Variety (December 1951)

tTodawwtafe P t BH w juHr 8*. AJSlIff TEUVISIW BEVIBWS 81 gassas mr* ffiffi BJKU Sustaining ■ NBC-TV,from NX Charles Laughton gave television viewers a highly-interesting and entertaining version Christmas live of his one-mad shows, in Which he has played to big audiences throughout the country standing before a blank curtain and reading favored selections. With an hour to fill Monday night (24), NBC-TV provided the actor with the same blank curtain and a stacked ar- rangement of tables as a rostrum. And with only a few dog-eared books as CTOpsV he madMh^hQUT one of the more pleasant in the current “neup of hoUday pro- grams.': ,. Laughton’s readings could more literally . be termed recitations* since he seldom referred to the. books On bis .stand, Either ^he s become sufficiently familiarized with the selections by now to have practically memorized them, or else he was reading surreptitiously from cards or some other prompt? ing device out of camera range. Regardless, the technique gave him full opportunity, to indulge in his favorite gestures; facial expres- sions, etc. This meant that he could deliver his works with even greater impact, turning the tour- de-force into virtually an hour of solo acting, similar to his work iri the current Broadway production of “Don Juan in Hell.” Selections were well-paced and varied, ranging from the story of the Nativity and of, Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego from the Bible, to Dickens’ “Pickwick Pa r pers,” Thomas Wolfe’s “Of Time and the River” and fables from Aesop and James Thurber. In addition to his sock thesping technique, he displayed a person- able sense of humor, which helped elicit courteous laughter from a small studio audience. . Work of ..producer Ernest Walling and director Varice Halleck was obviously confined to a minimum, blit they aided the cause by merely training their lenses on Laughton and leaving them there, permitting no distractions from his work. Pontiac, incidentally, was mulling the idea of bankrolling a similar Laughton show in the weekly 15- minute spot it has bought on NBC- TV. The actor proved on this show there is a spot for such readings on TV. Stal. Kvn told NgWwS. Mary Patton, menel&Jtfwrieck, Graeo Mat- ttew*. jBMward Lemrow, Jack . Edwaurfik Won Johnson Writer:' Henry Banker Director:. Charles Skinner SO Mins.: Son., 7 p.m. GOODYEAR TIRE ABC-TV, from New York (Kudner) It would appear, on the strength of the initial TV adaptation of ”The Greatest Story Ever Told’’ radio series as presented Sunday night on ABC-TV under Goodyear Tire sponsorship, that the widely- kudosed Biblical series would fare better if continued within its audio- only. framework. Certainly the Christmas-inspired ‘’No Room At the Inn” presentation (the story of the Christ' child born in* the Bethlehem' manger) gave the pres- tige-laden series a visual dimen- sion that'was, at best, of dubious NOT FOR PUBLICATION With Jerome. Cowan, Lee Graham, Ann Loring, Esther Mingiotti, Joe Silo, Bruno Wick Writer; Mel London Producer: Charier J. Parsons Director: Barry Shear 30 Mins.; Fri., 8:3v p.m. DUMONT, from N. Y. “Not For Publication,” a" dra- matic human interest, series which resumed on. DuMont recently, ap- pears to be a much better program than was first unveiled last May as a 15-minute Monday - thru - Thursday entry. New edition has been allotted' a half-h6ur every Friday and the time change obvi- ously permits more preparation. For Friday’s (21) installment the net qished up a meller „by Mel London tagged “Item—Page 35.” It was a story of how a hit-and- run driver was tracked down by a reporter on a tip supplied by a blind man—the sole witness to the accident. Sightless for 35 years, his vision apparently returned when he heard the crash of, a car against the body of a. schoolgirl acquaintance. Twist to the yarn was “how can a blind man see?”