Variety (April 1953)

Wednesday, April 8, 1953 Pwmgfr TELEVISiaX REVIEWS 2f America speaks with Don Ptowmte, *Iolm B> luxehes, moderators; Ben Limb, pelf Fabian, Richard Kallsen, Producer: Passant® nirector: Victor Cavaness- 30 Mins.; Sat., 10:30 P,m. Participating lV ?hi'J& iSd to°be the first pub- iip service program jointly spon- ged by labor and management- fn 1 this case a couple of New Jer- fey unions and some-of the cor- r s itrtiAm tlm members yv u* .« tirely« wortnw-— —7 "5, * directed in a couple of its phases. 0 virst and most important is rtiiestion of time slotting. Satur- Say night* .isn’t exactly the best Eme to air a serious discussion of Sd affairs. And bowever noble the purpose and effective the out- come: .show simply won’t attract and hold an audience. ■ Secondly, there’s entirely too much of that sugar-sweet, rever- ential air toward the guests on the mrt of moderators Don Passante Ind John B. Hughes, They can be respectful .without sidestepping an issue, something they did notice- ably on the initial telecast. Otherwise, program was highly informative. Hughes and Passante queried Ben Limb, Korea s dele- cate-at-Iarge to the United Na- sons, on his country’s attitude toward the current Soviet peace feelers And Limb made no effort to hide his feelings on the matter —Korea won’t be satisfied until the Chinese are out of the entire peninsula. Mutual commentator Bichard Kallsen made 4 bis only contribution of the evening here— and it was a good one—asking whether Korea’s self-interest might not be opposed to the interests of the United* Nations. Also on the program was Bela Fabian, Hungarian-born expert on Russia, who offered the opinion that current peace moves might be due to unrest inside Russia, and also that Malenkov is not wielding much power there. He tied his thesis in with Limb’s viewpoint by declaring that Communist policy never changes, only Communist methods. Chan . VACATIONLAND AMERICA With Mr. and Mrs. John Cameron Swayze, John, Jr., and Suzanne Swayze. Director: J. M. Maticka Writer: Robert Walsh 15 Mins., Sun., 5:30 p.m. FRAM CORP. NBC-TV, N.Y. (Van Sant, Dugdale > This new filmed TV travel series is to take the attractive John Cam- eron Swayze family on a trip around the country, pointing out places of interest to. less fortunate viewers. Series emphasizes travel by auto, to tie up with the oil filter product of its sponsor, Fram Corp. Opener, which bowed last Sun- day (5), was an interesting but not too exciting gander at Washington and colonial America (Annapolis, Mt. Vernon and Williamsburg). With only 15 minutes at its dis- posal, airer couldn’t be anything more than a quick, birdseye view of a town, and two or three exte- riors of famed houses or buildings. But opener did give the viewer a feel of the glories of our national capital, while the simple approach of the Swayzes as gawky tourists had a wholesome appeal. Bron. METROPOLITAN OPERA JAM* BOREE v With Milton Cross, Deems Taylor, Howard Dietz, as commentators; Fausto Cleva and Max Rudolf conducting* the ABC Symphony Orqh; Blanche Thebem, Richard Tucker, Roberta Peters, Salva- tore Bacdolpni, others Producer: Henry Souvalne Directors: William Marshall, Mar- shall Diskin JO Mins.; Mon. (6), 8:30 p.m. Sustaining ABC-TV, from N. Y. In an attempt to raise $1,000,000 for its coffers, the Metropolitan Opera Assn, took the unprece- dented step of parading their stars before the mike and the camera last Monday (6) for a national ap- peal blended of longhair arias and pop ballads. The special program, staged at the Ritz Theatre, N. Y.. was simulcast over ABC-TV and ABC-AM for one hour, and then continued on the radio web alone for another half hour. ABC, in contributing the tifrie, won an aura of prestige and value of public service for both its skeins.. Narrators Milton Cross, Deems Taylor and Howard Dietz made their pitch for cash and intro- duced the performers In an in- formal manner which pleasantly reduced the starchiness of the otherwise fairly dignified proceed- ings. Directors Marshall Diskin and William Marshall made no at- tempt at camera tricks. > There Would be a preliminary shot of the ABC