Variety (Jun 1947)

Wednesday, June 25, 1947 RADIO REVIEWS 27 ARTHUR'S PLACE With Arthur Moore, Sara Berner, • Helen TraubeL fuest; Jeff Alex- ander's orch, others Writers: Leonard Holton, Ruby Kal- r^duceir'Arthuf Moore 0 Mins.; Frl., 9 p.m. ORDEN CO. „ CBS-CBS, N. Y. (Kenyon & Eckhardt) Kenyon & Eckhardt, which suc- ceeded in snaring the Borden billings away from Young & Rubi- oam, better do some fast and fancy huddling if it's thinking in long- tange terms of retaining that fat ohunk of radio business. For "Arthur's Place," the newly-created situation comedy which K&E served ftp as the new Borden dish in place of Y&R's Ginny Simms show in the Friday night CBS slot, certainly isn't the answer to how to sell Bor- den's cheese and bacon spread. At least not on the basis of what went out over the air on the preem per- formance last week (20). Even ?s summer replacement fare !K&E mfry spot a top-budgeted show n the slot next fall), this one is trictly a class B weakie, lacking anything suggesting originality or novelty. Show is built, around Arthur Moore, the ex-vauda trouper turned adio producer (he was writer-pro- ucer-director on the Borden "Coun- ,y Fair" show), with the locale a (midwest beanery located at a bus terminal, thus permitting for celebs to drift in weekly as guestars. If the boys had another "Duffy's f avern" in mind, they've missed the mark by as wide a distance as span- ning N. Y. to L. A. For it's not only a case here of Moore lacking any ht the distinctive traits or character- istics, as in the case of Ed Gardner, feat would invite another tune-in, but the scripting lob, too, was of strictly inferior calibre. It seemed as though, the writers orrowed a little here and a little here, and without too much dis- irimination. That applied, as well, g the assorted stooges with whom oore has surrounded himself, 'even the cash register, sound effects, •te., suggesting ' "how-many-times- did-I-hear-this-before" to the lis- tener: Helen Traubel dropped in as the initial guestar, but a thankless script that had her reciting the major oajeball league standings didn't help the situation much. A few minutes before signoff time she was per- mitted to do a Wagnerian aria, Which highlighted the program, but py then it seemed a pretty hopeless •ause. Rose. FORD SHOWROOM With" Meredith WUlson, Ben Gage, Paulena Carter, orch and chorus Writer-Producer: Willson 30 Mint.; Wed., 9:30 p.m. FORD MOTOR CO. WCBS-CBS, N. Y. (.Kenyon & Eckhardt)" This is the show that Kenyon & Eckhardt's Bill Lewis came' up with after wooing the Ford account away from J. Walter Thompson agency. It's more or less a reprise of the "Sparkle Time" show which Mere- dith Willson did for Canada Dry a' few months back, with its stylized "Chiffon Swing.", Actually, the "Ford Showroom" on the preem (18) was a none too satisfactory potpourri. In striving for something new. Willson tried too hard for unfortunately much of it is of dubious merit. For example, there's Willson's own emceeing, which belongs in his "Department of Utter Bewilderment." for while it has no other purpose than to be irrelevant chitchat, he lacks the breeziness in manner, personality and, above all, the material essential to translate it into quality entertain- ment. Then there's Willson's quintet of "precision talkers." around ' om the elaborate Ford commert is built. Elaborate, however, juld appear to be an understatement, for this one could almost be called a Ford Oratorio, with its Ford-in-your- future chant, the specially devised Ford chord motif, and a Bach-like profundity hovering over it. Actually, when Willson gets down' to the business of playing .music, the show makes a lot of sense, because he can achieve some imaginative arrangements. He has good singing support, too, from Ben Gage, while Paulena Carter, 17-year-old concert, pianist, didn't fare badly in an as-, sist with a piano concerto arrange- ment of Cole Porter. But .unfortunately, Willson mini- mizes the musical portions of the show, as though they were merely an adjunct to the gab stuff. Rose. NORMAN' BROKENSHIRE Writer: Louis Reed Producer: Clay Daniel §5 Mins.; Mon. thru Fri., 12.30 p.m. PARTICIPATING WNBC-NBC, N, T. Keynote of program bringing Nor- man Brokenshire's conversion to disk jockey is nostalgia. And the mood fits. The veteran announcer plays the angle for all It's worth—in his chatter, in his choice of records. The Simple piano intro; the soft, appeal- ing drawl; the "take it easy tempo," tBrokrnshire himself stated it—all md well. And It's commercial. . ere's room for nostalgia on the Stf, and this program will please lots of