Variety (March 1951)

Man* 7, 1*31 TMtYIMON VIRVIKW!! 31 JOYCE MATHCW8 With Hhirley Rallarft IS Mins. Wed.. II AMMONIA ANOBS H ABD, N Y. (UMl Mr* MfttWwt, late— In lh* TV bri|«dr recently overcame a il*t* of chicken poi and returned to video chores wtth two show* on the —m o evening (Wed.i. Ml— Maihr«v the *1 Mrs Milton MerM. roo frrendered the So m e r set Maugham playhouse earlier Wed. <28' r»*foro es—ylng her own stint In a IVminute session (or A SlfClM ft TORT With Betty Mi— Mathews, on her muIv net out of practice, and too befuddled to show any charm She was ob- viously reading fro— a concealed script, hurrying peer her lines and seemingly at s toes an what ta —y when not referring to the istnin hjr a is Mt—.: ROOMtS HR Oft. wji n n. r. (Young A RsMrtnl ’ Sucre— Story.** a twice-weekly. lS-mioute alrer which recently . started an WJZ-TV. N Y. la an- other one of those afternoon Inter- 1 view shows held aero— a coffee tabic Guests on the program es- plain how they became a ni ece— In their chosen he Ids. Betty Furness Is ho—em For Thursday's ft) session Miss Fume- lighting Latter dlsn—sed her >oh that she was the anly pursued such a craft Mar meats were Interesting and Fi D1 QCEANE SHOW TIMS With Ryle MarDeooell. M*| T( r* \ ladimir I Mafooletia. Slim t VVu4 .11 Ml V. K ilMr'.- Vlr Maitland M Wins.; Wed.. • p m. Dt’Qt FsNE RRrWING CO. WDTV. PMtsborth t Wmiker 4 Oosmingi Local TV In Pittsburgh really came of age with teeoff program In Duquesne Brewing Co. Show- time series. It was by far the best thing that's rose out oeer Channel 3 since Pittsburgh's l>u Mont-owned station first went lire last Novcm- of k Rodgers Tribute By GEOBGE ROAEN probably the best the had ta offer that evening The script wasn't ting and owlsted a# little than a series of name ptng at thia and that affair Srs«»on took on a kit of Ufe when Fare Emerson and her bus-, hand Skileh Henderson did a guest shot Mias Emerson carried the • hall during that sequence Mi— Mathews fumbled an<1 Mi— Emer , over Henderson. In the of these two loahot Of the ever-loving] Mi— Emerson. Incidentally, else made her sponsored tele how with Ansonla shoes, and the girls had a few things to say an that com- to to light a runctaou— way at la the theatre Camera pickups of theatre aet photographs could been used to illustrate the JerCt work This also would have instead of confining the lens to the dun seated at the table through- out the program Plugs foe Boners silverware were oell integrated la the continuity. Gilh. and rehear—1. and It paid off Du- haa aet four rotating shows —Vladimir Bakalelnikoff and his Ainfooietta. co m posed of 24 fir—- chair men from the Pittsburgh phony; Benue Armstrong “Welcome Aboard 1 * musicals, a teevee vers—n of maestro s popu- ter AMer. which w— bankrolled two years by -me sponsor Alim Bryant and his Wildcats in a Dude Ranch half-hour and a variety re- vue m e *d by Harold V. Cohen, columnist and* drama critic fur the Pittsburgh Post-Gaaette. Each one of the— will go on every fourth IS Mias. Mon thrw Frt. S IS NBC TV. from New York Edgar Guest the so-called *| .. f .. | a 40 ft^alms. WI s Eft^F •sW^Ss , ptsTfitFw -Ml Is Is * vision Monday (S< with his own daytime cro— the-board. 15-mlnute stan— on NBC and. on the basis of his initial projection TV has In the offing a personality — dis- tinctive visually as. say. Gabriel Neattor In audio As a matter of (act. here la one Instance where TV can discard Mi hook of rules ild kt for the of the stan— lies In the d os e up treatment of the grass forces Sunday night «4* In paying tribute to songwriter Rich- ard Rodgers on his 23th anni In of hi* like a MR WIZARD W ith Dm Herbert Director: l.arry Aoerborh And if Ml— Mathews was ous. it w— in c onsequential in _ partaon to Shirley Ballard who I apteled the r e —mrrci ala. Jo or. M Mins ; HaL. 4 FRONT PAGE DETECTIVE With Fdmuod Midge Ware ... « 1 •• ! .. “Mr Wt—rd" Is a public service feslure of NBC TV m cooperation with the Cereal Institute. Inc — the cooperation being that NHC do- the time and the Institute pays the programming charges of this Herbert Laufman production A«m D irector Bert piers Riley J r.i ii n w ine RTTV. I •• Angeles I Guild, Baarom. Bongglll Guild Wines “Front Page De- tective” showed strong possibility in its opening frame Edmund lasr. as a columnlsi -detective, and Paula Drew, only regulars In the series, are well tailored to their parts, though Ml— Drew —d Lowe •re obviously quite well apart in C irs to he carrying on the folksy e affair Intimated at in the Ini- tiator