- His sudden re- covery of his sight enabled him to catch the license' plate that ultl mately turned up the wpman hit- and-runner. But this aspect'of the case was “not for publication,” the script noted, else the public might think the blind man to have been a. faker previously. Jerome Cowan was believable as a reporter, who went in ipi k . shoeing on the side, Bruno Wick turned In a creditable perform? ance as l -the blind man. Good sup-' Port was provided by Lee Graham, as the victim; Esther Mingiottfc as a grieving mother; Joe Silo, *• a restaurateur, and Aiin Loring, the errant motorist. Barry Shear’s di- rection was good as were Charles J. : Pardons’ production values. Gilb., c >: «• 'jb°UIs—For the 16th consecu- & Christmas Eve, KMOX, local J5®v°utlet will broadcast the mid- { Mass from the Catholic ^hurph, ste, Genevieve, Mo., re- JpteU febe.:the oldest church west the Mississippi. So popular have !.v.v Se .broadcast become that the cnurch has constructed a special broadcast booth in the rear of the choir loft The institutional - minded Good- year sponsor presented its filmed version of the Nativity in- the na- ture of a one-shot experiment. Up- wards of $30,000 went into the half-hour production, which re- quired seven days of shooting (at Mineola. L. I.);in place of the usual two or three ■ days required for a 30-minute vidpic. The net result didn’t warrant the costly,, pain- staking' attempt to pictorialize What, indeed, is the greatest story ever told. With the exception of the fact that Goodyear gave a Christmas: gift, of good fpith and sincerity in this television' presentation, other attributes of the program are de- batable. Any Biblical story imposes difficulties in transference to dra- matic format, but the story of the birth of Christ must of necessity present even greater problems. In the desire to .maintain good taste and reverence, it is difficult not to become pompous and stiff. Then again the visualization of the Bibli- cal characters is- bound to* cause' controversy. In this respect, radio has the ad- vantage. over the enacted-play, and it m doubtful whether “The Great- est Story Ever Told” gained in the transition. The dramatic qualities of the‘radio voice are m6re than adequate, indeed preferable, in capturing the beauty and feeling of the Bible story.-.In.its corporal forhi, the reality made unbeliev- able and banal the legends that have inspired through the ages. Sidney Smith (Joseph); Mary Patton (Mary); Kermit. Murdock (Innkeeper) and Bernard Lemrow (Joachim) are, like' \he others in the cast, fine performers, but here they were fettered by the limita- tions of the production. Rose. THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS With the Mabel Beaton Mario- nettes; Alexander Scourby, nar- rator Director: Charles Schwep 30 Mins.; Sun. (23), 6 p.m. AM. TEL. A TEL. WJZ-TV, N. Y. <Cunningham & Walsh) “The Spirit of Christmas,” spe- cial* one-time program bankrolled •by the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. over four metropoli- tan N. Y. TV stations Sunday after- noon (23), ably re-created the holi- day tradition. For the half-hour filmed staKiza not only unreeled a delightful pictorial version of Cle- ment Moore’s “The Night Before Christmas” . but also presented a fine story of the birth of Cnribt. Setting for the Moore pcfem was in the writer’s New York home in 1822 where he sat alone in his study on Christmas Eve. As nar- rator Alexander Scourby read Moore’s fahtous verse the Mabel Beaton marionettes dramatized the lines. Puppets were remarkably lifelike and use of appropriate car- toons added to the general atmos- phere. Birth 'of Christ was simply and reverently re-enacted. Marionettes again were used to show how Joseph and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem and found no room at the inn. Scenes in which the wise men followed the heavenly star to the, manger in Bethlehem were especially well done. Scourby’s narration accompanied throughout.: Subject was excellently v pro- duced by Trident -Films and is of a quality good enough for theatri- cal distribution during the Christ- mas season. ? Scburby impressed as the narrator and camerawork, musical scoring as well as mariipu- lation of the marionettes were top- drawer. Bell System’s message urged the public to “call by num- ber and call before* Christmas to avoid delay.’