Variety (October 03, 1951)

32 TVHJtVISIft* HKV1BW* s, mi ckicn theatre <t aftniabcd Mimi With Dim Clark. Am AIm M*»hr»F, ***** ► •II. WrHm fruk m 4 Dwto H*nkr N HIM. Tlitf*., t:M p.m. «.m IN WATI1 CO. ABC TV IrM Hem York tm«i • MeCaww Ewckaon» On a relative basis. "Gruen Theatre" <«vt evidence on the prffw Thurwliy >27> of equalling the »t and a rd of Procter A Gam- ble* highc rated Fireside Thea- tre '* which n slso a vidplc show Inttiaier on "Groce" didn \ have |i npeniive production trap p ing s *« Fireatdt, but it used throe S ir narruv Dane Clark. Ann utherford and Alan Mo* bray which I* above par for the course Vehicle an Sidney Field’# “Un finished Business.’’ at adapted by Frank and Dona Huraley It wax a frothy fantasy lift amoved and had vome food line* and an inter evttnx premise Story Involved Dane Clark. a» a younf newcomer to heaven who learned that hi* widow Ann Rutherford *a« hv- pavMng flesh and blood lovers to live with her memortea of him Alan Mowbray a* the . shade of Mart Antony told Clark to pay a artstt to earth to alraifhten her out Clark '* return in a "Topper * r«le. able to insult hta mother - In-law without her hearing him. provided the basis for mo*t of the comedy It wasnt standout material hut an a rut above the uaual vidfllm fare. Cast did well by the arrlpt par- ticularly Mowbray. whose enrag- ing worMliaeu merited more foot- age Set* were limited Hut ade- quate and lencina ••• good Commercials for Gruen were okay but would have been more l>er*ua*lve with better visual *cn- float Wm With LYONS* M CLUB Blit Thai!. Dtek Noel Farbor Orch Cm- we Walt 12 * I At TMOB MEET* THI CBJTICB With Barry Gray, mate; Glan- < arta Participating •TV friH DfNNIS JAMKS SHOW With Jolla Meade Producer Aaron Steiner flleo^ lev r f aa WgwgWw, m Writer Elisabeth Pierre 3# Mine Mon Frt. 11 1# am Swatalciwr ABC TV. from New Yerh Rrmii James rrr Mktjy per- form* hi# chore* far beyond the rail of dutv no this damhake H- may natura'lv he an affectionate character i»nd mav have a iwrt*co lac liktne for o*d ladle* but H lu*t doe*n’t mm debt for him to *•© around ki*«ing everv female in the studio audience, and an ores- nnal man and ehBd such as he d»d on the preem sh ow lie’s certainly going a K *t overboard on the oscu- lation No doubt that Isn’t part Of hi- contract This vhow doesn't have much of anything eveent giveaway mrr- ehmdtve. Jcme* »* handicap** d by lack of a workable format He and an asKistcnt have a vb«w d-d*- c Med to mo* berhood T v, ere * a shioboard ‘elMs* op the SS Okav Mother with lull* Meade m » oert nautical ge r h handing out mer- rtusHiif There’* a *equen«e in which he d'scribe* a noted per- aonalitv wih the studio audience guessing I'f name and getting a gift Another sequence has him reading a hit about a mother and a gift will he sent to hey There’s also a scene in which he enact* a problem with Miss Meade and a stud’o discussion follow* iwin the initial problem presented wa* on the suhiect of kissing Another gimmick is an interview wilh the wife of a celeb, who apoarrniiv must also be a mother A v» I doesn't have to he against mother- hood not to like this stanza V ■ •' Joir NBC Ruth Lyons raUbllahed quit* a rep for herself in her Cincinnati •. home territory during the last year as a super-saleswoman on her day- itme video show Aa a result of that. NBC decided to spread her spieling abilitiea to the network and has lined up a 14-station coast- to-coast chain for her Judging from the network preem Monday i' that mid western warmth and charm should play Just as well to the housewives in -New York and Atlanta as it does to those in Cinry. once she sOttlrs down to a more leisurely pace Apparently because of nervous- ness or enthusiasm over her e* pandrd audience the was much too talkative on the preem. to the point where her voice started to sound strident and forced She rambled rn both her speech and movements, from one end of the studio to an- other, starting contests for the stu- dio audience and not finishing them, interviewing guest Rurgeas Meredith, kidding with her crew J etc It was womanly, but not Of the TV variety But that erstasv won't last long and then *he should art tie down to do a w orkm-mlike ' Jd* Show is tike most of the other informal daytime entries pitched; to the hausfraus. probably resem hi mg Arthur Godfrey's more than any other in that Miss Lyons has a ' permanent orrh with a conductor she rao kid. a house singer, and a sidekick who rambles with her She and her sidekick. Bill Thall. had most of the initialer to themselves, although vocalist Dick Noel scored with an okay ren- dition of “Cool. Cool. Cool of the Evening.