Variety (Dec 1948)

TELEVISI03k REVIEWS Wednesday, December 15, 1948 WHO SAID THAT? ■yviiii Bob Trout, moderator; TAsa Maxwell, George Allen, H. V. KaUcuborn, John Cameron Swayze, iruests Producer: Fred Friendly - Uireetor: Mark' Hawley 30 Mins.; Thurs., 10 p.m. Sustaining NBC-TV, from N. Y. , Here's tlje first instance of a quiz show lifted bodily from radio into MAKE MINE MUSIC THE MEDIUM With Carole Coleman, Larry Dousr-1 With Marie Powers, Leo Coleman, las, BUI Skipper, Tony Alottolaj Lois Hunt, Beverly Dame, Trio. Catherine Mastice, Joe Bell; AI- Director: Al Leftivich 1 fredo Antonini and Orch; Wayne 15 Mins.; Mon.-thru-Kri., 7:45 p.m., Nelson, announcer Sustaining I Producer: Tony Miner CBS-TV, from New York Director: Paul Nickell This is CBS' sustainer replace- ^'J[J*jf*ty " nient for the Johnny Desmond-' jlhls.. Sun. (13). 7:30 p.m. Sandra Deel "Face the Msuie" television with success Aired Sun-, cross-the. board nighttime show da> nights on the NBC-AM web ^he networlt .scrapped be- ia'rt'"Tl^r;rUy'''Vb. CcHy'a ' c-se it couldn't w.ap up a spon- Sustaining *^'r','?nVfl'i,T'ATf.nn)ti s ril-inntif pHses for the viewer. The mood, oper'-rile Med?im," co^dTt ^fJX."}^}^'.^?'^.'^'!^^^ have been a better choice for ''Stu last inursaay i»' wuii naru y a." _ fi„p timf.« a wpok ril^,ron^' nrVsV'nlntion t if it Predictable within narrow limits, concession made to the visual re- sor. the new ttve-t)me,s-a-wecK dio One piesenianon, man ii u ' «tnw in thp beoh WiUtten ' expressly for ,, , , , ^ .. , t<r,^. Intimate quality o£ the music a blond looker, as the iemme , tragedy, its shrewd combmation of quirenicnls of the medium, and musical features Carole Coleman,; h'"' emcrfjed as a sparkling, quick- .;r wiUcd program that held audience Tele Follow-up Comment "Toast of the Town" is settling day (13) night was marked chiefly into a fixed groove on CBS-TV I by the fine thesping of the three Sunday nights. Although the tal-; principals, Edward Everett Horton, ent lineup may vary from week-1 Natalie Schafer and Howard St. to-week (not. counting the repeat' John. Otherwise, the show offered appearancesi, there are few sur-' nothing out of the ordinary, witli the script and production only ade*. quate,'.■ ' -j: H^rtoit-played tli^ role tured bui-glar and his attempts to explain to a couple, w'hp surftr^ him in theii' hoilrte' of: ttfe hetess^^^ this 60-minute layout liave become inloroM to tlic last Additional singer; Paul Douglas for the male drama and music, and excellent visual dressing would, of course, vocals, with a supporting cast of ' performances by members of the make it better for TV but even in b.11 Skipper (tap.ster an_d linger) j o;;ig>"»l_^Bj-oa^^^^^^^^ This is at lea-st one straw in the wind that vaudeo .is ali-eady ..<Sufferr '^a'''<J«-ming of the format ( oT VemViuVng"him"to"take "^s^^^^^^^ .thing away, in order to, preserve ;theii\ social standing the coiii?; niunit.v. Idea wasn't too hot to. start with and wasn't developed sufficiently in the scrip ai'teWes : Sunday (12) tliert. was; anVarrajf; of acts falling into the spUd,>s6-s6 and so-whi»t divisions. Emcee. Ed Sunday (12p. With singing and' Sullivan erred in bunching his enunciation of performers Intel- ] click items in the first section, get almost tailored to Horton's par- ligible as well as high-grade, and ting the show off lo a fast start ucular talents, though, and he road tout ■ oiii OKipper iiapKuer-uiiu siusci; ; - " . ■ .. - . . its present form, it could well be- and the Tony Mottola Trio as a come the "Information, Please" of ; carry-over attraction trom the old vidoo ' layout. Reasons are undoubtedly the i The network's video program- same that made "Information" ; j„e,.s have gone the whole hog in click in its day. The questions, | tossing oul the old "Face the Mu- wliich