*. Aside from WJZ- TV, program was also beamed on WNBT, WPIX and WATV, Newark. • Gilpp PtlJTOTR FRttK PLAYHOUSE (The Skin of Our Teeth) With Thomas Mitchell* Nina Foch, Peggy Wood, Mildred Natwick, others Producer: Lawrence Carre Director: Charles Dubln Adaptor: Joseph Schrank 60 Mins.; Wed., 10 p.ni, FRIGID AIBE ABC-TV. from N. Y. (Foote, Cone A Gelding) For its debut effort on “Pulitzer Prize Playhouse” Frigidaire led with one bf the most controversial thfgtre pieces of modern times. TKomton-Wilder’s “The Skin oi Our*' Teeth” was accoladed in the season *42-’43. Its showcasing as the first in the new Pulitzer TV series merely serves to revive sOme : interest in Wilder’s vivlsec- tional hoopla which blossomed on the Stem during a peak of War II. That it was a daring initlaler in its- T Version—arid understood , as such by everyone connected with its production—seems to tip the fact that the bankroller is wrapped up in the idea of displaying an al- together “different” type of • script within the “limitations” imposed by the Pulitzer awards. Since the availabilities are com- paratively narrow,, the expansion would have to be achieved via PP’s in ptljer crafts, especially in- cluding the novel, although great majority of the latter already nave been either dramatized or pictur- Ized. Even so, this new showshop could give a second or third ride to the material within its purview. (Limited availabilities was factor in Schlitz cancelling out the Pu- litzer series last season.) “Teeth” is by way of being many things, if not all things, to all men. To some it’s biblical, to others, allegorical; and a large coterie would surely employ such descrip- tives as satire, preachment, moral- ity play, problem play; it could also be defined interchangeably as the human comedy, or, by a bit of stretching, the human tragedy. Almost every mantle fits the Wilder theme, including , a specu- lation on whether, in fact, Wilder was engaging in a hit of a profes- sional-joke,- or pursuing the course- of * pixieish, gargoylish humor. What it certainly does not resem- ble, save in its stiletto shafts and barbs, is the playwrights “Our Town.” That one pretended, at least—and did—“entertain.” The “entertainment” in “Teeth” is hot Wholly derived from the unfolding, but rather as a poStscript-post- morterm-afterpiece. The two in- termissions for plugging Frigid- aire products provided* opportunity for a few moments of recall com- parable, in the tailored hourlong treatment, to the 150 minutes or so in the theatre. . The inevitable comparisons of stage vs. tele—of the former’s Fredric March against Video’s Thomas Mitchell, of Florence El- dridge/Peggy Wood, of Tallulah Bankhead/Nina Foch, and of Flor- ence Reed vs. Mildred Natwick do not apply, however. The stage original was the full-blown one; the vidrama adaptation by Joseph Schrank was a large capsule.. Thus there is no logical basis for such paralleling. For instance, Miss Natwick’s fortune teller was an abridgement, almost a quickie, lacking the power Intended. In the principal role, Mitchell's Antrobus was ( fre- quently hop-skip-jump in charac- ter and Miss Wood as his wife seemed almost a vague thing in the transposition to the new me- dium. Miss Foch’s Sabina, adapt- ed in the saucy asides to conform to. the expressions intended direct- ly for the viewing audience in the her physical, attributes in a man- ner that gave her ai new person- go las 'aAanaqe^em uiojj ipijMS ality; and when called upon for a display of light-hearted moral in- sipidness, she was equal to the task In the decor and mechanical de- partments, while a good number of mobile contraptions were brought into play, the medium could not: hope to give Wilder’s imagination on scenery and props the, benefit of a full-panoplied canvas. In the Atlantic City and other sequences, with their organized raucousness and whimsical camaraderie, where so much depends on timing, the cameras were fatally late in a cou- ple of instances. ■ ... The whole had a bewildering charm that was more pyrotechnl- cal and bombast than good theatre as theatre—and for TV it seemed less theatre , than sprightly inven- tion. In either medium, it may live more for the devices it em- ploys to make its philosophy than for the ways of life it pretends to catch Within its bizarre net. Presented in pre-YUle week, “Teeth” was in many ways more Christmas in spirit—in its hopes and goals—than, some formalized treatises given at this time of the year. It has a kind of Universality In its fantasy approachJtft>l«nffen behavior th|^JUgWBrfnany adults may seWS^rather than grasp. I ' Trau. WALT DISNEY CHRISTMAS SHOW With Dinaey, Kathryn Beaumont, Bobby