Variety (August 1949)

26 RADIO REVIEWS *HE ETHEL MERMAN SHOW With MIm Merman, Leon Jtnney Allen Drake, Ethel Br^lnf Charles Webster, Santos Ortefa Producer-Srector"Ken MacGregor ' Producer: Ralph Rose Writers: Will Glickman, Joe Stein | Directors: Rose, Frank Woodruff SO Mins.; Sun., 9:30 p. m. Sustaining . WNBC, from New York MAKE BELIEVE TOWN With Virginia Bruce, Paul Dubov, Colleen Collins, Rita Lynn, Ken Christy, Sylvia Simms; announ- cer, Johnny Jacobs Writers: Virginia Mullen, William Alland 30 Mins.; Mon.-Fri., 3:30 p.m. Wcdnctday, August S, I949 DAMON RUNYON THEATRE (*‘Blood Pressure") With John Brown, Sheldon Leon- ard, Larry Dobkin, Luis van Rooten, Sandra Gould Producer: Vern Carstensen Director: Richard Sanville Writer: Russell Hughes 30 Mins., Sat.. 2:30 p.m. Sustaining WOR, N. Y. , Damon Runyon’s colorful yarns fier share of attention with a musi- This half-hour series should about Broadway characters and hangers-on are the subject of this series, which bowed with mm;, irom 1 - - . Ethel Merman as a Broadway Sustaining personality has achieved more than CBS, from Hollywood ner share of attention with a musi- | This half-hour seri aiiLFUiu comedy background of please the distaff listeners with a, - . ... , j.v, fioing back a most 20 years. Thus * u « * new senes, which bowed with ft seemed a bright idea to star | number of techniques proven to Pressure" Saturday (30). her in a first-person situational entice the femmes. There’s a ^ The characters have been trans- comedy airer. The execution is heavy emphasis on the glamor of formed to radio fairly reliably tfnd something else again. Chalk this, Hollywood, with references to pntertainin^gly, with their col- UD as a missout. L* j loquial,, flavorsome speech and Here is a show whose dramatic ; stars, noted niteries and the somewhat melodramatic, theatrical verbiage on its preem was nothing i "lights, camera, action" scenes activities. Sometimes the scripting more than a scant framework for ; that film fans dote on. There’s a | style and dialog are a little too Mi.ss Merman’s vocalisthemcs. It is | patent dose of romance with a colloquial and cute, but for the a script with a show business back- romance wiin a schmaltz ground, whose characters include ' 8ood hardworking girl getting her make an engaging half-hour, a male pianist friend, a floor-mop j man. And there’s the draw of ’ Opening show was well directed tycoon who is a prospective angel ; actress Virginia Bruce introing the ’ and performed, to augur well for lor a show to star Miss Merman, . narratinc hPtwPPn thP <^^0 series. Open was interspersed plus sundry others. In between, narrating between the ^ several public service pitches, on this first show. Miss Merman . acts. , fpj. Savings Bonds, the police PAL sang such numbers as “Some En-j Each. broadcast presents an in -1 league and Runyon’s own pet, the chanted Evening," "Big Wonderful, dividual drama, which should get! cancer drive. World” and, in her finale, the j the housewives in the listening Opener was an amusing yarn Inevitable “No Business Like Show habit without the drawback of about a bullying tough-guy, a dice Business," which she did in “Annie missing any action in case they cheat and strong-arm man. who Get Your Gun." Ostensibly the [ skip a day. On Monday’s (1) preem,! scares the mob frantic, but who program is supposed to parallel i story was that of a high-pressure knuckles under to the frail femme Miss Merman’s career. producer, supposedly resting in a who is his wife. John Brown, play- The idea, also, is to give Miss hospital but actually tied up on ! ing Broadway, the narrator-actor Merman a chance to be flip, brash j a battery of phones as he preps | who will figure in all the episodes, and generally consistent with the 1 a new pic. Name actress he wants j was good in his role. Sheldon Leon- character that she has created for j for the production has walked out! ard, as the big bruiser. Rusty herself in the theatre. But it isn’t on him, but fortunately he falls ! Charlie, was excellent, and Sandra in love with his Swedish-born j Gould made her brief bit as the nurse and inks her to a long-term wifd