Symphony Orchestra con- ducted by Fausto Cleva or Max Rudolf. Then the Met stars, dressed in evening clothes, on a stage barren except for a few vases of flowers, • soared into their operatic numbers. A comic touch was added by Sal- vatore Baccoloni, who robustly sang Walt Disney’s “Bibbidi-bob- bidi-boo” in opera-bouffe fashion. Further concession to the pop audience was made when the Tor- reador tenor, George London, de- livered “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Carousel” and soprano Leontyne Price, currently in the Broadway revival of George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess,” put in an ap- pearance. Otherwise, the stanza was largely restricted to renditions of opera standards. Performers uni- formly delivered with plenty of zest and color, ranging from Blanche Thebom doing “Amour Viens Aider” from Saint Saen’s “Samson et Delila” to Richard Tucker’s "powerful vocalizing of “Addio Alla Madre” from Mas- cagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana.” As compared to Milton Berle, Martin & Lewis et al., air appeals for health causes, donations seemed slow in coming in. At 9 p.m., a total of only $2,069 was reported nationally, but delayed mail donations might well up the take considerably. HOLLYWOOD GLAMOUR SHOW With Em Westmore Producer; Kroger Babb JHns.: Mon.-thru-Fri., 3:30 p.m. ADMIRAL DEALERS WKRC-TV, Cincinnati On WKRC-TV for a minimum of four weeks, Ern Westmore unfolds his makeup kit in a cosmetic cen- ter which has time buyers, notably Procter & Gamble and Jergens, who may be interested in his r.e- i, b . i( * f°r network recognition. Publicized as “the great, amaz- fascinating world-famed au- thority on beauty,” Westmore oven* looks no tricks of showmanship in his pitch. Qualifier for a Jackie reason stand-in, he gushes women ?, ? m . Mte studio audience with dearie darling” and “honey” in Jp^Show a little of this or that, ied lere OF there, will make them more attractive. e » s °* his book* “Secrets of Beauiy • are in line for picking !?* lree . trI P t0 Hollywood and , inHrv p0 i in i s ;» Then there's the , a ^ y portion of the pro- fvhnl, k' 1€ u? , one of two women letters on why they w?mli°k be be .autiful is voted the Is rJ«lS y j au i ence applause and Wlth > a m akeup joh for reappearance on the next pro- L<.stmore did the show for sev- min-i;. c '' k,S v n c both Miami and Blr- anr! u before reaching C ! ncy l ! n smartly routined. He’s femmoc ? * Wlth a PP ea l for lotsa emmt 111 search of beauty aids. • • • Kolb INSIDE TIMES SQUARE With Ray Heatherton, guests Producer-director: Hank Leeds 30 Mins.; Mon.-Wed., FrL-Sat., : 11 pan. TIMES SQUARE STORES WOR-TV, New York (Robert WhitehiU) Now that his position is secure as a top-rated kiddie magnet via the Merry Mailman” show, Ray THE STONE ' With Ad Wienert, Richard Dix, John Owen, Earl Reaves, Doro- thy Allison, Allen Herndon Producer: Bob Jones Director: John Frankenfield 30 Mins.; Sim., 1:30 p.m. Sustaining WBAL-TV, Baltimore ' WBAL-TV’s Easter Sunday pres- entation of “The Stone” was one of the first attempts by a local sta- tion to essay straight dramatic ma- terial. One-time shot was a re- ligious teleplay penned by Bob Jones, staff director and announ- cer who produced his own opus. Venture proved that talent is avail- able locally for further drama pro- gramming. Jones’ play deals with a misan- thropic Israelite who is seen ca- rousing on the day of Christ’s cru- cifixion* On the road to Golgotha, he attempts to throw a stone at Christ but finds that the stone miraculously adheres to his hand. On his deathbed, he realizes the validity of the new religion and dies as the stone drops from his hand. Author has employed blank verse effectively • so that playlet has a strong literary flavor. Re- ligious conflict too often intrudes upon dramatic situation, however, and simple shock effect of the mir- acle Is weakened by diffuse philos- ophizing. “Stone” benefltted by surprising- ly good acting from WBAL staff- ers as Well as okay production val- ues. Ad Wienert in the part of the afflicted man successfully sustained his characterization for an audi- ence more accustomed to seeing him demonstrating electrical ap- pliances. Standout in the cast was Richard Dix as Wienert’s confes- Jones and troupe deserve credit for breaking the ice here with this one arc 1 , further experimentation could benefit local programing un a big way. .