HERE COMES LOUIS JORDAN" : With I,nuts Jordan and His Tympanv Five. Mills Brothers (41, Josh White, Dorothy Doneean, Ann Jenkins. Delta Rhythm Boys (5). Everett Johnson. Plgmeat Mark- ham ; Writer: Mori Green ; la Mins. Co-Ol> SB S'ulioils . 1 IVorid Brondcdxliiiyi Louis Jordan, and his Tympany ' Five are "hosts" on this listenable , series .of 150! quarlcr-hpur shows lo such sepia stats as' Dorothy Done- 1 gan. Mills Brothers. Josh While, elc. It's one of World's ""Audi-Flex" lay- outs, with only the music recorded and scripts supplied separately for broadcast by the local announcer, thus giving the sponsors the oppor- tunity lo spot their commercials wherever desired. There are usually four tunes to a platter: the Jordan outfit beating out two in its usual showmanly manner, and two guests taking' one apiece Plaller heard had Jordan gravel- voicing his own number.''"L-' You Is".'" al the front end and "Don't Worry About That Mule" al the rear. In between, the Mills quartet did '"Sweet Lucy Brown" in the usual dulcet way. and Miss Donegan ground out a wild boogie of "After You've Gone." Work! has cornered some or the lop hot talent in the country for this 1 show. Some of il is for the con- noisseur, of course.' but there's enough pop stuff mixed in with the caviar to make a lot of converts for the latler. At any rate, nobody can say World isn't doing a good job of proselyting. Mike.. "YOUTH ROl'NDTABI.E" 36 Mins.: 10:30 a.m., Saturday YMCA WOY. Schenectady The voice' of American youth speaks intelligently, articulately and underslandingty on the most im- portant questions or the. day via this splendid program.. It is the best thing of. Us kind on the air here- abouts. . . Mixed groups from Schenectady high schools participate, the round- table personnel changing weekly. Officials of the local school system (which, under Dr. W. Howard Pills- bury, has. for years been acutely aware of and active in the use of radio to 'further education 1 and fac- ulty members act as moderators. A recent experiment was the spotting of a girl in that role. Latter con- fined, herself to guiding the voice traffic, doing well enough to indicate another trial, on a bit broader basis, which might be worthwhile. The boys and girls, whose names suggest a true crossscction of the United Stales, start with prepared scripts and later turn ad lib. The second part is more convincing and interesting. There is some evidence of teacher direction in their points and slants, which is probably in- evitable because of Ihe weight of questions analyzed. Inclusion of simpler, less weighty topics, with which the bright kids have personal contacts and experience, would be advisable.. Jnco. "LET'S LEARN SPANISH" With Joel Say re, Pedro Domecq, Duncan Pirnie Writers; Sayre, Ivor Armstrong Richards Producer-Director: Lester Vail 1.1 Mins. Co-Op Ifi Stations 1 Horry S. Coodmnn) A sprightly scries, plattercd from live shows, lhal aims lo impart a working knowledge of everyday Spanish in 39 quarter-hour broad- casts, this package is nonetheless a doubtful commercial entry This lay- out has had sponsors in the past- joint sponsors, for instance, in the case or the University of Rochester and, WHAM, of Rochester. N. Y.. which Jast vear sent out 4,000 or the supplementary instruction booklets lo listeners who Wrote in for them: plus the Maison Blanche department store. New Orleans, and a few others. And when the show, origi- nally brought out tinder the aegis or Time and Life mags, was live, it won Ohio Slate.U's ISNX Cultural award, besides being ina.'e pari ol training (Cont'iuued on page 46) I'PIANO FOR SALE" With Jessie Lee Fulton, Betty Jean Glvens. Ben Morris, Carroll Free- man, Bob Duahe; Ed Harvey, nar- rator Producer: llovl Andrews Writer: Ed Harvev 15 Mins.