Variety (August 1950)

34 TELEVISION REVIEWS ISAhiety Wednesday, August 2p4W0 RICHARD III (‘Masterpiece' Playhouse') With William Windom, Hush Wil- liams, Douglas Watson, Blanche Yurka, Rita Colton, others Producer-Director: Albert Mc- Cleery Adaptation: Ethel Frank 60 Mins., Sun,, 9 p.m. Sustaining NBC-TV, from New York NBC took on a large order in at- tempting to capsulize Shakespeare's “Richard III n on the hour-long •‘Masterpiece Playhouse” Sunday night (30). But it bit off more than it could chew. Perhaps of all the Bard's gems, “Richard III” is. the one least capable of being com- pressed into 60 mintues. As it turned out, Ethel Frank's adapta- tion proved little more than a dress version of a murder marathon. Albeit; McCleery, who produced and directed, erred in his use of a single draped background, for the speed with which scene fol- scene only led to incon- gruities as exits, and entrances al- most got tangled with one another. Here was one instance where tile narrator could have assumed a laVger burden and so have permit- ted a finer and less hurried' ex- position of some of Richard’s im trigues arid villainies. The entire tone and pace of the drama should have been set by the acting of the title role arid herein lay the major weakness of the per- formance. As Richard, William Windom leered and grimaced, but never succeeded in. portraying tire bitterness, the rancor or the vene- rnous hatred of the malformed body, that aspired to the throne. Neither the timbre of his voice nor liis thespian qualities wei’e ade- quate for the part. Blanche Yurka alone, in; her brief entrance, gave a quality that the tragedy needed. Television certainly didn’t invite new adherents to Shakespeare through this performance of “Rich- ard III.” Rose. RECORD SPOTLIGHT With Howard Miller 5 Mins.; Mon.-Wed.rFrI., 5:55 p.m. j CHICAGO HERALD-AMERICAN WNBQ, Chicago five-minute three-times weekly record patter capsule isn’t WNBQ’s better ventures. Obviously a time-for-space deal, with the Chi Herald-American, it’s little more than an expanded spot commercial. Show features disk jockey Howard Miller who also pens a record column in the daily. Stanza’s limited appeal is aimed strictly at the disk fans. Most of the > show caught (26) was devoted to the playing of the “Tune of the Week” with the! camera; and. Miller exchanging | fixed stares. Spinning was pre -1 ceded by some brief background dope on the tune. Session erided J with a short plug for a series of; articles running in the newspaper Dave. Cleveland,-— Jimmy Dudley, AM- TV spieler for the Cleveland Indians’ contests, has been signed by Vitalis for a five-minute score- board program after the baseball telecasts on WXEL, ARTHUR MURRAY PARTY TIME With Mrs, Arthur Murray, Stanley Melba orch; Mary Raye Sc Naldi, Mark Plant; Russell Nypfc, guests Producer: West Hooker Director: Eddie Nugent 30 Mins.; Thiirs., (27), 9 p,m. ARTHUR ‘MURITAY STUDIOS ABC-TV, from New York (Huber Hope) Backed by the Arthur Murray Dance Studios, this new stanza scores high as a commercial pitch lor the dance schools and as an in- structional series, but it can use the hypo of additional entertain- ment value if it’s to snag a large general; audience. As now consti- tuted, it will tend to screen out set-owners whose interest in ball- room capers is slight, which may be what the bankroller Wants; Format is that of an audience participation-variety s h 6 w with Katherine (Mrs. Arthur) Murray as feirimecee, At the start her stance Was a bit stiff and her voice some- what harsh. However, she warmed up as a hep hostess able to intro the acts, gab with the customers in the sirnulated hotel ballroom setting and to teach the vie weirs rudiments of some steps. There was a heavy dose of dancing, arid repeated shots Of twirling couples tended toward the monotonous. Some of the routines, however, clicked: the professional ballroom tef ping of Mary Raye arid Naldi, a Charleston contest among; four fast-stepping teams and the brief lessons in the chap-, arnicas and the Charleston. Vocal department was not strong enough. Tenor Russell Nype was fair ini “When I’m Not Near the Girl I Love/’ with a bevy of Murray instructresses taking part. Baritone Mark Plant was only so-so on “If You Are But a Dream” Camera work, for an informal show, was good, Stanley Melba orch backed the proceedings well, although it probably should have been given v the spotlight for part of the show. Commercials got over their sales points neatly arid ef- fectively. Bril. CARNIVAL QUIZ’ With Al Swinhart, Joan Reed, Milt Munn Producer: Bert Gold 30 Mins.; Mon.