Variety (May 30, 1951)

May 30, 1951 TKIHIMOX MVIKHf SI • t» * ♦ • *•♦< Tele Follow-Up Gunment HOW Ttl.lVIMON VIORM mm Dr |M handful • XT' NBC-TV kr.%toa would of Iht entertaining of recruited a talented botch oho know their way Hair, and put the- caret lent ly w extended into the Max* the bat which writ inf rol also rtinned m bnghti* who "M^licine ahowr number waa Or Ru* k Marshall a few notches below moot of ducts ‘The Nature of ■taaca Rule Davit hoa a good award-winning NBC' network de 'penalty, but permitting ia presenting a ft i to do a big chunk of hi* art whirh reduces the up the general pace, television to the Mis* Stair atnga a good song ^Nool student * and did welt with Thomas in the TV program has the 'ketches, although the writing I Hwtddraphhaf other ei wasn't loo ingenious Dr Marshall explain* what Production by uniformly number* went NANCT ( R\IC Da rid P. leeb U Ml interview - I nfoitunatrly, the genera) cal line of the scripting and the long J running time of the akiu with, ohirh prreanrd aevctal Oiartie Cantor pulled down the ago a* a promising contender level ot the atania The first Can- the T\ mu-icomed* aweepstal Cantor i- ™■ br SZX *iW i gyluoiw £r«r •£?-• a went off well dolled into the Mudto * coo /JZlTl-L - , trol and master control roa m s to rompiaieiy oui ^ ^ show llie students and the general Show opened with Festival.’* [ ha tm A In garb for they s chool- voudtwrr W It letter I pApgg. In which they retri e v e d Ire- Cantor. meock*u*ly with the of Joel Gray. a talented ^erf who ran handle songs danr corned* with equal facility C antor pi of the coolers In Finale waa aim perked up into iot a •i that, lodging , Thur s day night's *24 NBCTY. Where it | scored with Ha ambit tioo numbers, its • sin looking sets f at via -inall* f Mr This af a l-asi weeks uas to have presentation with if la Mu ■■ w for example an earlier an for a Iso perked up w ith the "'"J 11 *• ,,r 11 1 met her of Kt Eddie Fisher |^ **•*"*• in Cantor protege who bwl **•* ® - brief hat «cev'um to the theme Cast of Al this Cantor one of Its Rol last TV career that he's assets writing in of things ' ■the the I to the for the curtain non-existent •cored with his roe. «rhn| Moore handled pait before a blank Melton in cowboy the only coo worked s virtual!' Melton notnrally smgtng and made Mon ith Victor his tunes |g his With ten nr Segal dramatic tine mu'tcomcdv actress V»v- ,mr "•* eaal making her \ id« o monolog adaptation of Studio adult in an s "Herr making CBS TV * a matui night Rita Weiman la llv l.ife " Mary d an mother striving I# daughter from making the mistakes in life that she had the adaptation, arripted by Henry Never, projected the sentimental theme neatly without ever getting maudlin about It. Combined with the top the*ping of the entire rasl Worthington Miner's standout production mountings and Paul N m hells tom potent diinii.m, the prugram was one of the better in the * Studio bits Moore s an old-type firemen, hut have had regular with her the duets 1 usual muscular bantu in rumpetent coined* owe big scene was about hick an* riiaim It might wa* not r* ident Dorothy Warcnskjold ras| mem tier registered thru*hin(. pai^wlajiy in h,. r with Mellon wie •n a tunn* Indian got a little blue with stand .rd *tolini*lic* J«*hn King wa* loo stiff as Melton* de-< .imp One of the br*l features ot the show were the Ford film commercials demon*li at mg the lord is trsfed their Reed the the station Rlackhoard diagrams and tele- vision equipment are used hy Dr M.-irshall to Illustrate his talks, the srientid't leave no doubt that anyone who listens closely can "get H.** On program caught he talked about the photo-electric cells and illus- trated with an atomiser filled with Ink to show how pictures are formed hy electrical impulses He demonstrated the vidraron a small T>’ camera about the sire of a man's hand, whirh has not vet brow commeirtall* released. Dr Marshall wa* greatly esc lied about Ms potential uses to Indu s try I-ros- in* of Dr Marshall and the video- con apparatus was something of a scoop, aa the nunule TV r isn't available even to atatiu Dr Marshall is emtmnetv on a difficult subject He to remain intelligible to list without either trying to hypo his subject or talk down to viewers He seems lo br one scientist who has hit upon the right manner in whirh ta rommumcatr with the public * Operation Blackboard which the Marshall