in this case are based on ] sic" lormat and have really dressed quotations made by celebrities dur- one up to suggest that CBS-TV ing the week are intelligent and j,. first, last and always, production- don't consider the audience as a .conscious. In place of" the casual, i ,. -i . . . group 01 12-yoar-oIds. The con- informal quality that put "lajor f""^^"/ J*^^^ testants, too, are intelligent emj,lTasis on th^^^ heavy-duty trucks, was good. oinfc ana Queung ana wiiun E.dvt i,np,.ovement in several ways on ! smooth etfoillessness. i : 'y : ^'■ V. the stage: version,; Libi-etto con- 1>iellie Lutcher. thiiV''gone; gal'* j Siiow^^ cerns a phony spiritualjst who, sHd-piva followed after a: "Sulli- Xed Lewis, making his .ihitial denly. has hallucinations, ■and van's deadpan explanation that he video appearance in the closing goes to pieces as result, buch was spotting her early in the bill • spot on Milton Berle'-; ' Texaco eloseup shots, as the seance, with f^,. the benefit of the kids. She the medium s clients clasping hands, or the scene showing the CBS' audio better than usual (a vital factor here, since the music is an effective part ot the drama), this proved a swell hour ol entertain- ment; dramatically and musically. If the video presentation lacked but leaving it weak: at the finish line. In the opener. Bunny Briggs, versatile Negro tapster, flashed the artistic form which has hoisted him into the top terping ranks. Camera handling, which suporim- i made it pleasant viewing. Miss Schafer and St. John gave him capable assistance 'as :the couple,^ and John Kane handled a lesser role okay. New Chewy filmed . commercial. i^fiXi^^itsX acUib'^ AnrNB(^;?i^fK;^"how —»^>' etfoillessness. commentator Bob Trout does a | warmth; standout ,iob :as moderator, pitch- ing his questions well and taking part in the ad lib discussions until there's a danger that an over-talk- ative guest might slow things down of the posed closeups ol his loot work on I f^'^V «-"evvy niiiitu coiiimerciai, ent at the overall picture, was particn--, ""st""« P'"gg>ng the outfit s line 'Make Mine Music" emerges as a miniature musical 'comedy. : And for this very reason it suffers by contrast. ■ While: Miss Coleman, has that 'pretty as a picture" quality that's —m -short, as good a job as Clil- i intended as she steps out of an ton Fadiman once did with Info. , a,.t gallerv frame land that Flor- ELsa Maxwell, George Allen (one ence Lustig gown doesn't hurt her, of President Truman s White | githeri, and while Larry Douglas Housq assembly), and commenta-1 suggests he knows his way with tors II, V. Kaltenborn and .lohn a song, the show as a whole puts obliged by doing, in. her tricky vocal style, two numbers which are Cameron Swayze guested on the \ too much accent on incidental fur , preem. As was to be expected, i,,g,o^,^,s and silly gabbing. The very j wlien the quotations are lifted di- Iqualitv ol intimacy so necessary for rectly irom the top news stones ^ daify capsule musical is lacking. d> ing mute with ,iu.st his hand seen ' ^ alrlanes permit, grasping the curtain, could never . . .f « be appreciated fully by a legit audience, while the closeup of the miserable mother awaiting the cry of her dead babe was simply ter- i-iHc. ■ The production had its flaws. of the day, Kaltenborn and Swayze made the best- showing, but Allen and'Miss Maxwell managed to hold Even Tony Mottola is. burdened with too much.' script. . While one hears: the trio backgrounding the. their own. Question based on theij^how, those closeups of the ensem- Identity of ■ a Spanish-American jn action, one of the distinct War GI, which turned out to be, aggets of the Kaltenborn, was extremely well- previous program, Star Theatre" via NBC-TV web la.st Tuesday (7i night, whammed across the same cornfed