mood-struck listeners. .Opening program was quite listen- able. Brokenshire didn't gab too lone (fatal mistake in some jockeys) on his intros. He varied his style in ais approach. A platter by Bing>, fc.rosby was chance for a little per- sonal reminiscence. Suddenly there were tips to housewives, on picking Chickens (edible kind), on glassware. LISTEN CAREFULLY With Sydney Blackmer, Berry Kroe- ger, Santos Ortega, Elspith Eric, Ted De Corsia; Jay Jostyn, emcee Writer: Peter Banry Director: Richard Lewis 30 Mins.; Sun., 9:30 p.m. Sustaining WOR-MUTUAL, N. Y. This has the earmarks of a good show. There's always the question how much you see, hear (and miss) when you see a film or listen to a radio program. "Listen Carefully" presents three brief dramats built around a situation, and has guest listeners answer questions pertain- ing to what they've just heard. With dramats well scripted and acted, and Jay Jostyn in a refreshing style as interrogator-emcee, show (judged from Sunday's (22) preem) is okay Opening situation was built around the case of a man who went to sleep one Friday night, woke up to find it was Sunday, and then couldn't ac- count for the 38 hours in between. He couldn't remember a thing about Saturday—a day in which he was to .meet his uncle regarding a will; a day in which the uncle is murdered. Show was divided into three parts, with a different contestant queried on each as to what he had just heard. Contestants had chance at end to try for a grand prize with other questions. Jostyn's dramatic approach to the stories; his quick way of handling questions and the people questioned: his fast gabbing—all helped. He gave those queried no help in an- swering the questions; no silly leads that even a baby could grasp. He All of which made sense. The ques tions were sensible points about what had just been dramatized. It was surprising how quickly certain details slipped one's mind. That made for an interesting p:ogram ; Broil-. all couched lightly, humorously. The , - oommercials were varied, straight! didn't wait too long for answers, and and singing, and not too many, nor cut them off when they floundered, too long, to be obtrusive. Songs jock Chose to play accented the memory- ianc mood, in the Three Suns' "Peg 0 My Heart." Crosby's "I've Told," and Guy Lombardo's "I Love You." Bron. SATIJRn ^Y AFTERNOON AT THE CHASE With H carde, Harmonicats, Dave Apollon, Hal Kanner Orch £f r „ ector: • Iack Sexton 30 Mins.; Sat., 5:30 p.m. Sustaining WCBS-CBS, N. Y. A relaxed session of music and miscellany, this half-hour show originating from the Hotel Chase in at. Louis teed off its summer run tt st Saturday (21) with Hildegarde J" the pivot spot. As emcee and jnanteuse. her savoir faire with a mike gave the show an intimate, "lading tone appropiate for this type 01 tare. Succeeding programs in the 11 r i? s Will feature the talent starred « the hotel each week. After a silky rendition of "June is Bttshrts Out All Over7 r Hildegarde faS .L y wovc the rest of the show rogelner with her sophisticated nitery 885 Hal Kanner's orch played ill Close My Eyes" competently ■no mandolinist-comedian Dave hirC'-i ttnapsoa urift lu The Harmonicats gave out with their mouth-organ version of "Jen top hit parade tune, "Peg O' «.L Heart ''' Allowing which .• Hilde- garde parried some off-the-cuff w'lt- ■enm!™ Bud<J y Messner, a local SHildegarde closed with "Just b"A of Th ose Things," which is as «en«*« COmment as anv on the Show Generally; r . ♦ .. ., jjgfft. ■ - BOBBY BREEX SHOW With Joel Herion's orch Writer: Gini Stewart Director: Bill Bird IS Mins.; Sat., 6:45 p.m. Sustaining WHN, N. Y. ' . The kid hasn't lost his touch. Ex- juve singing star of films, who was a spindly, earnest child find when he did his first broadcast on an Eddie Cantor stanza years ago, is 21 now ADVENTURES OF PHILIP MAR- . LOWE With Van Beflin, Lurene Tuttle, Oliver Deering, Davis Ellis, Bill Conrad, Harry Bartell; Lynn Mur- ray, music; Wendell Niles, an- nouncer Writer: Milton Geiger " Producer-director: James Fonda 30 Mins.; Tues., 10 p.m. PEPSODENT WNBC-NBC, N. Y. (Foole, Cone & Belding) In a summer which may go down in radio annals as the whodunits' heyday, this entry in the private-eye derby looks like a winner. It has both class and a preferred position, being Bob Hope's standin for the vacation semester, which make it an odds-on favorite for the Hooper stakes. Heflin, who carries the major act- ing load in the title role (he'll have various supporting casts), makes the Raymond Chandler-created Marlowe a standout in the current mob of radio crime chasers. There's nothing out