Variety (February 1950)

26 RADIO REVIEWS Wedneidayf Febniary 22^ 1950 RUDY VAULEU i^duQers; Cliarles Kltis» Hal Block Director: Ed Han^dm^ Participkiinf SO Mins 4 11:15 a. m. WOR, N, Y.^ Rudy Vallee’s ent^ into the disk-jockey field provides a some- what different angle to the multi- tude of deejay* shows. Vallee’s appeal lies primarily with the old- er femtnes. This major b.o, lure of the late ’20s and early ’30s has a somewhat different approach to disk-jockeying. - Both his music arid his chatter Ayill not keep youngsters interested^ His banter, still remihtsceht of the years when he megaphphed '’Hi-H6, Every- body, v will have a ndstalglc ap- peal to the girls who can reniem- per hanging around the bandstand at the tailehd of the Prohibition era. y'V-' Vallee’s initial stanza was vir-, tually a prospectus of what he plans to do on subsequent install- ments. - He promised bright chat- ter on a multitude pf subjects, in- cluding record reviews, what makes a disk click, -reviews of bo()ks, guests and various items ranging from trivia to Weighty matters* He made with a few samplings, such as giyihg the story behind the writing of ‘Til Take YOU Honie Again,r Kathleen,” followed by a syrupy rendition of same. He spoke lyrically of “The Wind Is Green/..* even reprising .this disk at the concluding moments of^ the show, but during the ' discourse of this platter he brought in the name of EGA-Victor recording exec Huga Winterhalter in a manner not in the ; highest taste because of the burlesque Teutonic accents he put oil that monicker/ Vallee has passed through a multitude of radio cycles, from his early days with the Pleischmann yeast show to his. later attempts at situation comedy. Disk-jockey- ing is something neyr to him. and this time he appears to be •super- imposing a line of chatter popu- lar two decades ago on a modern- day medium. This Won’t get him any new audiences, but should at^ tract his old fans; Vallee will transcribe the pro- grani when out. Of -New York, otherwise he’ll do it live. Jose. AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL With IT* S. Army Band« Yale School of Music, U« of Mich. Music Dept, Sarah Lawrence College Miisic Dept., Queens College Mu- sic Dept, Eastman School of Music, National Orchestral Assn,, Hunter College Music Dept, N. Y. U. Music Dept, N. Y. Fedr eration of Music. Clubs, Compos- ers Forum, Columbia U. Music Dept,, various soloists, groups and choruses, etc. Supervising producer: Seymour N. Siegel Miisto, director: Herman Neuman 11 days, from Feb. 12 ■WNYC -N.'-Y;-' ■ WNYG’s llth annual American Music Festivalj running II days and Gohcludihg today (Wed.), is proof of many things. Festival is no longer a parochial experiment, but a city, state or even national event. With: pyer 120 programs distinguishing the occasion,: the festiyal Was hot only a revelation of, but a tribiite to, the Wealth of talent (composing. as Well as per- forming) to be found in present- day America/ / In the current festival, over 70 original compositions had their ftret performances. Soihe Were by well-known composers. Event has Assumed such proportions that 20 of the programs., emanated from concert auditoriums, like Carnegie or Town Hall. At least 100 musi- cal groups, schools, colleges or clubs .participated^ This year an unusually laj^e number of put-of; town schools took part, such as Yale, Michigan, Eastman music de^ partments. Participants crossed color lines,, racial lines, in all spheres of mu-: sic, pop and longhair. Anything from symphony to jazz had its say. America’s / all r too - seldom - heard classics had further hearings, while young artists had a chance to show the world as well as them? selves. Festival is the fullest-scale hearing or sounding board that an American composer or performer can get anywhere. It is something any American can be proud of, as refiitatioh that America is rather than cultural. HOW SECURE THESE RIGHTS? (“A Primer of Soapegogtlsm’O With Paul MoGrath, Sidney Pkul, Abbe Lewis, Norman Rose. Guy Repp, Mary Jane Hlgby, Dkvid Kerman, others N:' Producer-dHrector: Howard Pbllllps Writer:- Raphael Hayes 30 Mins., Tueis., 9:30 p.m. Sustaining WMCA, New York New York indie has followed Its “New Blood” series^ which under- lined the critical blood bank situa- tion in the city, with an equally worthy stanza, on civil rights. The kickoff broadcast T u e s d a y (14) dealt with race and religious prej- udice in children. In the first scene a father said, ‘-Sure our kid doesn’t like to play With Negroes. But can I fight instinct?’’ Remain- der Of the broadcast spoke on that issue; presehting a variety of facts to prove that youngsters are not born With ideas of V. bigotry,. but instead absorb them urtconsciou^y from people around them. ; Program showed how a father’s whispered commeht, “We’d be bet- ter off With a xyhite inaid,” leaves its scar on young mindsi It re- lated hoW a teacher found a girl “explaining” her failures by blam- ing a Catholic classmate; how bias disrupted an otherwise well-run school. And it: made the telling point that prejudice not only hurts the innocent, but isolates and liar-: rows the intolerant. ProductionWise the broadcast made use of periodic calls on f scientist to expose the falsenessi of race-sUpremacy concepts. Arid it punctuated v dramatic sequences With riewi versions of old nursery rhymes to get qyer' its message of equal rights for all. Unfortunately, the airer suffered from covering too much ground, rath^er than cori- centrating its fire on one or two r a c i S t Ideas. Also, its approach tended to be too schoolroomish. it had its -greatest emotipnal Impact in one segment when the voice of a cryirig inf ant was heard and the narrator asked, “What instinctive prejudice is that child expressing? crass t None. It’s no different from that of hungry Children all over the NIGHT SHIFT WITH RAYBURN AND FINCH With guests Producer; Ward Byron Director: Robert Greiner 60 Mills.; Sat., 9-10 p* m. Sustaining ABC, from N. Y. Comes evening and Gene Ray-* burn and Dee Finch aren’t the cutups on this ABC hpur that they are in the cool Of mbrning (6-9i30 a, m.) on WNEW, N. Y.They’re a far more conservative pair; but witlf an equally good show full oT tasteful) well-selected recor^^^ Team got its start on WNEW and this hew full hour “shot, on ABC takes oyer from Bob Crosby, giving them their first network Opportunity:: It’s likely to pi'pye a ^Winner, although it’s bucking some good musical shows, such as the LUcky Strike. Hit Parade. Wh«it kiddirig the pair do on the new show is, like the morning stint, never , objectionable. : T^ pop up with almost anything; that comes to mind, kidding themselves and guests. Most important, how- ever; is the fact that a great deal more music is Used oh the evening hour and it’s all good stuff; a; fair mixture of pops and standards. For the first airing, Teresa Brewer, new and upcoming Lon- don Record name, and Herb Jef- fries;-were the pair’s guests, They make such interviews interesting breaks in the continuity. Wood/ HARLEM SPORTS DIGEST With Jocko Maxwell 15 Mins./ Fri, Sat., 10:15 p.m. Sustaining WWRL, Woodside, N. Y. Jocko Maxwell, who has been sportscastihg on this s u b u r.b a n New York indie for 15 years, has launched t h i s new ^ twice-weekly series. Program is directed at Ne- gro listeners and should attract 'sports fans with its fuU coverage of news of Negro athletes.; It runs the gamut of all sports, with quick, punchy items on baseball, basket- ball, boxing, wrestling, track, golf, etc. Some material is of general interest, such as odds on the major leagues’ pennant races and M;ax- well’s report that Leo Durocher re- fused to appear on Jackie Robin- son’s ABG program, thus .cueiife in a new feud between the two play- ers. He also quoted columnists -from the^ metropolitan—dailies--in their comment on N e g r o stars: such as Worid-Telegram-Sun scribe Joe Williams’ suggestion that Sat-* chel Paige get Baseball Hall of Fame kudos. Maxwell’s delivery was rapid, but sometimes too fast-paced for clar- ity, However, he pecked in plenty of hews, including some late , sports bulletirisi He als6 plugged the March of Dimes and WWRL’s other Negro-slanted stanzas. Multitude of events can’t be j*e- world. Bril, corded for space reashns. . But „. ' they included the U. S. Army Band ! happy TALK . , and chorus from