Variety (Jan 1948)

S8 RADIO Wednettiiajr, Janiuiy 14, 194S Radio Reviews continued from pace 35 transcription.) Aside from the.ques- tion of isste involved in a group of performers telling the listening audi- ence how much performers did dur ing the war, it was moderately en^ crime and slambang strips Ijy doing the lighter stuff only. He ducks away from "Terry and the Pirates because of the chance of running into Opposition from parents on airing tertaining and impressive, with sev- crime. "Dick Tracy" was a question eral affecting moments arid a couple mark, but was Anally mcluded be- 9f slightly uncomfortable ones. c?use of the, tremendous following The idea was to have various stars it j!?,^^- i u_ ■it^t^i-^^ i:MAi-o who did extensive GI entertaining I Show seems to be clicking solidly, for USO during the war repeat thi » ^^iTg'Jf 1^ j'i} c^^h"%^„*Jnf Z-tK tViflv Hirl at that time That was «•">• But KALL got such a flood ol ?he hiiilduD to the anMSnceto^^ from parents squawking over tSt ?ormaZn°of VH~^^^^ 1'%,^ if ?h'at ?Sv "/aner"'wL^s' for generous donations when the to.'""f «n, that Funny Paper ^^^^^ time comes. Marlene Dietrich played shifted to its present slot. It looks a musical saw, Bob. Hope and Danny as ^'t s m f or a long ru n. fieri. Thomas did stand-up gag routines (the former bringing on his USO MEjjouy ^anE OF SFORTS, tour companions, Frances Langforcl ^jy, Molen; Paul ^Taylor, an- and Tony Romano), Jack Benny nouncer • read a poem about how the loudest pr„ducer-Writer, Molen Itpplause he ever heard ' vyas from a j„ gj,t. 7.45 kid who had no hands," Dinah Shore ' delivered a brief message from her bed in the hospital, where she re- cently gave birth to a daughter, and finSlly Eddie Cantor read the tribute to the wounded vets and the appeal for future VHGS contributions. - Douglas FairlKinks, Jr., was m.c, handling the assignment with admU TITLE JNSVB- KANSAS CITI ANCE CO,:. KlffiBC, Kansas City ACarl J^awson) Sam; Molen, iCMBC's director of sports,, thumbs through the record books and' sports archives for these anecdotes of the oldiimeis and What ■ ^ ^ , used to be in the world of spdrt. able lack of bathos, particularly the gim^ caught was wrapped around folksy opening spiel about his Holly- Borden, Philadelphia pitcher wood "neighbors" and th? intro ol aj,out 1875, who was credited with the "index of treasured inemories. tossing the first no-hitter and woimd There'were Several expressions of m the next season as groundkeeiler obviously deeply-ftit personal emo- for a Boston club, tion by the P.arti<Mpants. For in- ^ j^^^j ^^^^ t^aivae ma- stance, Mjss Dietrich suggested that ^^^.^^ ^^^^^ i^j^ this 10-minute the saw she <wed in her f^=t should ^j ^. Usually good for a brief bit be us«d in'•buUduig the lious^^^ attention frSm sports followers, Moffiised the .veterans,. an* jfs getting them just long enough Shore made a touching riea that her ^^^^ Taylor to get in a plug neivbom infant should "never have j^j. sponsor, to' -see her daddy put on a soldier s I ^Yas one, first show of the new uniform again.'' -^ear, Molen took time qut for sa^ At the signofl, Fairbanks also re- lutes to raft -tof sports figures .,T»hO rtiarked that the various faiths and have passed-.on this year-.^Hal nations that cooperated so closely Chase, Johnny Evers, Johnny Kling, during the war, should be willing to Jimmy Wilson, Rev. Brother Gilbert work 9s earnestly ior peace. And (Babe Ruth's patron), Man-0-W»i^ Audie Murphy, presented as "the Benny Leonard, Billy Gibson, most decorated man of World War Jimmy Doyle and others, . II,"-voiced the gratitude of-the GIs It s all done with P. Hans Flath lor the uplifting entertainment pro- providing an organ background, vided bv show business tttfCiseas and Molen could case up on delivery to It^me • improve Hstenability, but otherwise rae program was exceptionally I o.k. for sports fans. Quin. Well produced for a one-timer of the sort, and Henry Russeirs special THAT'S NEW IN FOOD ^ musical score added valttaftte itut ^^j, phyiiis Perry '^unobtrusive atmosphere, Hooe. | 15 fni^,. Mon.