-thru-Fri., 3 p.m. Participations WICU, Erie, Pa. Midway atmosphere is success- fully fabricated on this daily day- timer, with painted drops, calliope music simulated on the organ by Milt Munti, and quizmaster Al Swinhart delivering effectively in the getup and lingo of circus bark- er, including slapping the canvas over his shoulder with a cane. Joan Reed, hardly out of her teens, is cute in a gypsy rig as she helps with the phone calls and provides the enthusiasm for good foil to Swinhart‘s. W. C. Fields-type rou- tine. " A carnival wheel provides the phone number in four spins—page, column No., etc., which is alter- nated with pulling post cards out of a fish-bowl. Show profits by the use of live music (off screen), the tempo being matched to speed of spinning wheel—a neat effect. Wes. ONE MAN'S FAMILY With Bert Lytell, Marjorie Gate- son, Russell Thorson, Eva Marie Saint, Janies Lee) Michael Hig- gins, Lillian Schaaf, Ralph Locke* Luis Van Rooten others Producer: Richard Clemmer Director; Edgar Kahn Writer: Garleton E. Morse 30 Mins.; Sat., 7:30 p.m. MANHATTAN SOAP CO. NBC-TV, from New York (Duane Jones) Off the sustaining list at NBC, LET’S ARBITRATE With Samuel R. Zpck, Thomas L. Norton, Robert R. Sugarman, arbitrators; * Ted Mallie, an- nouncer Producer: Zack Director: Alex Courtney 30 Mins., Thurs., 7:30 p.m. Sustaining WOR-TV, New York The audience for this half-hour arbitration session of actual labor problems must necessarily be limited, Since the crises themselves “One Man’s Family,” one of the ! are complicated: labor disputes, hardiest of soap operas, resumed: and because the procedure foi- telecasting Saturday night (29). | lowed is a quasi-judicial one. Both Initial segment was designed to .! tend to tax the concentration of a bring the audience up to date on I lay audience. Show consists of an the troubles surrounding the Bar-! arbitration panel Of three, the two hour family, and through a series! parties to the dispute, and their of flashbacks, the audience was | counsel. treated to a multitude of sorrows The facts in the case are the like of which rarely graces, a , brought out in a courtroom man- TV screen. The script, designed to cram about nine months of unhappiness into a half-hour, was overloaded ner, with counsel for each side questioning witnesses and sum- ming up at the end. Because the case, is actually fought before the With plot. Flashback treatment was ! camera, there is some visual in- well-corttrived, however, and gave ;> as well as^ vocal. On the the stanza a semblance of con- tinuity and integration. Dialog at some points was ludicrous how- ever, Bert Lytell, as Henry Barbour, the head of the household, was stymied by stilted lines and. a flat character. He had only to pucker hi$ forehead in worry and concern, and speak gravely or angrily as the occasion demanded. This he did very well. Michael Higgins looked and sounded sufficiently violent as"! disputants’ head initial; show, both' lawyers got themselves somewhat excited at Various points, helping to sustain interest/ At the same time, -though* prac- tice of keeping the disputants’ identities secret necessitated keep- ing: their backs to the camera. The audience saw the lawyer ask a question and watched him listen- ing to the reply without seeing the source of the reply. All that could be seen was a portion of the Bob MISS U. S: TELEVISION With Lee Bennett, emcee; Trendler Orch Producer: Paul Fogarty Director: Barry McKinley 30 Mins.; Sat., 7:30 p.m. WGN-TV, Chicago WGN-TV, participating in the hunt for Miss Television being con- ducted by video stations across the-country under the aegis of Radio Features, Inc., is carrying weekly eliminations from. its Chi Fair studios. The two-pronged search, seeking talent as well as pulchritude* makes for more than just another beauty contest, and invests the idea with stronger en- tertainment values for the home audience. The five contestants on the show seen (29), although somewhat more beauteous than talented, evidenced enough ability in their turps for a generally pleasant half-hour, In- troduced individually,, the girls pirouetted briefly before the cam- era, did their specialties, arid came back at the end of the stanza for a final loOksee by the studio judges. The show’s winner filled her swim suit a bit better than her singing job 6n “I Didn’t Slip, I