Variety (Mar 1947)

wuLwm mmws Wednesday, Bfareli 19, VHB MOLTON Vmm SHOW Wtth Kiiy Black er«b. Pick J-arnny, llM-y Shipp, Cliarles Irvine, Bolmd IVinter's, jlnck Gwlilora, VmOt Galls|i, wnnouncer Pri>ifi>«er: Faid Mttnroe Wrtters: N»t ifiken. Awroii Rubin 80 Mins., TueS.. 8 p.m. PHILIP MOBRtS WNBC-NBC, N.. "S.,.. (Milton Biow) The Milton Berle transition from a nitery floor to the microphone, after a number of hapless tries, is still far from complete, but his new show for Philip Morris which bowed in last Tuesday (ID night on NBC shows KEN BANGHAKT With Arthur C»ty> J««k C«Welta annanneera 15 IHins., Mon. thru Sat., 6 mni 11 B-til. PEtElt PAUL; SBtELL OIL WNPC-NBC, N. T. (Duane, Jones; J. W. Thompson) NBC, in interesting Peter Paul Candy in sponsoring Ken Banghart Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Shell Oil in carrying the freight Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, has sold a good bill of goods. Newscaster has a simple format, a plain, every- day delivery, a rapid style and clear, dramatic voice to keep audiences tuned in as well as posted. Bang- evidence that the comedian is on his | hart gives out with straight news, Way, i with authoritative comment culled If not in the strictest sense an "air' around, and lets the facts speak for show" Berle's premiere was, at least, | themselves, without interpretation or a funny one; certainly an improve- coloration. Simple language, clean ment over the Rudy Vallee show which it replaces. A little more con- centration on integrating Berle into radio technique, and the Biow agency and its ciggie client will probably have hit on the right, formula as the curtain-lifter 'or NBC's Tuesday night Succes-sion of top-Hooper comedy programs. Halfway, through the opening broadcast Berle found himself as a radio personality, extracting every- thing from a comedy routine that registered some boff laughs. That Berle had a scripting assist from Fred Allen's chief writer, Nat Hiken, in no way minimizes the fact that Philip Morris' new comedian knew what to do with it, and, in sharp con- trast to the impression conveyed earlier in the program, channeled it to the home listener—and not the studio audience. Tlie closing routine about a guy who wants a library card so he can read Harry Butcher's "My Three Years With Eisenhower." plus the signoff in which the co- median tossed around the credit as- sists, left the impi^ssion that Berle could: well enteeach iimseU among radio's top 4;omedians. But it wiij niean eradicating faults that were apparent in the opening half of the show, as, for instance, his byplay with announcer Prank Gal- lop that frequently was directed everywhere, but into the mike and at times became inaudible. Too, the timing was oflf, and to the home listener it was exasperating to catch studio laughter that suggested Berle was going into his nitery-slanted grimacing and routine that must have puzzled many a dialtwister. Berle must remember, too, that a Henny Youngman gag will click with the Broadway habitues, but this is coast-to-coast programming with many a smalltown detour. Nor were the opening-half Comedy contribs by Jack Guilford ana Charles Irving of particularly laugh-provoking quality. The fact remains this is Berle's show, and he clicked better here than in an previous tries. Dick Farnay, a Brazilian singer, is a permanent cast member, and an asset, his rendition of "Somebody Loves Me" registering nicely. Ray Block's orch does its usual good job. but it might do well for 91ock to soft-pedal some of those arrangements. Philip Morris commercials were ^er usual, with Gallop doing a com- petent opening spiel and in the raid- way "Johnny-on-the-spot" "produc- tion." However. PM gets in its in- nings without the irritating trip- hammered iecfaniqtte of some rival ciggie sponsors. Rose. 'diction, good choice of items, should appeal to the average listener. Format has Banghart starting with a lew brief one-lihers on news on the domestic and foreigfi fronts; letting announcer get in a brief commercial; then resuming to dwell at length on the most important news of the day, before going on to other one-liners snatched up from everywhere. So, on Wednesday (12), for instance, after mentioning President Truman's Greece-Turkey speech among other intro items, Banghart went back to the speech at some length, giving some of its details, then giving samplings of Congressional reaction, and quotes from foreign reaction to the speech. Then he was back to brief bits On Churchill's speech in the Briti-sh Commons; Jerusalein; G»eece; Albany;. North Carolina; New York City; the weather. • A listener got the news highlights (Banghart goes on twice nightly, six days a week, at 6 and 11, with differ- ent news, of course; on each airer) in headline fashion arid a-lairly succinct briefing on the most impoitaiit hews o£ tbe day. Broh. THE WHISTLES With Elliott Lewis, Cathy Lewis, Lurene Tuttle, Joe Kesrns, Gerald Moore Script Editor: Harold Swanton Producer-Sifcctot: Cewree AUeii SO lUOas.; Wed., Ifl. p;m. SuKteinin; WCBS-CBS, N. Y. This grade A mystery series is getting a deserved break. A stellar item on the CBS Pacific Network since 1942 and aired last summer as a sustainer in the Jack Carson time slot, "The Whistler" went on the full CBS net last Wednesday (12) as a two-time sustainer to build up its preem March 26 under spon- sorship of Household Finance (which is dropping "Tliat's Fln- negan"). Jam-packed as the air is with whodunit.s, there is room for top- quality mystery entertainment, and this series qualifles for that bracket. It has the tough competition of Bing Crosby's show, but should snare a satisfactory Hooper if it continues to deliver as intriguing and deftly presented stories as that Offered on the full-net teeoff. "Whistler" is not a whodunit, CBS points out, since its dramas "reach a climax rather than a solution , , . and retribution results from the criminal outsmarting himself rather than from oleveif investigation by the poUce" or a-private eye. Whis- tler (who.se identity is never re- vealed) intros-the plot in a remini- scent mood and comes into the story here and there, not as a participant, but as,an observer of the charac- ters' actions and motives. Stories used in tije .series are bought fror" freelancers and scripted by "Bud' Swantoh into the series' format. Production,, script and acting on the reviewed ^tanza were first rate. Two breaks sec up for eommerciaJi- were given ovftr to Red Cross and war bond prombiiop OLD LADY NEW YOSK With Paul I>nh«v, Ben Cooper Writer: David Timmons Prcducer-Birector: iaiea Getlin IS Mins.; Xbarsday (12), ^:4S p.m. SANITATION WOKKEBS (CIO) WMCA, N. Y. (Friend) With this prograin in behalf of Local 333, Sanitation Workers Union (CIO), the People's Radio Founda- tion made its debut'as a radio pro- duction agency for lal)Or groups of the Greater New York area. Show was heralded by the PRF as "pub- licizing the union's work in the community with a new approach" by telling "a simple story about little people." Primary motive, PRF declared, was "to entertain, rather than to inform." The show imfortunately was neither very entertaining no ; very informative. It consisted of a -dra- matized depiction of the pitiable plight of the city's sanitation work- ers,- who were pictured as over- worked, underpaid, tired, grimey, smelly, low-caste slaves of'OH Lady New York. Sketch had one of these workers (played by Paul Dubov) trying to tell his son (Ben Cooper of "Joyce Jordan" and "Road to Life" casts); who Was .ashamed of his father's lowly work, how vitally the "Old Lady" depended on her refuse collectors tor health and wel- fare. Theme dn«timed throughout wa;s that the g^iiaageman gets too little money f* too much work. Pitch comes at close as boy asks, "Do ya think the old lady will give' you more money?" Father replies, "That's the question I'm asking her right now, and I'm waiting for an answer?" Net eifect was a rather embar- rassed feeling on the part of an average listener, coming upon the garbageman's plight for the first time and unaware that, as a tax- payer, he was oppreissing the guys who bang ashcang around his neigh- borhood when he's sleeping, or try- ing to. No direct appeal was made to the listener to petition the City Fathers in the workers' behalf. In- deed, ho specific info at all was given , the listener to stir, him to civic action. Granted that the dra- mat format usually is more effective than a straight appeal for a cause, hard facts are still, necessary. Production itself was of accepta- ble quglity and the acting capable. Script, however, was somewhat maudlin and unrealistic. PRF will produce two of these programs for the Sanitation Workers, the second skedded tomorrow (2Q), same time and station. TOLEBO-TONIGHT With Howard Malcolm, Todd Brangoii Writer: BrBiisen IProiacet: Malcolm 15 Mns.; Moil, tbrn Fri., S:45 ])|^.m. Sustati^itS; WTOD, Toledo Trend towards domestic news is put Into bold relief on this news show which spotlights meetings of neighborhood bridge clubs ahead of the Moscow conference and other international affairs. Show, however, is intended to accent local news and does a first rate comprehensive job in etailing municipal and state news, from chitchat to politics. Latter oortion o'^ show concentrates on na- iional and international highliglits, nrt'senting a well-rounded news ses- .