of the ordinary about Marlowe as a type, but Heflin's carefully re- strained but forceful handling of the part turns the guy into a slicker sleuth than most. In the preem air- ing last week (17), Heflin got credible support from Miss Tuttle and the rest of the cast. Aside from Heflin's capable chore, what sets the show considerably above many of its competitors, of course, is that Chandler touch for neat, surprising turns of plot, coupled with Geiger's crisp scripting which loads, without overloading, the dia- log and narration with vividly de- scriptive lines. Fonda's production skill shows up in the airer's fine tailoring, and Murray's original mu- sic is well keyed. Niles does a tastefully restrained job with the dentifrice, which are moderately repetitious without be- ing offensive. Doom. BEA KALMUS Director: Milton B. Kaye Producer: Irving Romm Writers: Marty Roth, Al Sproul 60 Mins,, Daily, 1 a.m. PARTICIPATING WHN, N. Y. The disk-jockey making a stand in a popular, celebrity-ridden nitery is still a novel idea in these parts. The at-home stayups and night-workers are able to catch up on name enter- tainment via the jockey sessions and it seems like a good deal for all con- cernedr v - But as has been evident since the platter-spinners became a major in- dustry, the jock's handling is the ma- jor factor in the ultimate success of these shows. With minor league treatment, no matter which celebri- ties hit the spot and come to the mike, show will lack entertainment vitamins. This apparently is the case in the' Bea Kalmus show slotted from the Riviera, Ft. Lee, N. J., where Miss Kalmus conferenciers a wax exhibit. Fact that she's the only femme spin- ner in these parts neither adds nor detracts from the show, but inexperi- ence in handling interviews and a frequently gushy delivery are evi- dent. However, Miss Kalmus' Riviera session is not to be given up as a lost cause. This former nitery singer knows the roster of the entertain- ment industry as well as a headwait- er. She's able to spot celebs in the clubs, and entice a goodly amount of phone calls during her one-hour stint. Lacking, however, is interview experience. She also requires dic- tion coaching. Currently, the Kalmus show has five sponsors and plugs are frequent- ly obtrusive. Plugging a pumper- nickel bread from a class roadhouse like the Riviera raises the point of a more judicious selectivity in some of the participating sponsors. Jose. PLAYS BY EAR With Stewart Macintosh, Charles Eggleston, Arthur Roll, Will Geer, Joe Latham, Tom Holer, Fred Banner Writer: Hector Chevigny Producer: Edward King 30 Mins.: Mon., 8 p.m. Sustaining WNBC-NBC, N. Y. This series of eight dramats. sum- mer-subbing for "Cavalcade of America," broke away with a falter- ing start Monday (23) in a weakly written and poorly performed show. Dramat was based on the promising dea of a modern takeoff on the Wil and not long out of the Army. His liam Jennings Bryan-Clarence Dar voice has acquired lower registers, quite naturally, but is the more ap- pealing for that reason and hasn't lost any of that plaintive quality that first set off his piping. Preem last Saturday (21) of his own show on the Metro-owned indie gave him a chance to demonstrate that, as a grownup singer, he is something more than a run-of-the- mill crooner. He showed nice range and fullness in his tones, selling the ,, — — wiuBUMu ±-> a v c current "Sunday Kind of Love" pouon strummed hectically through equally as adeptly as two faves. 'iszts_. Hungarian Rhapsody" on the "Peg o' My Heart" and "Night and Day." Joel Herron's orch nicely backed him, and turned in a smooth arrangement of "Tea for Two." Station, however, ought to give Breen an announcer. His speaking voice comes through high and kid- dish, and it pushes him to announce as well as sing. Be better if he just had a little between-songs banter with'an" anlidun'cer'.' ,' . Doan,'.. . , row "monkey" trial travesty of many years ago. but scripter Hector Chevigny got lost trying to juggle the science vs. religion theme with- out treading on anybody's toes. Re- sult was a confusion of religious ex- hortation and scientific balderdash. Story revolved around a legal suit brought by a southwest village athe- ist against a local preacher who suc- cessfully prayed for rain and ruined the atheist's dry weather crop of turkeys. The atheist, it seems, was just trying to get the preacher to admit that his prayers didn't end the drought, but the local editor in- tervened and blew the affair up to world-shaking proportions. Unfold- ing slowly and undramatically, the story wound up limply with the county judge dismissing the case for lack of jurisdiction.' The cast per- formed with the energy and talent of a summer stock.troup.e.. , , mm. WENDY WARREN AND THE NEWS With Florence Freeman, Douglas Ed- wards, Les Tremayne, Lament Johnson, Hugh James Writers: Frank Provo, John Plcard Director-Producer: Tom McDermott 15 Mins.; Mon.