Variety (Sep 1947)

80 RADIO REVIEWS Wednesday, September 17, 1947 RED SKELTON - ■ „ 4 frith Lurene Tuttle, Anita Ellis, Pat McGeeban, Verm Felton; Rod O'Connor, announcer; David Rose, music _ Writers: Edna Skelton Borzage, Johnny Murray, Ben Freedman Producer: Jack Simpson Director: Keith McLeod 30 Mins.; Tues., 10.30 p.m. Raleigh Cigarets NBC, from Hollywood (Russel M. Seeds) Red Skelton ushered in his 1947-48 season last Tuesday (9) in a mood •where the sentimental slightly over- balanced the comical. Perhaps thats the way it should have been, for that particular occasion, because Skelton was celebrating his 10th an- niversary in radio. Skelton has come a long ways in show business since he did those first three minutes as a guest on the whilom Rudy Vallee- Fleischmann show and the fellow s all-around record makes him deserv- ing of extra-warm congratulations especially from the trade. Skelton may have through the years been accused of grinding the corn pretty thick, but the thing they can't take away from him is that it's always been clean and cleverly packaged. Skelton did come through *ith his now well-grooved trio of character- izations, the two weisenheimer morons and the katzenjammer "Junior," but a goodly portion of the half-hour was taken up with patter about the anniversary and passing out of posies. Skelton's is certainly not a short memory. He recalled those who helped further his career, including in his appre- ciative embrace before the mike such early guiding hands as Uncle Jim Harkins, Tom Kennedy and Harry Kalcheim of the William Morris of- fice. The script's agenda' also included what it termed "Red Skelton's Caval- cade in Radio." It purported to cover the highlights of a career but It was not-choicest of Skeltonia. At an early point of the program Skel- ton stepped into the audience to quiz two women and a man on, the subject of long dresses and that side- ■ play wasn't productive of particu- larly boffish laughter. Where Skel- ton did score handsomely was with the three characterizations. David Rose made his bow on the Skelton stanza just what has come to be expected of him—an irri- descent display of modern melodic idioms. Skelton's crack in the "Cav- alcade" about bringing in a 30-piece orchestra to lend class to his pro- gram could have been kidding on the square as well as not. Anyway, Rose lends it. Anita Ellis filled her usual up-front spot with her usual slightly overdramatized ballad, but it was as usual pleasant listening. The commercial still concentrates on the "whoosh" slant. Skelton is needling it a little more than he did last season, and without taking any- thing away from its effectiveness. Raleigh seems to have added a big wad to its weekly bill from the-net- works. It's cutting in local an- nouncers to give their testimony to the cig brand's popularity in their own bailiwicks. That also makes for smart selling. Skelton added his own bit to the over-the-counter action, by calling attention to the fact that Raleigh has put out a special "anniversary" carton with a picture of himself wrapped around each of the pack- ages. Odec. CALLING ALL DETECTIVES With Paul Barnes, narrator; Jack Callahan, announcer Writer: Ken Houston Producer: Alan M. Fisbburn IS Mins.; Mon.-thrju-Fri., 10:15 p.m. SEALY MATTRESS WGN, Chicago (Schiuimmer & Scott) "Calling All Detectives" is a com- bination whodunit and telephone quiz with Paul Barnes doing a one- man show as narrator' and cast. The question used on the phone call pays a minimum of $25 for a right answer. A missout puts the money in a jackpot which, at the rate of five nights a week, can build rap- idly into a big bundle of swag. Judging from the obscure nature of the question on the premiere (8), the cash angle will be hammered hard to snare listeners. Barnes, a former instructor of dia- lect at the Radio Institute of Chicago, performed smoothly as a super sleuth recalling his exploits. He slid readily into a mobster characteriza- tion, then turned in a neat bit as a flustered father whose infant had been kidnapped. The script sagged under a load of cops-and-robbers action that, with- out the help of musical bridges, tended to flatten out into straight narration. This effect was empha- sized at one point where Barnes plunged into a flashback without shifting his vocal pace. The number for the phone quiz ■was picked at random from a dirc- tory. The agency plans to work out a scientific system of selection to prevent listener kickbacks when the jackpot fattens. Judging from the way things went at the teeoff, "Calling All Detectives" doesn't sum up as espe- cially strong fare. However, it may build up to something if the "break the bank" motif is effectively geared. Sponsor's theme is "sleeping on a Sealy is like sleeping on a cloud," and. the commercial is deftly inte- grated into the program.