Driscoll, .Hans Conreld, Bill T h o m p a o n, Ben Barclay, Others Producer-writer: Bill Walsh Director: Robert Florey 60 Mins.; Tues, (25), 3 p.m. JOHNSON A JOHNSON CBS-TV, from N. Y, (film) (Young it Rubicam) Walt Disney’s second Christmas show yesterday (Tues.) (the first was done last year with Edgar . Ber- gen and Charlie McCarthy added to the celluloid fate) proved a de- lightful holiday offering. It had appeal for juves and adults, with older folks -probably* appreciating the after even more than the mop- pets. There was more reliance on excerpts from old Disney product than on last year’s telecast, and the individual segments seemed longer. While’ not quite hitting the mark Disney reached in 1950, this was a sock job. Plenty of creative, imagination was shown in the treatment of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” This clicko segment was done with a new soundtrack, on which the animated characters spoke in 10 languages — French, German, Spanish, Czech, etc,—arid the seguing from English to the foreign tongues pointed up of the Yule tide theme of “peace on earth.” At the same time, it was a demonstration of the university Of Disney’s pix, the fact that “laugh- ter is an international language.” That was followed by an extract from “Bambi” dubbed with Hindu- stani voices and the exotic, twangy music of India. Brief sequence wasn’t UP to the standard of the rest of the show, although the score had interest. Program had the framework of a party at the Disney studio, with Kathryn' Beaumont and Bobby Dris- coll, Who'll be in “Peter Pan,” chatting with Disney. The juves asked the magic mirror, with Hans Corireid playing the geriii, to bring back some of the great Old ani- mated pi& A Mickey Mouse short from 1935. “Band Concert,” to the music of the “William Tell” . Over- ture, was a superb example of the ■art. Donald Duck iri “The Plumb- er,” with Pluto swallowing a mag- net and attracting all the kitchen utensils, etc., was another tribute to the studio’s creative talent. The “Uncle Remus” piece, the “Tar Baby” tale, was funny, but unfor- tunately was weakened by its cari- catures of the Negro. Conreid did a neat job as-the spirit of the mirror, with some amusing lines. However, the effect Was scary to some of the smaller fry. There was some cute by-play with Bill Thompson doing Wil-. loughby, the genii’s nephew, as a neophyte at the magic game. Johnson & Johnson is to be con- gratulated on its policy re com- mercials. The plugs were held down to a single mid-point identification and an institutional pitch on the role of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and hospitals, with a medico play- ing Santa in a kiddie convalescent Ward. It was one of the most pala- table messages bn TV, and yet It effectively brought the .name of the bankroller to the viewer with an aura of quality. Bril. LET GEORGE DO IT With George Skinner 45 Mins.; Mon,-Fri., 11 a.m. WPTZ, Philadelphia Idea behind new 45-minute ses- sion is to haVe George Skinner do Whatever the viewers want, A disk show not confined to any set for- mat, program is a catchall for usu- al femme daytime interests, rang- ing from platters of latest hits to memory tunes, Interviews, reading of mail, highlights bf other televi- sion shows ana recitation of light poetry; " Birthdays are taken care of by having the names and addresses move across the screen on tape as the recordings spin, thus sparing viewers the ordeal of listening to the interminable mentions of un- knowns. Selection of disks are good and Skinner's spiel is musi- cally informative. For example, he did lucid talk on ValUe of group vocals to gal singers arid pointed up remarks with Lou Dinning’s waxing of “Little White Cloud.” Other numbers played, and all gar- nished with Skinner’s verbal foot- notes, included Johnny Guarnieri’s “By the Light of the Silvery Moon;” Dean Martin's hillbilly “Night Train to Memphis;” Bill Farrell's “Blue Velvet,’ 1 and Phil Spitalny’s Spirituals. For Visual interest, scrambled iriagnetic letters are ^arranged bn slate to pick out title of song. For the kids, Skinner brought i “Suzy Snowflake” . cartopns^Ver- sonality being strqpg^aeterininant on hausfrau^fartCSklimer should do very Well. Youthful, pleasant arid riot too overpowering or breezy, new deejay nas a casual, “Drop-in-on-me” style