Variety (May 1946)

S4 TELEVISION CBS Cuts Tele Rehearsals to Bone; Script Improvisation' New Gimmick New system of program ning for', work of the director, including casl- fclcvision dramatic shows, involving, ing. direction. elc. and he may now the mm- of »n-"improvisation" group be able to polish off the rough spots of actors, and 'designed Hi provide \ through a simple last-minute Cheek ton-quality programs wilhoil ihe ex- 1 before camera rehearsal, orbitant amounts ol time aiut money. Youth to the J'ront presently consumed in video shows. iml) r 0 visalion actors to trv w, I be inaugurated ■ jc«n.,rmw ^vision- will be the llunsclavl might Dy WGBW. CBS . Rj ' >(| wiw ; , a combo of tele outlet in N. V I vouM „ , h )s w , 10 (el . off |h CBS CHEVROLET TO BREAK AUTO ICE ON VIDEO Detroit, May 7. Chevrolet will be the first auto- mobile firm lo sponsor live tele- vision broadcasts on a network basis, it was announced by T. H. Keating, gen. sales mgr. for Chevrolet. Four conseetutive weekly pro- grams employing live actors and film will be presented on Tuesday evenings from the DuMont studios of WABD, N. Y. The shows will be standard length 'commercial- pro- ductions by the ABC order staff. Under the system, which was first experimented with by CBS in 194(1 ! Imi: hailed by the ombre.ik of the : war. the actors will niii lie compelled to »;ick lo a memorized scroii. They will improvise their .lines as they no ali'ii^. working out most ol the key situations and verbiage in rehearsal.- Sy^ciii is not new to acting, but it's.; I'm' in television has never ncen ade- j (|u::tel> tested. Accordin : in Ben • ti r.ei. Jr.. program chief of CBS t.-'evisum. improvisali-'ii mi^hl pro-. \ ide llie answer lo all 'the in'oo'enis currently confronting video pro* granmicrs. Aid lo Scriplcr* Improvisation niay, a'lsp'i'o -away v. i:h the .larue- degree m' :'i'i iiicialily currently found in loo mine video, si r pis. created by the conditions under which the writer has tu. work. Teh-vision today doesn't olTer a scripler much money. The prepara- tion ol a script lakes much mor■ lime than it docs in radio, since the writer must also work out camera an '!es. etc. Top radio writers today v i n't touch video because" of this. Feioer said. Since all that's required in the improvisation method is story pint, which mighl be wrapped up in a one-page scenario, the system ii i finally 'litre lop writers into the video field. With improvisation, the scenario is turned oyer to the improvisation group, which develops the highlights already planted by the scripter. Not i confined to an exact script, the actors have a wide latitude in the use of gags, new twists, tic. Besides eliminating the. necessity for • a straight script and time spent in memorization. improvisal ion also eliminates most of the pre-sludio plan tomorrow night with Milton Bacon's "Talcs to ftemembcr." Pro- gram ran previously oil WCBW, but was pulled because of the time and money involved in production. Fein- cr- has chosen this for the .first shot, he said, mostly lor reasons of com- parison. System will be used again the following Thursday in a Tive- minule skit to be incorporated in "Are You a Reporter'.'" new audi- ence-participation show. JOAN EDWARDS CURRENTLY APPEARING AT THE WEDGWOOD ROOM OF THE WALDORF-ASTORIA "\\ llellicr on radio or in a chnV J":ui Kitu-,'ir<ls emerges us one of 111«- t"|. singers and pianists ol' mil- il.-iy." BEN GROSS. New York Daily News. IA Shutter on Derby j Telepix Averts Fight ! Between CBS-IBEW; ! Crackdown by. IATSE against CBS television employing a hon-untonj camera crew lo lllm the Kentucky Derby Saturday (5>, it's revealed, j might have averted a serious dispute : bel^-eon the web and its studio tech- ' nicians. I CBS had planned to hire the. Louisville Camera Club, a non-union amateur group, lo film the race, then fly Ihe pictures back Saturday night.. Film was to have been processed and edited Sunday (5 1 and then broadcast over WCBW. the web's;. N. Y. tele ' outlet. Sunday night, i Bristol-Myers was slated to pay the ; freight on the project as that outfit's ; first venture info sponsoring a tele-' visjon show. Chicago Ideal of IAJSE. claiming jurisdiction over llim cameramen. ■ got wind of the project, however, and promptly threatened lo pull all Ihe commercial newsreel camera- men, who belong to IA. off the job if CBS went through with its plans. CBS. consequently, was forced lo withdraw, and cancel the Sunday night broadcast. CBS studio technicians, all ' mem- bers of the IBEW. now aver that they probably Wouldn't have Tun the 'pictures for broadcasting purposes anyway, if films had been taken, by non-union Icnsers. IBEW. according to Charles A. Calamc, business man- ager of Ihe N.' Y. local, was under ilhe impression that CBS wanted to film the race in color, to be used only for future color demonstrations, and had ho knowledge that the show- was to be transmitted as part of [WCBW? regular commercial pro- gramming. CBS. on the other hand, avers thai il had obtained television rights to Ihe Derby