Variety (Dec 1948)

80 TELGVISION BEVIBWS WjnineBiafi December I, 1948 Opera Thrown for Loss on Tele Debut as Met 'Otello' Preem Fizzles By ARTHUR BRONSON Opera put its worst foot forward Monday (29) nigiit, when tlie Met- ropolitan Opera Assn.'a season's opener, "Otello," was televised over ABC from New York. First telecast of an actual operatic offer- ing, it -may have :been a landmark for video-or music, But it was also a mediocre affair, and the perfect- ly wrong way of introducing grand opt-ra to the television audiences. Whoever had the job of pre- senting the Met's debut: on tele, bungled it completely. The color of an opening night wasn't caught at all. There were no pre-perform- ance sidewalk or lobby scenes, to show the traditional minks,' er* mines, white tie and tails, for which a Mel opening nlgbt is fa mous. What a viewer first saw . were extended shots of the audito- rium with rows of empty seats; drab shots of : announcers, and associate announcers filling long PHIL SIL'ViEllS ARItOW fJXOW With CithHle Sawyer;; jleirry: jSaiiS* .:■ ner,: ten- ".Hale>' MacJs-; firiiiKst^ :"'\.Hei:|ieri,Co|ema)ft'..V ■• ::Harry 'Sailiier 'Orcli /Writerst^-'tariry, ' M'«''r.l['S^, ^'-Ernle Glucksman/ Danny Simon, Doo ■■Simon. ■■■■'■,"' Pii«ctorrHrt Keith;f-:,f:;/-^'V;: ■producer: Wes MctCrt '^r"-- 30 Mins.; 1Ved.» 8:30 pM. V ' i.; GtttlETTi PiEABODt & CO* ■\":,(Tfj)u»ff .^''ij^bitctfnj) ■';'; " Latest of; the yaude^^ on the kilocycle circuit, this half- hour session jiss t>yp ,,i)jBsitive:'fac- tors \vhich ; should ,^U^ ■ high-rati««/Ty;. (are^^^ ,a-rste<iiiis',"<ioipic:'vtalfe^ y^rsv'^ W^ ' Is' doubling itpra his chores in the legit rtitisical, "Hl|ih ^Button '. $hoes^" -, And secondthis prograjn is breakings gtound for vaudeo on the Wednesday night lineup where it should; become the' doniinaiBt'''lteift;,/.;;, ,;'/.> ■■■';■"'■ , : & .eincee,'a^^ perforhief, Silvers- revealed ori'the preem (24) enough stujffi to esta)?lish hini as one of TV's standout comedy per- sonalities. Carrying over his stige know-how, Silvers dresses, his gags for visual impact. Whefie the lines are weak (and maMy of ihehi were I wholly limp on the opener) he gives a risibility lift via his mug-: ging and well-timed double-takes, j The kickoff stanza as a whole," however, was uneven. It started I minutes with dull talk about the solidly with a sketch about the | wonderful Metropolitan or about show's gag writers in bondage to j the opera's libretto; duller inter- .Silvers. Another sanitary bur- views with web brass and sponsor lesque ; skit,, involving Connie heads. Then long shots of the Sawyer and kid actor Len Hale in curtain before the conductor finally a domestic squabbl^e, was also appeared and opera got under way. well-executed, but these were the When the curtains finally parted, I program's sole comic highspots. there was utter .confusion—as far [Miss Sawyer, incidentally, showed as the tele-viewer was concerned, j good comedy form, recovering The first . scene of "Otello" is i quickly from a breakup and run- normally quite dark, and ABC's I ning the incident for a good laugh Infra-red technique lightened the j again. The rest of Silvers' material Stage admirably for the video, were flat segues into the. Arrow audience. But this had a reverse | shirt commercials, with stooging METROPOLITAM OPERA ASSN. ("Otello") : With Licia Albanese, Ramon - Vinay, Leonard Warren; Ed- ward Johnson; others; Mil- ton Cross, George Hicks, announcers ^ , Producer-director: Burke Crot- ty 210 Mins.; Mon. (29), 8 p.m. TEXAS CO. ABC-TV, from N. Y. {Buchanan) effect than intended. The stage was ternbly . overcrowded, with the chorus iconstantly milling about to. no apparent purpose. And when the principals finally appeared, there wa.s utter death to illusion. TJioir makeup was pallid; tlieir costuming lacklustre. ; ' Production was h a p h a z a r d by Jerry Hausner Two other acts in this layout in- cluded the Mack Triplets, person^ able femmes who delivered nicely on a couple of rhythm numbers, and Herbert Coleman, a Negro ]uve singer, with precocious poise and a moderately good