-thru-Frl., 12 (noon) MAXWELL HOUSE COFFEE WCBS-CBS, N. Y. (Benton & Bowles) This is a soap opera with a gim- mick— comboing of a newscast with a daytime serial—primary intended purpose being to make the central character, a femme news gabber and columnist, seem more lifelike by having her tee off each episode by actually delivering real news. The program preemed last Monday (23) as the permanent replacement for "Kate Smith Speaks." Wendy, portrayed by Florence Freeman, intros the stanza, bringing I in CBS staffer Doug Edwards to do a fast three-minute spot news round- up, after which Wendy takes over for a news quickie "on the distaff side." From this point, the show is fiction. Gabber Wendy walks out of the studio and straight into the arms of a buried love, a U. S. Army flyer she thought was killed five years ago in China—and here she is en- gaged to her publisher-boss. Very first episode tails off with the an- nouncer intoning: "Wendy Warren faces the hardest decision of a woman's life. How will she meet it?" Miss Freeman, an experienced ac- tress, seems much more at home in the soaper segment than in her sim- ulated newscaster role. Her distaff news is too brief and sketchy to amount to much in itself, and her. attempt to fast-pace her news de- livery ' heightens the jpitch of her voice. As a matter for formatting, it would seem that the business of starting each episode just outside Wendy's broadcasting studio door soon would strain the scripters' in- genuity. As- a serial, the stanza may well succeed, having the professional handling it does.. Question is, will it do any better because of the gim- mick? Doan. DAVE GARROWAY SHOW With Jack Haskell, Vivian Martin, June Christie, Joseph Gallicchio orch Director: Parker Gibbs 30 Mins.; Sun., 6:30 p.m. Sustaining WNBC-NBC, N. Y. Summer replacement for the "Ellery Queen'' 'dramats, this show adds to the swelling number of light variety dishes being served up by the networks'as hot weather fare. This one, despite some occasionally sparkling gab by emcee Dave Garro- way and a group of firstrate singers and musicians, is given' a routine treatment that makes the total add up to less than the sum of the in- dividual parts. Garroway, disk jockey on Chi- cago's WMAQ "1160 Club" and a man of diverse parts and knowledge, handles the emcee chore with a casual line of chatter that masks an extraordinary (for disk jockeys) range of interest. He comments with equal aplomb on the quality of a trumpet player and the nature of modern art. Garroway, however, seems fascinated by his fluency and frequently spMils the effect by using two or three adjectives where none would be best. , Musical portion of the preem show (22) featured sock warbling by femme vocalist Vivian Martin and guest artist June Christie. Jack Haskell contributed some pleasant crooning while Joseph Gallicchio's full-sized studio orch, including an internal instrumental combo, played some highly listenable numbers. , Herm. KATE SMITH SPEAKS With Ted Collins 15 Mins.; 12 (noon) CO-OP WOR-Mutual, N. Y. After an association of more than a decade with CBS through her Gen- eral Foods-sponsored programming, Kate Smith has picked up her be- longings and has moved over to Mutual to continue her noontime homespun philosophy on the same five-times-a-week basis. (Her once- weekly nighttime singing show, also cancelled by General Foods, still re- mains unsold.) If, as was so evident on her initial Mutual airing Monday (23), Miss Smith has nothing new up her sleeve to offer her listeners, from an industry standpoint there are sig- nificant overtones to her switchover to the new affiliation. For there's no denying her name lends stature to co-op programming, that "upstart" in commercial broad- casting which, with its lucrative "take" from multiple local sponsor- ship, is destined from here on in to woo more and more air personalities into its fold. It's an interesting com- mentary that, after about a decade and a half on the air, Miss Smith will reap a $500,000 a year harvest, if not more, from the 15-minute gab- fest. The fact that more than 200 sta- tions wrapped up sponsorship deals prior to Drogram's teeoff is. Derhaps. the payoff that the Kate Smith tech- niaue is the American hausfrau's- dish. , It's innocuous enough copy (on Monday