** which was given nice production hocking Dave Garro- way was rut in for a special one- shot greeting from Chicago to mark her network preem. Show originates via kftf-T. Crosley -owned Ctncy station and a prime NBC affiliate Judging from lbe studio, camera-work etc , those nod westerners can hold their own in network video NBC is selling the show on a participating basis and has already lined up a number of sponsors None was present on the preem though, so it was impos- sible to judge Miss Lyons’ knack with a commercial Slot f - ft WNBT New York On this new series of 'Author Meets the Critics, WMCA all- night gabber Barry Gray has token over the moderating assignment previously Kindled by John K M. VlrCafiery It's part of a buildup the NBC flagship Is giving Gray, and he came through wtth flying colors He’ll stjtl have to prove himself a hep conferenrier In the literati field, but on the opener Sunday f30» Gray did a neat lob uidmg the discussion of Gian arlo Menotti’s film. ‘The Me- dium. Stans* had an cure I lent panel, with New York Times pic critic Bosley Crowther scoring the film a* s poor example of cinema tech- nique with NBC's Ben Grauer and. of course. Menotti defending the feature Crowther made a sharp and principled antagonist, under- lining the view that the "Medium** told it* fttnrv primarily through mu- Me said song rather than/m the irtonal language of the screen, e granted that the Aim was an experiment, but found the music melodramatic, the singing unnat- ural for the ‘ average moviegoer*’ and the entire production geared more far the ear than far the eye Menotti and Grauer pointed to the carnival sequence exhibited aa the alter, which made It# point via pantomime and other cinematic means <Crowther replied that hit review had cited tht# clip aa the pic’s single example of imagina- tive Irnsmg > Thev went on to criticise the cnUe. Menotti charg- ing that Crowther's attitude would serve as a wet blanket for other off - the - beaten - path Aimmaking Grauer called the picture "great. Important, powerful* and said that even the long singing passages were profoundly moving for him Gray handled the guests adroit- ly with good humor and a down- to-earth approach. He injected «ome broad questions which proved provocative, such as the appeal of foreign product compared with Holly wood’s output, yir role of the critic what a Aim reviewer l**ok* for, etc It helped make this a stimulating half hour Gray, inci- dentally. lenaed well. HriL j Tele Follow-Up Comment naality hi both vaude and r^dlo. made the Aral step on his come- back trail Friday night <2I) aa | guest on Jackie Gleason’s “Carol* cade of Stars’* via the DuMont web- Uttlf guy displayed the same warmth and personality m his tenor pipes that Amt put him up in the higttme. and evidenced plenty of that oldtime show man ahip in a medley of tunes and a downing duet with Gleason ; De- spite his long layoff during which he's operated the Carousel nitery Pittsburgh, he wisely refrained from any schmaltzy nostalgia Whether he can solidify a new place tn show bit for himself re- mains to be seen, but on the basis of this appearance, he rertainly rates a crack at it—and he’ll un- doubtedly get a number of other video guest shots. ►4 ♦ again to tune-op when the dialog or vocalisation ley’s net on CBS TV last Tuesday night <23> cleaned up muck of the slip- shod work that marred the pm. gram’s preem and so gave prom- ise that this can torn Into a pood rating entry la TV. Story by Irve Tunick. dealing with a gambling casino In New Jersey, was tightly - scripted and thoroughly interesting. 