Variety (April 1953)

48 HABIO-TKLK VISION * 4+ r Wednesday, April 15, 1953 Tele FoHowups Continued from page 41 show packaging is the weekly Fri- day night auditions of local.talent. Selections will be made by * 'tri- umvirate of producers prospective clients and salesmen,. The bulk of WBBM-TV’s new biz * > a .a i* ... J»k ing of a dress factory where fash- ion shows for the employees, put on “by themselves, are held so-as to .enable the workers to view the outgrowth of their combined ef- forts* Stanza was handled professional- ly throughout with pitches for civilian defense volunteers and em- ployment for the physically handi- capped thrown in effectively^ Pretentious is the word for “Omni- bus," judging by‘last Sunday’s (12) production of the Ford Founda- tion's radio-television Workshop. A little-kiddie theme was struck in the major portion of the program, with Leopold Stokowski conducting Joseph Haydn’s "Toy. Symphony (with a group of moppet amateurs as guest soloists) and, while the children watched, Benjamin Brit- ten's "Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra,” based on variations of a theme by Purcell. Latter ab- sorbed the young ones if not their elders while the former was a pain- ful exercise by the youngsters, who were continually if gently admon- ished by Stokowski. The maestro said the performance proved that children can instinctively join m the "Toy Symphony,” but the evi- dence said otherwise. Incidentally, seven-year-old Rocky Brynner, son of .Yul Brynner and Virginia Gil- more, played the cuckoo whistle as one of the children’s group. But if the moppets were to be -entertained by the afternoon’s show on CBS-TV, then it was a seri- ous mistake of taste to present' also « British-made murder shocker, “The Stranger Left No Card,” star- ring Alan Badei. Film was the crudest kind of nonsense outlining ft theoretically perfect murder—the actual murder was fogged out, thankfully—with the criminal wit- lessly leaving a trail behind him. Incidentally, the pic was a repeat performance. • • . Rest of the show had an Alistair Cooke discussion of mountains, sug- gested by a Life feature, with ani- mations, and a film of auto small- parts manufacturer. Both were long and dull. If the workshop is teaching tele- vision anything, it is that commer- cials are to be treated with awesome respect. It's a 'rare straight com- mercial program that presents the sponsors’ products with such lov- ing and lavish care as does "Omni bus.” Horn* It’s Worth Knowing,” the WCBS- TV, N. Y., public-service series in behalf of the National Education Assn., last Saturday (11) was visit- ed by a trio of representatives from the current exhibition of Japanese art at the Metropolitan Museum. The gifts the .three bore were interesting samples of r ncient Jap- anese art from the exhibition, which will be at the Met until mpv in Among them were vari- consists of four quarter-hour ^i7rel°igio^wo?ks including sev- time strips and two evening half- cral figures of Buddha and a 1,- hour network programs plug an 200-year^old mask, hanging scrolls, impressive total of 4,494 spot an- screens, and brush-ink paintings, nouncements. The spot blurb con- The works were shown by Masao tracts, most of which were inked Ishizawa, librarian at the Tokyo i as t month,' are speckled with a National Museum. number of national advertisers. Dr. Giro Harada, liaison officer Among the new WBBM-TV local at the Tokyo Museum, who was originations are John Harrington, also accompanied by Alen Priest, T y sportscaster, with his evening Met curator of Far Eastern Arts, g j 0 ^. g financed by the Chi.. Ford offered a brief history of Japanese Dealers an d South Side Petroleum; art from the third century, mclud- quarter-hour news gabbing by ing the observation that, in Amer- j?iy n n bankrolled by Shell SWfSI So^Sn^tary. has its'tab bustle of city life in a realization taken by Kool-Vent of nature. Moderator James Macandrew, director of broadcasting for the New York City Board of Educa- tion, did a fine job of guiding the discussion (Dr. Harada was almost Tele Reviews Continued from page 41 Inside Stuff-Television Two former NBC pages, Bud Mennella and Ray Waldron, are col- lecting $250 a week from the net for the services of J. Fred Muggs, the chimp on Dave Garroway’s “Today” show. First contract, for four weeks in February at $200 per week, has been replaced by a second at the new rate, a 13-weeker with options. Mennella and Waldron own a