voice. The camera work in framing the kid. throughout. There were no shots, however, was flagrantly defective I of orchestra and conductor m ac-1 instead of dollying av^av for a I if» cii°''„^/tho^^?.Ji"^?V'*^™ °^ I'couple of long shots, the camera' the size of the stage, or. the mas- jammed up sS close to his face' siveness ot the auditorium. that nothing of his gestures was! All this v,as doubly distressing seen except some thumbs waving because the singers sang well, the before the lens,. » v -v «(, orclie.sti'a played in keeping, and , , , , „ I the sound came oil the screen . ^" over-large chunk of this half-1 ■ brilliantly Warren's second - act 11""'^' w?s devoted to plugging the' Credo cnmp off '■o magnificently ' pankrollcr. Not only overboard in ; thai foi-, its duration' it persuaded I'^^'S*' ' , ?ommemal. pitches a MC'woj that tins v\as art. But Oy-^""^ without being clever.' only briefly Oveiall bungling had i ''"^^''^ also made a poor ad lib in ■ I commenting after one of the its rtiglit. Dm ing the intermission between P^^Ss, Isn t that a cute way ofj fa--.! .ind second acts, cameras and ""'"f^ commercial ' U only annoiinceis wtnt backbtago to in- '■"^ evident too obvious terview the leads,.and'iui-tlier de-|.; ; " -..: ' - .' ...:;■■'..'...■. • ; 7; " H-efrtf, =1 stroy all illusion. Interviewer:; j . ': '■ '; ■, ''■..-'' ' - ' ., | cor. allcd singers, stage director, I . ^ homf Aivn wnwi ' choial director designer, conduc- wlih i n^l.iiTr wfi^SI?^^^^ i r. * ' toi- to bnn« them to the mike to '^"'''' '^"""'«^ Wmslow, Carl East answer stupid questions—"what is i ,vIV*L1.. t..,,,..^ i > oui lavoriLe role? what is your ' p "nt..'.^. rh- t V-^'^^ t fa^•orUe opera?" Surely, they could E^rector BabeUe Henr^ ha\e been prepared with better M'^f^- rV™ questions than those . wi^tv' ' VT" Tele biings out the static quality "JZ-TV, New York of opera at its worst. It's obvious i At Home—and How!" is a how-, that opera, to succeed on television, ] to-do-it show featuring demonstra-1 will have to be devised specially i by Louise Winslow. of Colum- for the medium It will need new Univ.'s Home Economics Dept. i sets, new costumes, new staging, Working m a General Electric-j new makeup. And new singers, equipped model kitchen on Satur-' Singers who look the part as well ' day's (27) preem. Miss Winslow ' as sing it Oiherwise—^video speak- I whipped up a turkey loal and made . Ing—it rates the axe. ii look absurdly easj With a niin-' ' __ ble change of pace she shifted to ».^« „„ .another set to transform a mouth- ^.^.u THANKSGIVING SHOW ' ful of pins and a length of silk into «itn. Bill Robiusion," Jane Pickens, [ a snazzy eyening gown. Deep River Boys, "Kukla, Fran and Ollie," Eddie Arnold, Wes- Supporting her in the guise o^ a friendly neighbor who dtopped in or ,^p Of tugar and s-^yTcHo b'^ Keane, Jack Lathrop; Eve Young, Helen Ryan, Juanita and Her Clianipions (3), Dorothy Keller, "No Shoes" (kinescope); Wendell Niles, emcee, Joe Mulvhill, an- nouncer; Walbert Brown, Cleve- land Aires Orch Co-Producers: Warren Wade, Vic .'.-.McLeod.' ■ 120 Mins.; (25), 5 p.m. (CST) RCA-VICTOR NBC, from Cleveland :(J. Walter Thompsoii) As an antidote for torpor follow- tog a heavy meal, this one induced rather than forestalled sluggish- ness. The pace was slow, the lay- out repetitious, the lensing prosaic. Victor disk talent was rampant to tContiaued on page 92) briefed on homemaking was Carl ' Eastman. Latter's role is to lighten ■. the show as a dubious male. This characterization was rather fuzzy j and could stand considerable punching up, especially with live-1 lier dialogue. Miss Winslow did well with her part of the show, a difficult one i because it was virtually a 30-min-1 ute monolog with occasional asides ■ to Eastman. However, she might : guard against a tendency toward over-repetition. ' | WJZ-TV cameramen did an ex- cellent job, particularly in shooting closeups of the cooking steps. De-, tail was such that a viewer should have no trouble in following the culinary lesson^* 11 ( t . t' "I HOLIDAY STAR REVUE With Georre Jcssel, emcee; Paul