Future episodes In the package ah«»uld be angled more at building I-owe into the central character. John Da\id*on. as the criminal, overshadowed the entire cast with a hefly performance Mklge Ware measured up to performances turned in bv Lowe and Mi»s Drew. Vain spina around Davids—i. Ciippled bodily and ment4ll\ un- balanced. who la unable to rile himself to his present lion having b e en the leading tvpr before misfortune befell him Davidson yearns youthful and h-iulilMl feminine companionship and root mils murder to attain his goal. S«tangling Mis* Ware’s fl- ame Miss Ware arcuses David- son The question remains, how r«*uld he possibility have done It? The answer is supplied by Lowe Teleplay b y Curt Skxlmak and Fihlie Jos.* *h is well conceived and nierlv executed Story rings true and flows smoothlv. Arnold Wesl- fr» direction Is responsible for strung pacing and Mrfty perform- ances Lowe, however, could have been planted — a stronger, more dvnamie character rather than an almost flippant columnist Centera work bv Lester White was quale Free. i- A It hough Don Herbert, who plays Mr. Wl—rd. and Bruce Lmdgrrn. the inquisitive youngster who Is to reap the benefits of the Wizards knowledge, were bulk a little stiff at the start of the show , both settled down and Herbert assumed an easy approach In his demonstrations It should shake down into a good prog ra m, sis—d at M—wing it of general science interest to teenagers; and Is a logical adjacen- cy to the following program on the network. The Nature of Things.** which interests a slightly older group “Air” w— the item demonstrated on the initial show «3 • Herbert used effective props in demonstrat- ing the properties of air and air pressure Red of his demonstra- tions was heating a tin can. capping it. then dousing it with cold water, causing mat side air pressure to col- lapse the can. Production and camera work were r seel lent throughout, and aided In holding the program together Total effect would hr improved if young lund- gren could five the appearance of informality rather than reciting memonartl lines Designed for "education for bet- ter health and living.** the program contained two pitches on good nu- trition. with heaw and obvious emphasi* on breakfast foods — “Now for a good breakfast, you should have orange Juice, toast, milk, and of course, a good cereal " However, the web is apparently un- willing to risk the wrath — poten- tial and current advertisers among meat packers, as one plug indicated that you could if you wish, stitwfe a breakfast meat produt l *»j 't . So the premiere shot wr— a of composite of all four of them, with Kyle Mac Donnell, who has he- a ranking TV favo m Pitts- through her network* is. on from New York to be the mistre— of ceremonies For a program that packed — much into Tu minutes. N was a fast and well- knit l a yout that didn’t have a dull r , —d Mi— Mac Donnell handled whole thing ensily. giving out with one song. “It’s a Lovely Day ** that rang the bell In addition lo doing a nice Job on the announce- ments and some smart Institutional •tuff for the sponsor. Bakateinikog. long-time musical I of Pittsburgh Symphony, an impressive debut leading the Sinfonietta through “El Rell- curio’ and “Fiddle Paddle brf turning the baton over to A who conducted for Jimmy Sounders es- nllat —noshing over a sock ar- 4 of “Begin the Brgume ** Slim Bryant and the WildraU Mi- lled over the hill with one of their ilain chants and Cohen brought no as his guest. Mel Tor- , me and Velvet Fog wrapped it up with straight chorus of “Bloc Moon'* and then into his Impres- sions of the way Perry Como Rills bto Pm/a and Frankie ild do the — number His recitals are strictly la the “Takes A Heap af Livin’ Ta Make a Home’* philosophical idiom, hut overbalancing the corn is a dynam- ic personality, with each word given added meaning by his eyes, hands and overpowering demean or. There ore the us ual r—ir e s slows to “formot.