tell. Bron. contract both as his wife and star I of his pix. Strictly from Cin-, derella, but the stuff that soapers QUORUM CALL are made of. " ** so much the failure of Miss Mer- man to get over personally—de- spite her invariable off-pitch sing- ing, which she even kids herself. The fault lies, simply, in that there just isn’t any show. And the supporting people, consequent- ly, suffer, too. Kahn. MEET CORLISS ARCHER With Janet Waldo, Irene Tedrow, ^ „ Fred Shields, Sam Edwards, | roles, etc. Acting of Paul Dubov s /\. r. ui lj. siaiiun ueam: Hans Conried; John Hiestand, ; as the dynamic exec who succumbs into the Democratic listening audL announcer j to love and Colleen Collins as the cnee with this half-hour series f eript Supervisor: F. Hugh Herbert j Svensk nurse was good. Miss Bruce transcribed in Washington and roducer: Tom McAvity ' handled the hnstecc nhnra uraii neu/n frt wr^PT. ea/>h wooir riom SO Mins. Sun., 9 p.m. ELECTRIC LIGHT & COS. CBS, from Hollywood (N. W. Ayer) aic iiiiiuc ui. ; R*P- Barratt O’Hara, moderator Scripting, while hokey, worked Producer-director: Paul Green in some authentic details of the I'^tns., Sun., 4 p.m. trade, such as banks not w'anting LABOR’S LEAGUE FOR POLITI- to finance a comedy, tempera- CAL EDUCATION mental talent complaining about "CFL, Chicago . . Chi’s A. F. of L. station beams handled the hostess chore well, flown to WCFL each week, Dem. although her part was scripty and Congressmen talk of their bills and POWER i weighted with cliches. Bril. projects; exchange friendly pats on the back, and do some fence mend- ing via the airwaves HOW’S BUSINESS? w\(. w. /xyKT} I ii/wi.'ri —Program opens and closes with Succeeding the “Earn Your Va- 1 Commerce Secretary Charles , the ringing of the Congressional I Sawyer. Senator Paul Tlniivl oc! ! ciiwim/\v>irkrt VvaII cation" giveaway show as summer replacement for Helen Hayes’ “Electric Theatre," “Meet Corliss Archer” returns to the CBS net as a breezy comedy concoction for easy hot weather consumption. Of lightweight construction, this show skips brightly along its groove of amusing characterizations and comedy situations. Scripters occa- Sawyer, Senator Paul Douglas, Theodore Yntema 30 Mins.; Sun., 1:30 p.m. Sustaining NBC, from Chicago summoning bell. Moderator Bar- ratt O’Hara, likewise a U. S. Rep- resentative, then reads the roll call of Chicago Congres.smen, and calls , upon several to deliver reports on This special series of five “Uni- pending legislation, versity of Chicago Round Table” ' „ Program caught dealt with the hroAHractc ic t Hoover Commission findings on oadcasts is tackling some of the : federal expenditures. Cong. Wil- aiLuatiUiid. OCTipitTrs OCCa- I tough problems being discussed in liam Dawson argued earnestly that sionally err in trying to punch a j Washington and by the nation gen- Republicans weren’t the only ones snapper across too obviously, but 1 erally. Produced bv NBC in mnn ' wanted to trim expenses, show generally doesn’t strain in L„Hnn j Cong. Sid Yates, one of Washing- getting at the funny bone; I Secretary of Com- ' ton’s better golfers, described a Opening stanza (31) introduced ' *”erce Charles Sawyer, the airer ; golf match with Sen. Robert Taft. Archer family with Janet | deals with questions such as: Are Tenor of show — to present Waldo, as Corliss, standing out as [ we facing a depression? What ^®8islation—was ade- the super-serious adolescent. Yarn should be done to expand business Q u a t e 1 y maintained. Speakers revolved around the efforts of activity? What’s the future for the showed a minimum of bias against Corliss’ father (Fred Shields) and small businessman? What’s behind R^Pu^iican opposition by stressing Doy friend (Dexter Franklin) to : the world trade crisis? affirmative aspects of their own wean her away from her latest I On the opener, in addition to rather than getting into per- whim to be an artist. All hands Secretary Sawyer, the issues were tonalities and name-calling, played skillfully with Hans Conried mulled by Sen.’ Paul Douglas and ' “Quorum Call” could be Im- turning in a firstrate bit as a high- | Theodore Yntema, veepee of Ford P^’u^ed by lifting the heavy atmos- brow art instructor. Sketch, un -1 Motors. Discussion was frequently mutual deference and fortunately, wound up a bit limply confusing, as it covered some tech- lowing in favor of a lighter treat- after sustaining a crackling pace nical economic subjects and com-' P^^ut. Likewise inserting some of 1 for most of the way. ; plex business cycle theories. Too humorous side of Washington Plu^s for the utility company I often the participants were more would help to balance the for- ' ‘re dignified. Herm. 1 interested in making their points Mart. with each other than in explaining REMEMBER THE DAY With Martha Deane; Dick Willard. 45 Mins., Fri. (29), 10:15 a.m. Participating WOR, New York As a once-a-week feature on her them to listeners untutored in the jvf an on thp papiw intricacies of fiscal policies. wwu T”r FARM However, there was enough Ghuck Acree, emcee; Reggie agreement on several points to ^ S’®*®' . various guests; George make it clear that the participants 1 announcer feel the U. S. is not headed for a ,Acree, Georgene O’Don- £ 1 A. • - . tIAll Monday-l^iday transcribed airer,! depression, but is merely witness- * Martha Deane, WOR’s women’s i iPg a recession. Also pointed up fX O’Donnell commentator, is offering her list- 1 was the difference between the ad- c , , ** eners a nostalgic series of 45-min- ministration’s pump priming ap- mdL* # * tite flashbacks to the years im- [ proach and the curtailed federal x^***^*^® mediately following the end of 1 expenditures policy advocated bv Farm" Is an audi- World War I. The first of the , the Ford topper. ence participation show originating programs following the memory Despite its shortcomings series ®*P®”"™®Ptal farm. motif was broadcast last Friday ' should help listeners clarifv their Pr®Y‘o«sly heard only in the mid- (29), Titled “Remember the Day,” I views on a number of national half-hour airer the senes has been broken into' sues, such as taxes, wage boosts' Mutual net Saturday TAiif* CAcrmAnfc 4 .. r ^ Ac a ciicfoiviAt* K««4 MM t <1 A CT i four segments with the remaining i and aid to farmers shows scheduled for Aung. 5 and 19. • With Miss Deane as narrator, the ! FOREST Bril. 15 Mins., Mon.-thru-Sat., 7 p.m. Initial shot faded back to the sign- Ing of the armistice in 1918 and TEN EYCK HOTEL was keynoted by recordings of; WPTR, Albany tunes popuar at that time. Tail (30) as a sustainer, but Quaker Oats picks up the tab as of Aug. 27. Emcee Chuck Acree frames his queries around such bucolic teasers as “Do Holsteins give more milk than Jerseys?,” name an agri- cultural state whose erops rank buii4^o ai iiiai iiiiic. 1 ail ' L^istenable, relaxing dinner soybeans and wheat, and end of the broadcast was devoted music emanates from a Hammond similar stumpers. Successful con- to 1919 and also featured songs organ in the Empire Room of the Instants carried off awards rang- that were favorites then. On the Ten Eyck hotel. Albany, on nightly ‘*11? from $100 in cash to fishing whole. Miss Deane provided her broadcasts by A1 Forest, who was reels and steak knives, listeners with some enjoyable ■ **1 the console at the Ritz theatre Format was a breezy oldies that throughout the years *“ j -j-- •• . f--* > -- have retained ‘their original flavor. Besides the platters she al.so of- fered somed reminiscent chatter i neat effects in programs which pointed up the changes that i varied. ants’ progress, listeners al.so have have taken place since the early Unfortunately, Forest had to a chance to vie for a vacuum *20’s. compete with clattering dishes. Ef- cleaner by mailing four-line jingles Show is MI.S.S Deane’s creation feet would likewi.se be enhanced if for Acree to toss at studio guests, and Dick Willard, in addition to his the announcing were done from the On the whole It’s a meritorious an.iouncing. also lent a helpful Empire Room rather thah by re- program that packs a wide appeal hand in the proceedings. Re -1 mote control. Room’s fine food to rural audiences, yet it is brisk mainder of the series will be de- j and beautiful atmosphere are enough to capture a slice of urban voted to the Roaring Twenties. | plugged. Jaco. i