Variety (Mar 1949)

S2 TELEVISION REVIEWS Wedneeday, MatstK % 1949 SACKSTAGE WITH BARRY WOOD With Russell & Aura, Glgl DursM>n, ,- Kuests Producer: Wood Director: Kingman T. Moore Writer; Charles Spcer 15 IMins.; Tues., 10 p.m. HOUSEHOLD FINANCE CORP. CBS-TV. from N. Y. {LeVally, Inc.) "Backstage with Barry Wood" is the same 15-ininute show that CBS' CITY HAHi With John Crosson; At a y o r ; O'Dwyer, fuest ' 5 Mins., Sat., 7:10 p.m. RHODES PHARMACAL WPIX, N. Y. (O'Neil, Larson Sc MacMahon) This is a rather silly progi-am, carrying brevity to an extreme, that conjures up the "don't-sneeze- now-or-you'U-miss-it" bromide^ Idea is to spotlight civic officials for a capsiile interview on their TV ttrmerly ran'as a sustainer in t administrative contribs, with John the e^rly evening hours under! Crosspn, vet city hall reporter for the title of "Places. Please." Now j ^Jf^.^Ji,,^,- ^^^^^ ^ews, tossmg the that Household Finance Corp. has jj^y^^, o'Dwyer was the initial picked up the tab, the show has guest, answering in a couple been moved up to a more advan-1 minutes flat the 20-volume ques- tageous spot, Wood has replaced I tion: what have you done for the " ' city administration; and are you satisfied with what you've done? his former .sport shirt with a jacket and tie and his femme assistants have changed their sweaters for dressesi In that simple switch, however, the program has also taken on a more austere air with a consequent loss in the infor- mality it formerly had. Since the title is "Backstage," etc., the show Would be much better if the cast reverted to their previous ease of presentation HOUSE PARTY With Molly Picon,.JK!un Williams Director: Babett e IS Ming., Tuest^l^ p.m. HOROWIT%;afARGARETEN WJZ-TV, Molly fffcon, long a staple on the Yiddislr stage, who has found a niche for herself In the standard vauders and has appeared in such spots as the Grosvenor House. Lon- don, in her video preem for Horo- witz-Margareten Matzos has auto- matically confined herself to a Yid- dish clientele. Miss Picon is personable and talented and her special material is of the calibre that can please vir- tually every type of audience. But her lavish use of Yiddishisms makes it difficult for others to fol- low her, As far : ajS the , sponsor IS cpV'. cerned, it probably makes little dif- The camera had just begun to set terence whether he gets other types its sights on the Mayor when of listeners, inasmuch as the show Crosson cut in with "we're running short of time" and a quickie thank- you-come-again. There were a couple minutes to spare for Rhodes Phannacal's filmed Imdrim commercial—a drug, judging from the plug, that's anal- ogous to a "Duz does everything," and for Crosson's breathless revel* leader will tell everything—from approximately 7:11 to 7:13 p.m. Rose. With Wood in the role of a ^hat next week another civic pseudo-taleht discoverer, the pro- gram remains a logical Showcaser for young performers. : On the preem sponsored stanza (1) Bussell and Aura, dance team, terped a couple of very good impression- BYRON WADE AT HOME istie numbers Which should have wade, Sherry Speeth, guest evoked interest m any BroaawayJ producer-director: Saund«rs producers looking in. Gigi Dur- i Thomas ston, blues singer who has already played several N. Y. niteries, doubled with Wood on a neat rendition of "My Darling, My Darling" and pleased with two solos. Interspersed with the guest 15 Mins.; Thurs., 6:45 p;m. Sustaining . WNBK-TV, Cleveland People with unique hobbies is designed to plug its products for the coming Passover trade. Aiding Miss Picon is ; Alun; Wil- liams, who can spiel the dialect with a great deal of proficiency. He chimes in with song arid aids the eommercial pitches. The organ accompaniment is in- adequate, but the " living room set is good. The show isn't an ingenious presentation, appearing naive in projection.; Miss Picon's abilities transcend language barriers, but it isn't fully brought out here. Jose. ;i Tele Follow-up Comment I f »«t > t ♦ ♦ t-»»>»^^-»-»»»^^»»»»-^ > »-♦-♦•■♦■ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ * , ♦'»!»