she concerned herself with summer travel difficulties, cham- pimed the Salt Lake City school kids' safety endeavors, gave thumb- nail sketches of the wives of the seven presidential aspirants, nothing, in fact,, of the going-out-on-a-limb variety)—all couched in the homey Smith monotone. Evidence, perhaps, that noon-time is no time to jar the peoole... Ted Collins is on the hand- for the usual two-way banter, and takes over a sizable midway chunk for a news summary. WOR (N. Y.) spon- sor is Sweetheart Soap. Rose. Brand, , Jason imat v'lied THE BRAND WAGON With Iran Berlow, Ursula Vivian Fox, Jack Farran Winga-een Director: Asa Berlin ! Writer: Oscar Brand 15 Mins.: Sunday, 6:30 p.m. Sustaining WNYC, N. Y. Oscar Brand, heading a dr group on the municipally-o WNYC, has hit upon the exccljent idea of ribbing {standard radio for- mats, often puttW? the satire on a social plane. It's an ambitious pro- gram for a 15-minute session and suggests possibilities that a longer period would do. It more justice. Show caught (22) had a newspaper rib entitled "The Back Page" in which the usual type of demon re- porter is stymied by a no-crime wave because the gangster chieftain thinks that his visiting mother would appreciate some ' peace and quiet. ■Th e re porter- convinces him other- wise, and the criminal activity starts and culminates with the theft of the sheet's presses. The bigshot thinks he'd like to have a printed grape- vine. In so short a space, it's difficult to provide strong characterizations and permit the satirical vein to be pre- dominant. Under such handicaps, show took the next best line and let a more-or-less brief recital of the plot through dialog do the trick. Players gave a uniform brand of good, but limited enactments, which, coupled with fast pacing, makes it a pleasant session worthy , of more playing .time,,.. ,. •.,> i *4ose,< • IT'S A LEGEND With Beth Lockerby, Jane Malletts, Frank Perry, Bud Knapp, Alec McKee, Glen Burns, Frank Heady, William Needles, Tommy Tweed, Lawrence Abbot, Austin Willis; Elwood Glover, announcer; Arnold Walter, music Writer: Joseph Schull i Producer-Director: .Essa W. Ljungh 30 Mins.; Sun., 9 p.m. Sustaining CBC-WNEW, N. Y. To begin with, N. Y. indie WNEW deserves kudos for going to the trou- ble to conclude a unique deal with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. for a direct weekly pickup of CBC's summer dramatic series—of which this was the preem, aired last Sun- day (22)—replacing Canada's top air theatre, "Stage '47." The WNEW broadcast is simultareous with CBC's, originating from Toronto, and it's the first time a dramat series has been so aired in the U. S. and Can- ada. (CBC gives WNEW an air credit line at the signoff as U. S. outlet for the series.) Stanzas, which will dramatize tra- ditional legends of 14 different coun- tries, are being given full-scale pro- duction frills, with large cast and orchestra. Initial show was based on a folk tale of a curse falling upon a people because a dying woman's wish was unkept, moral being that "the dead won't rest while a wrong is done." Lines had poetic swing and cast was well directed and ex- tremely effective. Original music score composed by Arnold Walter, of the Toronto Conse-vatory of Music, and conducted by. Samuel Hersenhoren, leader of the Buffalo Pops Orch. added strongly to the overall high quality of the produc- tion. Story itself involved a great deal of medieval hocus-pocus, carrying a lo?d of the supernatural and super- stitious and ringing in much wail- ing of "dead" voices, which may have more general appeal to Cana- dian listeners than to New Yorkers. But it was somewhat of a welcome j change from the standard U. S. fare of sanguinary whodunits and syrupy serials. Doan. YO'IR UNITED NATIONS With Ray Johnson, Guy Sorel, Lon Clarke. Art Carnev, Da'iny Ocko, Michael Fitsmmricc. Alexander Scourby, narrator; Andrew Cor- dier, commentator; Jack Costcllo, announcer Write>-: Wi'llam Hodanp Director: James Harvev. Jr. Supervisor: Sterling Fisher 30 Mins.; Wed . 11:30 p.m. Sustaining WNBC-NBC. N. Y. NBC's University of the Air, in cooperation with the American As- sociation for the United Nations, is plugging the cause of world security with this new 13-week series of dramatizations of vital international issues. First program, in factf preem- ing last Wednesday (18), was sub- titled "World Security," and drama- tized, the story of UN's Security Council. It was an interesting program, su- garcoated for the average listener by its dramatic form. First 20 min- utes were devoted to the dratnatiza- i c> (.Continued, on,page 38)> ix , ■