^ion for local consumption. Format is particularly interesting and effective. Announcing chore is ACADEIHY AWAKPS , With Jack Benny, Ctuddy Twtai, Frances Scully, Pat McGcehan, Ken Carpenter, Hollywood Star» Producer: Mervyn LeBoy Music: Leo Forbsteln'* orch 165 Mins.; «har«l»y (13), U:«5 p m.- ZiSt ttm, ■ Suslainlng WJZ-ABC, N. Y. , , ^ Annual Hollywood clambake that goes with the awarding of "Oscars by the Academy o£ Motion Picture Arts & Sciences never J^ils to^draw a great conglomeration of glamor names. And this year, in the flacks' own terms, the turnout was more colossal than ever. With everyone on hand from Claude Jarman, Jr., to Lionel Barrymore, So it was nice judgment on ABC's piirt to match Hollywood's own Superlatives by turning over the web, for the first time in 18 years of Oscaring, to the, whole two hours and 45 minutes of the proceedings. Few of the fiearties who skipped their sack time to hear the works—from one-reel shorts to I'best actress"^an squawk that it wasn't worthwhile. There were perhaps a few more than the usual number of flulfs and boners in the marathon sesh, and while they may have caused crim- son faces among the 6,500 who crowded the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, they were just a fillip to the dialer-inners, As a matter of fact, however, the shortcomings of ABC in its handling of the sbow were greater than those of Mervyn LeRoy's production on the stage. Gabbers on the scene—Buddy Twiss and Ken Carpenter—were much too loath to intercede with visualiza- tions of what was going on. They restricted their comment to an in- sufficient minimum, with the stay- at-homes tco frequently wondering what was going on. Whole teildency was just to air tbe proceedings as they came over the p.a. system in the hall, without the^ necessary de- scriptive setting of the scene or ad libbing in the gaps, A good spieler with an imaginative eye for the tre- mendous color and drama of the spectable would have provided the missing link so far as the listeners were concerned. Nearest approach—and it was only an approach—to the needed color-provider was Frances Scully. She gave about five minutes of de- scription of what 'the gals were wearing, interspersed with just the meagerest bit of who was with whom. Inasmucli as Miss Scully's descriptive powers in an ad lib situ- ation are limited to about two adjec- tives, tlie whole situation cried out for an expert ad libber, plus one of the gals, such as Hedda Hopper or Lou'ella Parsons, who knows, or pur- ports to know, the inside of the in- side. When a star wasn't able to appear himself to accept the award, the radio audience wasn't even ap- prised of who the proxy was, al- though the following day's papers revealed that some oi the accepters for those in absentia were as big names as those they were subbing for. While show understandably seem- ed to be characterized by nervous- ness of the participants, and that was true of everyone from Jack Benny to Eric Johnston. Apparently facing a theatreful of people on Broadway Is as nothing in an actor's life as standing up to an auditorium loaded with friends, neighbors and enemies. Strangely enough, how- ever, it Wasn't anyone on the stage, but a guy hidden away in the projec- tion booth, who pulled the prize boner of the eve by tiireading up his machine to throw the montage ef past Academy winner on the screen upside down and backwards. A long flu was necessary, of course, while he started over and the ABC boys and .gals were content to allow Leo Forbstein's orch in the pit to fill the gap. ' Also in the boner department was Benny's picking up and repeating of Sara Goldwyn's mention of "Hugo" Carmichael in thanking a list of those who worked on ^'Best Years." Benny's cut was unnecessary and unkind. Grimmer fluff was the com- mentator's remark, as handless vet- eran Harold, Russell walked to the platform, that he's "getting a -well- deserved hand." Various awards were handect out by a succession of stars, with John- ston giving "best picture" Oscar. Accountant stood on the platform with sealed envelopes containing the winning names and there was con- siderable drama in the breaking xjf the seals on these envelopes. It could have been pointed up, how- ever, b.y the commentator. Considerable film . footage was used in the show, the radio listeners getting a special pickup from the projection machine sound head. This went off fairly well, but here again more visualisation by ABC gabbers was needed for the radio audience. Despite these more or less minor shortcomings in handling the session, ABC scores