1 the acting was sharp and toolialk land the sots and camera work Were standout. General proficiency of the production. In fact might have militated against Halleys anti- rrtme pitch—and that, after all^ t* supposed to be the prtme purpose of the show. Halley, nonetheless, got in bis pertinent and hard-hitting com- ments on cleaning op the rockets •plus a sidebar pitch for his own ■■■■MBs Show itself was nag. this stanza campaign^pr presidency a i Gleason and his producers appar- N. f <5ty Council> He still s» ently note okav \,iudco presentation, via con- centration on sketches Emcee has the ability to put ihewe over, but there were so many Friday night that they ruined the paring In addition. Gleasons writers didn't do right by him Both the char- «.i \m Qt um unit k /in i• IME W «h Martv Glickman. Terlan t onerl*. cuesU Trodocer-writer; Jwr King D^rfflar P»lf*» (iiffrs 3t Min* Hed . TM p m Mil tf# BBFHING CO. WOB-TV. N. V i %f«this«oni WOR-TVV ’ Giant Quarterback Huddle'’ shapes up a* onl\ mod- erate fate for the pro-Giant gild fans and It** doubtful if it’ll aHrart any other viewer*. . Sparked by sportscaater Marty Glickman Ini* tia'er 2fi' moved at an erratic pace and his guests seemed embarrass' d and uncomfortable through the ln»»rv»ew *e*M«*nv Glickman* knowledge of the game and the team came throuvb Vividly but Steve Owen. Giant coach, and Jack Lavelle the team * vsut, weren't too eager to give out any important in«idr info Show got a few lifts from Atm rlios of the Giant-Bams game but the gah wasn’t too rnhchtenmg Terian Coneriy lent some oka> • a while her hu*hand C’u< k C oner Iv. Giaiil'S quarterback ap- peared stilted Joe King s vcritM- "*I needed tighter editing as did flglPw' »iffen'» direvtorial n*'ce Commmul spiel* were oka\ Crus. FROSTY ntniKS With Stan f hamber*. Belt* jwvee April A Roy Sehraanm. Evy Sewt void. Mae Edward* Dorothy, loan and Buff MrCo*ker Chock Nttlltn The f role ties. Manny Strand orrh Prodncer-direr tor KUin Lands berg «• Mins; Wed • pm FOT AMEBIC \N \ IT AMIN ABC TV from Hollywood * Sch pbsmrr A .Scott I Best thing for all concerned with this hour-long video-irrd ice revue would hr in file the affair batk in the refrigerator with the re*t of the turkey This first network venture of American Vitamin Aw- -miate*. who have apparent iv racked up a tremendous success vain via their use of local radio and TV. ha* the earmark* of a tactical budgetary error The blade display might have warranted the time and product ion outlay as i net one-shot, hut its repeat pro*- . ports appear pH; i nder the be*t conditions. 60 ;minute* of twirling skater* prob- ably surfeits^he most rabid ice fan For those viewers only mildly excited by bladed spinners, the cumulative impart probably in- spired nothing hut vertigo leav- ing aside quest ions of n* basic quality, the rink revue formal doesn t lend itself well to the medium The color is badly mi**ed »nd much of the grace and verve i* lost on the home screen Further distillation occurs because the bun- dle is currently kinesroped with additional loss of finesse Frosty Frolics" made its orig- inal vplash a* a local *how on KTLA. l-o* Angeles Initial ABC presentation offered no evidence that the format had been re- : furbished to meet the demand* of ’ —' x awwm u* •>*«*•**• * Wig wider circulation. Individual turns were of okay hut despite . Qualify. M- r m the intrinsic mobility of the revue s (omponent*. the overall impression was static l*roduct ion dresa was routine and integration was piecemeal with emcee Stan Chambers merely railing ip the various acts from an unvaried rink side position Lens- • ing was leaden, oftimes with the appearance that the camera* were congealed in one spot in the hope the skaters would keep within range The anticipation fretfcntly went unfulfilled Musical support by Manny Strand’s band which also was given some strictly *olo sequences missed nighttime net- work standards by several degress 1 Doi*. < lilt AGO SYMPHONY ( HAM BI B OB< NKSTBA With Bafael Kubelik, conductor. Ken Sordine