Variety (May 1954)

WcdBfJbr, Miy as, 1»54 MRSIEtr TELEVISION REVIEWS S9 EARN you* vacation with Johnny Carson, other* Producer: Bfll Brennan Director: John Claar 30 Mins** Soil, 7 non. CBS-TV, Holftrwood CBS-TV, hanking on the tired I but evidently widely-attractive theory of “something for nothing.” has evolved ‘,'JSam Your Vacation Tele Follow-Up Comment Jack Benny'* finale on CBS Sun- day (23) featured a rapid exchange of quips between him and guestar Bob Hope—these plus a safari « an earlv hdt-spell sub for axed howler called “Boad to Nairobi” “if? Witt Father." However time- ttat.registered in the high bracket!. IV the tosic theme. In Its preem £ viewer had to be on the alert to 23 iitwas a flashily reconditioned ^PUP wi , th ‘he badinage some of nuiizery with sound effects, leggy g obviously in the ad lib class. S KUttoing props, music, care- Even such a cornhusk motif as HTiri hand- Benny and Don Wilson being ob- fully chuacn pa IP liged to exchange trousers because some emcee. .. . of a ruse pulled by Hope, bad It's one of those deals m which i aU gh 3 built in. To further the jun- everybody wins. A loser got a g j e theme, the Sportsmen Quartet three-day respite at a nearby Cal*- i a tched on to Dig-a-Dig-a-Doo,” fornia resort. A winner ^shortly s jjppi n g j n the Lucky Strike plug going to make It to West Germany., j or one D f the funniest commercials via Pan Am. to study folk dancing. j n a series that's boffo in this re- A venerable lady, who came west gard in a covered wagon, goes back to Martin & Lewis came on in a Oklahoma to see kinfolk by a more surprise snapper that sent Benny modem conveyance 8 ©{? Rio 6 ° and the show off to the summer through the good offices of CB». pastures with an overall- season As for the stanza's format, a gal, masterminded by Ralph Levy and with legs the web wasn’t afraid to Hillard Marks; scripted by Sam show, escorted each guest up to Perrin, George Balzef. Milt Josefs- emcee Johnny Carson’s^ lectern, berg - and John Tackaberry, and where each in turn told him where batoned by Mahlon Merrick, they’d like to go and why. (The Trau last guy .wanted to make it home to some 'Michigan hamlet “to, get Milton Berle’s writers took the my mother^ permission to get p a ^ 1 G f ] e ast resistance on their married,” before admitting he was trip wrest for the first Coast-origi- married three weeks ago). Then n ated “Buick-Berle” show onNBC- Carson, in charming fashion, asked jy jg st Tues^y (i8>. They prob- a series of geographical not-so- a j,]y figured that when in Holly- puzzlers. If contestant didn't get the jun ket this way. there was another chance—to place tne “lucky state” on a monster map of the U. S. The wood do as the natives do and milk the yocks from the standard “rain, Crosby-Hope. Hollywood parties. Crosby's money” gag rou tines. It didn't work. The hour lady from Oklahoma, with a gigan- came to life only when oldtime tic assist from Carson, got hers this vauder Owen McGiveney came on way. Between all, there was the for his quick-change workover of sound of racing engines, Lud Glus- an “Oliver Twist” scene and wrhen kin’s musical background, bell- Berle followed with a burlesque toned lassies wrho spieled the travel carbon that showed the comic off time table, etc. Then another pret- in rare slapstick form ty femme, attired accordingly, squired happy visitors offstage., After Berle tucked away the California patter, ably assisted by stooges Ruth Gilbert (Max) and Arnold Stang (Francis, the NBC stagehand), the plot line emerged, which was Berle's attempts to get guestar Phil Harris to take him to a star-studded, or rather star- fillied, party. Berle finally got to however, leans too heavily on slap- stick comedies. A medley of vintage tunes was nicely essayed by Mindy Carsbn. who followed up with a showmanly takeoff on Bert Williams. Also in the singing Vein, British crooner Dickie Valentine made his initial American appearance on the show. Valentine, who's been making some noise in the U. S. via his London recordings, did an okay job on “Secret