Variety (September 1950)

RADIO REVIEWS P&rieFy PEOPLE ARE FUNNY With Art Linkletter, emcee; Rod O’Connor, Ned LeFevre, an- nouncers . Producer-Director? John Guedel 30 Mins.; Tues., 10i30 p.m. RALEIGH CIGARETS NBC, from Los Angeles (Russel M. Seeds) One of the most durable of the aud-participation, shows, Are Funny” returned for its ninth year on the airlanes with its ele- mental comedy ingredients intact. Art Linkletter, the glib emcee who has been responsible for th is airer’s click, is back putting the contestants through the hoop of the usual screwball stunts. It s juvenile stuff for the most part but Linkletter plays for the laughs with skillful infectiousness. This show is part of the new trend In giveaways that was started on the “Truth or Consequences” TV program with its confrontation of a wounded U. S. soldier and his mother. On this show’s preem (19), Linkletter—gave away.-a-two-week leave to a Marine reservist who just getting married. This of course, was in okay was giveaway FIBBER McGEE AND MOLLY With Marian and Jim Jordan, Bill Thompson, Cliff Arquette, Ar- thur Q. Bryan, Gale Gordon, The King’s Men, Billy Mills orch (20) Producer-Director: Max Hutto Writers: Don Quinn, Phil Leslie Tues., 30 Mins., 6:30 p»m. PET MILK CO. NBC, from Hollywood ( Gardner) After 15 years of skidding over the airways dh Jonhson wax, the Jordans are now on a milk route for Pet. What the canner bought Is what Johnson gave up, down to the last man in Billy Mills’ orches- tra. Only newcomer is director Max Hutto, a change, dictated by the switch in agencies. “The Mc- Gees” continue to be what Don Quinn and his writing aide, Phil Leslie, make them and that’s been good enough to keep them in the top 10, and no nose bleed. They’re used to high places on the rating escalator and it’ll go up rather than down if the ’50-’51 sample ' can~b«r used - as' a--seasonal baro- meter “The McGees” have moved from Wistful Vista but the new address Is just another small town where the mayor, village sawbones and sundry characters drop in to pass the time of day. Nothing of great moment ever happens but that’s what makes, it folksy and believ- able. Quinn and Leslie can make a whole script of Fibber putting up a window shade or opening a closet door, the real test of their crafts- manship, which shows through every crack and crevice. Like many another returning show there was the slender thread ©f story line to tie together a vaca- tion adventure, in this case Fibber playing chef to a covey of barbe- cued chickens. It turned out as ex- pected, the whole thing was a fiasco and Molly had to put the birds in the kitchen oven. No fig- ment of the Quinn-Leslie imagina- tion, it actually happened on the Jordan ranch a few weeks ago. Truth proved funnier than fiction. Many of the laughs, and thfere was the usual cascade of them, stemmed from a play on names, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fonianne, such as Harlow Wilcox being called co-starring in Morton Wishengrad’s “Milk-ox,” and Fibber’s fumbling adaptation of “There Shall Be No malaprops. A whole, routine was Night,” provided a distinguished made of McGee’s running gag with parlay for U. S. Steel’s “Theatre Cliff Arquette on “I’m hungry; Guild on the Air” series. The Rob- BREAK THE BANK With Bud Collyer; Win Elliot, an- nouncer; Lew White, organist Producer: Ed Wolf Director: Jack Rubin Writer: Joseph N. Kane 30 Mins, Mon.-thru-Fri.; 11 a.m* BRISTOL MYERS NBC, from New York (Doherty, Clifford & Shenfield) For many years one of the night- time quiz i show stalwarts, “Break the Bank” , has moved into a morn- ing cross-the-board slot on NBC. Program is bankrolled three times a week by Bristol Myers, who also picks up the Wednesday night tele- vision tab, and is carried sustain- ing the other two days. First morning show, Monday (25) retained the nighttime format, With contestants pairing off and choos- ing a topic on which they could pyramid their earnings. Questions maintained a pretty high standard, especially as the earnings grew higher. Bud Collyer handled emcee chores —nicely, “refraining ; from simulating high-pressure • excite- ment where none really existed. His manner was pleasant without Wednesday, September 27, 1950 CHARLIE WILD, PRIVATE EYE THE NEW YORK STORY With