-tliTa-Fri., 1:45 p.m. Partiiilpfttinc few about drinking milk, and a otlior short items. Miss Perry's strong points arc a pleasant voice which she uses easily and understandably,' well writtej) material that she keeps short, and to the point, and a sincere delivery on commercials that should do a good job of selling. She avoids the pitfall of attempting to give reqipes so that they can be written down. Instead, siie gives a general idea of the special dish she features, and sug« gests write-ins for the complete recipe. The show is :appealingly light on commercials. The two used totaled, a minute and a half, and the policy to be followed will limit them to three to a show. If "What's New In Food" continues as good as it started, and Miss Perry's capabili- ties in the past indicate it should, this show should grab its share ox the afternoon Hoopers. ' Berl. hsMe Stuff-Hadk) Both by word and .action, inclie station WWDC iQ Washhigton is winning an accolade as the town's most FM-mindecl station.'"On Jan. 7li, the station will-become the first 0. C. outlet to operate lis PM afltiliate with the full 20 kilowatts power permissible under FCC rules. To make the tact stick in the minds of the public, WWDC last week pulled a page out of Ralph Edward's book and announced a local version of a "Miss Hush" contest designed to publicize FM in the area. In his monthly letter on FM to D. C. radio dealers (another FM first in Washington) WWDC manager Ben Strouse spelled out details of a "Who is Mr. F-M?'r contest, which will run through Jan. 22 when'WWDC-FM officially launches its 20-kw transmitter. An estimated $5,500 worth of prizes, including a Kaiser-Frazer car, will go to the winner. Both WWDC and WWDC-FM are carrying plenty of spots plugging! the contest. WWDC will announce the winner on an aU-sta'r live music show on WWDC-FM— one of the first live music, big-name ptierings on the local FM ether—on Jan. 22. WWDC, which had a tough time getting S"CC okay for FM opera- tion and was the last to get an FM grant in the area, beat most of the net stations in getting its FM station on the air. DINNEE WINNER With Bob tedyao-d 15 Mins.; Mon.-thru-Fri., 6:30 p.m. DOWNTOWN CHEVROLET WHK, Cleveland (Lttslifl) Maybe the way to'a listener's heart is through his stomach. That seems to be the latest, and rather smart, gimmick that's behind the pross-the- board "Dinner Winner" which is gaining listeners rapidly. Bob Ledyard, as emcee, dials lis- teners. When they answer the ring they must not say "hello" but name the main course of their supper. Should the listener's first words be; "ham" or "chicken" or "steak," then he becomes a winner and whatever food is named is sent out the follow- ing day by courtesy of the automo- bile sponsor. Ledyard never questions what food is named: Frequently, he'll add sev- eral sidedishes to the meal sent out to all who are participating in the supper. Around Greater Cleveland now, family or social phone calls are be- coming taboo'at: 6:30 p.m. Even long distance operators report iq^tances in which some homes have declined to take calls while "Dinner Winner^' is on the air. Ledyard averages around eight calls per night and at least one winner who comes up with« a "food" answer and not "hello." It's a clever show, nicely handled by Ledyard- and certainly, in these times of rising prices and high food costs, no listener is .anxious to toss away a free meal, even if it is ham. More. Rating as something comparable to the man-bitcs-dog wheeze was the cocktail party which the Sherman St Marquette igency tossed for station reps at its office here yesterday afternoon (Tuesday). John Crandall, S if M chief time buyer, in extending the invitation wrote to the reps that his organization has wanted for some time, to show its appreciation for rep favor and whatnot and now that it's just got some extra pffice space the agency Was in. a position to do the thing up in Style. , S & Q is now doing all its buying out of the New York office, although the billing will continue to be handled in Chicago. One of its major accounts. Dr. Caldwell, was recently moved'here. Young & Rubicam continues to get much resistence from stations in its attempt to establish a 2% cash discount on spot