** such — a strut- ting guitar accompanist; a Cal Friday’’ ta pour coffee, and a fem- me guest with same turnon inter- est angle. But “A Guest In Your House* Is oil Guest soon hankers for a of a guy who tricks with Rose THE < IR( t IT El DEB nil* Theodore R of Maryland; helve—on Army Ken Hildebrand and Charlie Gar- ratt. came on midway dressed — a rouple of okfltme vaudevtlliaw* lo do a rute song-and-dance commer- cial a la Gallagher and She an and a mixed group, the Ma* r res. dressed in military -type uniforms same kind as Duquesne Prime of Pi I sene r wears gave out with some special lynrs at opening and clos- ing Miniature curtain and pros- cenium has camera shooting through it at the start to give the impression that thing’s being done from a Mg theatre auditorium Duquesnc has different sets and themes set for each of the rotating program* and thrv've certainly given the —her local bank roller* on TV something to shoot at Step WD5U-TV SENDS CREW TO BALL TRAINING CAMPS New Orleans. March • W DSC-TV sent a two-man crew In Florida Monday *5» to get first- hand accounts of activities in *l»nng training ramps of the ma»or league bill dubs Mel Leavitt, sta- tus's sports director, and John Muller, camera director are on the junket, which will cover camps of lo teams. Muller, former MGM “Nevis of the Day“ newsreel cameraman, will fit m the action at the training sites, while l^eavitt will lape-reroid in- terviews with players, rookie pro*- p t% . nd manager* Hall safari •1st will include visit lo camp of th • New Orleans Pi limns, training in Florida fur first lime. YOI R PET SHOW With MU# Pearsall Producer: Jack BuchboMx Director: Al llartigao M Hiss; Sat. 4:1ft p.m. FLAG PET FOOD wri*. N. V. tW’nr. Warren Jock tom A Delaney! “Your Pet Show.“ a HQ-minute session In which dog owners are handed tips on how to train their canines, has a good idea behind it. However, its execution Is short on finesse and smoothness Much of this ran be attributed lo the lack of ea*e that trainer Ml— Pearsall shows before the camera. Pearsall floes well In demonstrat- ing bow recalcitrant pooches should lie down, jump over a bar- lier and carry out —her fe—s of obedience Rut his running com- mentary is unpolished and an awk* v nd pause occasionally arose on the program caught Saturday »3». When Pearsall’s enunciation im- proves and He develops more po:*e Your Pet Show ' will show a cor- responding improvement Puds for Flag Pet Food are pegged round the ealrhline. “their tails will wag . if jou feed them Flag " Glib. WENDY BARBIE SHOW W Ilk Mayor and Mrs. Y Intent R. Impellilerri. cwests Producer Hal James Director Cortland! Steen IS Mins.: Friday S:IA p.m. CELANESE CORF. WJZ TV-AB4 N. Y < CIliMOion A Co l Wendy Barrie who launched her video career on ABC*-TV. returned to that web Friday night *2» with a aew series for a new bank roller after a short stay on NBA' Pro- gram is si—led hack to hark with the Eva Gabor show, which should give ABC a monopolistic hold on those viewers who like to watch —tractive femmes chit-chatting with various and sundry guests Miss Barrie, for the prrem of her new sene*, was as talkative and wandering in the subjects she at- tempted to rover as ever But she has a vivacious manner with her • guests and a certain amount of per- sonal charm which gets her safely past the cameras. Opening-night guests were N Y Mavor \ incent R Imnellitrrri and his wife, who held their own with Miss Barnc in a loose I v -conducted interview shout the problem* of each in their re- spective work Commercials were confined lo a live pilch made bv Miss Barrie and a short film, both of which v ere acceptable. 5i«L Writer: Manley Hllrrrwia Pr o ducer: Franklys W Disea Director: 1 chert C. Doyle M Min* ; Mon.. II pa AMERICA FOB CHRIST. INC. ABC TV. from New York iTurwer A Dyson foe » In an effort lo save souls tedav as itinerant preachers did in the l) 8 over ISO years ago America for Chri—. Inc started a religion* series over ABC-TV Mnadav nighl • Si called “The Circuit Rider.** Sponsor of the program is a non- profit organisation — Christian laymen under the guidance — the Board of Evangelism — the Meth- odist Chu r ch « New series is an honest altemH to bring about a more pou* wav of life In these troubled times But the direct approach — an un- billed individual who serves a* the modern-day video circuit ndrr is almost too abrupt to be effective “If you want peace ” he loid viewers, “then get down on your knees and prav to the laud for peace begins with the salvation of sin . . .