- e .. 1A -, . VILLAGE STORE With Jack Carson, Eve Arden, Dave Willock, Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden; Frank DeVol, conduc- tor; Hy Averbeck, announcer Producer: Robert L. Redd Writers: Sid Dorfman, Larry Gel- bert, Marvin Fisher 30 Mins.; Thurs., 9:30 p.m. NATIONAL DAIRY NBC, from Hollywood tMcKee & Albright) The history of this "Village Store" series seems to demonstrate the value of a potent time spot. The Scaltest division of National Dairy entered the show in the Thursday night slate on NBC in 1940, with Rudy Vallee as star. There were various co-leads on the stanza until John Barry more settled in the spot, with Joan Davis one of the stooges. Upon Barry- more's death, Miss Davis moved up to co-star position. Then Vallee went into the Coast Guard and Jack Haley took over the male comedy lead. Next, Miss Davis bowed out to head her own show, being suc- ceeded by Eve Arden. Now, with Jack Haley's exit, Jack Carson has been weaned away from Campbell to head the stanza. There have been minor revisions of the program's routine and em- phasis, to meet these various star changes, but the overall pattern of the series has remained pretty much as was. And allowing for minor fluctuations accoording to the show's marquee strength, seasonal conditions and general listehing trends, the Hooper has remained robust. As noted above, there's no rating-getter like long tenure of a strong time spot. With Carson now the head man of the operation, the format shifts slightly away from the village store locale to feature the new star. Thus, it minimizes the story a bit and ac- cents the variety show pattern. As' he has always done on his various programs, Carson portrays the brash, but essentially likable fellow who's always tripping himself up with his own pretentions. Miss Arden re- mains the slightly acid but- always attractive gal who periodically yanks *the rug from under the star's feet, and there are the regular quota of freak stooge characters wander- ing in and out of the loose story line. One outright move toward the variety format is the addition of a musical guest spot. On the season's preem Thursday (11) it consisted of a pulsating jive number by*Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden. Also, as a variety spot, Carson did a vocal of "Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now." All in all, the series stand- ard is, if anything, strengthened with this season's edition. The first commercial, as before, was a straight sales pitch, more or less integrated with the show's com- edy line. The second was the usual cut-in for the local Sealtest branches, but delivered straight instead of be- ing played as "phone call," as for- merly. The copy was generally clean, direct and, by commercial standards, listenable. Ho be. READER'S DIGEST RADIO EDI- TION '" . • , . With Les Tremayne; Gertrude Law- rence, guest; Tom Shirley, an- nouncer; Jack Miller's orch Writer: Robert Cenedella Director: Marx Loeb 30 Mins.; Thurs., 10 p.m. '.. . HALLMARK GREETING CARDS CBS, from New York (Foote, Cone & fielding) Reader's Digest is one of the few major net shows which continued through the summer on its basic pattern, although there was some curtailment of cast and budget. Now the budget is upped again, and the show is back in its original pattern featuring a weekly guest star. The new series was inaugurated Thursday (9) with Gertrude Law- rence as the initial guest. As Ma- dame Curie she helped the guest series off to a good start in a con- siderably condensed version of the fairly well known story of the dis- covery of radium. ' As it must in a brief half-hour, the story boils down pretty much to highlights, and star and cast must hit an alert pace all the way. Miss Lawrence did if neatly for this one, with some able support, particularly from the voice of Pierre Curie. "The Indomitable Curie," as show was titled, may not be the best presenta- tion the Hallmark show will see this season, but it hung together very well and will be something for fol- lowing stanzas to match. A major change for the winter season brings .in Les Tremayne as a permanent member of the com- pany to hold forth as the Hallmark Host. As sampled, his voice may well give the show the different flavor it has sought, a means by which the entertainment portion can be focused apart from the com- mercial. Tremayne registers some- where in the middle tones and thereby is readily distinguished from the basso of Tom Shirley, the