Washington, un- i Alan MelviUe, Allyn Edwards dCr Capt. Hugh Curry, with Percy j . Grainger and Herman Neuman as I® Miiis.; Thurs., 9 p.m. guest conductors (Neuman did yeo- mart Work, as WNYC s music direc tor, in setting up the festival); mu- sic departments of Columbia, Yale, Michigan, N. Y; U., Queens Col- lege, Sarah Lawrence, Hunter, etc. , Works of George Antheil, Norman Dellb Joio, Lukas Foss, Edwin Frankb Gbldman, Charles Griffes, Nicholas Nabokov, Wal- lingford Riegger, and many others got ihitlal hearings. Bron. ' WNEW, New York The British have raised the art THE TALK OF THE TOWN With Earl Nightingale Writer: Don vBrinkley 15 Mins., Mon.-Wed.-Fri., 3:45 p.m. Sustaining of conversation to a high level, distinguished by rapid floW of ideas, easy articulateness, subtle play of wit and a sharpness of ex- pression that make the works : of Shaw arid Wilde pleasurable just to listen to. Another, if lesser, English playwright, Alan Melville, has miich of ’ this same art and is one of the mbst popular features of the British Broadcasting Corp., although he is less biting and more relaxed. When WNEW was doing a series oh humor last year it asked the BBC to record a special commen- tary by Melville and felt the disk WBBM, Chicago This 15-minute talk strip, using j so successful that the present pro- the well-worn format of chatter gram was arranged. On it Mel- and int^iews, seek^^its individual-! ville will be heard in a six-minute ity" In subject matter. Stressing j chat; to be followed by^eadingS' TO PARIS, PLEASE With George Edwards Writer: Harold Lawrence Producer Announcer: Edwards 15 Mins ; Mon.-Wed.-rH;, 10:45 ■ P* m. ; Sustaining WQXR, N, y. As a pleasing contrast to some of its heavier musical fare, WQXR Is airing a recorded 15-riiinute { tanza of French chansons in the ate evening time bracked ‘‘To Paris, Please” a thricC-weekly program, is woven around the songs of . M a ii r i c e Chevalier, Charles TreriCt, Jacqueline Fran?, edis arid other topflight Gallic art- ists. On the basis of show caught last week, the series Weil befits its description as a “musical journey through Paris.” V , Announcer George E d w a; r d s guides, listeners through the Gallic iiielodies?—whether the strairis be typically Parisian or something of a provincial patois. While his in- troductory comments suffice in general, they probably could re- create the atmosphere of the French capital’s flight life more vividly if greater emphasis were placed on some of the more fa- miliar afterrdark bistros^ Although currently a sustainer, “To Paris” ■tacks up at likely commercial fod- der for such sponsors at a wine Im- or* steamship company.; Gilb* the ‘‘Home Town” t h e m e, Earl Nightingale narrates off-the-beaten- track anecdotes about Chi arid its people and interviews guests with unusual jobs or hobbies. Success of the progr/im rests heavily-?- perhaps dangerously so — bn; the person being interviewed. Nightingale handles the glVe- and-take smoothly, letting the i guest do most of the talking and keeps the show moving with apt questions. On the show caught, .he drew out neatly his guest, the superintendent of semces of the' Congress hotel. Dave. NEW VOICES Producer-Director: NorHs West 15 mins. Sun. 1:45 p.ni. Sustaining WGAU, Philadelphia - TJie rich. Phila4elphia musical Tkceping' vrtth field, second only to New York in tone. number of students and places of j . / Iristruction, furnishes the talent from American h u m o r i s t s like Mark Twain. On the preem Thursday (16),. two- of what the Britisher calls his “MelyiUanies” were aired. First dealt with the ways in which writ- ers Woo the muse and how his own inspiration is continually thwarted by his solicitous wife, irrelevant telephone calls and“qwertyuiop,” the top line of the typewriter which plagues his blank mtnd. Second piece was on the menace tb Great Britain of U. S. card fads, and how the tight little island has currently succumbed to the Yank canasta invasion. “ Melville is a glib, quietly witty and pleasant essayist. And straight talk of that quality goes well. Al- len Edwards, who introduced Mel- ville and read a few humorous quo- tations, has a relaxed approach, in VILLAGE