George Petrie, Peter Hubbs, With Bill Leonard, guests others; Bill Rogers, announcer Writer: Peter Barry Producer: Larry White ' Director: Carlos D’Angelo 30 Mins.; Sun., 5:30 p.m* WILDROOT NBC, from N. Y. (BBD&O) Following a routine formula, familiar to this' type of entry, “Charlie Wild, Private Eye,” Wild- root’s “Sam Spade” successor, rates as an . average .meller. Script is loaded with stereotyped characters Producer: A1 Morgan' Director: D. Gordon Graham Writers: Morgan, Fred Freed, Mar- tin Weldon, Leonard 3Q Mins., Fri.; 10:30 p,m. Sustaining CBS, from N. Y. Heard .six mornings a week over CBS on “This Is New York,” Bill Leonard is now being targeted at the. evening dialers via a weekly half-hour show. Program, broad- cast in addition' to hi? regular a.m. airer, is labeled “The New York o* » M j - ' I , A 111)3 111UU11W1 it ily I/AVUUUMV Tf *v**v%A¥ taste but it raised^the question of feeing overly genial, and interviews whether the War Department isnt w itfe g ue sts were on an interesting —tying up such frivolous |* and inoffensive plane. Win Elliot’s erring in commercial programs. For the rest, the.participants in- dulged in the standard obstacle races for the $100 giveaway prizes, One young man had to find a womam-and child who would pre- tend to be his wife and baby in order to cash in on an inheritance. Another gal came with two suitors and asked Linkletter to help her decide between them. Latter problem was suitably handled on a strictly zany basis. Plugs for Raleigh cigarets have a surprisingly frank peg. Only dis- tinction between this and other brands, it’s claimed, is the Raleigh coupon on the back. Berm. commercials were short and direct Show as a daytimer managed to sustain interest without resorting to the hysteria that typiftes so many of the daytime quizzes. There's definitely a secure niche for it in NBC’s daytime program- ming. Chan, and cliche dialog. Preem story, | Stpry” and like the morning show however,' had a nice twjst that made up for some of its shortcom- ings. Another novel aspect on the initialer was the sendoff given the show via telegram by actor How- ard Duff, who portrayed “Spade.” Opener had Wild trying to help an old friend beat a murder rap, of which he claimed innocence. After tracking down the various suspects and clues, Wild wised-up follows a reportorial format. New entry* features interviews, capsule •reviews, news stories and tips. Leonard handles all phases of the show with a directness that lend9 a tone of authority to the proceed- ings. On preem show, opening inter- view dealt with New York City and its defense mechanism in case of an atom bomb attack. Answers to the fact that his budd y was pull- to questions pertaining to this ing a double cross and was really subject were supplied by Arthur the guilty party. As is the pattern .Wallander, in charge of civil de- with most of these shows, the story was told via flashback. In t)iis case the hero dictated his adventures to a tape recorder. Pro- gram didn’t offer too much iii the action or suspense department. Plugs for Wildroot hair tonic were heavy. Gros. DINNER AT ALEXANDER’S With Larry Stevens Producer-director: Stevens 30 Mins., Wed.; 10 p.m. ALEXANDER’S RESTAURANT WINS, New York This is a weekly .half-hour ce- lebrity interview stint which Larry Stevens handles and has packaged. Show is recorded at dinner time from Alexander’s, near Radio City in New York, and broadcast later on Wednesday nights. Stevens interviews minor celebrities and people with interesting occupa- tions. That’s the extent of the show. On basis of segment caught (20), the people interviewed and Stevens’ handling of them didn’t sustain enough interest to make an audience eager for a second hear- JUVENILE DELINQUENCY With Joe Wershba, narrator; Wern Hansen, announcer * Producer: Larry Beckerman Writer: Wershba 30 Mins., Wed. (15), 10:30 P.M. Sustaining WTOP, Washington Though a one shot broadcast, this is second of an irregularly spaced series of public service pro- grams watter. fense for N. Y. and acting Mayor Vincent Impellitteri. Among the facts presented was Wallander’s claim^that an atom bomb shelter couldn’t be readied until 1955 and in case of an attack the subwajl would, be about the best place in which to take cover. Other inter- views