regular commercial announcer. It's therefore somewhat question- able whether Tremayne doesn't lose some of his prestige as host by spieling the center commercial, as he did on this issue. Shirley by now is an old hand with the show and • has mastered the commercial vein well enough to leave it vir- tually entirely in his hands. Marx Loeb, who has directed the show since last spring, continues,, and Jack Miller continues to direct the orch and pen the original mood music. Other guests set for the show include Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Florence Eldridge and Fredric March, Ralph Bellamy, Roger Pryor and James Mason. Quin. HOUSING—1947 With Ben Grauer, Fred Heywood, others Director: Clay Daniel Producer: D. L. Provost 30 Mins.; Thurs., 7:30 p.m. Sustaining WNBC, N. Y. With the housing shortage still simmering at the boiling point for millions of apartment-hungry citi- zens, WNBC, flagship of the NBC net, is performing a standout public service in airing four consecutive weekly sessions devoted to a serious and many-sided investigation of the problem. Program, utilizing wire recordings of interviews taken by the station's special events staff, is bringing to the mike a wide range of viewpoints on the situation, rang- ing from the homeless ex-GI to the leaders of labor, banking and gov- ernment. This series is making no attempt to dress itself up in any phony melo- dramatic garb. Both questions and answers are handled in straight fashion and the interested adult dialer can find his drama in the stark facts as they are presented. Per- haps this is a defect since it will limit the audience, despite the cream time, to the comparative few who don't need a potent shot of adrenalin in their radio fare. But WNBC made a wise decision in sticking wholly to the facts since melodrama and accuracy usually operate in an inverse ratio. Initial stanza last Thursday (11) was a preliminary exploration into the shortage with the aim of defin- ing the problem. Statements from many builders, labor leaders, life in- surance companies, housing councils, architects, etc., revealed a discourag- ing pattern of cross-purposes in the construction industry that bodes ill for the future. As expected, the builders blamed the "high cost and waste" of labor for the shortage, with the union leaders throwing back the hot po- tato by accusing the building coun- cils of laying down on their respon- sibility to the community. Between these groups, program presented the viewpoint of some housing engineers who put a plague on both houses by declaring that both labor and indus- try were blocking reforms in the most archaic phase of America's economy, construction methods. » ..... Jtierm. TREASURY OF MUSIC With Rochester Civic Orch, under Guy Fraser Harrison; Maj. Edwin H. Armstrong, Lee McCanne; Ed- ward Little, Robert King, an- nouncers Writer: Ann Houlihan Director: Charles Siverson Producer: Silvester Novell! 30 Mins.; Fx!., 8:30 p.m. STROMBERG-CARLSON Continental Network (FM), from Rochester First commercially sponsored pro- gram ever to be aired by an FM web, this high-tone stanza, which is slated for a 16-week ride on the Continental (a 27-station hookup) teed off impressively last week (12) Nothing gives FM's high fidelity a better chance to shine than sym phonic music, and the Rochester Civic Orch, a 50-piece assembly which has played many a broadcast for the AMs, including the NBC and CBS networks, is as fine an aggrega- tion of musicians as FMers could want at this point. . Orch's selections for the preem were especially chosen to showcase the fine points of FM broadcasting. They included the prelude to "Car- men," "Tambourine Chinois," Waltz from "The Sleeping Beauty" ballet, "Claire de Lune," Grieg's "Nor- wegian Dance No. 2" and a sym- phonic arrangement of Gershwin's "Strike Up the Band"—none on the heavy side, all calculated to garner the widest popular appeal possible in the symphonic field. The orches- trations were deft, the performance skilled. Intros played up "the magic of FM . . . which rivals the concert- hall for rich color and tonal qual- ity." Commercials, of course, plugged Stromberg-Carlson's Arm- strong FM receivers. At intermission, the pickup was switched to New York, where Lee McCanne, veepee and general man- ager of S-C, addressing the first an- nual convention of the FM Assn introduced Maj. Edwin H. Arm- strong, inventor of FM. Latter in a brief talk, paid high tribute to S-C for advancing FM and declared "Nothing can stop FM now." "Treasury" stanza as a whole was professionally staged, had high lis- tener quality, and, as FM's first dip into commercialism, was well in keeping