*= • Burnu ' * ( t-BO > -»l J t(* POU‘ , l>*»TC.?nf.(-f 1 > i ti JV' Heatherton is pitching for the adult trade with a J late hour series on the same web tagged “Inside Times Square.” It may not be as easy for him to win the stay-up late dialers but he’s in there try- ing: Series is spotted five times week- ly with a different format for each evening and Heatherton is on hand throughout ip the assorted roles of crooner, emcee, quizmaster, etc. He tackles each part with sincerity and charm but despite his efforts it remains moderate fare. The daily lineup for the series includes separate half-hour stanzas of old- time variety, amateur talent show- casing, quiz sessions, show biz roundup and audience participation square dancing. There’s something for all tastes if not too discrimi- nating. On show caught Monday (6) Heatherton was conducting the old-time variety stanza. For the vintage flavor he brought on a dancing team from the Fred As- taire Studios to demonstrate the Bunny Hug and vet music publish- er , Joe (Banjo) Santly. Latter worked his turn into the standout portion of the show. Seated at the keyboard, Santly told of how he plugged songs as a boy soprano in 1901 and gave the yam a proper nostalgic lilt by belting out a few bars of the tune he was plugging then, “I Love. You As I Never Loved Before.” Santly’s boy so- prano days are long gone but he still knows how to sell a song. This was further evidenced by his sock rendition of his own composition (penned in 1923) “There’s Yes, Yes In Your Eyes.” ' Heatherton’s vocalling reper- toire included' “Lovely Weather For Ducks,” a Scottish novelty, “I’m 94 Today” and the tender [ "September Song.” A11 were effec- tive. Other guest, Louise MacMul- len, though definitely not an old- timer, gave the show a lift with a charming workover of “If They Asked Me I Could Write A Book.” Plugs for the Times Square Store products were spotted too fre- quently and tended to become rep- etitious and annoying. Gros. REAR BUMPER With Jean Shepherd Director: Norton Locke 15 Mins.; Tues.-thru-Sat., 12:45 a.m. Sustaining «. WLW-T, Cincinnati Back in Cincy after a disk jockey stretch for KYW, Philadel- phia, Jean Shepherd is bowing in television with a futuristic pattern which he terms “stream of con- sciousness.” r It’s something en- tirely unto itself and, apparently strictly on an experimental basis, has the chaser spot to fill from the end of the night's pictures to 1 a.m., usually 15 minutes. In his previous local stints, Shepherd was on WKRC and WSAI, both AM, with platter ses- sions which won favor with a cer- tain group for being long- on philo- sophical gab and short on wax. This TV creation has all canned props. For the art medium there are films and slides projected on a rear screen. Music is recorded. Seated in a chair and smoking a cigaret, Shepherd appears now and then with talks to unseen Un- cle George. The movies are of such things as animated miniature clay hloclb, buildings, trees and sea lions. Slides show rainbow- like flashes and meaning of wan- dering words to Uncle George is difficult to grasp. Koll TV Easter Parade Shuns Undignified Hoopla, But Coverage Is Unexciting YOUR FIGURE, LADIES With Paul Fogarty, Terry Geor- gian, Pierre Andre, Harold Turner Producer-director: Frank Palmer 30 Mins.; Mon.