Love,” following up with a neat takeoff on Mario Lanza de- livering “Because You’re Mine” and a sock carbon of Johhnie Ray doing *Glad Rag Doll.” Inci- dentally, if he’s to continue com- mercial video along U. S. lines a law and son Slugger, stopping to play catch with Slugger (a Yankee fan and second baseman) in the corridQr. A fine, friendly family group. But strangely, Wilson didn’t have too much to say. He still views Gotham from an Ohio small- town viewpoint. he wants to write a novel about his hometown, and the nitery beat shocked him at first. The Odiums, on the other hand, let loose with a welter of interest- ing miscellany, rangirg from how it feels to fly through the super- sonic barrier (Miss Cochran was the first women to do so) to the financial arrangements involved in making rain in Spain (one of little tooth-capping would helj> the)j Odium's Atlas Corp. ^ investment otherwise personable singing juve. Holding down the windup slot with some below-par material were Betty and Jane Kean. Duo were spotted in a production number built around the latter's RCA Vic- tor recording of “Cargo.” Loudness of orch tended to drown out Jane's piping, while comic aspects of the sequence, located in a South Seas setting, fell flat. Jess. the party, a “real Hollywood party” as Harris put it. The re- ality about it was that it was a MEET ME AT MANNING'S With Wanda Ramey, guests Producer: Miss Ramey Director: Jim Baker 13 Mins., Sim., 5:30 pjn. MANNING'S RESTAURANTS KGO-TV, San Francisco ( Knolltn ) kiddie party, one of the moppets courtesy of Betty Hutton. It was riS^c rSimmon iS! « maudlin closer that even had U^ietv pr™c?d^e ™ “viting the ?f r if ( £? , ?. ning * chorus of " Young “woman behind the man” to give At near*. the lowdown on her particular Despite the hokey plot-thread, male celebrity’s personal life. Harris came across as a slick Detailed effort goes into this project. Miss Ramey contaets.guest g* a “ S i “’riSlin'o a ?S§it aid fHiSdihin B with then parodied treatment (in a duet establish a social friendship wito nf Irvin? Berlin’s 4l i info Ahont n?rsohAlitvV b&ck* Got the Sun in the Morning.*’ The graund ?duc?tion Mreer and was • bout HoUywoo<1 ' of home life. By air time Miss Ramey C0 ,J S '. . . , . and her guest have sifted pertinent McGiveney quick-change han- facts into a fast-paced, 15-minute dllng of the Dickens fave was art- mood of snappy recollections fnl vaude magic. Camera followed spiced with homey family album photos. Visiting wives (and/or mothers, daughters). represent varied pro- fessions. On past shows Miss Ramey has hosted the wife of a singer, boxer, baseball manager, author and elephant trainer. Her interviews are warm and him behind the set to pick up his two aides (garbed in black from top to toe) helping the costume switches from Bill Sykes to Fagin to Nancy. Every movement was precise and at times it seemed like a ballet. The Berle carbon of McGiv- eney’s act was surefire. Using Miss Gilbert and Stang as his cos- There’s undeniable strength and appeal in the oldtime hurley and blackout bits when well done. And Abbott & Costello, when they are in form, can virtually do no wrong when essaying these bits upon which, at one time, an entire in- dustry was built. These comics had such a session on their finale for the season on the “Colgate Comedy Hour” on NBC-TV Sunday (23). Virtually everything went over well, especially with Ricky Vera on hand to give a somewhat dif- ferent twist to these venerable bits. The show also had a fine as- sortment of guesters. Peggy Lee was at her best in “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” but her triste “Johnny Guitar” was too radical a change of pace for her. However, it does seem a shame that many of the guests and head- liners are requisitioned to sing the “Halo” commercial. It's so cheapen- ing for those that have some stat- ure in the field. Hoagy Carmichael has a nice in- formal air in his singing. He got his tunes over and in dialog with Vera similarly chalked up some laughs. The Sauter-Finegan orches- tra constituted