with the new medium's high aims - ... , ,, v %»,;. DICK HAYMES SHOW With Lina Romay, Cliff Arqaette, Four Hits & a Miss, Gordon Jen- kins, conductor; Frank Martin, an- nouncer Producer: Sam Pierce Writer: Harry Kronman 30 Mins.;,Thurs., 9 p.m. ELECTRIC AUTO-LITE CO. CBS, from Hollywood (Rutliraujff & Ryan) Having tried and given up drama a couple of seasons ago. Auto-Lite is apparently better satisfied with the rating-draw and commercial impact of the Dick Haymes musical stanza, so it's back again at the same stand this season. This pop song and mild comedy series isn't likely to draw any more Hooper points CBS-ward from the hefty Thursday night line- up on NBC than it did last year. But it s pleasant enough listening and the product identification is punched hard, so presumably it'll satisfy the bankroller and impress the salesmen and dealers. Haymes is, of course, a handy man with a pop number, and sufficiently versatile to take on almost all kinds of tunes, and he talks well enough to get by, though he's not exactly a powerhouse straight man. The ad- dition of Lina Romay to the lineup provides a nice change of pace, and presumably there's a loyal following for Cliff Arquette's dippy "Mrs. Wil- son" comedy characterization. But the light-banter continuity doesn't always get off the ground. On the season's preem Thursday (11), the show opening was clean and fast, introing the star nicely and es- tablishing the proper mood, though the billboard let some of it escape. Then, just as Haymes had the show rolling again with a nicely handled vocal of "I'll Be Seeing My Baby," there was a ponderously integrated commercial, with a long sales pitch, an echo-chamber spout of the "Switch to Auto-Lite" slogan and reiteration of the "batteries, spark plugs, igni- tion systems, lifeline of your car" blurb. The rest of the show was pretty much like that, except for Miss Ro- may's vocal, Arquette's spot and a splendiferous dramatic - narrative- song commemorating the admission of California into the Union. This last was obviously "impressive" to the studio audience, but seemed at- tenuated to the non-California lis- tener. Hobe. TWIN VIEWS OF THE NEWS With Danton Walker, Hy Gardner 15 Mins.; Sun., 11:30 p.m. Sustaining WOR, N. Y. This is a snappy quarter-hour of gossip and rumors on what's alleg- edly doing on the political and Broadway-Hollywood front. Danton Walker, N. Y. Daily News columnist, peeks behind the international scene during his half of the session, while Hy Gardner, mag columnist, handles news about show biz per- sonalities with a mild gag twist to each of his stories. Like other Broadway columnists who have stepped out as political commentators. Walker can dish up a diplomatic vagary as if it were a top state secret to which he alone had access. How accurate Walker is with his predictions of things to come, only time can tell. But his flair for crawling into cranial re cesses of Stalin, Truman or Eisen- hower, makes for interesting listen- ing. Gardner handles his anecdotes in amusing style when he lays off pol- itics. On the preem (14), however, he took some time off to moralize dully about the British economic crisis. At this point, program lost its edge. Herm. THE SPOKEN WORD With Arnold Moss Writer-Producer:,Ted Cott 15 Mins.; Tues.. 9 p.m. Sustaining WNEW, N. Y. Ted Cott, WNEW's program di- rector, has come up with a program idea here which is novel to say the least and well worth the 15 min- utes' "listening time. Series, which preemed last Tuesday (9), makes use of little known dramatic record- ings of American and English classics by British and American stage and screen stars. Some of the platters are from Harvard's Voca- rium, others will be obtained via BBC. Arnold Moss briefly intros each recording. Platters on the initial airer fea- tured Paul Muni reading Thomas Paine's "The Crisis," Charles Laugh- ton in his interpretation of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and Bing Crosby, not singing, but reciting "The Star Spangled Banner," as- sisted by the Jean Neilson Verse Choir. Seemed a little over-dramatic. Laughton was too affected. Crosby read a little too lightly and fast, not giving Francis Scott Key's lines all the meaning possible. You rather wished he'd swing into song. All of the platters gave off some rieedle scratch. But the idea is socko. It could stand expanding. It could be dupli- cated on every station in the land. Lincoln s address and the national anthem, although familiar to every- one, are perennially inspirational. Given spoken interpretation by star talent, these all-time classics of thought come sharply alive. Airing them is in the direction of