dwellers. Giib. CHANCE OF A LIFETIME With Janie Ford, John Reed King; Kenneth Roberts, announcer Director: Charles Harrell Producer: Bob Jennings 30 Mins:; Sun., 9:3U p.m. Sustaininf ABC, from N. Y. Measured in terms of its give- aways dimensions, “Chance of a Lifetime” rates as one of the big- gest shows on the air. And there’s hardly any other measuring rod applying to this type of airer. Show slugs hard with another stagger- ing array of prizes ranging from a pittance of a couple of hundred dollars to a $25,000 completedly furnished home. Not much pro- gram finesse is present or needed with all this loot dangling before dialers who w’ant their gambling instinct satisfied. Under this show’s system of shoveling out the gifts, studio par- ticipants have to pick out from an electrical board three letters which ring either a bell or a buzzer. If it’s a bell, the prizes soar into heavy coin; if it’s a buzzer, the prizes are more moderate, but still hefty. On the iinitial show, one out of the four participants was a home listener who was contac^d via telephone. After selecting their first three letters, the par- ticipants are given a chance to gam- ble their previous winnings against a grand jackpot prize in a 10-sec- ond race to ring up another bell on the board. Like other giveaways shows, it’s virtually impossible for a partici- pant to miss winning a good share of the giveaways. The initial brainteasers are geared to the I. Q. of the average dialer. In order to win the jackpot, however, dialers would have to know for example, the technical name of a two- humped camel which, of course, narrowly cut down the chances of winning. As eiqcee, John Reed King con- ducts the quiz in an atmosphere of near-hysteria. He whips up audi- ences with shout, howls and a style of laughing that’s usually heard on “Inner Sanctum” But virtually anything goes on the show and King’s approach fits the clime. Vocalist Janie Ford delivers the show’s theme song in a non-hysteri- cal manner. Currently, show is sustaining but Bruner-Ritter, jewelers, pick up the tab beginning Sept. A. Herm. EXPENSE ACCOUNT - FRANK FARRELLi With Farrell: Herbert Hoover; Ted Malley, announcer 15 Mins.; Sat., 7 p.m. Sustaining WOR. N. Y. WOR, N. Y., has pacted Frank Farrell, N. Y. World - Telegram reporter, to give a weekly spiel on government spending. Idea is good, and the series shapes up as eminently worthwhile, even if the opening session Saturday (30) was more polemic than reporting. Farrell’s first several programs will be based on the recent Herbert Hoover report for streamlining various government bureaus in the name of economy and efficiency. Opener was therefore largely ex- pository, explaining what the Hoover Commission was, its mem- bers, its .scope, the need of it, etc., before getting down to the busi- ness of discussing excessles in gov- ernment organization. Farrell speaks clearly, eagerly and simply, in appealing, man-of- the-street fashion. Occasionally his enthusiasm for his cause makes him stutter or fluff, but otherwise he’s definitely okay. He got off an occasional good phrase, as when insisting on “whittling down the Washington swindle sheet.” He’s strongly back of the Hoover Report, giving both it and the former President great praise for their aim in saving the taxpayer $3,000,000,000 a year in waste and inefficiency. Government organiza- tion is disordered, ineffectual, Farrell claims; a thorough reor- ganization is imperative. Ex-President Hoover, in a tran- scribed special mes.sage, commend- ed the .series, to give it added stature. If Farrell sticks to re- porting the facts. In.stead of his occasional preachment, it will be an excellent scries. Bron. THE FIRST HUNDRED YEAbs W ith Barbara Ellera. Sam EdwlJS Joseph Kearns. Myra Marsh. iS BenadareL Earle Ross; anno^ cer, Owen James Producer: Dick Woollen Writer: Jean Holloway 30 Mins.; Thurs., 8:30 p.m. Sustaining ABC, from Hollywood This is another situation comedv based on the foibles of young mar Tied couples. While it doesn^t reach the level of “Blondie" or Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” it is somewhat better than “Ma and Janie” and “My Good