included one with Joe Louis and Ezzard Charles regarding their championship bout today (Wed.), and another with songstress Jua- nita Hall. Latter’s recording of “Bali Hai” was played to provide program’s only musical segment. Miniature reviews of legit shows and films that opened during the week were rattled off by Leonard. Commented upon the play “Daphne Laureola” and the pictures “Bitter planned by town’s top Rice,” “The Sleeping City” and It is in line with the in- Pretty Baby.” A human interest I’m McSteed, glad to meetcha ” e rt E. Sherwood drama, written at etc. ad infinitum. The laughs never the time of the Russian invasion of 4 TT A x , llag and no sooner is one whimsy Finland, has undiminished impact in g- He talked to an ex : fighter, a out of the way than another comes against the background of con- couple of actresses m minor roles rolling in on a wave of pixie- temporary events, even suggesting ? n Broadway, a cloth manufactur- punning. the possibility of a legit revival of ,n< * **™«-™* »"**■» mnrtswnter. Bill Thompson helped fatten the the play (another Sherwood hit laugh quotient as the Old Timer, originally done by the Lunts, as did Arthur Q. Bryan as Doc “idiot's Delight,” also retains great Gamble, and Gale Gordon as Mayor topical power). LaTrivia, which was dropped for a But except for the stars, and few years out of respect for Mayor even they were notably below their brilliant standard, the broadcast as a whole was only moderately im- pressive. Both Lunt and Miss Fon- tanne muffed numerous lines, their La Guardia, inspiration for the character. The music is more than incidental and solid contributions were made by The King's Men and Billy Mills’ crew. The sponsor was petted all through the show and the McGees ing executive and a sportswriter. Actress interviews followed the same pattern: what they’re doing, how they started and got where they are, what they’d like to do. The manufacturer provided an interesting comments from Dick clothing mills help plan fashions in advance. Stevens also got some interesting commens from Dick Young, N. Y. Daily News sports- laillAC A1U1IIV.X vug JUJUVU, V**V.*A. 11 _ J 11 ^ _ r* iV ^ characterizations were imperfectly writer, on the current state of the defined, and although several of Brooklyn Dodgers. their scenes together had the ac- chimed in a couple of times to say customed magic, Lunt’s bit in the what a great guy he is. Topper by "Wilcox was the line, “you’re lucky if you were a Pet milk baby.” ‘ Helm. MY NAME IS MARY BROWN With. Gail Manners, Joey Nash, chorus Writer: Michael Johnson Producer: Lou Frankel 30 Mins., Sat., 7:30 p.m. Sustaining WFDR-FM, New York Last summer’s Golden Jubilee convention of the International little Finnish schoolhouse didn’t achieve complete clarity and Miss Fontanne’s unforgettable reading of the farewell letter lacked the expected fire. Heard against the memory of the gifted original cast, including Syd- ney Greenstreet, Richard Whorf, Montgomery Clift, Elisabeth Fra ser and Thomas Gomez, the sup- porting radio players sounded char- But his interviewing was a bit on the dull side. He apparently doesn’t have that touch whereby a good interviewer can get a person to talk easily; he had to prod, with guests replying in one-sentence statements. Choice of guests in a wider field of occupations, and selection of more talkative guests, would make the show more interesting and at the same time'make it smoother. On the basis of show caught, creasing social consciousness of story dealing with, a man who capital’s stations, and with stepped bought a bus to cart around his up cooperation with current civic family (wife and seven children) problems. was also related by Leonard, in Joe Wershba, CBS news corre- addition to the closer which con- spondent, obviously put his heart, sisted of news tips.. Show as well as his best news gathering presented an. assortment of topics, efforts, into this moving half-hour underlining each with adult and account of one of the country’s top problems. Because he used the National Training School, a Re- form School for juve offenders, as lab for his research and interviews, airer has a general interest which makes it a candidate for use any- where on the web. Wershba spent 40 hours taping interviews with the young law breakers, as well as with members of the Training School staff and other top ranking experts in the field. Results, though spotty, intelligent commentaries. Interviews were all taped. ° Gros. HOBNAIL CORNERS With Bob Hurd, Dale Smith, Carol Berrar; Gay Jones orch Writer: Hurd Producer-director: Fred Patterson 30 Mins.; Tues., 9 p.m. NORTHWEST FOOD MANUFAC- TURERS ASSN. are evidence of the painstaking » eawI ® efforts and skill of the reporter. acterless. They included Sandy | JilSe g fillers JUS * anQ ^ her ^i,!