Wasn’t Pushed,: I Fell.” The Others included a magician, a pianist, a golfer arid another thrush. The long list of prizes, including slides of many of them, slowed the session considerably. Lee Bennett’s emceeing was a little lackadaisical. Backing by Bob Trendler and band was okay as was the lensing and lighting. Dave. Johnny; and Eva Saint Marie acted Claudia with restraint and simpli- city. Russell Thorson, as Paul, handled the narration nicely, while Marjorie Gateson /did a fine job as Mother Barbour. Other parts were done well. Camera work was good, and sets The; panel was a distinguished one, consisting of Zack, who has ben arbitrating for same time over radio, Thomas L. Norton, dean of the City College School of Busi- ness, arid Robert R. Sugarman, professor at the New York -Law School. But as 1 far as audience interest was concerned, , there showed imagination, and simplicity, might just as well have been no Flashback narration enabled use of | panel at all, for its decision was some unusual camera shots, like an overhead view of an operation. Chan. ‘Withheld until the following week. As a device to sustain audience interest, this procedure is a faulty one: it will probably discourage ; rather than eneourage viewing. Panel handled itself well, Zack . ruling on points of procedure as chairman and others restricting themselves to questions. Case in initial segment con- cerned an employer who had fired five of his unionized help for carrying picket signs in a strike against him stemming from an- other union’s attempt to organize a second business he had started. His entire plant had observed the boycott installed by the strikers, but these five relieved striking picketers in what he termed viola- tion tof their contract. Lawyers presented their cases skillfully, but program ended in a terrific Tagging the “Voice of America” as the “whisper of America,” RCA board chairman David Sarnoff made a vigorous plea for an ex- pansion of the U. S. overseas propaganda service on NBC’s “Meet The Press” Sunday 1 (30). Sarnoff declared the U. S. could surmount the lack of receiving fa- cilities behind the “Iron Curtain” by manufacturing $2 midget sets and smugglingJthem inside the So- viet areas. He disclosed that RCA engineers have been working on a i feWowii^when it was, announced #N 'Jl Vs I ’ n A 4 « .. 4 U . 2 <1 A m M « M J I ^ . _ . m < * • » ' . 1 A \ _ ' _ model set with that idea in mind. While commending the State '[ next program. Department for its Work with the __1 limited: budget available, Sarnoff asked for a big budget so that the ; U. S. could conduct “psychological ! peacefare” against the Soviet peo- pie. He pointed out that America was far behind both Russia and , England in the appropriations for foreign broadcasting service. If ! America were to enlarge its ! the decision would be made ori the Chan: BOB BERRY’S LUCK ’LEVEN RANCH With Bob Berry, Kit Tyson, Joe Croghan Director: Jerre Wyatt Producer: Victor F. Cariipbell 30 Mins.; Mon.-tliru-Fri., 6:30 p.m. GOME TO THE FAIR With Johnny Green, emcee; Joan Barton, Jacques Cordon, The , Harmonicats,The Melba Cories Dancers; Boti Trendler Orch Producer: Paul Fogarty Director: Barry McKinley 30 Mins.: Sat,, 7 p.m. WGN-TV, Chicago As one of the best promotional devices developed to date by any of the quartet of Chi video sta- tions, WGN-TV erected studios at the Chi Fair and is showcasing several of its shows before Fair audiences. This particular variety stanza, using the fair theme, in- cluding a barker, as an emcee. Was built especially for the exposition. Although sustaining, stanza caught (29) was well larded; with good tal- ent and came off as a pleasing en- try. Top honors of the show go to the Harmonicats. whose four tunes, cli- maxed by their now-famous ver- sion of “Peg O’ My Heart,” were consistently fine. A close second was Jacques Cordori. scoring with liis unicycle turn. His act, espe- cially the hat switching routine, might have come off even stronger had longer-range shots been used now and then to catch the full ef- fects of his cycling. Joan Barton did some nice chirping ori “Lullaby of Broadway,” The Melba Cortes dancers registered only fair, video- wise. Johnny Green as the barker was okay. Bob Trendler and band sup- ported ably. Dave, for profitable selling INVESTIGATE DELHWGAL WILMINGTON D El AW ARE WKBO HARRISBURG PENNSYLVANIA LANCASTER PENNSYLVANI A ■MMIMPH WRAW READING PENNSYLVANIA __ _ _ _ Participating