lecture* presented Is a daily half-hour in- thow pi -mined hy the themse f ve* Dr, Marshall's appearance marked the first time the educator* have turned to an for a show or series of •FH.. « Ri WJ/ TV - This frmme-appeal with Nanry Craig tag ran da with Man more ml crest-compel ling subject matter. It suffers hy reason of a futile though gallant attempt to hr all Ihmgs ta all women during their household chore s And at . ----- h waa obvious that wi lb* with a getting of hand with a shape of public the actual workings of a TV thing* thenar a display of cart) air-conditioned corsets and ayndr* outer garb and unmentionable - from the permanent lion of the Rronkljn Mi log with a Ptaytex 'plug girl modeling a bathing soM. cut a lt-11 Then into a public servire pitch with human interest over- tones Mrs John Ogden the gue*t related how neartv 2 OHO mm Rritish srjmea have been added bv the British Seamen's Hostsr told s CO npM of heart-throhbers slot* * the route and upstaged Mr* Craig to the seg's detriment all ol M In a slightly inarticulate combination of northern twang and guttural nOl aided no the visual side bv Mrs Stew art 's wearing of a * t il was in the middle r ex-decorating tor Libel ItruMrom also an on adapting slip rover* to manifold use* in home arts Gal ha* «edalc charm and showed (hat she know' way around draper**-- va*- on |>, Mi*« Segal, not seen until the early I race* quick I* in her role oi Hroadw a* Mar w ho hu*bartd away to a t Her arting wa* a ol ike fright lo register the had daughter to lile in Italy trifle B am ho* ant i with acting wa* a Hnrkr Miller MgMn but ghP officer for NBC Pta | presented a ho- durumrolai * drama in “Rescue ' over NBC-TV Sunda* 27 • St or* of tourlM guide Fl«»*d Collin* who toM his Itfr when trapped in a rave some 2f» year* ago wa* adapted by David Pulilser prise-win- i*f lands* ilie Cou- rrporirr William night operation- •n New V ork 1 ISO public, private and poroehial schools throughout the Philadel- phia area Dr Marshall, who h-*s been associated will* WITZ since IM7. Is ckmaltng his services to explain the wonders of TV lo the students i Windup as per formal Franc Pol gar children a bo* gar's pu«h for Shaw from I he nine rii'palrhr* rirr - Journal NOT MIR M Rl »( UION With I Kpeth Hoffman Not * Pawl Jaaalt William Writer: Stedman Coles Producer: Roger Gerrv Director IMck hand wick IS Mins.: Moo Thors 7 0 SHADOW* 5 . .. , Rut while the dncumeulncy j..nc- ami .lu .ilki her '<nS>n* ,„ d ,(>«■ dcMiblrdl* wa* di'tuihcng to viewer* who suffered wa* i apable job as the producer friend of the family and Barbara Amr* etched a touching perform- ances as the daughter, JiMft«on l-aiie registered as tier father and Darrm MrGavtn, a* (he legit di- rector with whom the daughter ha* in love, and Carroll Howe, a* the husband whom she almost left were fine. Miner and Nickell captured much of (he flavor of a Bmadw ay show In the uithin a theatre, and the •«-«' were equally poo Ing players and Miss Segal two tunes penned specifically fur the show by Gordon Pare While they weren't of Hit Paradr calibre thrv At neatly into (he story. Mu* Srzal also sang Jerome Kern * When I lie Ships Come Home ' creative facet* *ho*. ha* of the layout's Owe of the ol i lie Ibna* hr. n the abtIMy designers to r^le personality on video It’s brt-n s hard pull, but the prores* u now v irl ually completed Thomas is equally as potent in * per ling in frooi of the curtain, in a dialect bit or in sketches He work* ptca*- anily and in a manner that paves Jhe way lor everything that led- low* tRn Wednesday's '23> NBC show. Tttoma* was in top form In fart hr was loo many shades above hi* h riling and support so (hat a l ,r N*tr balance of values was lack- ing Thomas did r\c^lgf)il* in hi* vsitous sketches. Specially Ihr briefte* on his “Wailing S* rum“ and hi* dialect bet with some ne sh with l he trapped man Men cover lor older mrmbrr* of the audience with long memories there was no *u*pen*c la be den*ed from the drama since thev knew before- hand that the victim was never ovrd de*pcie the would-be re*- ctrees' effort* Tec hmc all* the Fred Coe pro- duction was one of the P1a*hou*e • br-i Ink* bfarkne** of the rave the relentles* drip of water the proMrate Collin* re per- sewied an achievement If •cenu de*igncr Otis Bigg* Movement* of Ihr re woe par:* within the re- created natty* pa**age ta the cavern were abl* caught b* clever camera maneuvering