pet shop in Glen Rock, N. J., from * which the chimp is on lend-lease. In a "statement of principle,” the American Civil Liberties Union last week took a stand against the televising, filming and broadcasting of legislative hearings and sessions until fair rules of procedure are adopted by legislative bodies. "Once fair rules and practices are established,” the Union stated, "the ACLU will support democratic freedom of communication with respect to legislative hearings.” Suggested, rules by the ACLU are (1) giving witnesses advance notice of inquiries which concern them; (2) allowing them to present evidence in their behalf, have counsel, and cross-examine witness against them; (3) requiring a majority vote of .the committee before examining political or religious beliefs, or holding executive sessions; (4) publication of minority reports at the same time as majority re- ports, and (5) no personal or partisan use made of hearing material. ’ * v Fortyeight medical clinics will be televised in color over a closed circuit hookup Wednesday (15) through Friday of this week as the American College of Physicians holds its annual meeting at Atlantic toA front of'“the rated a sequence showing a rattler City Convention Hall. The program will see color TV’s return to the and while the Robert killing a rodent, apparently fasci- scen e of its first major public showing. In the. same spot dn 1949 , Herridee-Esther Speyer produc- nating it until it got close enough some 30,000 visits were recorded during a series of medical clinics tion might have showcased even to strike. He then explained that preS ented by the American Medical Assn, at its annual convention, more of the art objects it was well- the snake did not hypnotise the curies are being produced and sponsored by Smith, Kline & French balanced background presentation latters curiosity Laboratorles of Philadelphia, of the Metropolitan Museum ex- simply proved too much for its own hibition for the layman. The pro- good gram, seen from 3 to 3:45 p.m., is directed by Jon Fogel. Horn. Chi TV Biz Continued from page 38 Another sequence showed a bat- .ABC-TV’s Saturday morning net version of Rootle Kazootie* tie between a rattler and a pig in will probably stay on <the air this summer, instead of bowing off for the southwest after 'the snake at- a hiatus as originally scheduled. Johnson Candy Co., which spon- tacked the pig’s Utter. Pig came out S ors the program, was originally supposed to take a 10-Week hiatus, the victor, trampling the snake to and show was to fold for the summer. Candy outfit, however, death. % . asked for and was .granted 14 weeks, enabling the network to sign a Pictures, were excellent studies, sponsor for a full 13-week cycle. Network is currently peddling . and Ortega’s factual observations S how for a summer ride, and program is set to continue through the fall, when Johnson returns as sponsor. were Local kiddle shows such as "Lucky although the “come With me" bits Seven Ranch” are now on the miracle Adhesive ^commercials! WOB-TV, N. Y„ has purchased a 50.000-watt high-band transmitter profit side of the ledger and half Spiels themselves were okay, but which, when installed at the ^station’s new transmitter site on the nf former Dublic service news- they were inserted just at the,paint Empire State Building, will give the station an effective radiated 0 \ . ** . 1* m .. where the snake was-about to power of 150;000 watts. Application by tHe station to motfe from, its casts have been sold. All 01 tne s ^ r jj: e -where the battle* be- present transmitter site in North Bergen, N. J. is pending before shows are of the package brand. tween the rattler and pig was at its the FCC. Channel 7 leans heavily on its | peak, sport offerings. For example, Chi auto dealer Bud Hauatei* has been the successful bidder for the tele- casting of the Windy' City stock car races this summer. Also, an- other half-hour has been added to the Monday night swats from Rain- bo in order that an additional spon- sor might be accommodated. Chan. Foreign TV Review SHOP WINDOW With Alicia Markova, Petula Clark, Gianella de Marco, Joyj y, . . - < nr nvn K,te? Turpin, Kirk Stevens, others Upbeat of WBKB. telepix busi- p ro fi uoer; Henry Caldwell ness is noted with a cross-the-board 45 M ins.; Mon., 7:45 p.m. Purchase of the new equipment was made from Standard Electronics,, which claims the equipment to be the first 50,000-watt high-band transmitter. Standard says the new