Variety (October 03, 1951)

1 . .• s, mi BIG SHOW Ti Vm L rard. Wilton. Wlltoeu orrh . .. . ..... -■ Frtlurrr 41mt«r: Dm REXALL WrHm: Gm*M Am, Mm DU- CM, fr®« mead. F (,rff» Frank Wit H tolas.: Sun.. I N _ REYNOLDS MITAL. fHMTII- field hhitehall NEC from New Verb Y^rhenen. r»nr,mvham A Walsh, John f Muresr> NBC's DQ rmnut* radio extrava- ganza. "The Big Show.** returned to I ha a ir tones Sunday <30' for Its second uftnon The initial broad M«t *M a toped vmion (edited and revised' of tha performance tiagrd at th* Palladium in I-on don and broadcast via tha BBC at NBC’scontribution toward further- ing international goodwill and at an expression of unity bat warn nation* Net! week's broadcast witt ha tha tapad version of tha One# pagardad at pura and-ttm- pie entertainment. "Amos n Andy hat recantly barn eaMM up in tha canter of a social-minded controversy which goat beyond tha limits of show business. Particu- larly in lit TV varalon land tha »ama criteria must apply to tha original radio count report l._ In* FATB Writer*. Dirk Cbavlllat. Bay Slngar 16 Mina.; Snn.. • RCA VICTOR NBC. from ij. Walter Thompeoul Phil Harria and Alla# Faya, bringing their friends and family hack to tha air Sunday <30h altar a summer layoff, got off to • hum- drum start with a show that rarely Format of tha alrar was AGAINST TRB BTOtM Do II Mint.: Mon.-FrL. li 41 ant. PHILIP MORRIS ABC. from New Tort 1 Cecil 4 Preabrep! ABC. which haa added two soap- ar block* after reverting a long- standing policy againat th# day- time aerials, has reprised -Against the Storm - onetime winner of s NBC. from N. T. On three sparkled ■PIBHP too familiar, the gat* Peabody award. Its the second £ptrw* 3 - ,h N«^ a*;; rz . fe 22 ?, 1 “ *ZL" kn r\ kSpMBlflt of Colored People Program concerned itself with of mothball* and on both occasions ** the epitome of the distasteful Harris return to the studio after btcfcfd by Philip Mom* 'last time f»ded sense *• for instance a anti Negro stereotype on the air- fee layoff and the necessity of get- % on Mutual!. ***** "Cut Down the Old Pino Itaan. incftnl and religioua aenai- ting going with hia band again an " ' *■ m tha number of Gene 4 Glenn, Sundays, NBC la saluting Its 25th annl with a special "look-backward" series, of which lost Sunday s 301 was the .first TKougfif produced 'by tha Hsdio News 4 Special Events Dept.i on a modest scale, and fol- lowing a familiar format of brief Vianet te* from oldtime shows, the initial alrer had a lot of appeal, Flavorsome and varied, program had the draw of noatalgia. and an old fashioned lavender and old lace aura Even though some of the excerpts were -dated.” In the The controversy will undoubted- -iVg Show * performance in Pane *11* go on, and so will this Senes an AS- - II*1 ladikim. » v IWI It* tva term*. Out U. *5* remains one of the top com- nm engaaemem r^ner £•« mwUI plages in the business help foster Anglo-Americani r I ingredients, which have made lions cufmin*ted ih ?*,-JT this show an enduring staple, re- prosimatlng an International inrt j m ain intact, and the scripting. If indicated h* HBC *,^1 anything, haa become sharper. Its happiness in 4 he »aim of |"‘**d j pulling power in this cream 5un- Brttish re ac t i o a and J^ 1 *** 1 day night time segment la assured panning from the press, last Hun-. L r Program then concerned Itself mainly with the problem of the airer's time change, and the rhu- barb because Harris wanted to get started at the %aaa#w. wsssaw mm mm , j _ h_mt mean | vnBfMt »v Mir suuw npi |nr |im* band favored the old This meant