radio at its best. n,. ,i ,J)oan. HENRY MORGAN SHOW With Abe Burrows, guest; Bernie Green's, orch; Charles Irving, an- nouncer Writers: Henry Morgan, Leo Stein, Norman Barasch, others Producer-director: Charles Powers 30 Mins.; Wed., 10:30 p.m. EVERSHARP ABC, from New York (Blow) "Here's Morgan," the opening line of Henry M.'s stanza, was particu- larly applicable to his fall teeoff sequence last week (10). Either from a sudden burst of economy or in answer to a dare, "Radio's Rasputin" (as the ABC flack dept. delights in dubbing him) elected, to carry almost the entire stanza singlehanded, including the announc- ing and all of the commercials. This, of course, couldn't make Morgan fans mad—and tKere are only two kinds of people: Morgan fans and Morgan haters. The former are suckers for everything in the Mor- gan book; the latter can just be counted out. ' El Morgan was in fine fettle for the season's kickoff. He started off with some gratis "commercials" for a place called Snowey's garage, up in Massachusetts near where he vacationed. He announced a num- ber by Bernie Green's orch, which turned out to be one of those in- mitable slices of musical burlesque, now an established feature of th* agenda. Morgan brought on "the in- comparable Abe" Burrows for a few minutes of the latter's indeed in- comparable songplugging. After this, M. got around to mentioning, "for the benefit of people passing by here on their way to NBC," that the show was sponsored by Eversharp. Morgan whistled offkey, com- plained that his cast hadn't shown up, wondered aloud "what's doing on the other networks," said Hooper told him that during the summer people "listen to 'Take It or Leave It' and crickets." Then, by turns, Morgan was: (1) Winston Churchill announcing a British prizefight; (2) a Paris newscaster reporting a duel; (3) Dr. Heinrich von Morgan being interviewed by Morgan; (4) H. V. Kaltenmorgan, speculating on what happened to Little Bow Peep's lost sheep ("Soviet Russia is suspected"), and (5) Gabriel Morganheatter com- mentating on ditto ("Ah, there's a flock of sheep wandering somewhere tonight, my friends"). Morgan apparently • stuck to the script on the sponsor's second, com- mercial, which was straight copy, but gagged it up with typical Morgan inflections. M. also signed off, the stanza,' announcer Charles Irving coming in only for the "This is ABC," etc. Copywise, the commer- cials were standard. Morgan, wffbse most devoted list- eners admit some of his stuff falls flat on its face, was clicking all the way through his curtain raiser. If he can keep his material this good all season, he ought to win new list- ens and influence the Hoopers. Doan. THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE NEWS With Hy Gardner 5 Mins., Mon., 8:55 p.m. Sustaining WOR, N. Y. Hy Gardner, mag writer who's sharing a 15-minute session with Danton Walker on the Mutual net Sunday nights, solos in a five-minute spbt with a breezy repertory of anec- dotes, gossip and cracks. He has a dry sense of humor that casually mops ud as he goes along. On his kickoff stanza (15). Gar- dner retailed a series of divorce items touching a half-dozen public figures. Following is sample of his script: "According to her friends, Faye Emerson is set to return to her first love—the stage and screen. And Elliott Roosevelt will return to his first love—Elliott." Herm. WORLD THEATRE With James McKechnie, Arthur Young, Vlctorio Rieti, David Pie!. Valerie White, Hedda Ippen, Rita Vale. Producer-Director: Val Glelgud Adapter: Clemence Dane 90 Mins.; Fri.; 8:30 p.m. Sustaining WNYC. N. Y. Via transcriptions, New York City's municipal station, WNYC, is giving the U. S. radio audience a sample of the shows aired over the British Broadcasting Co.'s Third Program service. Five full-length classical and contemporary dramas, running from 60 to 90 minutes, ijave been selected from BBC's standout 'World Theatre" series which wer* staffed both on the production and thesping end with Britain's top theatrical talent. If these shows prove a success in America, as they undoubtedly de- serve to be, it should be a shot in the arm to those U. S.'programmers who are trying to break trails through the jungle of commercialism to serious and adult entertainment. These dramats rate as superlative theatre and if radio is ever to lay claim to being an art. it'll be on this basis. "World Theatre," more- over, isn't handicapped by rigid time segment considerations which are paramount in U. S. radio. The dramats run as long as they have to, which is also true of any play, film or novel. As a result, they've cap- tured all the sweep, power and (Continued on page 34)