equipment will enable high-band stations (channels *7 through 13) to boost their coverage to the FCC maximum without overlapping onto other zones. WOR also purchased a new 3,000-watt FM transmitter with which it will carry standard radio broadcasts on FM. sale of an hour and a half of night owl flicks to Polk Bros. Also pix packages such as "March of Time” and "Heart of the City” haye found their bankrollers. * In order to compete with even- Sustaining BBC-TV, from London As the .title indicates, "Shop Window” is a showcase for up- coming talent and, as such, can New CBS Television Newsfilm department, replacing Telenews serv- ice, goes into operation May 1. The new department, functioning as a separate unit within the GBS-TV News and Public Affairs depart- ment, will supply film coverage for the web’s news shows. Plans are in the works to syndicate E. C. .(Ned) Buddy, formerly with Paramount, Pathe and,Cinema newsreels, is manager of Newsfilm. Operations manager is Karl Mac- Ilvaine, shifting from CBS-TV Television Recording, where he was chief engineer. ing telecast in the 10 to 10:30 slot, potentially perform a useful serv- Listenables & Lookables, educational broadcasting guide for teachers, WBKB has scheduled a twice-week- ice to TV program planners. The i s preparing a study guide for NBC-TV’s two-hour "Hamlet”*-(Sunday, ly news, sports, and weather for* technique for this monthly Show, April 26), to be sent to 12,000 high-school and college teacher-mem- mat. The sales staff has inked three as devised by Henry Caldwell, is hers of the National Council of Teachers of English. sponsors to finance the half-hours, to give promising young artists a With the increased biz, WBKB chance to show their skill along- a. faculty of 20 experts in TV news operations and related fields will issue a new rate c%rd soon at side experienced and polished^per- lecture on good TV news operations on a low budget at the upped fee. formers. It is e ^. ( '?tjaUya new pi rs t Television News Seminar, Orrington Hotel in Evanston, 111., A new sales feature of WBKB hSU no from Tuesda y» April 28 through Saturday, May 2. production qualities and beareno The semlnar ls co . sponsore | by th . e R a dio-Televlsion News Directors WGAL-7 'Vi LANCASTER, PA.* A • • • MR. CHANNEL 8 AM TV FM A Sleinman Station Clair McCollough President symbol of WGAL-TV’s increased power^now gives larger coverage, bigger audience, greater sales poten- tial to WGAL-TV advertisers. .’‘‘Market includes Harrisburg, York, Lancaster, Reading, Lebanon Represented by ROBERT MEEKER Associates New York Chicago Los Angeles San Francisco always has been the best cosf- per thousand medium.. Today, KSTP Radio is a better buy than ever before. A dollar gets a lot more! Ask Your Petry Man. in anv wav to ama- is cu-spunsurea oy me xtaaio-television news juirecu teurnight°f V I Assn, and Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. "Shop' Window” is designed as an all-embracing feature giving 1 opportunities alike, to terpers and chirpers* as well as the straight dramatic players. By virtue of the format, the newcomers have to stand comparison with seasoned J artists and, therefore, most inevi- tably come off second best. What Chance for instance, does a 14- year-old ballet girl have in a scene with Alicia Markova? Or a beauty queen, without any particular tal- ent, when merged with a dancing ensemble? These carping com- ments, while emphasizing a funda- mental weakness, should not belit- tle the overall , achievement of helping to develop potential star talent. The newcomers featured may not always prove to be likely star material, but they are, at least, given the chance to work under professional direction. In the show reviewed, a unique fea- ture was the inclusion of eight- year-old Gianella de Marco, who batons the Melachrino Orch with ajl the assurance of a vet. Production-wise, the feature rates high markings. Angle shots and cutting give the program vi- tality, but producer Henry Cald- well, who also intros the acts, has a tendency to hog too much cam- era time. Myro . 5 0,0 0 0 WATTS- CLEAR CHANNEL KEY STATION FOR THE NORTHWEST NETWORK /.' MINNEAPOLIS • ST. PAUL REPRESENTED W [ EDWARD PETRY J COMPANY, GET YOUR STATION STARTED OR KEEP IT RUNNING with a library of 900 FILMS FOR TELEVISION Features — Westerns Children's Shows Shorts— Half-Hour Shows Grantland Rice Sportlifes -ftttai TELEVISION 15 Wost 44th St. CORPORATION Now York 36. H. Y. MURRAY HILL 7-5535