A teiMmr acene between mlc g fibber chose to reprise es- runmng from one union head to the prof and n^urtfe. set jn lull { cerpU ^ He had in- time, while feasor of English. Prof. Allen got off an observation that the M word is stranger than tha sword, and the word Is 'love’.” an obvious maxim although a nice sentiment A lot of this can be attributed to Fibber McGee and Molly, ap- pearing In person to lend their gentle, easy style of banted and . charm to the show Also the gim- r>r \wffn r.kiu., ... another, to settle the hassle. I "JJS iu,.3 vented a radio that tuned in on STdSkZ SmS when 0? “l«. ,,mo « **'" "V" ,U " 0 ««' l”, w^?h.r -- <«*"«• *»« *■»■ >! ■ « • »»« gm at 4 30 or Asoujudkrt strange to whool. situations foe the blackface p „ lrrnrtt hearing it at S Refer and so he was able, hv fussing with the dials, to bring back matches ... of various show highlights, any- l^>ve Interest foreshadowed was | where from 1926 to the mid- thirties A couple of these segments serf cut in too abruptly or wrre fuzzy /A IT1*~I II an SIS* IMS#* v« S»* A . M ^ _ t a * m S_ f «*«• I n»M« y *•*••* nssys w — w ■ ■■ » ■■ - S wm w- • -r — r— ^ — and unclear <aa the Ed Wynn- homo* the "Big Show s* so-called Gosden and Corrcll WStmt t hetr M (1|d |he w #b o Ut ^ sponsor from the Coast being cut off—and Graham MeNamee item), but on handi arm the aea M show hit; various Negro charactenzatioim | tmU sing lines she a patently in trouble the whole they were excellent in ... - , • i inrrf wrir »wnr riiiu»ihi imr* wir • k-iw/ fntur* M .mhodlrd In ,hU Lon- I J J* r " * rbut iud«ln( hr th, Xodio audlrnc CD. including Roger D, Koven : their choice ■ The. Included the - 1 SSJfil *■***» *•>“"“ re.pon. everything .uhiUrtnn M the prtd J».n Tompkin. ggl in a candy-box at a circus Amaa i Ihm Harris and Misa lave sang Lvm„.,r >• in mrir*** don program, was a disappoint mmt whether heard on the NBC kilocycles or by BBC **ana com- merrialsi. 1 rrwl . * 4. wt script rather crudely! were the ■ The mijorily of Uv, TSi*. .[’'/.Zr.H.?! •*'< Pert of th, ,.rer. Him. d^- efforts to hwindie the •way ( ttserme were from Andy and the rtn O — . MIS sa * fiwfi s. a ms • W- ■ - »» « wwm *HV**iB . . . . . *P Stri. I afore mentioned "Home of These 1 Bos^i Marrla Ms *m> Faye | Aapt fayrnwr ns aR MBA md 1 umwT: m <m—Irr Aoaaa y Aa*g rung into 1 Catherine Raht as Mrs Allen, did well. The familiar organ has been nient. and particularly comedy values, last Sunday's taped display despite the presence of Beatrice Uifl* Gfiirif S*nd#m Ru ch.n.n, Lnurence flli.lec VIvlen r-r h7 Mate* f 'Rt'SADR TOR FRERDOM ttt^ TrSTwXS rZ R wK. U.d*y. oennu t intent . and Fred A lien-Port land Hnffa and Meredith Willi America's added starters. _ It s more than likely that In sub- mth EUpelh Eric. Robert C, Den sequent weeks when * Big Show j 4RIM Monks. Mereer Me- hits its " only for American^ Cleod. others: l>w While. #rgao stride with Us rotating guest cycle producer: Martin Morrell sometimes evident on other cbmedy alrer* Commercials for the Rexoll com- IV were delivered In rffec- r hardehittinn stvle b\ Hrrm. GRAND CENTRAL STATION )Dangerous Crossing) bead Dee Engvlboch. Goodman lauih n ‘ 1 ^ t T r *tereolyped If lorn flexible J bsck- Ac# 4 Co topiMfi in wtiftlls rlTioJIm witkwfftKr^Wrl?Tioo far *—* y v with ffno orchestral back- fr ouii9Rg. Commercials for the ment and Dartkularly comedy t [“ ground and Miss Five being )ust clgar et eschewed the overworked average in Getting to Know You ciga PM nose test for a "doctor s testi- monial’ pitch, BrtL WALLY COX SHOW and Phillip < Writer: Wylna M Mina.: Saturday <lt». 