-thru-Fri„ 9 a.m. WGN-TV, Chicago This half-hour of teevee calis- thenics is a pleasant reissue of its former self which had been absent from the telewaves for the past year and a half. Program seems to have twin au- dience appeal. Housewives who would forsake the shows on the other webs would be a natural; also, the tardy officegoer of the male set, who would trade a prompt arrival for a glimpse of model Terry Georgian twisting her torso in cadence. Lovely Miss Georgian intros the program, and veteran muscle man Paul Fogarty takes over with the exercise instructions. After a brief explanation as to the reason for the contortions by Fogarty. Miss Georgian gives the actual demon- stration^. To make the sessions more pleasant, Fogarty tosses off a witticism or two* while'musician si- \h4-.iia *H rov L ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN With George Reeves, Phyllis Coates, Jack Larson, John Hamilton, others Producers: Robert Maxwell, Ber- nard Luben Director: Tommy Carr, Lee Sholem Writer: Richard Fielding 30 Mins.: Wed., 6:15 p.m. KELLOGG CO. WABC-TV, New York (Leo Burnett ) It was only ,a matter of time be- fore “Superman,” long a comic book and radio favorite with the kids (and some adults, no' doubt), should be put on film. It’s to National Comics’ credit that its tele version is restrained on the script- ing side and well done technically. Kellogg has bought the pic from Flamingo Films, its distributor, and has spotted into WABC-TV, in the Station’s kidfilm block. Move should pay off—station has a hefty cross- the-board slot of adventure pix for the children, and “Superman” fits the bill neatly, Initial installment told how Superman as a baby was flown to earth in a rocket by his parents on thp planet Crypton just as the planet was about to disintegrate. Pic showed how the boy was found by a farmer and his wife and raised by them as Clark Kent, their son. FinaUy,' as Kent grew to manhood, he left for the city, and with the rescue of a man hanging from a dirigible got a -job with the Daily Planet as a reporter. All this is familiar stuff to the kids, but there’s an extra kick for them seeing it on the screen. Film- ing is topnotch, with no -expense spared to get those special effects. George Reeves, who acts Superman, doesn’t have too much of a role in the initial pic, since most of it deeds with boyhood of the hero, but he registered nicely as the meek reporter and as the hero. Phyllis Coates was okay as Lois Lane, the girl reporter, while John Hamilton fits the fictitious concept of an editor. Other roles were well handled. There should be no worry about lack of material for-future episodes, since there’s a backlog of about 15 years' worth of stories. This one’s a natural for TV. Add kudos for some of those animated Kellogg commercials. Chan. LUNCHEON WITH BILLY With Billy Leach, Milly Coury, Jeanne Williams, Shirley Ryan, Hal Kartun’s Group Producer: John Alexander Director: Jim Harelson 25 Mins.; Mon.-tfiru-Fri. 12 noon WBBM-TV, Chicago WBBM radio staffers, who here- tofore have not been used as regu- lar teevee talent, do an excellent job on this mid-day sustaliher. The casual manner of program head- liner Billy Leach, who trivias the between-tune slots with warblers Jeanne Williams, Milly Coury and Shirley Ryan, blends wcdl with the show’s formal The female vocalizing seems to be split between the three thrush- es. Balladihg of such numbers as “Our Song” is capably performed by Jeanne Williams, while the up- beat numbers are sung by petite songstress Milly Coury. The Coury gal one of the fairest vyarblers on Windy City teevee,projects well in the delivery of bounce numbers like “Zing Went the Strings of My Heart.” However, she has a sly ten- dency to edge the eamera: Billy Leach is okay with his easy styling of “How Do You Speak to an Angel.” Leach forms a two- some alternately with each of the songstresses and is especially fine when blending with Miss Coury on “No Two People.” Show’s technicians are well de- serving of plaudits. Smooth and able backstopping by Hal Kartun’s six-piece group adds much to the singers’ deliveries. Credit must also be given Jim Harelson for turning in some excellent camera, direction. Switching of £&niera be- tween vocalist y and instrumentalist, especially on 'guitar closoups for highlighting a number, tightens viewer's interest. Arne. Harold Turner backstops with the organ. Fogarty is a convincing instruc- tor. His dual role of chief muscle man and host is aided by his soft, smooth mannerisms. Miss Geor- gian, of couise, is a lovely bit of scenery. Since the program more than ac- complishes its purpose as on ex- ercise show, it should not have too By JOHN HORN The Easter Parade along New York’s Fifth Avenue