routine he's been doing for over three decades.: In .fact, .the intimacy in^. herent in tele probably gave Lewis' act more impact than it's ever en-., joyed, before, lending further proof to the belief th'at a good performer can find his . metier in an,v medium. Rest of the show, with one : standout exception, marked a considerable improve- ment over the faltering pace of the h=d anil TddodTneat t^uch oi^"^""^ '^'"^^^ "-^Tr' overlooking iniportant acUon down humor to the show. 1_ Small audience participation an- gle has been included. Any time ' CHRISTMAS PARADE a question remains . unanswered.. I With Bob Dale each guest must fork over S5 for ' 45 Mins.; Tues, 7:15 p.m. the .iackoot. Final question is WEWS-lV, Cleveland. i"«^n ^Z^^ 'If "'it'^i^'r,^"; WEWS continues to take full ad- gets a haO bond on its. acceptance; , v,; , . : j If it isn't answered, the viewer also vantage of spot events and utilizes gets the jackpot. The show them to fine advantage for its audiv shouldn't encounter too much trou- ,cnce. Latest in its long line of neat ti e VomSL^•l?^h°„'n'/'nfl'^^ was the Christmas tlie comparative late hour ot its p. . , ^.-hirh i( nir-kpH iin oHfsirlc transmission. Stal '[ts studios "* P*'-'^**" up OHtsiac II «5 TRvxeimv a\i ITT17C ! There were several particular Wi«; SkPp'^fS^ ^Vm^"^ Browne, I ^^K^i^f.^ Mownfra^nd "ivfn ^.rotd the Honey Dreamers (5) and Kexi"' balloon-blowups and pan-ciowd "Pine ' Brown Fraifie". atid "Ypii Better Watch Yourselt'.' iRepra^ items in this bill included Pat C, Plieki v^ith. gome; more of his stage- box heckling, arid the clever spook dancing^ of Delanoff Rayes; Sis- The camera mlss'ed"several more ' te^S; a i-eP"".*. this time "expos- opportunities for closeups—in not I"i^^,"i"^">"- , ., . , getting a shot of Madame Flora in , , Nannette Fabray, legit musical her first moments of terror (al- star, made only a moderate „,.„„ious week's olTerinB That ex- fViniiffh it hinriled the final break- Pi'i-'ssion with her renditions of . P'cvious weeK s oneiing, inai e.\- down sctme p^^^^^ Time" and "Poppa, I ception was Buddy Lester. The down sctnt piopcrlyi, missing uu ^^^.^ Dance with Me," There ' comedian's routines were much was only a shadow of the personal- too slow^paced t^, matcli the rapid ity wliich she's able to project tempo of the other acts ;and,l^^^^^^ from the stage. In the latter num- Afncan explorer routitie, in which eipals were in the way. The spirit, ber.. moreover, Sullivan's try at BeHe fw^^^^^ daughter in the seance was shown | joining m the act was lame. I. hp-,vspd %p imimn?essive sh^^^^ too clearly (instead of shadowy) at I In the comedy sector. Gene Mc- 1^ nTmnst enSanf on^^l^^^^ Carthy and Timmy Farrell (son of , . "L^^ Glenda Farrell i started with some I °"ii'-.Mi«ts MP Beyle g eff^^ stale takeoffs on,? radio corhmer- face of the ecstatic mute as listens to Monica's love song, he or stage because props or minor prin- times. But these were minor flaws in a swell job, irom the clever opening runofl' of credits on playing cards,; cials and wound up with panto to the final tragedy. Marie Powers repeated her magnicent portrayal, vocally and dramatically, as the mad seeress, with Lois Hunt and Leo Coleman heading the fine sup- porting east shots, from tough angles, 'showed:|:that opera and legit have to be adept handling. i specially staged for the new telej Voice waS: weak with apologies i medium (no pun intended). The; for calling wrong numbcvs in the ; Met, by tlie way, could take a les-1. . parade merely highlighting atten-: son in plausible facial . makeup ! the "Philco, Television Playhouse;' tion to the few sour notes. MarJc. here Tele Film Reviews Haupin's; Orch: Wayne Griffin, announcer: ! Producer: Jack Gibncy 30 Alins., Mon., Dec. 6, 8:30 p.m. i Sustaining ..■■■■.