one of the few big bands that worked out well in a guest spot. Their tw r o tunes, “Mid- night Sleigh Ride” and “Holiday,” showed some excellent arrange- ments, along with a lot of visual interest. The camera gave the im- pression of a big organization with seemingly overworked percussion- ist to add interest to the picture. The various comedy bits in- cluded the hokey barnuming Lou Costello out of some loot, and the comic pulling a switch on his part- ner. Costello also distinguished himself w r ith a comedy terping with an Amazon. It was a fitting sea- sonal finale for this twosome. Jose. chockfull of human interest. Qual- vipersBerle bidlt ity lensing by director Jim Baker ^d silSfy^ks^’ thewaT* deserves kudos. Tone. a $ 0 ^ blackout with the Ritz Bros in nightcaps and nightgowns and LIVE ATLANTA WRESTLING Producer-Director: Ray McKay 73 mins.. Wed., 10:15 pjn. Sustaining WLW-A, Atlanta non-speaking parts. Session was produced with plenty of vitality. Opening num- ber with the boys and girls of the chorus working with Berle was Purported to be the first live tele- a breezy special - material Item casting of grunt-groan activities in' tagged “Here in Hollywood." Mid- the Hot Biscuit Belt, this stanza show they ail had a lively time stacks up well, with the myriad of with a “Gypsy in My Soul” back- wrestling shows seen each week in ing. Gros. the area served by Atlanta's three tv stations. Brainchild of Ray McKay, who is host,” matches are staged in WLW-A’s spacious Studio One, which permits of 200 seats for spectators as Well as a regulation- “Toast of the Town” made amends to David O. Selznick Sunday (23) for having failed to give the pro- ducer what he considered proper credit on “Gone With the Wind” when the program saluted Metro’s a? ucu ad a icguiauvtr n _ l4 . r ° size portable ring. In addition to 30th anniversary f^ree months ago. his producer-director stint, McKay Selznick was spoltJghted in an m does ringside announcing and in- terview with Ed Sullivan, terviews between matches. ter back-slapping him for his film 4 . . achievements. Showing of a brief *TP?HinJ^ ntyre ' c e £ he c Vy )Z ei %™ clip from “GWTW” was a surefire sc rithe South, de- trailer for the pic, which has been scribes the action from ringside and t int0 gener al re -release. An in- kSou-?«Sfl? ble * sp,eler s s l? ce .?* teresting sidelight was the showing and ° n in * the of moppet Cammie King in a shot IwidfrtJK te K levewer ? haV S m. e from the film, followed by tv cam- it?ite«rv d 55 Vari0US h0ldS ’ focusing on a 15-year-older ategy and tactigs. Miss King in the studio audience. Admission to bouts is free, but Variety turns on the bill were spectators have to reserve their satisfactory, with British comedian seats via application to station. Richard Heame copping top hon- Paul Jones, who promotes weekly ors. His stint of getting loaded on wrestling matches at Atlanta’s champagne while twirling between 5,o00-seat Muny Aud, is match- two chairs in a sitting position was [naker. Through his connections a strong laugh-getter. In the open- he is able to provide outstanding ing slot, the Ghezzis. a male aero name talent for WLW-A's “Live trio were proficient in their tum- Atlanta Wrestling.” Luce* bling and teetering routines. Act, For its regulars, “Mr. Peepers’ apparently has a foothold compar- able to the early days of radio when “Amos ’n’ Andy” caused a virtual cessation of activity at .7 p.m. The wedding of Robinson Peepers and Nancy Remington on Sunday’s (23) segment on NBC-TV had whipped up considerable prior interest.