Producer Bill Hyer Director Dan Srhuffman N Mina.; Toes . g.M p m Co-op ABC TV. from Chicago Although severil degrees from ft smoothly-rounded production on the premiere. ABC-TVs telecast of the 25-member chamber group of fhe Chicago Symphony seems de- hnitely headed in the right direc- tion The network deserves a nod for pumping a half-hour of quality ■•Bair into the nighttime video -dream Senes should go a long way to All TV’s longhair void, with mutual benefit to the web, which is offering it for 10 -op sale, and to those viewer* with a taste for the more substantial musical values. M hat bode* particularly well fur the future of the offering is that thi re waa at least a hint of tensing and production imagination on the opener which, if developed fur- ther. might solve some of the problem* of investing a basically aural attraction with the neces- sary visual interest. Attempts to strengthen eye appeal were pretty haphasard on the Arst go, probably because of the limited rehearsal lime caused by conductor Rafael Kubelik s late arrival in the city. However, such devices as the screening of a group of Toulouse Laulree lithographs and Degas’ Ballet Dancer" Agure. borrowed from the Art Institute, as the intro to Schubert's “Rosamunde’’ ballet music were pleasing and encouraging touches Better t» tegration. such as showing the art work during the actual playing of the number, would hav# height- ened the effect. Additional use of other such vight devices also would help ease director Dan Srhuffman out of the dilemma as to the best way of leasing a musical group In action (’amera work was generally good, especially the tight bracketing of Kubelik wielding the stick, but the director obviously was feeling his way. and not always too iu(r*s> fully, toward the desired Buidity without distracting restlessness Ken Nordine's emceeing was uniformly good and tailored to the program's general aura of distinc- tion Chicago Tale A Trust bankrolls the show locally and its pitches, handled through the Earle Ludgtn agency, were models of the pres- tige type. . Dai'S. I | Bs#!4 are trying to inject a new memorise his script or else And into what was formerly sn some less obvious method of read- ing Cast, under the hep direction of John Peyser, kept the story perking, with David Kerman, a* a state liquor board chief, and Har- old Gary, aa the gang chief, par- ticularly shining Sets by Kirn Swadoa and other production acters they gave him and the lines mountings lined up by producer were telegraphed and there was Jerry Danug At the action excel- too much throwback to Mack Sen- lently. nett’s custard pie days fbr full im- | . . pact Some attempt was obviously — ^ ^ w. # h _ tl made to build viewer self-ldetitIA- “T. 3-52* cation with the characters Gleason portrayed but *«£*** curious tale tSat hldTo l£Sry* With three such lengthy sketch- lsh twist at the finale Called es. there was time to present Only j •• Love Come* to Mias Lucv “ the one other guest act-Rosallnd yarn « u written by Q Patrick Court-right, nitery singer who did . adapted for TV be Paul n s £ tt< V h * n ok * y WhKe the plot wound up wtth a of French tunes Lack of any mur der It brneAtod by the ab^ production values marred her *ebce of much -of the Mood awd Mint. June Taylor dancers, com- thunder usually typical of 'Dun-', prising three girls and two boys. grr • 0 ff* rlngl the past terped their way through an umn- vpired routine Art Carney and Jerry Bergen %toogrd for ( ; I essan^ ^^^^ ^P In <he .nil., with Brrgrn h-lping u f°" charncl-riMlIon. nwnd and make th» Anal ana pay off atmoapher. — wptlailly through . use of some iffteresting camera u ,„ m . ... . , ... . . angles locale waa Mexico where Milton Berle hit >1* stride last | WO f^mme cousin# Mere touring Tuesday on his second show with One spinster thought she found an Patrice Munsel. Vaughn Monroe, j admirer in a youthful Mexican ««il Ra'hbonr UM Arm.iron*. j SftwwJ'wSl^WftriSR the hooAng Meve Condo* A Je»ry Flattered by his attention the had Brandow. Fatso Marco and the rest a smile On her lip* even in death of the stock companv There was Performances were good Car- more of the l m ,e Milty and the ST'S* r'idTr: V lV^r^V‘“There faret B * rkrr WM effective a* her ire Hme* of^our*i PP wh^n B^re^t cautious^cousin who trusted no K^ hi! on * William Riva was believable '* hro ** but h ‘* as the mercenary guide who ti^mw ^em « q much ^%er^ avame under * IU,Kr show trademark a* Sid Stone s M B middle commercial* Incidentally, the pitchman is becoming a bit ful- !a “Lucv.’