that should win “Let George Do It” a daytime I following. Gagh. AMAHL AND THE NIGHT W TORS’ With Chet Allen, Rosemary Kohl* mann* Andrew McKinley, David Aitken, Leon Lishner, Francis Monaohlno, Thomas Schlppers conductor Composer: Glah-Carlo Menottl Producer: Samuel Chotxinoff Associate Producer: Charles Pol- aoheck Television Director: Kirk Browning Stage Director: Menottl 60 Mins., Mon., 9:30 p.m. (25) HALLMARK ( NBC-TV, from New York (Foote, Cone & Belding) Gian-Carlo Menottl brought td television a “gift of the Magi” Christmas Eve, His World premiere performance of “Amahl and the Night Visitors”—the first opera comiriissioned especially for TV— was an exquisite fantasy, conceived as Menottrs version of the Christ- mas Story. Dramatically it was ex- citing; plctorially it Was Imagina- tive; musically it was a beautiful whole; iri which the ;voices and Menotti’s score once more electri- fied a story. As a work of art wrought for TV and reduced to the exacting intimacies of TV* it auto- matically lifted the mediurii into a rtew cultural sphere of importance. Menotti’s opera > came off with such singular success that it could well become standard TV fare in the repertoire of Christmas musi- cal-operatic offerings. Certainly it is inconceivable that it would be allowed to pass into the TV limbo of a one-shot performance. Menottl himself charmingly introduced the* background and irispiratlOn for his variation of the Three Kirigs, whom he called the Italian Santa Claus. And since it was based on child- hood memories he thought it was an Opera for children, too. That it is, and on this basis alone it rnerits annual reprise. But it’s far more than a children’s opera, for In mu- sic and structure it is a mature work, with its limitations for the stage dictated only by its 45-min- ute ■ lerigth. In '‘Amahl and the Night Visi- tors” Menottl has a symbolic story to tell,*' a lovely'Thristmas idyll with some mysticism. In this Christ- mas saga, some beautiful'm u si c was composed; soirie lovely , arias were sung; some delightful humor crept in; and drama and a rich aura of the Holy Night pervaded in a warm, human manner. But. as in the case of Menotti’s previous “The Consul,” “The Medium” and “The Telephone,” he projects a realism that gives his creations a timeliness and makes them com- municable to a vast new audience. This may be the magic potion that distinguishes Menottl as a success- ful composer of opera. Menotti’s TV opera has a poor; crippled shepherd lad cognizant or the unusual beauties of The Night, and his widowed mother welcom- ing to their humble hut the Three Kings in search of the Child. The neighboring shepherds bring food to the kingly guests and dance and sing to welcome them. The opera then unfolds the story of the boy’s miraculous cure. , Within this slim framework, Men- otti and the NBC-TV, staff accom- plished some mirior Video miracles. The casting was remarkable, par- ticularly in Menotti’s selection of 12-year-bld Chet Allen as the shep- herd lad. He has a lovely, clear, voice and sings with fine diction and iritense delivery. Dramatically he is ex- traordinarily gifted. Rosemary Kuhlmann (who along with the re- maining members of the cast ap- peared in Menotti’s 'The Consul 1 ’) sang ; the role of the mother. Her voice was magnificent; her per- formance superb. Andrew McKin- ley, tenor; David Aitken, baritone, and Leon Lishner, bass, played the Three Kings and sang their roles beautifully. Francis Moriachino, bass, was equally as effective as the servant. Production-wise, the perform- ance was equal to Menotti’s cre- ative effort. Menotti himself-staged the work, with a true feel lor the medium. Samuel Chotzifloff as pro- ducer; Charles Polacheck as asso- ciate producer; .Eugene Berman's settings and costumes; Kirk Brown- ing as television director; Thomas Schlppers as conductor—-each and every one identified with the pro- duction rates a deep nod, along with the s p oris o r, Hallmark greeting bards, plus NBC, for one of the dis- ^■ -^’ished TV musical events of 1951. Rose. HoustojiJI^cr^et 107,500 in Homes Houston, Dec. 25. More , than 6,600 television sets were: sold here in November, top- ping the previous high by more than 2,000 sets. According to latest count, there are some 107,500 families with TV sets here.