a showmanly credit for airing it in full. It's a peculiar and entertaining bit of Americana. ■■vHerft*'- TOmCH ASKS TBK OOVEEN- MENT, ■ ■ Witli John trdwurib, Mvdentor JO Mins.; Sat., I p.m. Sustaining WMAL-ABC, Washington, 0. C. This is latest' candidate for the typically capital-flavored show, and is well designed fo knock down pre- vailing attitude • that all juves are delinquent and that.radio has made them so. Pitch of show, which is the brain- child of Robert Saudek, head of net's public service unit, and John Edwards, of the D. C. staff, is that youth will inherit the (government, and should be briefed early in its problems. Program is one which could originate only in the nation's capital, where Govt, officials of every variety are available, and where schools' population is a cross- section of the U..S. and even the world. Format is typical forum type, with four to'six Venior high school stu- dents interrogating as hilgh-rankihg a Govt, official as WMAL staff can garner. Teenagers,- both-sexes, are selected by .local high-school staffs and board of education, with selec- tions wisely made. on, basis of in- terest, scholarship, radio know-how, etc. , On pfdgram caught (15), juves had on the griddle William Benton, Asst. Secretary of State, in charge of cultural and informational af- fairs, one official big-wig who can toss them back as fast as he receives them. Youngsters displayed poise, excellent comprehension of the functions in Benton's bailiwick, plus a, complete lack ol inhibition iii bringing up ticklish subjects. A Negro boy, for example, quite un- self-consciously and intelligently ask^ questions on handling of race riot stories abroad. Benton's flare for showmanship added interest to a 'generally lively give-and-take of repartee. " . Though the youngsters them- selves are inclined to be pretty grim about it all, humor on this type of show arises spontaneously. In this instance, it was supplied by Benton, who was attempting to ex- plain the ba.sis on which the State Dept. will play up or down do- mestic news in its releases and broadcasts abroad, Benton's exam- ple ran like this: If Clark Gable were to be divorced and get mar- ried again, we wouldn't use the item at all. If Clark (Sable were to marry Margaret Truman we'd probably say something about it; If Clark -Gable were to marry Mrs. Eleanor Roose- velt that would be. a different thing entirely. There were laughs, but the question of taste is another thing again, . Program should catch on as soon as it becomes known-. Discussion is. at an adult level, with added spon- taneity and lack of pulling punches as a result of ages of participants. Added gimmick is fact that young" sters are frequently children of Govt, officials themselves, Who are weaned on problems of national im- portance, and .are being trained for service m this or their own Gov- ernments abroad. Moderator <John Edwards does a skillful job of pitching the first ball and then keeping it rolling while staying as much in the background as possible. Loiue. i@7iew FI.OBI$T SHOP, WMh Vlrsrlnla Smith, Nydia West. man, Bruno Wiok, Ben Lacklaqi Producer: Garth Montsomery Director: Fred Coe Writer: Winifred Hawkridire Set: Bob Wade 35 Mins-; Sunday (IC), 8:3S 9M. , BORDEN'S WNBT..NBC, N. V. (Kenvm & Hckhardt) After about six months of Bor- den's-sponsored tele shows produced by the Young & Rubicam agency, Kenyon & Eckhardt took over Sun. day (16) night for the first in its series of productions. With the ac- count presently split between the two agencies, the idea is for Bor- den's advertising execs to weigh the work of the two agencies as far as their tele shpws go and then choose one to carry on from there. Judging from the so-so, results of "Florist Shop," that might be a tough job for Borden's. ■ Whereas Y&R experimented with all types of shows, K.&E, is appar< ently going, to stick to straight dra.< matic presentations. That's okay if the play is good, but "Florist Shop," a one-acter penned by Wini- fred Hawkridge, was not. It was another one of those efforts that would have been vastly appealing ■ if done on the radio, but didn't have the visual accoutrements necessary for video. It the tele producers would only bear ,in mind that a play for video must be suited more to the stage or films than to radio, they'd make out okay, but they haven't-show'n that sort of wisdom too often yet. Production-wise, K.