Variety (December 1950)

Weflneaday^ Dumber 20, 1950 TfiLEVlSIOI¥ RKVIEWS 27 ;; Tele -Up Comment Frank Sinatra's CBS showcase j)it its maximum effectiveness Saturday (16) with one of the best programs tp date. Largely respon- sible for the upbeat was a greater awareness of tele values by Sinatra and his production staff and the giiosling of Phil Silvers. A tremendous amount Of in- genuity was shown on this pro- gram. . The opening by Silvers, \\l)o took over as though the show was designed for him, initially gave the show a great deal of promise. The gag of Sjlvers lock- ing Sinatra in his dressing room touched off a display offering tre- nu'iulous entertainment. 'rhe improvement was largely in the comedv departments. Sinatra and Silvers worked as though they’d been partnered for years. Thc\v hit it well With a satire of \aude teams and a sketch at the finale, both of Which were -good lel(' fodder. , The efficiency of this parlay put the Ben Blue comedic conlfibulion of a barbershop scene out of the running. Sid Fields’ effoils were similarly kept at a nvihimiim. Of course, Sinatra radiates a gi'i'at deal , of charm and . warmth, lie sang more than usual on this clispla>‘, but his contributions al- wiiys .seem to be welcome to both studio and home audiences. Best of the talent hit for a good response. The Whippoorwills, regis- tered Vvith a single tune; Roberta Lee did likewise and the Axel Stordahl orch provided good show- backing. while standing , pn his head, and Salvadore Dali, The surrealist artist, who was lensed in a set supposedly on the edge of a tall building, also failed to divulge the secret of the “thing” and finally jumped off the set, presumably into the istreet below. As all this was going on, a model was in the foreground, suspended from the rafters, W'ith an arm or leg dan-* gling into the frame. Total effect, while displaying imagination, reg- istered as overly pretentious and too cute. Also on the hirer were .John Palma, the Brooklyn GI who was released by the Communists in Korea; a fashion show in . which dogs modeled canine fashions, some with sequins and real dia- monds; Count Byron De Prorok. archeologist, who told of his ex- pedition to locate the tomb of the Queen of Sheba;, and Ferndall Yerxa, who co-autimred a series in the N. Y. Herald Tribune on Communist activities in the .U. S. Novelty tune, “The Thing,” was given a healthy plug omNEC-TV’s “We, the People” Friday (15). Emcee Dan Seymour interviewed publisher Howard Richmond, who explained how frenzied he has been driven by people wanting him to identify the “thing,” and songwriter Charles Grean, chief of RCA Victor’s popular artists and repertory department, whom the cameras found cowering be- hind a couch to avoid curious “Thing” singers. Show then brought on Leo , Sunnee, who played the tune ort a bass fiddle . Fred Allen turned in his last i.show Sunday night (17) as one of the rotating comics on NBC-Ty's “Colgate Hour.” The comediah’s sLable of writers this time concen- trated more on comedy sketches than on the big song-and-dance numbers, but for the most part they lacked spark. Middle one, moreover, which had to do with a mock murder trial in the Maine backwoods, pot only was overlong but also bore severial marks of poor taste. It’s no longer funny to kid a deaf man wearing a hear- ing aid, even thougli the character is written in as a dolt. Allen himself evidently tried hard and worked in two skits in heavy costume, but seldom could he overcome his weak material. With Doc Rockwell as his chief support in the Maine sketch., he utilized his “Allen’s Alley” charac- ters this time including Minen^a Pious, Kenny Delmar, Peter Donald and Parker Fennelly, as other down- east residents. They proved their versatility but that’s about all. Best of the! skits, and one which (Continued on page 30) NBC-TV OPERA THEATRE (“Carmen”) With Vera Brynec, David Poleri,; Andrew Gainey, Elizabeth Car- ron, Beatrice Bush-Kahe« Morley Meredith, Robert Goss; Guy Tano, Aida Alvarez, Fernando Ramos Producer: Samuel ChotzinOff Artistic Director: Peter H. Adler Director: Charles. Polacheck Writers: Lillian Foerster, Town- send Brewster 60 Mins.; Sun. (17), $ p.m. Sustaining NBC-TV, from New York Series of eight operas-in-English which NBC-TV is beaming this year, , with the same production team that jtaged the web’s music dramas last. year, , kicked ; off with a fine version of George Bizet’s “Carmen” Sunday (17). 