■I. ABC, from Chicago - ' Billed as the first simulcast on; the midwest tele net "U S. Treas- ury Salutes" was so-.so as AM and TV fare. Except tor closeups and : interweaving film while the orch, played a medley of armed forces- anthems, it was a standard aural ' show made visible. Occasion was the presentation of U, S. Treasury kudos to ABC and WENR lor an asfiist in postwar bond drives, Sucfi events don't ordinarily fire the imagination of programeers and this one-timer wa.s no exception. Skip Farrell was personable in its Sundav evening programming 5 Mins.: Tucs., 10 p.m. hi.s emcc,e role and registered Mrll schedule with a series of Hopalong iy^LCC) TELE-VUE LENS m his vocals, although his gestures „ . , ci „ r CBS-TV, from N. Y. were sometimes stilted and sans, ^a-ssidy western films, many of punch, .Tune Browne's soprano, which haven't yet had theatrical was smooth to the ear but in man- distribution. Films were produced cacy at TV's top comic. P.nllenberg's Bears opened with ■ tlieir standard rtiutines. iniptessing. on tlie . varlQus wheeled . yehicles. ■ Aetr ihcideritally; i? fhei'otily one within recent weeks in which Bcrle ha.sn't worked—and for ob- Viously good reason. Viviiin Blaine of tunes that ous 20th- ell on the sc. chimed n for the usual .song-and-dance windup, Danny Richards. , .hv, Shortage of good television story seven-year-old. son of an oldtime properties has started to show on i vaudester, then took over to do « mime renditions of "The Spaniard That Blighted My Life" (Crosby- Jolson disk ' version) and an . op- eratic caricature of Flagstad. Crosby and Jolson were great but this act ..needs ;more than phono- Broil, I Confronted with out-of-line price I demands by most agents and pre- HOPALONG CASSIDY I Producer: Bill Boyd I 75 Mins.; Sun., 5:45 p.m< Participating WNB'T (NBC, N. Y.) . „ GREATEST FIGHTS NBC television is now teeing oil i GENTIIBY up a single sponsor who would confine his plugs to opening;and closing announcements. Stal.' OF THE iCayloii) "Greatest Fights of the Century" is a slightly ambitious.title for this male version of the routines per- formed twice on the show by dis- taff moppet Verna Raymond. Idea vented from .staging anv legiter i of teaming the two kids in a lit-- that has ever been made into a I ture show is, of course, a natural ffilm, Philco has been forced to I and the WiUiam Morris office, ' settle for some .shows that never which books the program, is con- fared well in their original Broad-' ydenng such a move- for the j «a.\ presentations Example is Christmas week .stanza. ! William Mc(:;ieer.v's "Parlor Story." I Lewis wound the show with his aired last Sunday (12i night. |extollont act, bringing in Geral- Despite the presence of a good ] dine DuBois to. vocalize a couple ca,st and the usual top production- of tunes. Finale was a natural direction of Fred Coe, the show' with "When My Baby Smiles at lacked punch because of its weak iVle " which was topped ofT neatly story. It was all about a journali.sm l^v Beilc, then Lester and then the protessor seeking to become prez i Richards kid, all togged out in top ol the university and running up ''ft. apeing Lewis' antics, against the political manipulations ' .: — of a newspaper publisher and the , "Critic-at-Lar«e's" discussion of state governor. Intertwined was a ."American Life Vs. American, morality theme about the children 'Films" on WJZ-TV Thursdav night simulcast tends to be an aiKho show with video added, ratlici than a video; slvowir.witli audio added. BOB REED AND HIS TALKING RADIO Producer - director:. S a u n d e r s , 'J'honias ■■■■■' ■ ' 20 Mins.: Thurs., 9:10 p.m. Sustaining M'NBK, Cleveland Bob Reed, sock radio draw here; parenth' had tele in mind vhen he prc.