breakfast W ith Lee Smith, Calico Kids 3b Mins.; Mon.4hrU-Frl., 10 a.m. french VILLAGE RESTAU? ■..RANT' WLOU, Loiii^nie From the town’s newest daytime station comes an across-the-board breakfast show which should stand up well tb competition from simi- iar stanzas currently getting quite a play from other stations here- abouts. Spotted in one of the downtown section’s best eateries, Lee Smith, WLOU bperations man- a:ger and m.C , has just the right approach to make the breakfast guests feel at home, and particu- larly ladies who have heard net- work breakfast shows are given an opportunity to get the feel of a morning broadcast while, enjoying their ham and eggs. Smith uses a string trio, consist- ing of fiddle, bass and guitar, known as the Calico Kids, to give a little music background to the fun, and at show caught (17), house- wives indicated by their screams aind giggles that they were haying a whale of a time at the br^kfast and airing. Irene. Sutter is pro- gram assistant on the show, and Kelps to hand out the prizes, get the ladies in the proper mood for an interview, and the like. Give- aways; are meat products, food packages, gardenias, an orchid for the eldest guest. One of the gim- micks is a dart board game, with the lady who bursts the balloon winnin g five- bucks. -——- - It’s done along the lines of net- work breakfast shows, and adds up to i lot of fun for the guests and listeners, too. Wied. B4RGIN* AROUND WITH BOtL* , ■ TON . Wlth^ Mil9 Boulton* Kuegti Frodttcer-direciort MaiiHoe Barrett 60 Mins.; Mon.-tliru-Fri<* ll a.m. ACME MARKETS WPAT> Faterson, Nv J. ”Bargi;i’ Abound With Boulton” is a leisurely 6Q minutes of plat- ters* brief interviews with gqests and an occasional plug for vari- ous grocery products' featured by the sponsor, Acifle Supermarkets. Conferencier for the show is Milo Boulton, ex-emcee bn ‘‘We, the People” and veteran of several net- work shows. : His niove to WPAT, Paterson, several months ago* ties in with operator Herman Bess’ pol- icy of strengthening the station’s pyetall program; appeal. Aided by a chatty, ingratiating manner, Boulton reins his show in a friendly style that; probably makes for the most Impact op housewife dialers. A particularly good touch is the use of guests, most of whom are experts in their individual fields. Generally thi-ee visitors appear on each stanza, Their cbinments, under Boulton’s prodding, afford a contrast to the musical portion of the session and also serve to break up the flock of blurbs for eveiything from; Shef- field’s chocolate drink to Hudsbii paper napkins. bn . one of last week’s shows Boulton had a safety expert, an interior decorator arid a songwrit- er to discuss their respective vo- cations. While fkirly: interesting, these Jhtervlews could deveiop'; ed into more fascinating material if Boulton could persuade the guests to iriake' their comments more diversified,' For example, the safety savant confined himself exclusively to “freak” accidents and the decorator’s reply to Boul- ton’s query,: “What are the basic elements that go into home dec- oration?” was all too brief and one-sided* Gilb: HERB JEFFRIES SHOW Wlth:Roy Ross Trio; Lbnny Starr, announcer reservoir for Norris West’s “New Voices,” audition-airer for vocal- West, assistant program director at WCAU and a former assistant manager of the Philly Orch (he also announces the symph’s broadcasts) is a musically-informed aappraiser of talent. Singers to go on broad? cast* however, are limited to resi 15 Mins., Siin., 1 p.m. Sustaining WNEW; from N. Y. . Herb Jeffries fills this 15-minute spot with a mellow brand of vo- calizing that makes for pleasant and relaxing listening. Si n g e r ; gives show an*^ a d d e d: push dents of the Philadelphia area, or; |Sartinntr2iV tin>L“ so" as to c™“eVe“! fSL’numUs q delivered, program Was well paced ^^d should add somb uew Jeffries Fal ^fans-^tb-those^already garnered-via Falgiatore, 17-yeai-old bass-bari ;-1 vocalist’s vaude and nitery appear- tone* a high school student from S. r -n^es ««« I^iladelphia,-the same bailiwick | Cbpably accompanied by the Roy that produced Mario Lanza. Con-1 Ross Trio Jeffries Sine through sidering fact that