&E. producer Garth Montgomery's first job was good. Only drawback was the com- mercial, with a gal spelling through an'animated head of Elsie, the cow, all about the merits of Lady Bor- denls Ice Cream — something too juvenile for adult audiences to ap- preciate. Cast was fine, doing as good a job as possible with the talky and slow-paced play. Virginia Smith did a top job as the romantic sales- girl in the shop, and Nydia West- man, familiar from her motion pic- ture work. Was equally good as the spinster who'd been engaged for 15 yeaVs and whom Miss Smith finally got married off. Ben Lackland,was okay as her long-standing fiance, but Bruno Wick was just a little too explosive as. the'florist shop proprietor. NBC director Fred Coe had an easy job of handling his cameras and lived up to his reputation as one of the top directors in the busi- ness. Bob Wade's single set was good." Stal. ♦ » ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ » * ♦ * ^t ii |Fol!ow-up 6oniiiient| Listeners who remember the hey- day of the old Palace theatre were led down memory lane by Joe Lau- rie, Jr., "Mr. Vaudeville Himself," on WJZ's (N. Y.) "Echoes of New York" last Thursday (13). During 30 nostalgic minutes, Laurie re- called dozens of names of Palace headliners, some long gone, but many still showbiz greats, and here and there he broke into a bar or two of a tune that one of them made famous. Three other Palace standards also were on hand; Aiteen Stanley, to sing "Chili Bean" with the same zest she did 20 years ago; Smith & Dale (ex-Avon Comedy Four), to revive their fast-patter Hungarian Restaurant act, and Gus Van, to sell "Whatsa Gonna Be Next?" and "For Me and My Gal" with oldtime sock. GLORIA CABBOt^ ENTERTAINS With Gloria Carroll, Three Embers 15 Mins. Co-op 18 Stations (Kaspcr-Gordon) Pleasant unobtrusive distaff croon- ing, "Gloria Carroll Entertains" is, withal, pretty listening. So pleasant, in fact, that the listener's liable to fall asleep Ijefore the clos- ing commercial. That seems to be the drawback to so.me of these musi- cal transcriptions: they lack enough character to differentiate one from the other, which means loss of iden- tification. Strength or not, Miss'CarroU puts out a rapid succession of listenahle tunes, including "Blue Skies," "I'm In the Mood for Love," "Don't Know Why I Love You" and the usual quota of standard pops. She does the' gab for ,the show very nicely, too. Accompanists, Three Embers, with Sandy Sanford on the piano. Bill Tanner, bass, and Jack Pinna, guitar, form a workmanlike group, al- though hardly terrific. They grab off a solo of "Rose Room" to break the string of vocals. There are; 78 disks already cut with more to come. fomm. divided between Howard Malcolm and Todd Branson in a quasi- dramatic fashion. Direct quotes from persons in the headlines are handled by one, with the other doing straight reportage. In a single news item, ball is bounced between the two gabbers as much as four and five times, mak- ing for high interekt .reigntion by dialers. In addition, this news session is clearly written lor the ear. "Tlllie the Toiler," the Russ West- over comic s-trip, was given an air preem on Mutual's "For Your Ap- pioval" Saturday (15). Inherent in- terest in the strip is considerable and could be built into a hefty Hoopered half-hour. However, presentation of strip for radio purposes involves many prob- lems, foremost ol which is the fact that characterizations of tiie strip's various personalities have long "been established, consequently leaving writers tackling the job with too lim- ited a field. That fault was evident on its Saturday audition, despite the fact that scripters J. FrankUn Jones and Hector Chevigny attempted a degree of departure from the static char- acterizations in the strip. Same ef- fort going into a fresh set of char- acters would permit greater freedom to the writers. Direction, production and enact- ments were generally of high calibre. FAMILY ALBCM With Gene JoOes, The Girl Friends, Don Hicks, Hal Freede 15 Mins. Co-op 14 Stations (Kasper-Gordon) Boston e.t. outfit of Kasper-Gor- don has cdme up with a neat little song package in 'The Family Al- bum" and one which has pretty gen- eral appeal for all markets. With 78 segments already cut, some 260 more are on the schedule. ■ Ordinary singing format is given a nice twist in this show, with Gene Jones paging back through a "family album" to gimmick his way into a tune. Also gives producers a good reason to stick to the standard tunes that have general all-time appeal necessary for e.t.'s. In platters caught some of the tunes featured were "Down by the Ohio," "For You," "Babyface," "No, No, 1,000 Times No" and "The Bowery." . Production is smooth, with both But the radio show will have to go ends open for commercials written beyond the Russ Westove- charac- in over a musical background, terizations if it's to catch on. ■ i , Tonm.