Variety (Oct 1947)

Wednesday, October 1, 1947 PSsRIETY RADIO REVIEWS 25 „« STAGE, AMERICA artth Paul Whiteman & Orch, Dour "jjrowning, John Slagle, George Producer- Solatia Martini Director: Joe Graham writer: Ira Marion Jn Mins.; Mon., 8 p.m. National guard ABC, from New York Paul Whiteman, whose talent dis- n «5ries have contributed a sizable coveues nave v.isiness Who's talent on "a dignified scale as well as a handy showcase tor attention nf talent buyers. "On Stage America" is no ama- teur program in the Major Bowes tradition Whiteman, with usually on i ne"ring eye for talent, has the task of lining up a talented set of irofessionals who are yet to make Sway on a national scale, for an audition before important buyers 1 with the public listening in. Em- SoycrsV such as Billy Rose, Richard Rod"ers and recording company SfecT are directed to listen to the Berformers prior to the program and if unable to do so, recordings of nortions ot the show are sent them Show is worked out on a national scale with initial.show having plug- ins With Detroit, Hollywood and N Y stations. From Detroit, Gloria Barker, who gave out with a ]ivey "Patty-Cake Man," directed her ef- forts-at Billy Rose and Frank Ken- dall" tenored "Ivy" for the special attention of Richard Rodgers Rod- gers being occupied with Allegro and unable to listen, was being sent this portion of the show on a disk. Hollywood tie-in had the Herds- men, a musical and vocal trio with a humorous hillbilly style, seeking auditions before recording execs. Frank Walker, Harry Meyerson of M-G-M disks and Harry Fromkes bC Signature, tuned in. The Bobby True trio's rendition of "Big Bad Butterfly" was directed to nitery managers and recording officials. Frdm New York, Bob Dillard, who appeared in legit, sang and trum- peted for disk officials. Entire ses- sion made pleasant listening for tuners-in and was worthwhile for the bookers. As a matter of fact, before the .program was over, calls came in for services of the Herdsmen from a Coast nitery, and Walker asked Dillard to«talk business with him. It's a good deal all around. Joan Edwards, one of Whiteman's earlier discoveries, made a guest appearance' for good effect. Miss Edwards is one of the long list of » Whiteman proteges which includes Johnny Mercer, Gloria Page, Mildred Bailey and numerous others. Pops' handling of the session is Jn a superior vein. His verbiage dis- plays a great deal of enthusiasm for the performers which radiates both to the listener and the talent buyer he's trying to attract. Another factor that's evident on the pro- gram is the careful screening of candidates for the session. All of them bear Pops' personal stamp of approval, which is sufficient to carry weight in all directions. The show will continue to be looped around various cities, al- though, the origination point may be . shifted periodically. For instance, Richmond is planning an elimina- tion contest for the show, and at a later date one show will emanate from there. However there will al- ways be N. Y. and'Hollywood talent represented. Show is under sponsorship of the National Guard, which is keeping its recruiting commercials down to a minimum. Jose. Spots That Ignite Smart bit of public service programming has been concocted by WNEW, N. Y. indie, in its mint-new Fire Prevention spots, which have been prepared to coincide with next week's na- tional Fire Prevention Week. Srjots are a series of five an- nouncements, of 20, 30 or 45 sec- onds' length, done in light (no pun intended) chuckling style, with smart lyrics set to simple, familiar melodies that are sing- able . and easily remembered. Words make sense, especially for impressionable kids, for whom they're intended. But anyone will want to hymn "I'll be comin' 'round to see you, Careless Joe," to the well-known hillbilly "mountain" tune, especially when it ends with "and I'll start a pretty blaze, then you won't be very careless any mo. Careless Joe." Or chant "I'm the Fire Extin- guisher on the Wall" to "The Campbells Are Coming" tune, backgrounded by bagpipes. Or sing "Oh, There Was a Man With a Long White Beard" to "Oh, Susanna." Or swing "I can start a blaze, in 16 different ways" in smart rhythm style. Or rumba with "I'm Manuela the Match"—"remember if you strike me. there's going to be a little fire." Smart production by Ted Cott, to lyrics by Jeff Seldon and Bob Stewart, and Roy Ross' arrange- ments for a three-piece music, group, gives spots a hep appeal. WNEW Is playing them 21 times a week next week, and contin- uing them