£, 0se Campbell as the son, Mary Fickett as the daughter-in-law, Leo Lucker as the sardonic uncle, Daviid Cor- win as the broadcaster and William Chan, Technique used is more jour- nalistic than documentary. There is a tone of understatement and a factual quality that is moving and convincing* However, at times this reportorial format becomes dull, and some attempt at a more dra- matic note would help. This is most marked in the interviews with the adult experts, whose objective analyses need additional warmth to give the human interest one ex- pects of the subject. The inter- views with the youngsters them- selves, however, make up for this in their frequently bewildered, sometimes self conscious, but al- ways sincere attempts to explain the reason for their deviations. It is in these interviews that Wershba’s skill as a newsman is Ladies Garment Workers Union at i T Mnpntlnol „ .. ■n*u~u Atlantic . City was highlighted by | a 30-mmute musical narrative staged by the Northeast Division of the ILGWU. WFDR, the labor union’s FM station in New York, tape-recorded the performance and, with the voices of Gail Man- ners and Joey Nash superimposed Homer Fickett’s production seemed lacking in dimension. As in former seasons, Norman Brokenshire was the r e gu 1 a r announcer. Over-the past year or so, MGM Radio Attractions has developed over the original, gave it its initial into one of the prize segments radio presentation last weekend, within the realm of transcription It turns out to be a delightful programming Under the combined tour-de-force in labor - politico propagandizing in the musicomedy idiom, with about a dozen songs blended into the “Mary Brown narration of the ILGWU—its Or- ganizing and negotiating, its edu- cational problems, as assorted benefits and for the windup its political pitch to vote the labor party. It all comes off as a simple ex- position of the “strength in unity” theme, built around songs that, for the most part, are highly reminis* cent. There’s a bit borrowed here (sometimes suggestive of Marc Blitzstein’s “No For An Answer” operatic paen to organized labor) and a bit borrowed there (recalling the “Talking Union” labor ballads) but all accomplished with an un- ashamed lyrical intensity and fer- vor that excuses the' pilfered clef- fing. Both as sugar-coated propaganda for union organizers and as enter- tainment, it has a lot of offer and rates an AM (as well as FM) ride on the kilocycles. Rose . WMGM-Metro-MCA auspices, it has expanded into a major opera- tion embracing several hundred markets and giving local stations a hefty chunk of qualitative pro- gramming at nominal cost. Perhaps the major showcase on the MGM Radio Attractions cata- log is the hour-long weekly “MGM Theatre of the Air” dramatic seriesf which are vested with the same top-shelf production values that pertain to a “Lux Radio Thea- tre.” This was again borne out by last week’s presentation of “Billy The Kid,” with Zachary Scott, heard Friday night on WMGM, N. Y., in the 7:30 to 8:30 slot. Despite two previous pietorial ver- sions that came out of the Metro lot, the radio adaptation had a distinct flavor and richness all its own, adding up to an hour of solid entertainment values. * Howard Dietz, the Metro ad- publicity veepee who doubles into directing the series, does an effec- tive job on the continuity integra- tion and intros. THE CLIFF JOHNSON FAMILY Producer: Cliff Johnson 30 Mins.; Mon.-thru-Fri,,. 