business. Networks for the past two year's have Accepted this deduction, but the individual sta- tions have sidestepped the deduction on the ground that while the thing in principle may be okay, in practice it's too much of a bookkeeping head- ache. Stations' main objection Is that too often adjustments in the billing must be made to cover one of more canceUed spots and lidnce this entails holding up payment beyond 10 days the agency's 2% deduction is not in order. THE VETERANS' JOVRN'AI' With Lt, Cowdr^'Try Krvm, Adm. Xouis E. Denffeta, ethers; V, S. N»vy Band;, Stewart Finley, an- v»imeer Writers: Ty Krum, Fred SehwelU^er Pr^dncer'fflrector: Fred ^eliweikher . n Stins.; Sat., 2:3* Ifm. Sttstsininc NBC.lrOm Washincton Teed off last weekend (10), this is an expanded edition ol the helpful "Veterans' Advisor" series Which Ty Krum has been conducting tor NBC lor many months. ICrum's informs, iive news stint covering develop ments of interest to .?ets has been padded out by addition of a notable guest, music, and a "salute" to a veteran-of-the-week. On the initial er, these added features consisted Of Admiral Louis E. Denfleld, the tr. S. Navy Band, and a disabled •ailor. Krum's reporting constitutes, must. KALL,'Salt Lake City Phyllis Perry, who has been han- dling women's programs for KALL for the past three years, has whipped up a neat and timely pack- age in this one. She comes up with fdod tips for housewives, with heavy emphasis on suggestions for keeping the budget down, and saving food. Show opens with a recorded musir eal number and then swings into, a special recipe for the day. Also in- cluded in the show caught (2) were: advice on the use of p:ressure cook-; ers, the lowdown on how to fry' cliictlen, suggestions for mothers TEEN AGE MOVIE QUIZ With Don Mack Producer-Moderator: Ken Heady Writer: Sylvia Friedman 30 MIns.; Sat., 11 a.m. PARAMOUNT THEATRE KCMO, Kansas City ' This quiz show, all about the films, is run by high schoolers and is back fbr its second season on KCMO. Idea is an info please , confined to motion pictures and geared to interest the younger crowd.. . It was tried- out last school season after some ex- perimenting by Babe Cohn, manager whose" moppets aren't too happy | of the Paramount theatre, and Ken . ♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦<♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ . ^ Transcription Reviews • ■♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦««♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ VIC AND SADE With Art Van Harvey, Bernardine Flynn and Paul Belvidere; Ed Roberts, announcer I listening for vets, but it's: question- ^ able whether NBC followed the best Producer: Lew Greett possible tack in blowing the format" Director: Homer Heck from 15 to 30 minutes. It's laudable flrj-iter: Paul Rhymer as a public service gesture, but vet- erans faced with serious problems "of peacetime living (SUch as hous- ing) would surely rather hear a fuller explanation of these matters than to listen to a military band (which still sounds like one even 15 Mins, (Green Associates) During 13 years as an NBC day- timer "Vic and Sade" has had sizable audiences at two distinct levels. To most listeners it was gentle farce '</-^^„.q built around recognizable domestic „r „ ct^ A Smaller group saw it as JiLir,? sharp and whimsicll satire of mid- ?^L,*Ln,?r'^f?.r»?.Lfrhv^,i.^^nm die class life, It had both mass and they know is preoared by his PRO) containing nothing more than the 7 " , inevitable plug for a strong and , When ABC began sparring for mighty armed force. *?£ ^^J^"" -^"?^'11P' The salute to a vet, however, per- NBC tossed "Vic and Sade" into the haps serves as a reminder to every- a ™- hra^w'- Some months later one of the price many American pi"/ ^"^f'®°P'.^IJ'ho had created the boys paid for the peace which so hefty role of "Rush," went oflt to the many vets now are finding not so "avy. A new character scripted mto glorioiis ' Doitii the gap was half-witted* in a clinical ■ ■ ■ 'sense. The show's delicate balance of light humor was gradually shat- tered and it faded from the net. ~ In June, 1946, followiti^/Idelson's return, ."Vie and Sade" w^ 'te'jived as i hilf^hour nighttimer oh Mtituial, 1*0 fill out the new format, Rhymer broadened the comedy to. the point of inanity and surrounded the three prin(;ij^js with' ciistaM-pie^ charaCr tersi All in all j't wsiS; a .