- It proved a climax suf- ficiently rewarding for those that have followed this saga. The adventures of this couple on their wedding day .made for a warming, charming show. There were some exaggerated bits as a conscious concession to comedy, but it made little difference in the computation of the overall values. Wally Cox, as Peepers, and Patricia Benoit, as Nancy, most frequently radiated a genteel kind of humor. Assisting cast, with Marian Lore as Mrs. Gurney, Tony Randall and Georgiann Johnson as Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Weskit, Ernest Truex, as the father of the bride, and Sylvia Field as the bride’s mother, con- tributed to one of the most delight- ful shows this season. Jose. activities at the present time). Miss Cochran dominated the interview, reeling off in gracious fashion a long line of aviation firsts she’s achieved and demonstrating some of the'more outstanding mementos she’s collected over 20 years of flying. Odium, a bit more retiring, none- theless was fluent in his advice to youth (look less for security; take more chances; don’t lose a sense of initiative), and in his description of the activities of the Atlas Corp. (The rainmaking deal is for Span- ish hydro-electric outfits, with the firm getting paid on a contingent basis for the electricity produced from the rainfall created over the normal reservoir level.) A gracious and entertaining couple. Chan. Lack, Ed Murrow must have come out of his “Person to Person” last Friday (21) on CBS-TV with the conviction that the best interview- ers don’t necessarily make the best subjects for an interview. Show was a study in contrasts—columnist Earl Wilson, who makes his living interviewing celebrities, turned out a rather dull subject, while Jacque- line Cochran and hubby Floyd Odium were voluble and fascinat- ing guests. Perhaps it was Wilson's “I’m just a smalltown boy looking at the big city” approach, sincere as it might have been, that made the interview so prosaic. He Introduced “the b.w.” (Mrs. Wilson), his mother-in- “Turnabout,” heralded as a brand new programming idea for night- time tv, had a half-hour test in the course of the “Tex & Jin x” sh ow Thursday afternoon (20) via WNBT, N. Y. As devised by “Tex & Jinx” staffers Bill Adler and A1 PeVlmut- ter, their brainchild occasionally had its moments of interest, but for the most part merely added up to another means or excuse for bringing celebrities and/or quasi celebrities to guest before the cameras. “Haven’t you at one time or another wanted to be someone else?” asked emcee Adler. “Well this is your chance to step out of character . . .” Conveniently on hand for this personality switching, among others, were a top male photographer and his femme, model, plus writer-director Abe Burrows and “Can-Can’s” Li’o. When the model succeeded in snapping the photog in the correct emotional pose she elicited the following from Adler: “Congratula- tions/you've just turned about.” The Lilo-Burrows exchange, of course, had the Broadway star shifting places with director Bur- rows. Going through the motions of a mock rehearsal, the pair con- tributed some innocuous banter and an occasional witticism. Studio cameramen, polled as to who did the best “turnabout,” voted a tie between contestants. On the whole, this test showed “Turnabout” pos- sessing possibilities for an after- noon airer, but much too light- weight for an evening spot. A name emcee, plus use of newsworthy guests, however, may punch the show up to some extent. Gtlb. With Phyllis Tbaxter starred, the “Motorola TV Hour” on ABC- TV last week (18) presented “Atomic Attack,” a fictionalized documentary concerning the! drop- ping of a hydrogen bomb on New York and effects of the destructive blast on a Westchester family. It was a frightening reminder of what might be in store for us but. for all its educational values, the show failed to come alive, and it never went beyond the limited boundaries of standard — and rather trite—tv melodrama. The fault, such as it was, could be traced to an attempt by scripter David Davidson to cram into one- hour program all the horror, heart- break, fear and desperate frustra- tions that would follow in the wake of the bomb. And as if this were not enough, he added for good measure some sketches of people’s behavior under stress and a dose of philosophy, i.e. the fellow who didn't want to fight but realized where the line had to be drawn, and the oldster with faith in the future. To be Sure, Davidson’s job wasn’t an easy one, since he had to serve so many purposes. There