8:15 a.m. Participating WGN, Chicago This cross-the-board morning airer, which recently shifted to WGN from WBBM, remains one of the most unusual shows in Chi ra- dio. Program is an expansion of the hubby and wife breakfast table chatter idea, with the Johnson’s four daughters, ranging from 10 to three years old, providing unex- pected assists. Series comes direct- ly from the family’s suburban home, and its unrehearsed sponta- neity and intimacy cash in on the radio audience’s apparently unlim- ited, interest in the lives of people willing to spend part of their ex- istence in goldfish bowls. If the Johnson moppets are as animated as they sound, strip would seem a natural for simulcast treatment. Rambling patter on segment heard (20) maintained good inter- est, mainly because of the ad lib contributions from the kiddies. Both Cliff and Mrs. Johnson dis- played a friendly naturalness and worked the youngsters into the ses- sion nicely. The time and weather reports and a couple of records were woven into the show to pre- vent too many lulls when the con- versation lagged. Frame wound up with a little spat between two of the girls which sounded realistic. Integrated spiels for participat- ing sponsors were ably handled by Johnson. Dave • most apparent. Backgrounding dance calling. This second entry by KOMO staffers in the live show category (first, “Scandia Barn Dance,” is going strong in its third 13 weeks) is a malange of rube humor and square dancing that listens well and should also please the studio audience. Each week some local square dance club guests on the show, with caller putting the visi- tors through their paces. Night caught it was the West Seattle Promenaders doing “Pretty Little Girl” with Alan Denhart calling. Singing stars Dale Smith and Carol Berrar, both do a nice job Bob Hurd, who writes the show, also handles the lead comedy part of Pop Hobbs, proprietor of the Hobnail Corners Square Deal Mer- cantile, working in the commer- cials handily and joining in the himself, he gets to the core of his young subjects’ stories. General effect of program is thought provoking. It is well in- tegrated and interesting, despite a few dead spots. Format is one which may well be applied to other subjects of a public service nature. Lowe, Morris Simon directs the or- chestra, which backs dancers and singers in good fashion and he also contributes a violin solo for neat break in pace. Production and direction by Fred Patterson keep things mov- ing right along for a high quality show. Reed. THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (“The Daughter of Jairus”) | 30 Mins.; Sun., 5:30 p.m. GOODYEAR ABC, "from New York ( Kudner ) Returning to the air Sunday (24), for its fifth year, “The Greatest Story Ever Told” resumed its high level of religious simplicity and impressiveness with a quietly-told drama of hatred, love and forgive- ness. Story, “The Daughter of Jai- rus,” gave a lesson in tolerance as it depicted the Biblical tale of Jai- rus, a quick-tempered man, who hated Gideon because the latter had voted against him in an elec- tion for the town elder. When Jai- rus’ daughter, Sarah, fell ill, she was able to bring the two men to- gether and show.her father the error and dangers* of his hot tem- per. Performances and scripting were equally on a high level, with no D. M. SHOW With Dick Mills 4 Hrs.; Mon.-thru-Frl„ 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Participating WPTR, Albany \ Dick Mills, new WPTR pr*. gram director-disk jockey, made a slow though reasonably promising start in his lengthy air assignment (a pair of two-hour periods daily) on the 50,000-watter. Indications were he might not be spectacular but should wear well. Strangeness to the Capital district and hamper- ing effects of hay fever—about both of which he talked — were braking factors. A singing dee jay. Mills confined that phrase to snatches, but they were enough to indicate pleasing pipes. Approach was generally quiet and restrained, leaving the music to carry the entertainment load. Mills played a wider selection and tuuaiij uu a JUAii vwitu mi if _ . _ ^ sentimental false notes, but quite apparently a greater number of in character With the moving sim- P e Vi,* ) * a A t !u rs ^f n ?f^ en * s case plicity of the incident. Sponsor- Albany territory, ship by Goodyear, as always, was MUls possesses a pleasant if not in perfect taste, with only the brief colorful speaking voice, which he opening and closing announcement often holds down. Mills obviously as identification. Bran, , (Continued on page 38)