and Grace Hartman. Jerry Co< lonna, Ethel Smith. Phil Silvers; Connee Bosweli, Paul Draper, Charles Trenet, Morey Amster- dan^, Paul Whiteman, Phil Regan, Mr. and Mrs, Bill Baird, Gloria Agostini, Andre Baruch Dlrector'Producer: Burk Crotty 120 Mins.. Thur. (25), 7:30 p.m. ELGIN-AMERICAN ABC-TV. from New York (Weiss & Geller) This was television's first super commercial one-shot, video's coun- terpart of the brace of two-hour Thanksgiving radio shows spon- sored by Elgin and Wrigley on NBC and CBS. With an array of talent perhaps topped only by the Palace Theatre (N.Y.) showcase which attended the premiere sev- eral months back of WJZ-TV, El- gin-American, the eompact-cigar f ret case makers, plunked down $25,000 for this 120-minute ABC- TV "Holiday Star Revue" on Thanksgiving Night. It all added up to the prize production fizzle of the year, All the ingredients were there for a sock marathon production, with George Jessel booked in at $5,000 for the one-shot emcee role and surrounded by such surefire personalities as Connee Bosweli^ Jerry Colonna, Paul Draper, Paul and Grace Harlman, Ph.il Silvers, Charles Trenet, IMorey Amsterdam, Phil Regan, Ethel Smith and Paul Whiteman, among others. Beading backwards or forwards; that's a "dream" video parlay. calculated to satisfy even the most fastidious viewer. Yet the sum and substance of this Elgin-American splurge was that "Holiday Star Revue," as it! came off from ABC's Ritz theatre j studios, may well serve as an ob-, ject lesson in things to avoid in I order to attain maximum produc- i tion values for video. Not that the talent was to blame, Individually, the acts for the most part were socko. The Hartmans, for example, were probably at their TV peak, reprising one of their better comedic sequences from their "Angel in the Wings" musical and showing to even bet- ter advantage than in their recent video version of the legiter on '■Philco Television Playhouse.'' Colonna demonstrated he's a natural for tele with his "Manda- lay" hit. The Phil Silvers routine with a ' Clarinet was clicko; Trenet whammed . over his distinctive Parisian songs in a manner that suggested his stylized delivery for the smart intime saloons is equally adaptable to TV, particularly forj the femmes; Connee Boswell's ren- dition of Harold Rome's "Thanks i for Thanksgiving," and Phil | Regan's tenoring, were distinct as-, sets; Paul Draper's now standard tap interpretations, backgrounded! by the Golden Gate Quartet's i vocalizing of "Jericho" was class ' video fare.' The puppet wizardry i of the Bairds was delightful. And even if Ethel Smith had a tendency to overmugg at the. organ, or Raye & Naldi committed the on-too-long sin of doing three turns where the finale waltz would i have sufficed, or if the sequencing i of acts failed to spot a stronger i comed\' act than Morey Amster- dam's for the next-toTclosing spot, I the fact remains they contributed i distinctive bits to establish the show's diverse pattern. I But as a two-'hour bigtime pro- i duction it completely missed fire, i It lacked cohesion. Too often it i suggested a lack of proper camera ! rehearsal. The lighting was fre-' quently bad and the cameras, too l often, were in the wrong places. ! And those commercials! Granted ' that Elgin-American was in it for' a 25G nut and spread itself for, 120 minutes of time, that trip-' hammered barrage of filmed com- mercials was inexcusable, turn- I ing annoyance into viewer resent- ment as they were piled on one on top of another. Within the two-hour time, there were i)rob-', ably a . dozen showings of the canned black - and - white plugs, wholly unimafiinative and unin-1 spiring, despite the use of attrac- tive models. They were brought I on with such recurring frequency; as to disrupt the show's continuity.' During the first portion of the | show, the home viewer missed out [ completely on the Jessel between-! act b.vplay ^vhlIe the commercials' got in their inningsi. And even' more awkward was the midway i switch in technique, with Jessel | compelled to do a "stage wait" as the plugs rolled on. | Perhaps the answer