he has had no solldlV on’the bnener with a num^ formal training and had not done her oi offerinef^tbat Included “I any sj^ious sS^lng prior to last ^ (Continued on page 34) River” and “Basin Street Blues.” A RAMBLE IN ERIN With Pat Stanton Producer-writer: Stanton 60 Mins.; Mon*-thrii-Fri., li. p. m. Participating WOy, New York This bilingual indie, which spe- cializes in Italian stanzas, has come up with an authentic Irish series featuring Pat Stanton, who has been heard on the Philadel- phia air waves (WJMJ, which he owns) for some 22 years. Stanton, who broadcasts by direct wire from Philly, creates a genuine at- mosphere of Erin with his^; slight brogue, seldom - broadcast Irish diskings and blather about Emer- ald Isle folklore, songs and poetry, Stanton has a soft, well-modu- lated voice and a relaxed delivery' which lends a feeling of simplic- ity and lack of pretension to the airer. He occasionally brings in a philosophical thought and some verse, litter being of the inspira- tional genre. And he consistent- ly avoids the caricature of the Professional Irishman. Emphasis is on music, and while much of it is of specialized appeal, a good deal is of the lilting kind which may attract wider audiences. There s a surprising variety of tunes; running from the traditional Uo^he cGntemporary, and includ- ing celebrated performers such as the late John McCormack. First half of stanza is backed by Robert Hall clothes and the sec? ond by^ Dynamic Electronics, for Admiral_tele sets. Stanton sells well, with an easy-going, low- pressure approach. Brih NO SCHOOL TODAY With Jon Arthur / Producer-Director-Writer: Arthur 120 Mins.; Sat., 9 a. m* Sustaining ABC, from. Cincinnati /With most of its two hours of running time devoted to the play- ing of recorded kiddie stories, “No School Today” stands as one of the « better juve offerings. Interspersed among the various selections aired is some light chatter designed to keep the kids on their toes and aware of the more definite youth- ful foibles. Show may be a littie too lengthy to keep the chirdren glued to the radio On a nice morn- ing, but it’s suvefire entertainment when the weather calls for indoor confinement. ; All facets of the. program arc handled by Jon Arthur, Who con- ducts the show with an authorita- tive undei’standing of the young dialers: On hand to help Arthur with ; the dialog is a mechanical character labeled Sparky, who’s representative of the ypuiiger ele- ment. Included among. the; plat- tered yarns offered on the initial show was Shirley Temple’s riarra- tioii of “Bambi” and Keenan Wjmn’s rendition of ‘’The- Bear That Wasn’t.” Both disks made for good listening, a& did three other numbers about David and Goliath, a faulty alarm dockland, a tugboat that wanted to be a liner. Besides the chatter and stories presented on the show there were a couple of enjoyable kiddie tunes thrown in for good results. .BREAKFAST FROLIC With Jack Driscoll, Dixie Lee, Pres- i ton Spaulding 30 Mins/ Mon.-thru-Fri., 10:30 a.m. IDUNROVIN INN WINN, Louisville one of a recent rftsh of break- fast shows to break out over the town’s stations, this entry has al- ready had a run on WGRG, local Mutual outlet, and WLOU, indie, and now settled ori the WINN airwave, in competition with a couple of other breakfast type, au- dience?participotioh show s cur? rently making a bid for the morn- ing femme audience/ lErstwhile orch leader Jack Dris- coll, named Jack Dee for radio, emcees the session,, with Hammond organ Interpolations by Preston Spaulding, and vocals by Dixie Lee. Spaulding is Operator of the res- taurant; and works , With Driscoll, bringing guests up to the mike for interviews. Show uses roving mike, but at session caught much of the chatter was missed, due to a gen- erally loose production:, format; Most oLthe chatter 6n this show Is provided by the pro talent, who have been kicking around this area bn hillbilly shows and nitery floors for many a year. Giveaways are promoted from neighborhood ofier- chants in return for an air plu?. and no charge is made to the visi- tors. Spot Is located on the out- skirts of town, and plugs stress the fine food and pleasant surround- ings* ^ ^