Wife ” two shows in the same genre which NBC preemed this summer Humor reprised a lot of the old standbys of similar stanzas, but Jean Holloway worked up an ef- fective script which cut back and forth from the bride’s-home to the groom’s abode on the morn of the wedding 'Typically, the gal won- dered whether her future hubbv would snore while the latter wor- ried that his spouse might sleep with her hair in lethal curleh Typically, the garrulous fathers were sympathetic toward the young man “facing a life sentence* while the mothers were weepy over “losing my darling child” And typically, there was a young brat sister who thinks that cere- monies are “corny" and that sen- timent “stinks." Miss Holloway made good use of change of pace, inserting several flashbacks of tender romantic scenes. These gave the airer an added dimension of reality and were generally better scripted than the comic dialog. Acting of Bar- bara Filers and Sam Edwards as the young couple was slick and the supporting roles, although caricatured, were capably handled. Musical bridges displayed little originality, one obvious cue being a few bars of the “Wedding March” played with a trombone wha-wha fof comic effect. A minor tech- nical flaw was that the level on the audience mike was too low,' which made the spectators’ laugh- ter seem thin. Bril. AND YET NOT FREE With Arnold Moss, Everett Sloan# Writer: Alvin Boretz Producer: Ted Hudes Director: Mitchell. Grayson 15 Mins.; Wed. (27), 10:15 p.m. CITIZENS COMMITTEE AN DIS- ^ PLACED PERSONS WMCA, N. Y. Prepared by the Citizens Com- mittee on Displaced Persons, “And Yet Not Free" is another in a series of tran.scribed drama which urges Congress to re-ex- amine its existing DP entry act. While most of the salient reasons why DP’s should receive more con- sideration is contained in this Airer, the stanza is not quite as forceful as the Committee’s pre- vious documentaries on this sub- ject. Deficiencies of the law are brought out In a di.scussion be- tween a government DP camp worker and an Inmate. Script is marked by frequent references to the 1620 Mayflower Pact, the Constitution’s preamble as well as a Lincolnian quotation, in order to show America was founded on a policy of admitting free men. How- ever, in citing historical prece- dents, the program tended to neg- lect more pressing contemporary issues. Recording of President Truman's voice, taken from one of his ad- dresses to Congress, helped sum up the current situation. He branded the plight of DP’s a.s a “world tragedy” and added that these people would bring “strength and energy to the nation” were proper legislation for their admit- tance passed. Arnold Moss and Everett Sloane topped the small cast while John Gart’s original music formed effective bridges. Glib. MUSIC MEMORANDUM With Frederick Lloyd 9:00 a.m., 15 mins., Mon. -Ihru-Fri. Sustaining KOMO, Seattle This record-show strip with Frederick Lloyd (Lloyd Bloom) is a pleasant entry in the morning sweepstakes for hausfrau listening, lifted out of the routine with a judicious use of verse as tune 'in- troductions. Music is chiefly on the nostalgic and ballad side, and mid- way Bloom fills in with program note# on other KOMO programs. A nice Job all around. BREAKFAST GANG With Mel Veniner, Polly Lawrence. Lyle Bardo Orch, others Producer-Director: Mel Ventner 30 Mins.; Mon.-thni-Fri.; 7:15 a.m* Participating. KFRC, San Francisco t The technique of devising a pro- gram acceptable to early hour rural listeners is a challenge usually fumbled by producers, who generally either over-corn (heir of- ferings or else gravitate to extreme opposite direction to give dry-a.s- dust copy that leaves the field oi potential listeners completely cold. In the “Breakfast Clang” show, . enough of straight entertainment, ' with overtones of comedy, i.s com- I bined with plain but u.seful data to be provocative of habit-forming listening. Unsolicited mail reac- tion to program from small towns and farms indicates a repeat auflt- ence that responds to the ^asy, un- rehearsed material that is provided with the live mu.sic by the l2-picce Lyle Bardo combo, some of it v® i (Continued on page 35)