and. after discussing use of a non-union crew with IBEW. was under the impression that the I sludio technicians would have used the film. Idea of the color demon- strations, according to a CBS exec, had been only a gleam in the eyes of the color video stalT. and nothing definite had been decided on that score. Kansas City— Bob Riley, former mikeman al KCKN here, back on the announcing staff after three years as radio operator in the Mari- time Service. In Fight Telecast . Possibility that television coverage of the forthcoming Conn-Louis fight might wind up -in a legal tangle loomed this week. With NBC al- ready assigned "exclusive", video rights to the bout, it's reported that promoter Mike Jacobs has now ap- proached Paraihount will; the idea of haying Par use its intermediate film method of video lo 1 " telecast the fight into- Ihe Paramount theatre on Broadway, as' well as to Madison Square Garden. Question revolves around whether NBC's rights include all television, or just that transmitted'to'home re- ceivers. Whether the fight is telecast to the full-sized- screens depends on whether Par's system is deemed ready for use by June 19. date of the fight, Jacobs reportedly re- ceived $100,000 from Gillette Safety. Razor, sponsors, and NBC for the preliminary deal. Jacobs evidently believes 'now. that the Tar system, since it involves the use of motion pictures. Is not actually television. John F. Royal. NBC exec veepee Over television, refused to comment on the situation except to reiterate that NBC's deal with Jacobs gives the web exclusive rights. Paul Raibourn. chief of Par's television activities, declared that all rights to the fight belong basically lo the Gar- den Corp. and Jacobs' 20th Century Sporting Club and that. "as. far as Paramount knows, nothing yet has happened that would preclude us from using the show." . Decision on whether Jacobs will go ahead with his negotiations with Par. one Garden spokesman said, depend on whether Par officials decide their intermediate film method is okay Tor the public. Method has reportedly proved entirely satisfactory in all tests to date. But Par officials are said to be wary dial some flaw or breakdown . might develop on (he . initial public screening because of , inadequate field tests. Claim Rights Same Garden spokesman echoed Raibourn in declaring that those holding a slake in the light reserved the right lo television for a theatre auditorium, this covering both -the ' Garden and Paramount theatre. Pact w ith NBC. he declared, covered only television for home set owners. . Par's intermediate film method, on ! w hich it has been experimenting fOr ; the last six years, involves the' film- ing of the images as they appear on the end of the television receiving | tube. Highly sensitive film stock is • then developed continuously in a j new. raliid drying process so .that it's ; reportedly ready for projection onto a theatre screen within 90 seconds Wednesday, May ft, Television Reviews IS III okay "THEN C'ANTKKN" Wtth Kathleen Norrls, others Director: Bobble Henry Producer: Bob Stone Writer: Mis* Norrls 30 Mills,, Wed. (1). 7:.1I» p.m. WRGB-ABC, Scheneelady While video programming the experimental - stages, it's to work with juve-amaleiir talent Sight sessions for youngsters will someday be an important part of early evening .programming'.'and the net getting patterns and ideas set now will have an important- lead once the cereal, firms start shelling out some important dough. ABC has an essentially good video idea in weekly visits lo the .various teen canteens in Schenectady sector. It's a show with a greal deal of local interest and virtually has a guaranteed audience. However, the kids at the canteen visited defeated the producer's hopes by being an unsociable set. Groupings were such that the-.boys, and gals' had little Id do wilh One another. Kathleen Nort'is. mistress of ceremonies oh the program, virtually had to twist the kids' wrists lo make them dance. Otherwise the. boys could be found in the, game room, while the, gals jitterbugged wilh oho another. Miss Norris had lo work like a beaver to attempt to correct this condition. I Result was the loss of spontaneity and proceedings seemed forced. The ' show was designed for fasl move- \ ment wilh three sels depicting a i snack bar. gaming room and dance- floor, and Miss Norris is a sprightly gal with a good line of pallor, all of which was wasted because", of the lack of spontaneity. There were some'technical things which misfired, such as introduction of a set of newborn kittens, which meowed long before and at lev cam- era concentration. Kids often ran in front or the camera and lighting wasn't up to par.. Among the gimmicks tried were songs by various members of the canteen wilh live piano accompani- ment, and a femme guitar-accordion pair who sang. These things are okay , by Pelrillo, inasmuch as the kids are under 16 and are non- union members. The group vi-ilcd was (he 'Sco- tia-canteen which, like its counter- parts, throughout the country, pro- vides an inexpensive