^sa'd ex- periment. During its short run' it repelled former listeners ahcl failed to get new ones. In the present revival, via 260 open-end transcriptions, the pack- agers Wisely hark back to the origi- nal "Vic and Sade." Scripter and players Of the title roles are the same as in the show's high Hooper heyday. Billy Idelson, now in Holly- wood, has been replaced by 16- year-old Paul Belvidere, whose "Rush" has the right amount of adolescent eagerness. Homer HeCk, an NBC staffer, directed the series THE FUNNV PAPER MAN With Don Courtney IS Mins.; Sun., 9:30 a.m, MST Sustaining- KALL, Salt Lake City Here's a program that's been done before, but it's doubtful if anyone lias «ver topped the performance turned in by Don Courtney.' He ^ reads the Tribune comics to the moppets, and really makes a produc- tion out of it Courtney takes a straightforward intimate approach, without any chuckling Uncle goo, on his opening, but goes into charac- terizations as soon as he starts with the comics themselves. There's a nice blend of narration and dialog used, with main charac- ters getting special voices. Sound effects and musical background do a lot to make thiu little session emi- nently listenafole. Courtney skirts the problem of •for several years during its live run on NBC. Art Van Harvey and Bernardine Flynn stiU stand among the best in radio when it comes to. the mat- ter Of transforming sentences into cracklinjt dialog. As a package for local and regional bankroUers, this one has both Rhymer and reason. Baact. Robert J. Landry, supervisor of "Studio One'V at CBS, arrived' at wOrk Monday (6) after the holidays to find the star, Raymond Massey, struck down by flu, and the director, Fletcher Markle, abed with, a 103 fever and the rehearsals for "Confidential Agent" due to start in a few hours. By luck Edward. G. Robinson arrived that morning in New York to attend his wife's art exhibit, and he agreed to play the lead, Dick Tteela, CBS assistant, directed on Monday and Markle was well enotigh Tuesday to carry on. So that it can take its time reshuffling its network program alignment general Foods has. through the Young & Rubicam agency, obtained an extension on the Fannie Brice show Instead of picking i^p its option for the current year. Brice show now serves as the kickoff item for CBS' Friday night aUrCOmedy sequence. Heady of the radio station, and now the pattern is figured fairly well set. Don Macfc, from Shawnee Mission High, airs the questions and coaxes the . answers out of Opal Tussey, Central hi; Jo Anne Hurt, Northwest; A. C. Cooke, Shawnee Mission; and Jim Davidson, W^ndotte, the board of experts, while^ Heady sits in to keep thingsmoving and to handle the commercials. Questions are sent in by listeners, and if used the sender gets two tickets to the thea- tre's curient show. If the Board stumbles over the question, sender is paid $4 in cash. At the session heard, the Board tackled 12 ques- tions, and missed only two, giving an idea of how the young crowd keeps up with films past and present. The half-hour quiz is heard each Saturday through the school year, as one answer by Cohn to the prob- lem'of how to use radio regularly and profitably in connection with a first run theatre. Show is heavily supported by advertising and pro- motion, virtually as much going for these casts as goes into cost of show. •The backing includes display ads in the, Kansas City Star-Times, 10 Up/Bndget Slashed In French Radio's 1947 Loss of $30,000,000 Paris, Jan. 6. For reasons of economy, French Radio appropriations have been cut in half, and the yearly state tax on receiving sets upped from $4 per set to ^.80. French national radio dipped in the red last year to the tune of over $30,000,000, and- this more' than any other consideration is rumored likely to bring back com- mercials to the air. Result of the slash is to let out about 30% of the personnel, and do