thereafter. The Fire Protection Institute is picking them up, to distribute nation- wide to any station gratis. Smart public service this, for spots with quite a spark. Bron. OLD GOLD SHOW With Frank Morgan, Frances Lang- ford, Don Ameche; Carmen Dragon, conductor; Marvin Miller, announcer; Dinah Shore, guest Writer-Director: Phil Rapp Producer: Mann Holiner 30 Mins.; Wed., 9 p.m., EDT LORILLARD CO. CBS, from Hollywood (Leimeii & Mitchell) Instead ot,ihe Frank Sinatra, show. Old Gold is now putting another big- Murrow, San Oil Trio, Thomas Accent Airs New Concept on News Edward R. give up his vice-presidency and ad- ministrative berth at CBS to return j to the air la decision at least par- i tiallv ■ inspired by Campbell Soups' budget variety program up against j willingness to lay an approximate the NBC. competition Wednesday i $125,000 a year on the line for his Murrow's decision to | Star Extra" set'ies should provide a kind of test case. UNITED NATIONS GENERAL AS- SEMBLY With Gordon Frazer, commentator Director: Leonard Blair SO Mins.; Sat., 1 p.m. Sustaining ABC, from New York This half-hour session, presenting highlights of the current debates in . the United Nations Assembly which were transcribed directly by wire recorder from the proceedings it- self, is one of those dream news shows. It's informational and, at the same time, has that sock dramatic impact of living history in the making. Format of the show is simply designed to cover each week's top events an d closely XoJ^ ~ lows pattern of a similar show which the New York indie, WMCA, also edited from recordings of UN meets. With enough excitement provided by the "great debate" between the u. S. and U.S. S. R. to fill la dozen Programs of this size, the only dif- ficulty facing the editor of this show is what to leave out On the pro- ?™ m s kick °ff stanza, timed for the JJN Assembly's second week of de- liberations, echoes of the previous week s blasts at each other by Vy- giinsky and Marshall dominated, "earing the actual voices of the del- egates from Yugoslavia, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Russia and the U. *>• fighting it out with no verbal holds barred conveys the actual story in a way which newspaper re- portage cannot ever approach. It . isn t anybody's fault that this type of show gets better as the interna- tional situation grows worse. Cordon Frazer's handling of the narration between the delegate:' speeches is commendable for its in "Siveness and especially, its impai tiahty. . * Her 111. ZANE GREY SHOW With Vic Perrin, Alvina Temple, Earle Ross, others; Bill Forman, narrator; Harry Zimmerman orch Writer-Director: Paul Franklin Producer: Stephen Slesinger 30 Mins.; Tues., 9:30 p.m. Sustaining MBS, from Hollywood Latest upshot of Mulual's new accent on adventure stuff ("Scarlet Queen." etc.), this one reduces the late Zane Grey's popular westerns to practically Lone Ranger fare, with Tex Thorne (Vic Perrin), a drifting Texas cowboy, cast in the typical western-story hero's role. Where he rides—on a nag called Topaz, in this case—injustice comes to a bang-bang, biff-biff end in less than 30 minutes. In the teeoff sequence last week (23), for instance, Tex jogged into a frontier town called Purple Sage to find that the local villain had done the heroine's pater out of his life and his dry-good.s store. With the help of a local Scotsman, Tex outsmarted the villain—to the tune of neighing of horses, clanking of spurs, hoofbeats, biffs, grunts and pistol-shots—and packed him oil to the sheriff for hanging.. Heroine Lizz (Alvina Temple) hoped to interest Tex in sticking around, but he reckoned he'd be better off driftin' with the tumbleweed and there- upon galloped away to next week's adventure. Producers of the stanza expect to make use of all of Grey's voluminous j published yarns, plus excerpts from '47 unpublished stories, as material for the scries. Claim certainly can't be made, on the basis of the initialer, that the show contains any of the objection- able elements of crime and mystery airers. It's all-family stuff, all the same western films, and should cash in on the perennial appeal of the latter. Pat formula of westerns being absolutely durable, it remains for this stanza to project .as much as possible of the peculiar appeal of Z. G.'s yarns. Acting in the preem episode, while undistinguished, was without major flaws. Paul Franklin's script- ing and • direction were capable. Harry Zimmerman's music bridges were oke, too. Doan. nights. The new series, headed by Frank Morgan. Frances