form of juve recreation and is integrated in com- munity, activities. The movement is. laudable and so'nie fun can be de- rived rrom the varied activilii-s—if. only ihe youngsters cooperate. Jost. RINGI.ING BROS. CIRCUS With (ill Fates, announcer Director: Bob Bendlek 154 Mills.; Friday (3), 8:3« p.m. Sustaining WCBW-CBS. N. Y. | CBS television's remote broadcast j of the entire circus performance from Madison Sq. Garden Friday ; i.'t) night highlighted the Tad that. in video's present stage of devclop- | ment. such events furnish what are I undoubtedly the best means of pro- I gramming. I Knowing in, advance that the cir- i ens was excellent programwise. the the CBS staff could gloss over any programming worries and .concen- trate its attention on selling up the equipment on hand to give viewers the best pictures possible. Sports events and oilier remote broadcasts furnishing on-the-spot'coverage will fill Ihe bill in the same way. Carry- ing such shows on a sustaining basis also rates the web a hod as a public- service benefactor, although it's questionable whether CBS would have passed up a nibble from a po- tential sponsor, had circus execs been willing to go commercial in that way. Circus, unlike some sports, events, to two minutes. LOUIS ARMSTRONG GEORGIE AULO PEARL IAILEV VERA BARTON COUNT IASIE JOHNNY BOTH WELL COSY COLE JACKIE CONN JOHNNY DESMOND GENE KRUPA PEGGY LEE JIMMY McPARTLAND MARION McPARTLANO TOOTS SHOR GEORGE SIMON JESS STACEY ART TATUM MARTHA TILTON LEE WILEY appeared "IN PERSON" last month in Hfflfl'C"100n Pliih" 1 m. c.FEED I0BBIHS WU V m IfiOU U1UU a*^^7^<4«*^ and Di yiu know that... the same voice heard on the networks selling FRESH, IPANA, MOLLE, PABST, VITALIS is now available to do an effective selling job for your products. Inquire about availabilities today'. Ralph N. Weil, Geo.' Mgr. . John E. Pedrton Co., Natl Rep. With: Burnum & Bailey circus in town. Alexander Smith Carpet had the ingredients Tor another teleshow thai was a natural from point of view of timeliness and visual de- lights. Unable lo pick, up directly from Madison Sq. Garden because DuMonl has no remote equipment; idea w as to recreate the circus w ithin the limits or DuMont's WABD studio last Wednesday (Ii. Format fol- lowed pattern drawn in previous shows, with a magic carpet whisk- ing some kids from the fireside hearth lo the land of their heart's desire, in this case the circus. Then jn double quick-lime. 12 circus acts 110 live, two filmed' were dished up by a barker in traditional sten- torian style. • The camera work in lollowing the action was flawless, and the end commercial was han- dled with taste and intelligence. The attempt, however, to capture the "big top' flavor fell a bit short due to the narrow and shallow framework of the selling: Despite all the circus gimmicks and the in- terpolated fl|m sequences, the im- pression or flatness produced'by the pimple succession of studio acts was •-nor eoTnph? trt y Twcm nne.- ' can be appreciated TulIv onlv from a scat under the big top tor' i„ n » Garden). With that initial C |, * back to overcome, and confronted with inadequate .equipment .'the-CBS staft". under the direction of fl 0 u Bendick, turned in a highly com mendable job. Using 0 niv iJ„ cameras, the technicians achieved good pictures of mosl of the dpi- fprniance. although the uijoi l ri.iw effects on the aerial acts were ce tainly not devised Tor ihe benefit i.r television. 1 With one or more cameras set ■'■» oh the. far side of Ihe ring oris could have furnished a belter rounded picture of the evertt but ' the scarcity of new equipment" pre- cluded that. Monotony of watching a black and white screen for more than two hours, and comparing that with the beautiful colors and pry. duction mountings of the circus il- self, evidenced the tact thai color video, when it .does gel here, w ilt be- a tremendous hypo to audience interest for such broadcasts iOt course, everybody agrees thai color will be much better than black and white.) Gil Fates, assistant program direc- tor of the CBS staff., turned in a very good job on the narration Hi s often-evidenced sense ol humor coupled with the way he let the pipl hires speak for themselves, rale him a decided bow. siul. 'Blithe Spirit' Tees Off WMBTDramat Program NBC television's dramatic season resumes Sunday (12) night al 8 O'clock with Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit." First dramatic program on WNBT, the web's N. Y. tele station, since it went oIT the air March 1 lo convert to its new channel, the show will star Leonora Corbelt. who played the leading role, in the Broadway production. Kdward Solinl is the director. ■ WNBT has, also scheduled Presi- 'denl- Truman's second appearance before video cameras for Saturday • Mi. Station's mobile unil and re- mote equipment will bring viewers the proceedings when Mr. Truman receives an honorary degree from Fordhjiin University (N. Y ). LITTLE ROCK FOR OKLAHOMA TIflE SUPPLY CO. NEW NEW YORK OFFICE 47S Fifth Avenue fcXXANMMMl.aM Hotel Kcfcwkft. Kama* City 6, Mo.