Performance* were good Cordon Duff** exacting direction Sand* Campbell seemed rather juvenile a* Miller the renortn who entered the undergiound tomb again and again in an attempt to •ave the imprisoned man But in- asmuch as Miller was XI at the lime hi* portrayal was probabi* accurate Klimt! Sullivan was well caM as llomrr Collin* brother of the vm • lim John Randolph scored a* a rii* editor whde Dan Morgan wa* realism itself as Floyd Collin* Of her players lent food support Ben Gtaurr did a brief narration w mu. n. y “Not for Publication lo the Du Mont advance publicit* release, (ells of the ‘ vivid but un- printed details of human intereM stones’ which a nrwrspnper re- pod cr encounters While, some yarns that turn up daily in any sheet’s news gleaning* may At wilhia that bracket the subject rhosen for Thursday's «24 ■ IV minute inM ailment on WARD N, Y hardly ^ualiAed as 'vivid human interest Far ‘Lost Boy“ was merely a I aw dr* diamatiicd tale of and wife dimension lhai their I >car old son lo run away because be felt he wasn't wanted Investigating the child's disappear- ance a reporter found that the child * mother indirectly forced the lad lo lake off since she preferred to pur*ue a career a* a designer rather than remain a housewife The br hind-1 hr-*crne» parental bickerings were portraved bv a small cast whose overacting of I he weak script gave the whole epi- sode an artificial Aavor Elspelh I loll man failed lo convinc e a* Ihr mother and Nat Polen was equally unimpressive as the father William Adler, who's starred as the re- porter, went through his slinl mechanically Paul Jonalt wa* adequate as the bo*. Du Mont ha* possibilities in “Not For Pubiira- Imm’ but in “Lo*t Bo*'* the was missed Gifh. prinliK rd for the A l ~1 aft wished Business. I SA '* A- nal«-d fur I lie *ea*nn on NBC TV Sunda* »?7* with a Anc diwrtaflon on discrimination of minorities This public service show put on umh-r auspice* of the Young Men s Christian A*wn and the Ameiwan 1-obHI There were some rule bits Jewish Congress projected thi- ol humor in that session Hi* tunc • theme with telling eweet in P® ,n bits with Kav Starr also registered OMl *** r*. ’ bell, a* did hts travelog scenes ■»*«> *^e dej»n*ed of jhc.r b**ic llowi-vcr. there were some bit* eivil right* and empio*men • hut slowed up the show roci*id- i“»*tunities It* greatest rength erabiy The Arehou*e beneftt sum- However brramr evident oheni • b*r wssn’l too well d«-%igned and **' proven that by intoleraiw^r Do- talent presented in that se- • ** , * on *' ,hr brnr o q*i- nrs* slowed up Ihr proceeding* • Continued on page J4 • TIME Kay Crew* Victor Mynsan Ml CNT TFI.I.MI.MF With J sell Hull 1 Director Y Pi adorer Ed M Miw Participating WOAITV, A new twist guine of charades debut on WOA1-TV to shape up into a weather enter!aaimcnt The show is an original mime quiz in which Ihr l*arttcipanl po*»* the tContinued on page 3i> Bus- * on the old nice bit parlor H* ol panto- v irwer- N Y. n a pub-servue feature bv DoMoot a« a hrnelil Assn fur the Help ef Re. I Children Aa *urh it ^potted some lop s ho w hu doing gu *t shots and neatly Its pilch for fund* lor the Flower-Fifth Ave Hospital s *N Y I clinic for mentally retarded kid* Even though there m.ght b.ve ton much emphasi* in the med*. it was good ertainmrnt for the most part ■ those who worked the show are ta hr tom mended lor appeal - tag gratis Evident I* unable ta round up the right kind of talent to make lor a well-diversified layout Ihr producer* were forced ta spotlight one comic after another, Unrup included Larry Be*l. whose noi*v apple-cat mg routine mu*t ha*.- heel loo realist m for most viewer-' stomach- llerh Simnei In pleased with hi* H«n>*ier numo'w; and hariiMmua pla*tng. Connie Sawyer win got nme laugh- wtl!i a clevn parod* on being a wall, the fri»»h* StMer*. an okay knot Ik- out duo Rohril W l-cw |* w »«• handled him-ell well with a straight romrdv bit. beside - em- ceeing the la*l part of the -how. and Imogen*- Cut a who scored with her exaggerated imprisona- tton ot a lortli-'inger Thai wa* too much corned* for a »«nt*e IwMir Interspersed wa* on I* one dame number with R'H Bailey impressing with his Bill Kubin-on minurWin? and a couple ot musical interlude* ( > I olemau orrh which basked the otlier art* rapahi* **ored with one number and Mark Da* id and Jerry l^iw- rence ssangwi ilrr* to**ed away their and then I wrote loulinr