♦ ♦.♦-»»^»!; "The Druid Circle," on Philco much easier to take than when the ~ ' show preemed. Oh the night caught (1), Kenny it e l m a r as the schoolteacher demonstrated a good video person- ality and the talepted group of young performim oil the show now that they've beeii given some material, the^y can handle, im, pressed with their work. Cast changes from week to week but last Tuesday included singers .Eileen Stanley, Jr., protegee of the yesteryear headliner, Russell Arms and Beverly File; dancer Patty Adair; comic Buddy Hackett, and ventriloquist Walter. Walters. Television Playhouse Sunday (6) over NBC, was grade-A drama, as fine a dramatic tele presentation as one could wish. Smoothly adapted from the recent .lohn van Druten Broadway play; well cast (with Leo G. Carroll and Ethel Grilfies repeating their Broadway leads), and beautifully performed, it provided an absorbing hour of video.. Version was tauter and more successful than the legit counterpart, because it was less sprawling. Compression gave it 'more impact, and though it yias still-somewhat talky, it was always interesting. Story concerned two college kids in love, bedeviled by an embitter- ed professor whose own marital experience hadn't been at all haopy. Carroll, as the prof who hated youth, gave a fine perform- ance of the rigid reactionary, while Miss Griffies was priceless as his gossipy, shrewd, mother. Support- ing cast was excellent, with Elinor Randel and Jimmy Dobson, as the Of the falent on the "Ad- miral Broadway Revue" (Du- Mont), Marge and Gower Cham- pion, the dancers, last Friday strengthened their stature as stellar performers on the program. They did a roundelay to "Three Blind Mice," in dance, that showed imagination and execution. Otherwise, the .show had its spot- moments, especially in Mary talent. Wood carried on a running this stanza, Byron Wade brings be- commentarv with his three assist-1 fore the camera a guest with an ants (all beauts, incidentally) and outstanding hobby. It's an informal demonstrated an amiable person- chat in the Wade library, and in alitv Ian effort to bring into the interview Plugs for IIFC, in addition to i "its of news and oddities. Wade Wood's closing announcement, were on film. Tliey represented a good production job and should sell the sponsor's service .adequately to short-on-ready-cash viewers. Stal. I-.\DY OF THE MOUNTAIN ■^^Vith Barbvy ElU^n Rogers, Tommy Sands; John. Dunham, announcer Producer: Johnny Graff Director: Fred Freeland 15 Mins., Tucs.-Thurs., S:40 p.m. Sustaining WBKB, Chicago Ten-year-old Tommy Sands with guitar and a clear sweet voice teams tip with Barbry Ellen Rogers in a show that will please kids and grownups alike. Format uses mountain cabin, rustic setting and western songs in mellow combina- tion. ■ ,. ■ . Opening note is. good: camera sweeps: mountain .-range scenery slowly while voice of Miss Rogers is heard hauntingly in background. Sands is shown scrambling up slope to come upon cabin of mountain I stitute lady. Pair becomes acquainted and stanzas sit down outside cabin to strum guitars and Warble a la Burllves. Show closes with kid promising re- turn visit, Young Sands looks like a natural. His acting is trifle eager beaverish, however, even for kid audience. Costar Mis,s Rogers does creditable job of matching youngster in song style that is smooth and pleasant. Her easy manner gives authentic flavor to nature setting, but exce.s- sive makeup hurts illusion. Simple camera changes and stationary props make show good low-budg- eter for suppertime viewers;Mart. SPORTS SLANTS ■ ...' ' yn^' Bernie BracHcr, Albiert Wolff is Mihs.; Mon.j 8 p.m; Producer-director: W'a It? r K. Witherbee ■ • : WAVE-TV. Louisville [V: . . , „ , . This sports interview stanza make good video performers. Indemonstrates that video is several jumps ahead, of radio: when it comes to diihensioh, for the sports figures who are quizzed aboiit their professions or hobbies^ are invited to give