lies in ef- fccling an integrated commeicial formula for such type shows. But whatever the answer, Elgin-Ameri- can has only itself to blame for Inducing sponsor resentment, aihOng'televi^tv'^rs. Rpsc. i er$ Put Over the TV Coals It's open season on television for the 10%-ers. By one of thos* odd programming quirks, last Sunday (28) witnessed two successiv* video productions dealing with the peculiar' species known at agents. Second hour-long production of the CBS 7:30-8:30 dra- matic sustainer, "Studio One," was an adaptation of Richard Meal- and's satire on the publishhi^ biz, "Let Me Do the Talking," with John Conte In the central role of the literary agent. The following half-hour (8:30-9) "Actor's Studio" on ABC-TV showcased an adaptation of the Beatrice Blackmar-Bruce Gould hl-jinx on tha agenting biz, "Ten Percent," with George Keane giving his own distinctive version of how a 10%-er cavorts in office hours. While the two plays were vested with the external aceoutrementa generally associated with agents, it remained for the*"Actor'a Studio" production to really capture the brash egotism and pe- culiar eccentricities of the guys Who know how to turn a fast buclt. Despite a fine production Job by Worthington Miner on "Studio Onb," the Mealand adaptation fell short of the goal ot embodying the high-voltaged peculiarities native to the agency character. As.it came off, it left the impression that the agenting biz merely served as a springboard to relate a story that could have been . backgrounded by any other go-getter. The casting did nothing to overcome the inherent script weaknesses. Mostly, the production rates comment for the- techniques once more Introduced. by Miner. The two-way telephone conversation, for example, while impeip* feet, nevertheless intrigued the viewer and held forth promise of -> possibilities. Miner's continued exploration into filmed' montage ■ shots to give the production, scope and breadth also rates a nod. And while "Studio One" as. a sustainer may be 'handicapped by limited budgeting, those repeat tavern shots' carried over from Miner's initiali production of "The Storm" were too easily spotted by tlie viewer. While "Actors' Studio'' paid less attention to production furbelows, the casting, particularly in the lead, was fine, and the characteriza- tions were sharper and more brittle. And certainly it was moro fascinatihg. Keane, as one of the more successful 10%-ers, em- bodied all the agents' traits in a smooth and believable perform- ance. Rose, ':: Tele Follow-up Comment t Bert Lytell, program host and production coordinator on the "Philco Television Playhouse," made his bow. as an actor on the NBC-TV series Sunday (28^ night in "I Like' It Here," recreating the role he originated on Broadway. Hour-long legiter, with Oscar Karl- weis co-starring in< his Broadway role, was an affable presentation and an easy-going 60 minutes of televiewing. Play itself, scripted by A. B. Shiffrin and adapted by Samuel Taylor, retained most of the naive factors which made it such a weak- sister offering on Broadway early in 1946, Buti with a capable cast working under the usual top- drawer direction. of Fred Coe, it emerged as a charming , little comedy. Lytell, as tlie henpecked college professor, was fine and KarlweiSii wisely underplaying- his role of the all*around handyman, turned in a job at least as good as that which won him : unanimous critics" approval on Broadway, Marjoite- Gateson, too, as Ly- tell's;.domineering wifev was good, and the supporting players, includ- ing Jennifer Bunker, Dort Clark and Richard Derr; handled their, roles capably. Coe's production mountings included a neatly-exe- cuted trio of sets and his cameta direction, though static in spots,, was adequate. With Lytell in the cast, .Bob Stanton was given .an assist in the Philco plugs by ven- triloquist Paul Winchell and his dummy. Added comedy they lent to the usual staid and dignified commercials spiced them up con- siderably. *. > *.