away with a Jot of airings, espe- cially those originating from pro- vincial stations, which are nearly all to be discontinued. North American broadcasts are suffering as result. -' Instead of 105 minutes daily, broadcasts for U. S. high school papers, screen trailers ■ ""^ Canada will first be reduced to BULLDOG DRUMMOND With Ned Weaver, Santos Ortega, Gilbert Mack, Mercedes JVIcCam- bridge, Everett Sloan, and others Writer: Edward Adamson 30 Mins. ATLAS BREWING CO. WGN, Chicago (Chartoc-Coimo-n) Capt. Hugh (Bulldog) Drummond, gentleman adventurer whose tire- less pursuit of lawbreakers has been, filmed, printed , and live-networked, emerges as his usual urbane self on this new transcribed series. Still at his side is the faithful man servant. Denny, who stacks up as a far sharper foil than the jughead stoogt- and lobby notices. By now the quiz is building a fol- lowing, and coverage it is getting in the surroWnding area is gratifying. Impression given is that it is any- thing but a polished show, with Mack stumbling over an answer now and then and the experts flip- ping in with sharp ad-libs. Sounds like a bunch of youngsters having some fun, and probably all to the good of the show. Its listeners are mostly juves, and no doubt about their being active filmgoers. Show started on the stage of the ^py.p^ Paramount, but the 1947-48 series' 30 minutes daily, and probably fur- ther cut to 15 minutes, half in Eng- lish for U. S. and half tn frfnch for Canada. Keystone's 'Wigglesworth' Buy in 110-Station Spread I Indie' producer Laurence Ham- mond has pacted his "Keeping Up I With the Wigglesworth" draujatic with Keystone Broadcasting; h^r'beer'mwed'^to^the^KCM^ over 110 stations studios for easier staging. Quirj. ''° BASEBALL AIRER IN CBS DOCUMENTARY I in 39 states and Alaska. Entire series of 78 quarter-hour plattered stanzas will be carried by the KBS oullcts on a two-week basis start- ing this week. Hammond wrote and produced the series, which copped an honorable mention from the Ohio State Insti- u-iicuii aiuv, t; Documentary Unit headed , so"often TavoTed'by''mem^^^ of'the I Bob Heller is prepping its first tute for Education by Radio "for mystery solvers'union. I °™-serious',' airer, an hour-long dramatiiiing the basic principles of Continuity, with Drummond glid- documentary on baseball. Ether economics of everyday family life." ing in and out of first person narra- ^^^te hasn't been set, but the stanza Lloyd Shaffer's orch (15) playS an tion, is direct and uncluttered, will be scheduled some time on the original score for the airers. Plots unravel with a minimum of eve of the spring ball season. Red strain and the loose ends are picked Barber, CBS sports director Prob- up neatly by fadeout time. Drum- ably will narrate the piece ' mond s forthright manner. gives a 1 • \ spurious veracity to the cloak-and- • ^«m is one of four in the works dagger derring-do. The implausible '^^ the initial '48 projects by Heller's isn't aggravated by the impossible. , unit. One, produced in collabora- All in all, it's a flrstrate job. ! tion with Columbia-owned WCCO' Expert cast is headed by Ned Minn6apolis-St. Paul, will deal with Weaver, who played the title role the American Indian; another will m the live series on Mutual. Sound take up the subject of political effects, Ufied in lieu of music to set careers in tprm<! ftf «rUnt h mood and bridge scenes, come off to bo a Lw,^lt?C--^ ^ n ^T'S surprisingly well. This branch of 1°,^^,, f^ll^ ^• radio drama, fallen into comparative i°"^„" postponed "Report disu.se except on kid strips, migh: r^''" o" American education, which well be reexamined in view of the 1 is being reworked for probable slot- punchy results on "B.D." Boa;*. I ting in late February or early March. Ocean Hop Giveaway Philadelphia,. June 13. A week's visit to England will be awarded by WPEN to the college student in this area who writes the best essay on British-American amity, as part of the promotion, of 'International Quiz," - a series of trans-Atlantic programs between the U. S. and Britain arranged by WPEN and BBC. The winner will be flown to Eng- land by BOAC and will be guest of BBC.