a demonstration right there . . . before your eyes. That's better uses a "next door" boy, At times i than mertly hearing a discussion the gimmick approaches the obvi- | of rules, statistics, etc. ous, thus cutting down the pro-1 Week before, Bernie Bracher gram's effectiveness. | had hockey players from the local Stanza reviewed (2) dealt with I pro team as guests. Week of pro- the dollrcollecting hobby Of Mrs. J. l gram caught, his sport figure was a Dustman. Program developed mo- I local resident, Albert Wolff, recent ments of drag when Mrs. Dustman soldier, and a member of the had to reach off-camera for doll. Olympic team. He explained the In so doing-she-also-was-oiI-raikeJ,Ihree_types ^ weapons, the foil, , ,ty voung kids in love; Maiy Alice | McCarty's song-guitar parody, Moore and Philip Faversham, as ! Imogene Coca's satire on a loo- the sympathetic young couple, and I highly arranged singer of "Night Katherine Squire, as the prim .spin '""-^ n=„" ..nH m m.<:c Mnr-..,!.,'. A third camera would have eased 1 epee and'sabre the production problem. ' , .Wolff had a couple of chaps from his YMCA class give a fencing Set-wise, stage crew has an im- pressive .fire-side library scene. ■■■ Marie. . LINN SHELDON With Linn Sheldon, Vivian Rattray, Ann Morrie . Producer-Director: Jim Breslin 15 Mins.;. Wed. and Fri., 7:4S p.m. ROGERS JEWELRY CO. WEWS-TV, Cleveland Linn Sheldon, comic, songster and pantomimist, takes off with 15 minutes of fast programming, fea- turing a guest performer and series of pantomimes that con- one of the better video demonstration, quite colorful in their protective equipment. Makes a good video feature, but rather difticult for the cameras tc keep the fencers in camera range. At viewing caught, WAVE-TV camera and sound crew were on their toes. Hold. ster teacher, handling their assign- ments in great style. Scene of Dobson reading .aloud at the professor's order an inti- mate letter he had written his girl ^with the boy's tortured face, the girl's woebegone appearance and the professor's sadistic stare^ start- lingly revealed in do-seups^was a fine dramatic moment. So was the scene when the boy. told the professor off, and the rinoment when the kids are reunited. Di- rector' Fred Coe scored a bull's- eye with this one. : and Day" and in Miss McGarty'.s wine-tasting bit. Latter was really a version of an old Red .Skelton piece of material. Sid Caesar, the show's star, was effective in two spots despite the material. , This show, however, . is still one of the most imaginative pieces of pro- gramming in tele. But how can it lick that bugaboo of trying to turn out sock material every week'? "Lambs Gambol," as seen in its second edition Sunday (6) ov«r NBC, is still far' from a profes- sional production; in .fact, it was rather amateurish. There was no smooth continuity between num- bers; most of the skits were second grade, and the \yholc show didn't measure up to Sunday evening prime tele faro. Best part of Xhe ItarllThoTir-was-Joan-Edwai'ds-whose- "Toast of the Town" unfolded an- other one. of its standardized vaudeo layouts on CBS Sunday night (6). Several turns were top- notch, but the format of this ses- sion has become too rigid to spark any new excitement. Guest star Charles Laughton's recitation of the difficult and unfamiliar prolog of Shakespeare's "Henry V" was a bold. and unusual item for this type of show. Frank Fontaine, in a return booking, scored with a frank impression of Ed Sullivan's deadpan emceeing, ^hich ' the lat-: ter picked up for a nice-laugh, and his-caricature-of-a-sweepstake_win-_ Latter half of the show ' personality and showmanship stood i ner _ out sharply in contrast. Her song | sagged badly with both the De'cas- rouline was dressed up nicely in a (ro Sisters (3), and drummer, Jack flavorspme, sentimental sketch Powell stretching their acts way dedicated to her uncle., Gus Ed- beyond their material. This was wards, and her .songs and per.son- jn contrast to the fast pushoff given ahty clicked. . lo ^how by Bill