- Fri., 0:45 p. m. Sustaining WKY, Okla. Cilv Oklahoma City's WKY is to be commended for its courage and orig- inality, as Well as its contribution to public service, in its new series on venereal disease.. Tying up program with the city's drive to have citizens fake blood tests, station has started a 12-week dramatic series of sepa- rate 15-minule narrations, dramatiz- ing stories lhal "point up the VD evil. Series opened Friday (191 with ' Piano for Sale." Program has narrator telling the story, interspersed wilh frequent short illustrative dramatizations Scripting is always in good taste slory also being developed in mat- ter-of-fact, realistic dialog. Opening program was story of a well-to-do couple wilh girted son. a pianist, and the tragedy brought lo the home when it was learned thai the son was syphilitic, contracted from a high-living falher and passed :■ on through the unknowing mother (Continued on page 46) "LET'S GO TO THE OPERA" With I-awrenoe Tlbbelt. Marie Rojn- dahl. Thomas Scherman and orch; Frauk Waldeoker, announcer Producer: Roger Bower 30 Mins., San, 1, p.m. . BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB WQR. N. Y. (Schwab. Beuni/i WOR's new summer scries, fea- turing familiar opera airs and selec- tions, sung in English by Met stars aiid rising talent, hits the spot. Familiar light classics have their in- variable appeal, especially when se- lected and balanced as well as Sun- dav's (28) opener indicated. Series, however, will go better with fresh young voices rather than wilh sing- ers just picked for their name. Sunday's program featured such surefire numbers as Prelude lo Act III or "'Lohengrin - ' (for orchestra); Lawrence Tibbett. vet Met baritone, in the Toreador Song from "Car- men" (with chorus). "Evening Star" from '"Tannhauser." Valentine's Air from "Faust." with a duel from "Rigoletto" with -Marie . Rogndahl. Latter, a charming coloratura wilh a light, pleasing voice, also added the Laughing Song from "Die Fledcr- maus." There were slill flashes of the old Tibbett in the "Tannhauser" excerpl and. the "Rigolctto" duet, but for the most pari the baritone's voice soiinded tired and worn. Orch, under Thomas Schermatvs direction, sounded fine. B1011. "ON THE SPOT" With Ray Barrett Prodncer: Jim Harvev 1* Mins., Mon., Wed., Fit., 1>:45 p.m. WEAF, N. Y. Ray Barrett's 10-miuute program, Mondays.- Wednesdays and Fridays, 12:45 p.m.. is a lively session of much merit. Roaming Manhattan for "man-on-the-spot", interviews, Barrell. interrogates passers-by on an important topic of the day. using a different question each day as sub- mitted by listeners. Interviews are recorded on the spot and broadcast same day from WEAF. BjitcU's handling of mike and questions makes the program, his light approach, his joshing wilh in- terviewees before popping the ques- tion, while at same lime not kid- ding the importance or the topic at hand, having just the right approach and louch. Monday's (201 opener offered question whether OPA should be continued, and Barrett's queries elicited some -intelligent, honest answers. Locale was Green- wich Village'.' Roar ol street, traffic, plainly heard, although an inlei-csl- ing background, was a lillle rli-i-on- ccrling and blurring. Brow. liar. "SINCLAIR QUIZ CLUB" With Tom Moore; announcer. vey Cary Producer-Dlrector: Jack Peterson Writer: Harry Lawrence Music: Ford Canfleld 39 Mins., Sat. (20); »:4.t p.m. SINCLAIR REFINING WBBM. Chicago (Hixson-O'DoiiiM'/' 1 A show or this sort must neces- sarily be potluck. depending for ap- peal largely upon the soi l (if stooges or quizees picked out of the audi- ence beforehand. Here, as atwavs. pace and polish come from direction and the emcee. Contestants are picked from the audience by lot. each answering five questions in five different categories. There's a five-spot for each correil answer, with an additional payoff gimmick at the end. 'Smart real "re of this program is'tlw fact I hat Ike contest twist becomes secondary in importance lo the quickie interviews between Tom Moore and tlie con- testants. Moore is so corny -he's, good, moving the show rapidly ai d relaxing gi'gglers. Earthly st: l<" draws fine response. Program weakness as a quiz show lies in individual payoffs. Each c n- teslant has a choice ol. easy qu---li"ii ■ or a loughie. Latler pays live ln , .-';.i tor every one of the previou.- oees- tions missed, while former jusl «:'■■' five bucks. If quizi-e 1 has missed none, there's noticeable leld'> "'. since choice is too obvious. Oi :, » - wise, upward building or inleiv'" is okay. Ford Canfield's ttuieM" good on the bridges an ' questions. Production thru' iiCit.l fasl and entertaining. Tom in.