\. iHodueed : them. Wide sweeping : ButIhe show does make for okay chase scenes have, been almost, en^^ 'viewing and represents a ,good in- Urely eliminated, with most of the ' vestment for the bankroller In- action confined to scenes that can str.id ol the usual unrelated spots, be viewed willioiil c.\est 1,Tin on the the VVaUo fiim. which manufac- slaiul.iMl sm;ill-si/,pd video screen, tin es a glai e-elimmating lens lor show. Paul Iluber gave a nice read- all-out defenders as Francis Har- ing to his'role ol the governor and mon, vice-prexy of the Motion Pic- Walter Greaza was good as the tme Assn. of America, and Walter . conniving publisher, Richard Noyes Abel. As a result, there was little was okav as the college paper edi- i excitement on the show and less tor, but he looked a little young' Pe''''eptivcness. to be worrying about marriage.! Allen's major reservation toward Not too »iutli emphasis has been video sets, gels a chance to spot Supporting roles were played by U, S. films turned out to be a put on closeup- shots, since the ' three short commercials during the . Patricia Jenkins, Joan Gray and , minor comment on the opulence icowpoke.s still have to be seen on five minutes. That idea of inter- Wanda Lyon. i of Hollywood settings. After this I horseback rupting the fight just at its climax i Philco, for some unexplained was quickly demolished by both ' so far are carried onlv lo- lo run in a plug may bother some ' I'eason, chose to use filmed com-1 Harmon and Abel, the discu.ssion calh in N Y. which cuts dowii the viewers, but most can still be ex-' mercials last Sunday, and with i ■'■ijhsidcd into a tafty-pull. John of expected exhibitor an- pected to sit through that spot in HHle success. They presented Bert I Alason Brown, as moderator, was, to their being introed on I order to learn how the fight comes I Lytell and Bob Stanton in the . a-'> usual, sharp and destructively I usual dignified plugs for: the vari- 'Willy but could not succeed in turns his talents, as can be ex-j amount pected. to video. A fine tickler ot Uipalhy to their being, the kc\s, who warbles an vas\-to-' TV. NBC-TV's features service ;0Ut . . . ■ „,..'„■ - .- - - - „ ji ■ , , li.sten-to ballad. Reed does his department is now seeking dates 5>liow comprises entirely film . ous Philco items but neither theiefiSmg 1 he others into animation, usual topnotch job Paiticularlv for the series on the weh's affiliate <^^m apparently taken from old ^ film nor soundtrack quality was lint" IJroduction, incidentally, was ' ...... ... Qn the night good, TV directors .still haven't " marked improvement over tor- Strong on the repartee, he keeps his stations iungle leatures. stanza humming. As now presented on WNBT, the cauglit (7), a tiger had it out with Since he does .solo. 20-minutes is I pix have one serious drawback, a black pantlier and then a water about the maximum on video, for ; They're cut into every 15 minutes \ buCalo, Off-screen commentary camera angles must be shifted and for the insertion of a, Ane-minute too often was not cued to the ac- Changed to prevent screen bore-1 si)ot bv various participating spon- tion, sometimes tunning ahead and dom. In that respect, directorsors. It's probably a necessary sometimes behind. American So- Saunders Thomas kept the frames I way for the show to be paid for, ■ "ety for the Prevention of Cruelty moving, Ji/oiL, but it's too bad the web can't line; (Continued On page 4&) solved the problem ot matching a 1 ™er -session with camera switch- film's light intensity with that ol a , overs clicking on schedule. live show, and that stood out espe- ] cially on this show. , Albany-Mary Aileen Ranney, . , „ has been appointed director ot "Chevrolet Tele-Theatre's" pres-1 women's programs at WBOW in entation of Frank Tompkins' i Albany, succeeding Louise Benay, "Sham" on the NBC-TV web Mon- who resigned.