* director U—t appeared to concentrate ’ "Armstrong Circle Theatre list *nme in hi* spieling hut by the na- week *25' unvetled a weak ociemal lure of hts carnival coating it’s J wtth a music bu background Wnt- stlll palatable Rathbone. in the ten bv Frank P. Dc Felitta, *'Dan- *Capt Horatio Hornberler * satire, ny's Tune’* was a creaky tale of permitted himself- to become some- how a youthful milkman gave song* what ludicrous There undoubted- writing a whirl but ultimately re- ly has been comment, by now. . turns to his milk route—-div about a dignified legit going into tllusloned hut wiser »uch broad lampooning, and Berle Cast did as well as could be ex- M*rm.nel\ nmv i<»u« of that pe< ted in light of the '•o-so script with hi* aside that "he's a good George Hall was fair as Danny, X rt ’*■■■ The unconvent tonality In- the milkman. Mary Kay Steam* ded Met soprano Patrice Munsel. 1 provided a few humorous moments whose only legit entry wa* * Napo- a* the girl friend while June Walk- 11.** for the rest *he hoked “Come er and Rodnev Mrlamnan had UK On-* My House " with Monroe as tie to do as Miss Steams’ parent*, the fop and Berle the tramp and "Danny’s Tune" no doubt was in- got real scat by rhythmtxlng Car- tended as light comedy, but genu- men ’ with the eccentric hooAng ine levity was missing. Condos A Brandon Louis Arm- . .. ■ „ . . strong wav a Mandout on hi* own with “Jeeper Creeper*" and "Sun- During the “Crtme Photot- :i v i s v srx i a mm s^aq#aa & *_!• A WI ' « _ n» Strtr of I ho Slroof An.l,.n( ■"( *" .**”*” »" < h» »Uh Con. Fl«htn " I»hlrh hr Hl*Mti«rtrd m.ny rjck.li For did v. Mil on * Boor. d,,k wilh 1 hund.y « I ho u«.. Bine rroNhyi •' prr. of the F.rld Uhoi^wdrt Mjrfch. lovodoff tho ft Stream magazine rover, litu Irm-ttp. »# waa the Anale to a new.hoy.aril- “**"•> * ■*" .Thta Uteal Ing-macartne routine f Amartng CBS-TV hero found Storte* to art Monroe', Raring £• »tuhborn for Wtth the Moon " Holiday for the 1 ih *., Ur « *» hut ronven- Muitwl- Carmen- atufft Berle did ** .*» »*« F«>vided a gar- • variation of hit familiar hillbilly rt *°" "»>»h '» which Iho crooked >nnf rh.trkrleriinlion Uunrne leaH union leader goof characterization Monroe teed off with his personal Hit Parade— “Ballerina" There. I've Said It Again" and Sound-Off “ latter with two Gls super-imposed to *et the atmosphere Allen Roth took a deserved bend at Berle s behest for hi* expert accomp job. but some day Roth Ray Bloch and the other variety show maestro* will get wise to the fact that intermission music doesn’t give them license to blow their musical top* The most Irri- tating practice persists bs this type of TV bandleader who perhaps in- hibited by being held in sotto voce rein when accompanying people let themselves go when their instrumental bridge it cued There isn't a ksaasklM which . , . M .. hasn’t wondered about this rau- Prodicer Martin MaauBa pro- rou. interlude, forcing necessity ie "*** • ^ lump up from an easy chair in or- i BMP *•!**. wgo unloving der to tune it o«-■.* end jump up I . (Continued on page 441 was bested with # bailing hook. Admittedly, longslioremcn t unions on both sides of the Hudson have a long history of violence and irregularities However. "The Clean-up" smacked too much of pulp fiction when It had the un- scrupulous union boa* knocking a widow down at the grave of her just-buried longshoreman husband, Viewers know the cops are corrupt, ton, as per the Gross easel. But it placed too much strain on the imagination to believe that the "Crime Photographer" and a cou- ple of dissident longshoremen could smash an Intrenched admin- istration without the aid of police