Langford,- Don Ameche and a name guest, with Phil Rapp as writer-director and Mann Holiner as producer, is a promising entry, but faces a grim prospect without stronger entries in the preceding and ensuing CBS time segments. It'll take more than one good entry to buck the Dennis Day- "Gildersleeve"-"Duffy"-"D. A." se- quence on NBC. In gcoeral outline, the new Old Gold opus is a little like the old Maxwell House series when it had Frank Morgan and Fanny Brice as co-stars. In this case, too, it's a two- ] part show, with Phil Rapp authoring and Morgan topping the opening I portion. However, the closing part now offers Miss Langford and Ameche in their "Bickerscns" sketch (heard last season as a spot on a series with Danny Thomas) and there's a guest appearance by a Columbia Recording name. With in- I evitable minor revisions, this pro- gram seems- likely to hold any listen- ers it's able, to pull irom NBC. One of the things likely to be jet- tisoned immediately is the labored running gag tried on the premiere, something or other about the race results from the eighth at Aqueduct. It was never clear to the kilocycle listeners just what this was supposed to- mean, though ,it and a wacky show-intro convulsed the studio audience. Also, the opening conti- nuity, in which announcer Marvin Miller, Ameche, Carmen Dragon and Miss Langford wrangled about bill- ing, or something, can be safely for- gotten henceforth. With the entrance of Morgan, however, the laugh level bounced up to par and. on the strength of the comic's long-standing knack of bat- ting across a tag line and the in- genious comedy scripting of Rapp, the routine paid off solidly. The guest spot followed, in the form of a "preview" of a forthcoming Columbia record, in this instance Dinah Shore's pulsating vocal of "That's All I Want To Know," a bullseye. The Ameche-Langford interlude, detailing the marital travail of John and Blanche Bickerson, then closed the program on a rising comedy note. This spot, something in the nature of a raucous version of the old Cornelia Otis Sk-inner-Roland Young ""William and Mary" series, is a natural and, provided Rapp doesn't let it slip into unattractive charac- terization or obnoxious brawling, should build a strong following. It may never stand up as a full half- hour on its own, however, as its tone is inclined to seem increasingly strident toward the close. Old Gold has an elaborate com- mercial pattern for the show. There is. of course, the reiteration of the current slogan. "If you want a treat instead of a treatment," etc. (which is extremely catchy phrasing, if equally empty logic). Then, there are two major commercial spots, with fireworks displays of adjective generalities, plugged via musical jingles, sound effects, commercial voices and so on. Presumably, that's the way to sell cigarcts. Hobc. 15-minute cross-the-board commen- taryi was generally greeted by cheers from the growing contingent that feels frank, honest appraisal of present-day crises has been getting the radio cold-shoulder. CBS' own misgivings over losing one of its keenest minds on brain- trusting the web's public affairs pro- gramming was partially assuaged by an awareness that the combination of Lowell Thomas at 6:45 and Murrow at 7:45 gave the network perhaps the most enviable news parlay in radio. Coupled with the fact that the whole early evening program se- quencing, from Thomas through P & G's half-hour double bill, Campbell's Club 15 and Murrow, adds up to the "neatest trick of the year" as an audience come-on. Murrow preemed his Campbell program Monday (29 ) with a fine and concise delivery of .the headlines as presented by a seasoned craftsman and in a manner that was to be ex- pected. But the newscast was so de- void of color'or analysis as to suggest that Murrow was bending over back- ward in his effort to be objective Joseph N, Pew, Jr.. president o£ Sun Oil. appeared on the debut broadcast to promise* his "listeners and consumers" that the program would, be a "well-edited, factual newspaper of the air." that Ray Henle, Felix Morley and Ned Brooks are "impartial, objective news re- porters" and that the news will be "presented fairly and accurately." The unmistakable implication was that Pew's position as Republican boss of Pennsylvania and, as one Of the parly's chief financial pillars, as well as a power in the National Assn. of Manufacturers; has no bearing on the situation. But without the slightest reflection on either the ability or integrity of Henle, Morley and Brooks, it seems