'Despite its frequent translations into vari- ous forms, the Prosper Meriniee .story held compellirig interest. The video version offered more realism th-n the Rita Haywoi'th pic for Columbia and avoided the stylization of the Roland Pettit ballet. The new English lyrics provided by Lillian Foerster and Townsend Brewster were good, and t’ne locale and characters were not Americanized as was the case in the Billy Rose jBrbadway pro- duction. It didn’t register with the impact of the French film vvith Vivian Romance and Jean Marais, as was to be expected with TV’s more limited facilities. Naturally, the tele edition was scaled dovm to fit a 60-minute span. The role of the gypsy leader was deleted, for example, and soriie familiar arias might have been missed. However, the editing was tastefully done and the u.se of a narrator—in the form of the con- demned Don Jose unfolding his story in flashbacks — bridged the omitted Scenes neatly. Vera BiTner made an intriguing Carmen, getting across her arro- gance, intensity and attractiveness. David Poleri sang Don Jose, in the early scenes nicely ,portraying the young corporal’s . callowness and infatuation for the cigaret girl. Vocally,, they did well al- though t h e i r characterizations were on the understated side, not quite capturing the full fire w'hich a lengthier performance would have permitted. Andrew Gainey W'as effective as Escamillio and his toreador song which might have been hackneyed, was given an interesting reading. Supporting cast, including Eliza- beth Carron, Beatrice Bush-Kane, Morley Meredith and Robert Goss, did well, with Guy Tano scoring as the narrator. Aida Alvarez and Fernando Hattios handled the dances. Theae, while pleasing, lacked the fiery flamenco spirit and were hatnpered by cramped quarters that also interfered with the camerawork. Otherwise lens- ing was imaginative. George Jenkins’ sets and Rose Bogdanoff’s costumes were good. George Neiman’s lighting, par- ticularly in the mountain hideout, added to the impact. NBC is to be congratulated for upping its operatic sked from four i productions last year to eight for [ the current season. BriU CAFE DUBONNET With Amly and Della Russell, Gy . Coleman | 5 Mins.; Mon.-thru-Fri., 7 p.m. ! SCHENLEY INDUSTRIES ABC-TV, from N. Y. (Bioti;)\ ; A five-minute show is usually a ' glorified spot announcement and ’ this airer follows form. As a com-- mercial, it may be an effective cle- vice; but as programming nothing much can be done in such a quickie period. If the entertain-' ment values are good, then five minutes can be irritating in their brevity. If the values are poor, : then five minutes is way too long: for a commercial. In either case., therefore, a five-minute show has a big hole in its logic. On this show, the performers are solid and could use more time. Abbreviation of several vocals by Andy and Della Russell on the preem (18) cleverly suggested a full-length show but, still, the hands of the clock were almost quicker than the eye. Besides the vocals, the Bussells managed to squeeze in a pleasing hoofing rou- tine w h i c h, unfortunately, was truncated by bad camera work. Opening show, in fact, was badly marred’J>y technical miscues in the shifting of the cameras between the plugs and entertainers. Cy Cole- man had about eight bars of solo planistics which, once again, isn’t enough for his superlative key- board style. Berm. JACKIE ROBINSON'S SPORTS CLASSROOM With Robinson* Jimmy Powers, audience participants Producer-director: A1 Hartigan 15 Mins.; Thurs., 7:15 p.m, Sustaining WPIX, N, Y. Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers' Negro second baseman, showed considerable promise as a new TV personality in making his video debut Thursday (14) in a new 15-mihute sports series over WPIX, N. Y. Baseball star, who was introed by the N. Y. Daily News’ Jimmy Powers, ably priesided in a schoolroom set which had a dozen- odd teenage “pupils.” Format has the kids toss ques- tions of a sports nature at Robin- son, Among queries on the ini- tialer were “what do you think is the most important factor in train- ing a trackman?” and “do you think sportswriters have any in- fluence . . .?” The Dodger main-? stay deftly handled the posers in a rapid delivery and also dressed up his replies with an occasional anecdote. While Robinson appeared con- fident and at ease, the “students” were somewhat self-conscious and hesitant. One way to smooth this over would he to emphasize a pre- program rehearsal. Classroom at- tendees will vary from week to week. Tomorrow (Thurs.), for ex- ample, five athletes from Xavier Highschool, N. Y., will make up the panel. Withal. “Sports Class- room” undoubtedly will grab a wide slice of that adolescent audi- ence on the basis of the preem show. Gilb. . I UNCLE SAM’S STORY With Walter Abel Producer-writer: George Wallach 30 Mins.; Sun., 12:45 p.m. Sustaining WNBT, New York New airer launched by WNBT is designed Jo tell the story of the Veterans Administration and other Governmental agencies through official films. If the stanza can consistently, come lip with pix of the level reached on Sunday (17), the NBC-TV outlet should have a worthwhile public service offering, . Feature beamed bn the preem was a Veterans Administration documentary on hearing rehabili- (Continued on page 30) • • • Coast peojJe listen inosl (o ColuiiTbia Pacific during the daytime. They lishm inosl to Golumliia Pacific at night. And Nielsen confirms it : During the entiie \\'Qek, Columbia Pacific commands a bigger average share, of audience — day and night — than any other CoaM iietivork.' So., to reach the inosl on the Coast, tell your sales story on., /\/tA ')! I'l'iril'. li.li'iii-'t J'lniinn throtigh Srpt^mh^r I’iV Represented by RADIO SALES, Ridis md Television Station) R«present)tivi.,.C 3 > Columbia PaeWe. ..the lUL.l .W'lHurk