** Gov Theodore R Mrkeldin of Mao land, guest on the inauguial was more forceful and convincing in asserting that the rou—rv need- a day of ' a— tonal humiliation ’ to get away from the m—enal things Music on the session was provided by’ a mixed chorus — III voices amt a Salvation Army Rand Also in- tegrated in the fo» mat was a fair dramatic— ion of an mruienl in the life of pioneer circuit ndrr Bishop Francis Vshurv “Circuit Rider has an important message for the public but it could be sent more expeditiously if some professional talent were used on (lie program Glib tilled “An u r l ca Applauds As Evening for Richard Rodgers ** and from ft to 19 NBC-TV viewers wera tre—ed to what prortlrally amount- ed to a cavalcade — muairomedy spanning the pn— quarter-century. It was a musical tribute taste- fully produced which skirted the ruuientieual sentimentality but lu- ff Mb a strictly TV worthy af the ro m m e m o ral csal o n A goodly seg m ent of way’s tup names, including Mary Martin, who was making her TV debut and proved one of the major delights <>f a pietely entertaining hi an appearance to help doff Mi hat to one of the —Mime greats la the realm of musiromedy. From the opening full-chorus It s a Grand Night for Singing” and Vivienne Segal’s reprise — her Bewitched’ hit tune from the “Pal muskoJ iff the Rodgers-1^o- Hart oral.' tn Miss Martin’s (mating with “Wonderful Guy** with a Rodgers piano accompani- ment (completing the transit ion into the M. >•. the Aft min- 'k entertainment with a lyrical appreciation for one of the great ere—ive talents — our day who. perhaps more than any —her individual, endowed the mu- siromedy far—* of show hi* with a more oieaniogfu! stature sod a brand new a— of valurs. ( an*Id*ring the array of talent on hand and the jamparkrd roster — Rodgers tunes with their capsule me. the c o mponent* were into a surprisingly weli- inlegr—ed whole, even though the camera treatment frequently left TV SPELLING BEE With Ruth Weir Miller Rill Hart 3ft Mius Sun lt:IS a. m. FRANK A SEDER WCAL TV. Phila Frank A Seder the fourth (oral department —ore lo buy lime on W( At' TV concentrate* on the pulling power of younr ler* with ils old-fashioned vpellm*. bee The doten or more participant* even gel a Bins at the rorommial* with their chant “F—low (he leafier lo Frank A Seder “ The — raigtit brand of —ore commercial* are not neglected 'however with models drmott'traling TV ‘spe- cial*.’* Taking part in the spelling bee are children of I he *ame age group recruited from vartou* wbiuU throughout I he ril* Age limit* run front eight lo IS year* Pot* n- tial audience Is larse considering the number of school* repreanted each week, and I lie large l»*i ol juve avpiranl* waiting lo get on program Stanza ha* all the reg- ular eonlot excitement* with the conle—anl* being narrowed down a* I lie word* become more difficult Adult vtcwerx ran of rour*r tr*l thrm*eivr% on the entire rundown W inner pet* a V!*i men h.mdi*e order on the —ore. Gnyh. ed performance* particularly by t h o s e who graduated from •aud Hart or llamusmg—u* Into the bittime left no as lo their own appreciation and feelings for the composer on the thre*lio'd of to ooote Ktiss— ( rouse h— show bu “Master • De- gree * Refreshing element of (he hour- long showcase was the projection — new fares into the T\ medium, notably In the case — MU* Martin, who demon—raltxl within a few- minute span her usnk vm(<o po- le—tall! les. Other out—and in x hits included Ole— • Hu m * version of ’ Thi* Can't Be Love * • llu** Ft Syiaruao'*i; Alfred I'rakc s * P Will Say We’re in l^ve” «Okla- homaVera /on mas beautifully executed “Rodger* in *• Time' waltzing to a mrdtrv comprising “Most Beautiful Girt in the World** "law” and “Falling in late With lane;” Patrlre M—cl'i rendition of “What’s the Use of Wondering** • 'Carousel***; Bing Crush)’* * - •Hind- oo l\ pipe in from the Coa— for some glib kudsin,' and voc ailing of “Easy lo Remember'’ (from “Mississippi’* pie*; the sliowrasing of youthful aspirant* paired off in duos on v«irallin'£ (he quirter-cen- tur> -old “Garrirk Gairtir* ’ lop tunes l“ Mount sin Greenery.“ Sen- timental Me.** “In Old Manila!t in’’t. Part*u’arlv doliolne was the Valertr Bettis rhor.*ograpliy and her dam mg in the Slaughter On lUth Ave.“ hat let from “On Your Tors. plus a Me top ra quartet comprising Charles kullm m. Brian Sullivan liuth Thomp*«m and John Bio*i nice intoning “Nothing l ike a Dame • South Pacific”». with a *urp«ixingly on k y a**i— fi Ku-*d f’lou'C Howard I .if Deems Taylor and Frank Chaoman. Dufuthy May nor’s “Y ou’ll Never W'alk Alone ‘ • “CaiOusel’’* was an addril highlight Considering obvious lark of re- hearsal and the n-^ed to rram *ueh multiple ra—in'* within the allotted period the llenrv Souvame-lcs Hut wit/ produrer-dircctortal run Iritis came off with a minimum of the visual emhair.i'imnl* that In- var u hi y rrop up on surh one-shots. John Daly’s smooth cm eetng and Max YU*th s orch background- ing also rate nod* • PhiJt o relinquished its “Tele- vision Playhuu-r tor the tribute, with Red Cro** Shoes picking up the lab.