unlikely that Sun Oil would hire high-priced broadcasters to give merely "factual'' news, since in this day of instant communication and highly organized news-gathering one reporter rarely gets a substantial beat on the others. The premium lies not in straight news, which comes off every press ticker in vol- uminous amounts, but in editorial treatment, commentary, or, as CBS likes to label it, "analysis." It remains to be seen whether. Sun Oil and NBC will get. or even want, 'impartial, objective" news on this Having disposed of the headlines, i series. Or. if they do get it, whether. Murrow launched into a carefully worded definition of the function of a news analyst, placing due empha- sis on facts and brushing aside any allowance for personal opinions. He did concede, however, that any per- son was the product of his economic EDWARD R. MURROW With Ernest Chappel, announcer 15 Mins., Mon.-thru-Fri., 7:45 p.m. CAMPBELL SOUPS CBS, from New York (Ward Wheeloclc) BALLAD FOR FIORELLO LA- GUARDIA With Barry Thomson, Virgil Rich- ardson. Somer Alberg, Tom Glazer Director: Jack Grogan Writer: Jeff Selden 15 Mins.; Tues. (23), 10 p.m. Sustaining WNEW, N. Y. WNEW. N. Y.'s tribute last Tues- day night to the late N. Y. mayor was brief and plain, and in its simplicity one of the most affecting tributes heard on the air. Program took the form of a ballad composed and sung by Tom Glazer, which emphasized the contradictory char- acteristics, the vitality, perseverance and crusading ardor of the Little | Flower, -. Interspersed between ballad : snatches and verses were brief j statements by others, of the late . mayor's achievements, including de- j scriplive phrases (pro and con) by contemporaries and newspapers. Music and lyrics of the ballad were uninvolved and simple, and very ■ moving. B1011. • tFollow-up Comment ? ♦♦♦»♦«♦♦»♦ ♦ "Cavalcade of America" did a rare job Monday (29) night over NBC in presenting a script covering a liv- ing American — the incomparable Babe Ruth. It was impressively done bv a capable cast. It's no simple mat- ter to tell a straightforw ard story a living person and still be un- and social background and thereby was unconsciously influenced. Re- formulated and definitely put on rec- ord for any that may have been in doubt the credo that CBS will fol- low for its news analysts and com- mentators. In effect this new objective news- casting that has no room for opinions or personalities seems to discard the old-fashioned democracy that al- lowed for voicing all sides of a ques- tion. It protects its listeners very carefully by not giving them the benefit -of the highly-trained com- mentator, for he might take sides. And then again there's always the question of how objective a sponsor can be. For in a case where a bank- roller is splurging heavily for cross- the-board time and cream talent the results gleaned from a commentator who is so straight-laced that he neither voices opinions nor ever has an axe to grind, may be very dis- appointing. The air. particularly the early evening segment, is abun- dantly strewn with news programs, and if a high-budgeted stanza—that is, one boasting a Murrow—can give no more than the ticker tape items, regardless of the perfection that he and his staff can achieve, where does the sponsor come 0(17 By the time 7:45 p.m. rolls around, the evening has already produced a multiplicity of newscasts and the chances of world-shattering events breaking between 6 and 7:45 p.m. are against Lowell Thomas on CBS and amid the plethora of news shows all over the dial during the dinner hour, they'll be satisfied with the rating it's, likely to pull. „ It remains to be seen whether Henle, Morley and Brooks, with the best of intention, can avoir), afleast unconsciously, coloring their broad- casts ever so slightly to meet the convictions of the sponsor. It re- mains to be seen whether an. occa- sional item, more or less in line with the sentiments of the boss, won't slip into tho script, where reports on which he would feel violent objec- tion would be spiked. On the initial stanza (in 'addition to a number of items likely to crys- talize antipathy to Russia—most of which the Soviets themselves seem to go out of their way to create) there were two fcieces that represented edi- torial treatment. One was of a sort likely to please Pew, the other de- cidedly not. The first was a quoted statement by a Republican Senator , at a White House conference on the food situation. The other were sev- eral quotes from last year's "typical American housewife," a resident