ll*»oe*-Dreamers a vural quintet, registered best with two excel- lently staged tunes Betty Fume** feme red the first 43 minute* of the *how rapabl*. spoiling colum- niM Hy Gardner ta one appeal lor t funds. Sfal. BCYKN AT KLEVCN With George DeWHt, A4dney Gould. Denise I-or. Mi Hon Dr- Lngg Orrh. Belly I. Mai I II pm. NBC-TT, from New Seven at Eleven* on its Ar*| pass Monday lit came up with •nake eye* New arnev winch takes NBC-TV* II pm hour on Wednesdays 'with mg tn the aim on the mher three nights* failed lo impress alt bough with a heavy injcctum m comedy maint*I and produrti values a nmeihmt ought of the retry Imtialrr brirayed the haale with which the stanza together DrWitt who jove with a pas*aide singing si vie, attempted III lie in the j Mo*t m the clowning ipint h* Sidnr* (amid, who*e efforts failed lo gil arrosa. relied overly on dnuhlr talk, untie— running lines like Til lake a rah** and mher crutches which wrerut tune* One point at w hie it (aouhl -bowed some A air uas the mind-reading tut. although this larked potl*h In the voral d«*panment Denise lair shewed some promi-e Gal well on “Them There Eyes.** s u c ce s s fully on * llaofwne*a It a Thing Called Joe “ Select urn of i ran ta i INWml tali' interesting but un- camers pickup* wa« ton of toys for ilmral children devised bv Ethel l.antdon child develop- I adviser to American Tev In- Milute Mrs Craig seemed un- interested at limes and out futlv relaxed with a tendenry sl-n In ak a Inok at the program s di- improved as *he I l«*r on the > hall Hi* III al also dm nr an m • t Heft* •latter vocal I did well With a standard kind of terping For gr.-ater effect, thrir number- should have wmr- thing of a hook or theme or other* vise he Integrated into the p«o» a L ia hvpnmist Dr his two yoon? girl Dr. fN»l hypnosis and p-v- omena a* dignifu *1 his brood engagin'* in fidget • on a settee loo Mg fo« th* m They hit their nail* and re- -pon«l«-d lo questions with a hash fui indisi.m lne*s that gave n*e to curmaity about whether the pto- gram had any hut the Aim«ie*> pc*-pa i alion Willow Di l.ugg rottiho harked the show nicely and clicked with a hm arrangc-ment of “l^tdy He Drlaigg with the evprrt- “Open llou*e behind him, ran he an as* l lo the produrlum. but need* a more tleaiiy defined rule in the grown lie also went an the mugging ihrr of the s. ven** I* the AotM manac. r. unidentilM-d and changing from night lo niglit. Id* a af a chararl .-c popping in with a head-*«» tould he fruitful, but nothing jelled with it on Ilia Only lime Ihr eniiv exhibited the gay informal *piril tl strove tm waa in the I • irmi-lup ' num- ber. where Ihr giwon wait»lrd the tune cutelv while p<. i« o«litr; lu be jamme d into an etc' lie IVrhap* with more I him and nr« pal al ion "Seven ran make it* immiiI ftnf. MlhS I . S. Ti l FUSION Marty Hog aa: Frank wueeney. W Fradorer: Halter Nkwinour Direetors Art FlrklO*. lion t ook 29 Mlos Moo.. 7 M AMERICAN \I1 \ MlN WGN TV. f hirago *Coooselor» • This u the second sea-«>n for Wattc-r Srhsintmri « fstmlunalum hrautv-talent syndualed tele pa« k- age. Current weekly Hind' fit* elim- ination cleariv drioon*li al« s the advantages ami di *ad* ant age* of building a video show aioond ama- teur talent On the piu« side Uieie s the developing ancle inherent in ah rontesis with iIh* femmes' own fan* prohabl' miking up a iair-siard audieme AI -a a* liie series move* lo Ihr ntv hnais and iImb the nationals wltoh will hr ?IV«n .40 h«HJi nelwock spread next Thanksgiving lla*. mieiesl siMtuld g«‘in momentum Di*advanl->.*« - wetr ohsiou* on -cement cauehi 21 • While awe of lb. Ave gals di*plu*iiur their wares wa* bad none ot ihen wa* pat* lieu arty gmuf ruhri Despite the ihet-srcakr finale which biooghl the c< m test ant* kuk lot a ball mg -uil strut lo rap.tai|#e the ‘ s' in ■ex. talent unveiled m Ihr show waa hardly up to nighttime TV standard* e*preiallv agatn*l com- peting netwoik *ho"s Fetnmrs ran the* n-ual amateur tourse. mrlooing a d.«mrr, ptam-l- -inrei mints op. rat m wartderi and the in vilabfr baton Iw II let \ la«k of poli-h and in -o«i»e ca«e*. Ia*t of talent wa* di*c*einible Vlarty llogan inlrwrd Ihr I* m* »nd bandied a couple ol Ihr plug* His w cm k wa* romp* lent if not sparkling Haianre »t commerrial* were given an oka* Irralimnt by Frank Sweenr* Session was sVuemhl* prodiM «d and lrn-ed w ilh the I mime* showcased a* effect ive- , ly as possible De»'C