11:26 pm. Of Bob Hope. Grourho Marx. Ed- die Cantor. Jimmy Durante. Judy Holliday, et al. and with a more proper respect for Meredith Will- son's talents. It’ll bounce back into Its boff programming groove. But the "concession*.” in trying to give the British the be*t that America haa to offer, and vice Director Ira Ashley 26 Mina: Sot.. I pm. FROM HOME PERMANENT CRH. from N. Y i Leo Burnett I NBC. from N. I. The exigencies of commercial commitments carried the NBC net- work ton far when It slotted this luve-slented appeal for Radio Free Korope at neor-mulnight last Saturday That a tha "children's huur^fur )uVe«fe g »ggWa_» J*.«gWL!lSgg three k.d, h»ve uther thiugi to do ^ ' . .. Jo to luV iM-vtde, Iivlenlng tu Ihe redlo Thto I 2 - 2 ? ? * If MIm . Sue.. 1* gJB. Suaialning wnewTR: t. Wally Cox. the nitery radio-TV comti ha* inaugurated a 1 yminute Sunday night "dishlesa disk )ockey” show. Without beUut too precious or overly rule, Cox’s gentle, satirical banter, while in a somewhat ranfled phe bit on elections; the Gene 4 Glenn item; voices of the late Dr Walter Damroarh and Ma)or Bowes; an excerpt from a Met Opera broad- cast. with a young Lawrence Tib- bet! singing the Toreador Hong from "Carmen” and Milton Croat announcing: *hiMW Busse with Paul Whitemans orch on "When Dav Is Done", the funny Fire Chief bit. a lovely rendition of "Shine On. Harvest Moon.” bv w»»«k Fjt«ng. and some Rudy Vsl- ice-Joe Penner repartee Bron. * After a long ride by PilKbury "Grand Central Station" iced off transcribed show was obviously the fill season last Saturday 29 aimed at classroom sudiences and 4.11*4 nn for Prom Home PrrmaniMff. Un- even included a wisecrack about TfS ^ fortunately, the curtatn-ralaer was captive audiences" in the school Atlantic as o er (| rather grim affair, even upto The late-hour programmi funereal organ bridge* Withal it both an incongruity and a l*.<*-•«*•, - r —- t-- - ^ got good standard treatment from for this Mania ' ofAhe-bealen-tr ack encuro Sn veteran director Ira Ashley in tan - Aside from the time angle, this ‘nto kididng f w11 fo . r * dem with Martin Horrells produc-» »how did a Arstrate job of turning: mula and platter spinners in listening. Certainly WNEW, which has pioneered through the years in ex- ploring disk jock tcchniauea <snd in the process parlayed them into WHhei: It taTh ?^.l.n£^r«K.J r..« ** 04 Jor ion. No one has vet figured out what type script sells what product but a good guess la that derelict char- acters of the sort portrayed, de- spite some pious spouting by an oldster in the drama, don't have ^ 1 m- . »” — , —t-.— r t t,fT h,„-,w««. programming, wras It’S likely In f*ct. that Sunday’s NBC premiere benefited immeas- urably through the taped re- visions. for in plare of the Allen- Bankhead satiruation of the Mr 4 Mrs Breakfast radio team pre- sented in leondon and subsequent- ly "taped out" because of its two previous NBC performances.’"Big Show" substituted Laurence Ollviet and Vivien leigh Th eij brief re- mu< h appeal to femme buyers to the heaviest assignment. Cary bRbWWiRl gl R' 'bHyt Worn their th»* product is addressed opened with some banter with, hia v ae ** r Sordid commercialism aside the younger brothers and then smooth- script failed to sustain interest as I> segued Into a serious and effec- a slice of life And since the lead tive description of conditions for was represented ss a common kids in the countries behind the freight-hopper not averse to grab- iron Curtain. The message was bmg an easy