of Huron, S. D. Otherwise, the material might have been the same as any other news show would be expected to contain. It was all handled and delivered with professional skill (in- cluding one par-for-the-course bit of tongue-tangle by Brooks. He and the others were introduced by Pew at the opening, and it was announced that Frank C. Hanighen and Fred Morrison are associate editors for the series. Henle is chief editor. An- nouncer Hugh James put the stanza on the air and took it off. Hobc. LOWELL THOMAS Wth Nelson Case, announcer 15 Mins.; Mon. thru Fri., 6:45 p.m., PROCTER & GAMBLE CBS, from New York (Comptoii) Lowell Thomas returned Monday (29) to CBS. the network on which . he began his radio career 17 years rather slim. Certainly it Murrow is ago. moving over after years in the to hold his audience sufficiently so | NBC 6:45 p.m. slot to a similar time that Ernest Chappel can soil Franco American spaghetti, it would seem a waste not to utilize Murrow's back- ground and interpretative ability to make the program pull. Rose. of biased and dramatic Brice Disque. Jr.. who scripted "Big Boy" on this show, deserves most credit for the presentation. With a weight of material, Disque gleaned the vital dramatic highlights of the Bambino's career, and made them into an impressive 30-minute broadcast, presenting them sympa- thetically and intelligently. "Big Boy" yarn might well be a model for others trying to dramatize THREE-STAR EXTRA With Ray Henle, Felix Morley, Ned Brooks; Hugh James, announcer 15 Mins.: Mon.-Fri., 6:45 p.m. ET SUN OIL CO. NBC, from Washington (.Burnett 1 The premiere Monday (29» of this "Three-Star Extra" news series on on CBS. It gave Thomas on Monday an opportunity to pay Procter & Gam- ble, his new sponsor, a graceful tribute, when during his opening explanation of what his new pro- gram was to be like, he gave P&G a nod for being on the air as long I as he'd been. Returning to CBS, too, he said, was "like a home- coming." Program was a series of brief capsules of the day's news, with some interpretation and significance, delivered in a matter-of-fact, man- of-the-str eetis h f ashion, unheated NBG—from—Wa^rriirgrtni. fur Sunxico-|^id - in'cis« r erTlff)nias brietly touched gas and oil, threw into dramatic prominence a basic and vital ques- tion about contemporary U. S. radio. That question is simply, can a news or news-comment program, sponsored bv a major industrial con- cern, remain free of editorial influ- ence and bias? As a corollary, is the sponsorship of such broadcasts in the public interest? This "Three- on President Truman's meeting Monday to discuss the Marshall Plan; the Russian press' anti-Tru- man stand: the warmongering charges of the Russians against us; ex-Secretary Byrnes turning down Marshal Tito's invite to Yugoslavia: the explosion in Palestine, etc. It was intelligent, adult and objective reporting. Bron. THIS IS YOL'R WORLD , 1 With Mr. and Mrs. William Winter a radio st^ry from Jiuman interest | , 5 Mins . Mon tnr<m(fh ,, ri 4 . 30 p m Sustaining WMCA, N. Y. material. Brian Donlevy played Babe Ruth with restraint. Because he declined to ham his lines, this tendency to underplay it made it all the more effective.- If. the irritation technique is pri- marily aimed for, with that inane 'Volga Boat Song" theme strain which Airid parodies in its "Use Arrid to be sure, to be sure, to be sure" jingle, the deodorant succeeds admirably. It also succeeds in some of the mi-st Directive tuner-outing on anybody's 'radio. "This Is Your World" is an inter- esting documentary-travelog edited from on-thc-spot recordings made by Mr. and Mrs. William Winter on their recently concluded tour through the Far East. Cut into 15- minute strips to be run locally over WMCA for 26 weeks on ah across- the-board schedule, the series is de- signed to present a cross-section of those far-off lands known to most, , Americans only through the James' make. FitzPatrick film shorts. This series is offering a more intimate closeup of customs and opinions of the raan- on-the-strect in the Asiatic countries. Initial session (291 was an overall picture of the series with brief high- lights taken from following pro- grams. Despite a" slight blur caused by the babel of tongues, show was marked by several engrossing spots such as a Buddhist religious chant, an Indonesian love song and an in- terview wilh a Chinese rickshaw hackie. The Winters display a nice grasp for essentials in the selection of recordings which also have an im- portant educational contribution to Hernt.