Graves, Negro- I The "Minuet" sketch, starring . terpen and his two hoofing kid-s, I Otto Kruger, was well acted and ! aged about six anad three, had some charm, but it was e.s.sen' OHIO STATE U. PREPS SECOND TV SEMINAR Columbus, March 8. Ohio State Univ. second tele- vision seminar dedicated to pro- I moling television as an adverti j medium gets under way I tially stilted and old hat. There was also some bad tele direction or camera work here, with studio audience getting glimpse of the actor long before the home viewer, and shots of the guillotine in the background ■ not always cleanly His pantomimes of Eddie Cantor and Johnny Mercer in program caught (2). were neatly executed. In latter stint Sheldon was assisted, by Vivian Rattray. Guest perform- er was pianist Ann Morrie. i Sheldon mars his performance i with an occasional slip into corn-! fed dialog that's not in keeping i with act. Camera work moved i entire range from good closoups i in Cantor series to poor frames in ! program _ _ Johnny Mercer routine. Program (following speakers: Thomas Get has nice set that lends sparkle ' " "Ted Steele Show" Sunday ijiihti^i via DuMortt, has been ttansr formed from a hiaifihour fnusical; prbgram into another vaudeo of- fering, arid the switch is for the; better: On the night caught fO, handled. A comedy sliit, "BabieiT^S^?"*,«^^^ ^'''f' PY^% Must Play," featuring Senator Ed I ^*?fit^4i!®"'''*'^* ^}™'' moting television as an advertising fe^PrX ^err^/^rh'^^a i ^ • way here i its nioments h.it WpHv rnrnv ' "i''" ^eJ^t more lime for Sicele to March 17 at the Fort IIa.yes and i siap^t?S^"^Xe Verdrf^n^^^^ 'I 'JAM ij lie Verdi'ft ' *'TiiPoiTi ■ . Chittenden hotels. Seminar is ; x^i'x Expert" skit also was'<veak. i ""^^ ^'o*" '^'""^^ quests to sponsored by OSlTs college of j The three-"girl" comm^rtia'l setup '^K^.K [Commerce in cooperation with ad- vertising organizations in Ohio. Dr. Kenneth Dameron is con-. fei'enee chairman. also .seemed rural. Guests coitiprised Delora Bueno, who did a neat selling job on some ' ^T^: I Brazilian folk tunes via an in- Tcxaco Star Theatre again be- fiiatiating pcr.sonality; Caren j .Mars' who Richard A. Borel, general man-:'•''''"*'■ t'>e Falace of the Vaudeo cir-]'V^.^''^*'!.. erstwhile Hollywoodian, ager of WBNS will preside it -i ■ ^^'f' Milton BerJe's return 1 "'^o thrushed a couple of pop which will inrliifle ih'p i ^ lour-week absence. A .series : so"Ks well; and comedienne Bibi wiiiui will intiuae me of topnotch acts combined with two i Osterwald, with some lowdown 1 iplnriii vipo nrociHont a ^'^'^^t'^'^'^'' that have been familiar !f;!ng»ng. Program's pacing was I Lelman, vice-president ot the A., to burly fans for many years com- 'ine and Ihc camera work, while i bined to give the show pace and i too clipped at some points, in- Morfc. 'Gettelman Brewing Co., Milwau- I kee; William E. THE STORY LADY 15 Mins.; Mon., 4:45 p.m. Sustaining : WRGB-TV, Schenectady General Electric Co. television station h{is reported excellent Viewer reaction since the. program was introduced last fall. It carries ■more of the highly desirable- home_ participation appeal : than most local shows here, children outside the studio being asked to draw a , „ . .x, ■ - picture of the yarn spun by • «o"S .session with generous re "Tommy Atkin" (not otherwise ''"''■^t ditties for oldsters anc Identified) and the three best re-' J'oimgstcrs. cpiving an invitation to sketch at' Bonner registers well on cameras WRGB the following week. and his voice quality and piano While "The Story Lady" is nar i P'?