buck, the self-narra- projected via a question-and- tion portions were strangely ar- answer routine between the t tr uiaia. Latter is a common fail- younger Crosby • and Gary wuh ing all over the atrlanes Bing also stepping in occasionally The tale centered around a penni- to add a word. Weak spot of the a heavy ant 1-RttsrtaB:. WHMii 1 message into dramatic and under Cox’s casual, uncertain delivery, vtandable terms for the kids. That with his high-pitched voifv. was due partly to the carefully scripting but, most of ail. to the showmanship of Bing Crosby's sons, notably Gary who was given current Londen smash and Cleopatra” due for a Broad- way proem In December* was un- questionably the program's top Chalk up as assets, too. the tal- ents of Beatrice Lillie, equally gifted in London or New* York, both in her verbal dueling with la Bankhead and her buffoonery in vocallng "1 Apologise” (though her obvious stage business mim- icry can he distressing to at-home dialers', and the chirping of Brit- ish songstress Vera Lynn. George Sanders' displaying of a nice set of baas pipes in tn Ivor Novello tune, cued an element of surprise (though It’s recalled that :Oarar VICTOR RORGE TIME With Ren Roberta, Alfred Tenny- S Mina.; Mon.. Wed.. FrL, KELLOGG leas roughie who thumbed a ridel show was a long interview with a ?5k L r u _ M Y young Czech refugee whose ac- •■7 vrmm from an ailing woman He chauf- feured Her to her ghosttown shack count, while undoubtedly authen- where her boyfriend took it on tic. sounded too pat. the lam and she died from a heart With the Croahy clan out In,— —- - . . . - .. condition, leaving her purse )vith force, some vocalising was inevi- radio, for it certainly leaves uie 1240* to be snatehed by the rod- table and Bing. Gary and Dennis rider Latter took to the freights delivered three numbers. The meeting up sgsin with an old vocals 01 such tunes as "Simple the Bible-spouter The Mrlody^and "On Moonlight Bay.” auto at a crossing seemed curiously out of place on squaring the sub-title', killing the a show that was drstribing * living The Jack Buchanan-Fred Allen lamster. The woman’s money was ni#htmare The sugar-coating takeoff on ^Allen's Ml at the scene after a pitch wasn't necessary. ; Hem, about honesty by the pious Pop ) • It didn’t make much of a sermon 4 < Ken yon 4 Eckhardt 1 Maybe this five-minute format to the answer for Victor Borge in Hammerstetn 2d had sought him $ri m -A n a* Ezio Pinza’s successor for "South 11!. a , n in Pacific” op Broadway!. > I Isouarin* the audience wanting more And that after all. tt ane of the primary requisites for any performer New ' . • - Vi ■ I ONE JOURNEY With Htaata (at* worth. Lesley Polly Rewles. Vinten George Petrie, Wll- Writee: Peter Miehoel John Gibbs William Hamilton IS Mina.: Msse l towll^ II am., LEVER RROH. IHURFl ARC. from New York / IN W Ayer! ; pf.': Evidently motivated by th* be- lief that radio soap opera is here to stay despite competition from TV. Lever Bros as of Monday <1* picked up the tab on the ABC sustained "Lone Journey.” over the full net Fifteen-minute croaa- t he board show had been, aired since July 2 without a sponsor. On the basis of Monday's install- far-fetched commentary MRMM RIR me nt. "Journey” shapes up aa no nothing to do with disk Jockeying or ^orse than the average ,oc show business orsnMhing^fcr serial Storys accord re to that matter, the sudden intrusion t|| ABC ^1,,.,^. revolves of weird cacophony from iwmrtod #bou| - Wo | #e Bennett.’ a business music boxer ptono roils. arches- M who i#€ka a n#w wav of life toons, hurdy-gurdies, ekr, 1 ^ a new philosophy of living in bines acwatclovor srrtptin| with, ^ siting, D f th* Judith some delightful taniness. Rose. | Mr9M ot Montana * Opening day of the Lever take- over gave little hint of what the general theme was probably be- cause It was assumed that moat morning listeners were alreadv quainted with the show who tuned In for the first time were mtroed to several character* at a New York party who spent their time in gossiping and ob- serving the aurface amenities la common with most party goer* Performances were ley Woods was suitable mysterious as a young matron “trying to run „-u* -kUk 1 away from myself.” Potlv Bowles transcribed M-ue% * wt * • rSuttf aunt and Vinton lime enqugn u<t/M , nr .L ^...,^1 . 1 snnoiincer^Cen 1 Hayworth port raved a Pedantic 1, fir « met with considerable bravado. Roberta to torn in atTew bay gaffs | B letser role* were George befor*_the lama S agga l^ and sign [ William Rmltbers. full length otano Cotaworth. who nlav# Ben- !LsSssJ remain, ti ImnSt, *** X Mrltten out of Monday * selection remain* to be teen. Housewives - will find a Comic-pianist d« ftned the ihoe modicum ofmterest In "Jouraev* on the initialer aa one designed to ^ n'a not forceful or susoenaeful bring music to your earn mm a 1 e nm»**h to make a point #f t»"*la| smile to your fare” and that* ^ du1 to ABC GUbT^ about whal it to. He used the tesmup for a Alley” ("Buchanan's Mews") a* a means of bringing on a couple of British stand up comedians Michael Howard and Robb Wilton, demonstrated, insofar as U, S audicRres are concerned, that "Big Hhow" will fetch hither Nielsens working in the Bob Hope-Groucho Marx idiom Sunday's NBC playback retained the Bankhead recital of "Jervis Bay." a Gene Fowler libretto sym- liung British heroism, set to *th ^WiTlson’i music This was one of the more controversial Vi . V ■ , GRANTLAND RICE HHOW The four or^ five plugs for Prom with Lou Little, were conventional. stressing that M product "needs no neutralizer One pitch was located in Grand Central 'squaring the overall title!, purporting to be an interview with a dame re hair-dos. Tran. ; the B Bay." 1’ or aspect words and music getting In each GrantUnd Rice preemed his other’s way. weekly, quarter-hour sports aeries This season Reynolds Metal is ovrr xh * rB S web the mcotBaff aspects of the L ondon presents- j sponsoring the Ant half hour. 1 •HjkL ffttaf *«t with his predic Hubert Wilkie IS Mina.: Frt., t SYL VANIA f S^T he 1 u .^ ,h r, co l^r great and not-ao-great tom posers "like Tchaikoursky. Mozart _ and Cftneinnatl — Mark Koven. for- merly with Boston stations aa a writer and director of dramatis •hours, to a newcomer to the WLW- show could have used more of this. tion. with critics resenting what with Chesterfield and Anacin as lton# winners and inter- Roberts made for a good straight man for Borge’s unique humor and they a sop to the British m co-sponsors of the last 20 minutes Vl *** * ,th •P° rt * celebs Show Actually h was lengthy and not which is integrated into the wfb’a . aMurally will appeal only to Ifit | rame <i with him on the pitch iRfHralariy exciting, with ths i Operation Tandem.” Rose, j tContinued on pag* 261 ifor a Kellogg s dog food. £tnL Freddy Martin " He plinked hi* 1 T production staff Croaley Brow piano for only a few bars, and the j canting Corp alae has engage Robert Schakne. INS correspond- ent. to interview Oh ip servicemen In Korea fr.r special weekly reports to WLW here and its TV autions | in Ctney, Dayton and Columbus.