■»■ * * * tations of "The Valiant" is the por- trayal by Bert Lytell, nowi the con- ferencler on the Philco Tele vision- Playhouse w^ift. did the sketch at the Palace in September, 192.3. Ac- cording, to Variety's Ibee th* sketch. was grim and perhaps . too . talky but nevertheless worthwhile/ Transfer to television Aasn't changed the characteristics, al- though there has been some mod- ernization of the piece by Robert Skidmore; with Muni having a hand in the rewrite. ' The original' vaude presentation lasted 28 min<'- utes. Current playing time haa been shaved to 25 minutes, but con-:: siderably more tightening might, still be affected. The- garrulous characteristics of the show come before Muni's en- trance, < Whitford Kane, as tha priest, and Curtly Cooksey playing : the warden, take a long time in setting the scene, although line*: could not have been short.ened too much without impairing the total running time of this half-hour show. Muni is, as alwa.vs, an ac- tor of excellence and Augusta Dab- ney, as the last-minute visitor, doea a highly creditable job although the cameras in closeup were un- kind. The generally good calibre Of this piece suggests that the fik" of vaude's vast storehouse of sketches could be utilized to video's ad-^ : Vantage, ■ The dramatized and comedy playlets, once a standard element in vaudeville, are still-, solid fare in television, especially lor performers of Muni's stature. Chevrolet Tele-Theatre" chalked up a video first Monday night (29); with the transference of a full-' length vaudeville sketch to TV. I "The Valiant," excellently enacted! by Paul Muni beading a good cast, I was written more than a quarter ! century ago by Holworthy Hall and i Robert Middlemas for a Lambs i Gambol. The sketch has been a' standard in variety houses all over i the country since, having been en-1 acted by several, top names in the theatre for many , years, . Foremost among the Interpre- EARL WRIGHTSON SHOW With Wrightson; Betty Jane Wat- son, Buddy Weed Director: Jean . Heaton 15 Mins.; Sat., 7:45 p.m. ABC-TV, New York Baritone Earl Wrightson looks like a sure video bet in this suc- cessor to ABC's "Three About Town," An assured, ingratiating performer, he seemed entirely at ease whether singing a ballad, ducting with guest Betty Jane Wat- son, of "As the Girls Go," or trad- ing mild repartee with piani.st Buddy Weed. Show's debut (27) was just about topnoteh In every respect. Good camera work gave strong support to the telegenic Wrightson and his attractive guest. The casual, off- hand flavor of the stanza is a wel- come antidote to overproduced tele offerings. A different femme vo- calist is to guest oh'the' show,each week. • ' 'It "Toast of the Town" dropped to a mediocre level on Sunday's (28) telecast over CBS-TV. Calibre of acts varied sharply, to prevent any flow of high-grade continuity; High spots w'ere the reliable Brick- layers dog act; the Waldorf's Mar- : garet Phelan in .songs, and Dava Barry, amusing banter. Closeupa;. on the dogs made for some ex-, cellent video, but camera should have used more long shots. Es- pecially in the final dog-jumping, bits, camera cut off part of th« - picture by its faulty rfinge. Miss Phelan's songs were sniart- ly delivered in a nice dramatic soprano, : and singer adds to her appeal by being highly photogenic. Constant camera shifting during one song-number, however, waa . bad. So was Sullivan's unfinished talent-handling. Miss Phelan went off to a good studio audience sal-. vo, but there was no calling back for a bow, or even a "thank you. Miss Phelan." Omission was ac- centuated by the fact that other acts received these kudos. Block & Sully, looking highly videogenic, occupied a box and heckled Sullivan for their bit. Gags were pretty corny, though they got the studio -audience chuckling. Olsen & Joy, aero, dance team, opened, following' brief appearance of the June Tay- lor (6) line, while show also fea- tured another terp act in Greb St Lober, barefoot satirical dancers in the East Indian: jive idiom. Commercials also varied sharply in quality, with Ray Morgan work- ing valiantly in all of them. Open- ing one, involving Ray Bloch and the? 'o1rchestra, -«v-as ibod. ■''