Voice” program, Sarnoff. pi'oposed; WBAL-TV, Baltlnlore that a separate Government agency i This bucolic whoopee with loot handle the operation. Goaded by ! for kids and grownups, follows a Ben Gross, N. Y. Daily News radio i Western trend in the video realm, ed. on the need for another foreign : and is anvthirig but a dish for in- policy, Sarnoff carefully refrained ! tellegensia. but kids love it as •froin". -committing himself and as- j fondly as do the grownups. Stellar serted only that, “a clear policy” i hustler in this r^ngy piece is Bob was indispensable to the success ; Berry, who lias done everything ori of any program. I the station over three years but a trapeze nipup. An emcee, a hymn- " V v ✓ ■> -- 1 /} Ford .Dealers are missing the boat with their “Ford Star Re- vue” on NBC-TV. One of the. few big-spending sponsors to remain on for the summer, they could have built this Thursday night stanza into a potent selling medium chanting “practical parson,” a host to old ladies who have nowhere to go in the afternoon and so wind up in the studios, and just a plain baritone, Mr. B’ is a bronc-buster with chaps to prove it. Program got off for premiere '-I WORK •AS. YORK PENNSYLVANIA •v •• \ / :«* / s' mm}** WDELTV WILMINGTON l DELAWARE EASTON PENNSYLVANIA <^4 WGALTV LANCASTER PENNS YLV AN I A STEINMAN STATIONS Clair R. McCollough, Managing Director K*pffnt*d by R 0BERT MEEKER ASSOCIATES Chicago San FrancUco N«w York Los Angelas through lack of program competiv i this week With stage contestants tion. Show, however, has seldom i choosing nicknames. Prize went to hit top stride since its inception ! the podner picking screwiest moni- and, the one last week (270 was no j ker. Ranch hands (audience) picked exception. Even with a couple of ; for stage were costumed. Kids were clever sketch ideas, the program | tagged bUckerbos^ and broiic buster never generated enough spark to . title was given older, but more fire any audience enthusiasm. ! childish showoffs. Howard arid Wanda Bell opened | It all amounts to this: Vic the proceedings neatly with some • Campbell lias come up with a new intricate and. well-executed bal- ! (? ) vehicle for parlor games. Films ancing routines. Best skit was a satire on grand opera featuring Jack Haley,, star of the show, and guest vocalists Annamary Dickey and Jimmy Carroll but. while the are run backwards and audience guesses at titles. One pistol-happy youth drew a bike for guessing “Ghost Riders” without an assist i frorii V. Monroe. They play dart- SPINS AND NEEDLES With Bob Kahle, Mary Ann Good- rich Producer: Bert Gold 60 Mins.; Moii.-thru-Fri., 12:30 p. m. Participation WICU, Erie, Pa. * If relaxation is a TV ideal, this noontiriicr is something like a paragon of programming. Boh Kahle,. vho has vocally hypnotized a considerable local following on AM with a voice more like a purr, projects in character on the- lenses. If this were a late night show, he’d be a great insomnia cure. As it is, he’s effective a.s restful. after- lunch fare, and ideally suited for femme appeal. It’s>a disk-jock show, with what might possibly be a novel gim- mick — sewing demonstrations for the pictorial effect, with enough of a play-by-play account to maintain the shows premise* “you, too, can -r- — J’ What helps it to look easy is the age of the sewing ma- chine pilot; hardly more than a bobby-sOxer. No great excitement is ofiv?red, but production smoothly aids show accornplish its purpose. Wes. lyrics were clever, the Windup was i board, too. The toughest hombre old-hat. Singers handled their solo j. chosen gets some other kind of and duet thrushing acceptably, al- i loot, as does, the sheriff’s daughter, though Carroll’s Voice was no;: the inevitable “Pistol Packin’ match for that of Miss Dickey, i Mamriia” and a character (daily) Beatrice Kraft and her Dancers j rejoicing in the titular distinction turned in their standard dance rou- tine and joined Haley for an okay sketch in the finale. George De Witt scored with his impersona- tions, although the fact he had Of Pinto Pete. Characters . are s e 1 e c t e d by bropco buster, Berry, with audi- ence registry, Gals get silk hose which ain’t got no place on a done the same act on previous! ranch, podner, clothes hampers video, shows lessened the, impact, and whatever happens to be within MellO-Larks and the Ted Adolphus I reach of the studio scouts. Dancers did okay in their usual ] Show is a change of technique * spots on the show. 1 for the local dinner period.