^'"'' '=3"""^ CARL BONNER I ^'^'^'tis'ng director. General Electric ' 13 Mins.: Mon., 8:15 p.m. i - G'l.oige L. Moskovics, man- I Producer-director: Burt Blackwell ^^'^^ development for i WAVE-TV, Louisville I television, and E. V. Flanigan, j Currently playing a local night. ?lTr,^^^1f^ director, W.SPD-TV, 'r«- 1 spot, and doubling on an a.m. spot! l^''*'' ^"1 president ol the Ohio , on WAVE'S AM station, this lad is 9^ Broadcasters. ' a triple-threat entertainer, as he Seminar is held in. conjunction includes this Monday night yideo ^^'th the Advertiiiing and Sales spot to round out his vocalistic: Pioiiiotion Conference; March 17 activities. "He's discovered at the i and 18. Theme. of-the conference piano, with a friendly greeting in is "Adveiii.sing in a Buyer's rhyme to teeoff a relaxed, cheer- Market." Burnett,_ Jr., ad-; sparkle. Bcrle inade audience con tact immediately .with a series of gags and continued hi.s impact with his antics with the Four Moroc- cans, billed as the Gauchds on this .show. Rest of the talent were in the eluded a few novel effects for good results. Bankroller Signs For 'DuMont Kindergarten' name category, comprising | Billy Gilbert, Robert Alda, Vir-; ginia O'Brien and Pat Rooncv. , "DuMont Kindergarten," da.y- Because oi time limitations, lime .show on WARD IN. Y.) ^'f, O'Brien did but one , which has attracted more publicity ^pT^rrifrt J aAL '•'"y other program on the tedm.e di.dnt give either a chance ^station's a.m. log. finally tagged a rating, three kids are drawing their idea of the central theme, Cameras rove from the Story Lady to the effortless. He has a trace of Irish brogue, which sells, and probably WEWS' 'Distaff' : : Cleveland. March 8, This city's most elaboi'ate daily Berle, to build, but they got their chance I in skits that followed. Alda con- , tribulod to the Foreign Legion skit, I the stand-in number and the heart- i warming and nostalgic tap turn with the venerable Pat Rooiiey. i naturally, supplied the i sponsor this week. Prophylactic Toothbrushes .signed for a par- ticipating, spot on the ..show .stailr ing March 22 through the Lambert & Feasley ad agency. Show features Pat Meikle as a his entertaining tours in Europe I through-Friday program .showing video performance is WEWS' comedy fipark," donning "femitiie | TV baby-sitter. Miss Meikle and Distaff" a one-hour Monday- ' ^or the Rooncy sequence. Gil- Hal Cooper write and produce it and Australia have :contributed to youthtul artist.s., and to a group of 1 a ccrUun definite wholesomcne-ss •1i'X!l"'i^?_''^^^"A?Si..Severa; young-,,,„ti -good follow" approach, all sters aI.so stand around the nar- rator. At the end of the telecast, the Story Lady inspects and briefly comments on each drawing; she also gives them a prize and a 'club pin. Program should hold projecting as .solid video assets. Hold; Omaha— WOW - T y broke i ground this week for- Its hew , , _-- interest; building which stands adjacent to , for children under 10 or perhaps a 502 feet TV tower. Building will i Western 12. Perliaps a little parental direc-, cover quarter block area, is two ' Thwing Hall, and Mi\s. Zelda Wyatt' nafi'iH^I!.^^^^^^^ tion may be necessary or advi.sable, stories high and syill be put into | Schulke, flower arrangement and are the key Com^ the latest in cooking, fashions shopping hints, decorating and gardening. Featured performers include Mrs. Alice Weston, formerly of WWJ, cooking; Dorothy Fuldheim, news analy.-^t, shopper's service; Arnold Davis, gardening; Ophelia D, Steed, assisting dietician at Reserve Uhiversity's berl's dialog with Berle was fair, his work in the sketches showed up best. ■ for DiiMont. "Schoolhouse," which .stai tf-d as somewhat of a fiasco on DuMont Tuesday nights, has improved con- siderably during the last several weeks; Better production mount- , ing, including Danny White's orch *\ to replace the former single piano, a sprlghtlier script and some im CALLAHAN'S CROSLEY SWITCH Cincinnati, March 8. Walter Callahan, vet exec of the Crofiley Broadcasting Corp.. has switched from radio to television. He became an assistant to Marshall Terry, veepee in charge of video,. after serving as assistant general sales manager of WLW for the past 18 months. here arid there; feature is in no ' commis.sio'n as sooH^as it is finish-i table settings. " "Sine DnMn^i'TniTZ^''';*-^!^' , ?^<.".fJ^Tn The sense a thriller. ^aco. .! ed. Equipment is akiving daily. 1 Producer-'director is Betty Cope. IZe''\^^'b^t&^o%ev^'il^^y ■ of sTlel repres : representation.