became a dis- tant backdrop, as seen through long shots scanned by careful cam- eras, last Sunday as television, hypersenstive over last year’s car- nival aspects, undertook to pre- sent the affair with a great deal more dignity. The nightmare quality of 1952 was thankfully absent this year, due to the extreme caution taken by the broadcasters, who belatedly recognized their responsibility in covering the event and acquitted themselves nobly in excluding the wild camera crashers always at- tracted by large crowds and wide- scale television coverage. . But if it was dignity, and a sober view of Easter’s religious aspects, that the television people were looking for (as announced),, they have missed the boat, despite the homburg hats and the elegant ladies in their Easter finery. Controlled as the event was, a New York viewer checking the four cavering channels—WPIX, WNBT, WCBS, and W ABC—was carried away by preponderance of hasty in- troductions to a bewildering num- ber of people, dominated by show- business personalities with society folk playing a poor second; an in- ordinate number of mentions for hotels, which were television’s headquarters; nervous and self- conscious microphone appearances; oodles of fashion displays (it's the slim look this year); an overabund- ance of idle small talk and well- iptended pitches for worthy causes (an event like this is a magnet for spokesmen of organized philan- thropy). Too Much Room Service What the occasion cried for was an 'imaginative approach to the joyful spring holiday, and less of the rut-mindedness that found a great portion of all television re- portage domiciled in hotels (WPIX in the Waldorf-Astoria, CBS in the Plaza, and ABC in the Sherry Netherland, N. Y. t and the May- flower, Washington, D. C.). There is no need for television to confine itself to swank hotels, or New York, in reporting an American Easter. A remote broad- cast from a small town, for in- stance, done perhaps in the real- istic manner of “See It Now,” would have been most welcome, especially now that Fifth Avenue has beeq pushed into the back- ground through fear of mob high jinks. Refreshingly, NBC’s hour was out of doors, on the Palazzo d’ltalia roof garden in Radio City, with Frank Blair doing a standout job as emcee. But even the outdoors pre- sentation had limited scope, with brief words with U. N. children, hurried interviews with selected groups and a , fashion show. In keeping with the more dignified ap- proach this year, the city manager . of Rochester, N. Y., made a digni- fied pitch for everyone to come visit the city's Lilac Festival in May. And .Patricia O’Brien of The New York Times, the Newspaper Guild’s Miss Page One Ball} made an appearance. In .the commercial vein, which was confined to two sponsors (Peer-, less Camera Stores on WPIX, and Timex on CBS), there was some cause for complaint. The Peerless commercials for at least the first of two hours (11:30 to 12:30) num- bered eight and were much too long and tedious. WPIX, on the air first with Pa- rade aspects, had John Tillman (in homburg) and Nancy Randolph, New York Daily News society col- umnist, Bartholomew’s Church on Park Avenue, and Jack McCarthy and Blanche Ravisse at a Waldorf- Astoria table. After panning shots of the church’s architecture, and some Tillman background on the historic place, the interviews be- 'gan in a heavily weighted Uor the Daily News) program. Among the ■News plugs, besides Miss Randolph, were several winners of the pa- per’s high-school beauty contest, and dramatic critic John Chapman and family. .Miss Randolph, inter- viewing two society women, brought up last year's Vulgarity angle, saying she saw one vulgar incident which she wouldn’t talk about but would mention in her column. Most interesting at the Park Avenye outdoor site was the.place- ment of one camera behind some flowers, which framed the picture tough a row ta hoe in canturim v ... - . . * , - - . the “weighty” audience of cunpc*. Say_b. or ^.?.L tition in the same time slot. Arne* l/i YB/lflOM Jh* t»3l.33m i out the people exiting the church k. ; .(Contiwe^pn P3ge ,36), : ' xi i k i ri 1 [jih > i t U »