is no question that “Atomic At- tack” must have pleased the Civil Defense people if for no other reason than that it shocked folks into realization that such an attack could occur. More ’importantly, perhaps, it integrated certain vital pointers on behavior should the bomb fall. From that view, “At- tack" went over great. Obviously, Davidson considered (Continued on page 52) TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES With J*ck Bailey Producer: Ed Bailey Director: Irving Lambrecht Writers: Pbll Davis* Mort Cal Howard 30 Mins,, Tues., 10 p.m. P. LORILLARD NBC-TV. from Hollywood (Lennen & Newell) That Ralph Edwards goldmine. ‘Truth or Consequences,” ha* landed on NBC-TV again, this time for a summer ride for Lorillard in place of Fred Allen’s “Judge for Yourself.” Show is being done live from the Coast, arid this* time it appears to have caught a sense of spontaneity (perhaps from the fact that it is live) that projects it as a solid summer entry Tor NBC and a possibility for the fall. Show, of course, rests upon the ingenuity of the scripters and pro- duction staff to dream up funr.y enough stunts for the contestants. By and large, the initialler suc- Ceded in that respect, kicking off with a woman balancing a pan of water on a pole, then taking a mate contestant, putting him into a darkened room to kiss what .he thought was a model but what turned out to be his wife (could have been embarrassing, but wasn’t). Third was a reunion of a mother with her three service sons* and finale was giving a man two sheep and ordering him to come up with a suit from their wool within tw-o weeks. Jack Bailey’s the emcee here* with Edwards maintaining a super- visory role only because of bis other commitments, and Bailey* while high-pressure at times, docs more than a satisfactory job, keep- ing things moving at a fast clip and clowning without looking silly. He handles contestants easily and relaxes ’em quickly. If Bailey can keep up the clowning and infor- mality without straining and the trio of writers can provide situa- tions as good as the initialler* “Truth” should have no trouble keeping and building an audience. Chan. PERSPECTIVES With L. H. Kirkpatrick* others Writer: Fred Goerner Producer: Keith M. Engar Director: Alan Frank 30 Mins.* Mon, 10 pjn. Sustaining KDYL-TV, Salt Lake City Made possible by a Ford Founda- tion grant to the U. of Utah Li- brary, “Perspectives’.* sets out to make history palatable to tbo average viewer. Technique used to accomplish this goal is the brain- child of L. H. Kirkpatrick, universi- ty librarian, who narrates the show. Approach Is to take a single date important in Utah history and then examine it as it relates to what was going on in the world at the time. For example, date chosen on stanza caught was 1869, the year the coast-to-coast railroad was completed m Utah, and the kickoff of the growth of the U. of Utah. These two events tied in with such events as Tweed's New York activities, Mark Twain’s book. “In- nocents Abroad.” the first college football game. Mexican revolution and the opening of the Suez Canal. Kirpatrick tied them all into a neat, interesting package through narration and brief dramatic scenes with collegians as actors. He re- ceived a healthy assist from a sharply-written script by Fred Goerner, which combined good humor, irony and clean dialog. Direction was smooth and w«»il- paced. Berl. TIME FOR UNCLE WIN With Win Stracke Writer: Bob Hartman Director: Dick Locke 30 Mins.: Mon.-thru-Fri., 2:30 Sustaining WBKB, Chicago When WNBQ dropped Win Stracke’s moppet-beamed “Animal Playtime” to make room for “Home,” it touched off one of the biggest mail barrages from the putout moms in the NBC station’s history. With such active backing, including petitions from PTA and similar groups, it was natural that WBKB should grab off tbe hot property. Except for the title, it’s the same show that won favor on WNBQ. And it’s easy to see why Uncle Win registers so firmly with the pre- schoolers and their mothers vrith his bag of songs and stories, his guitar and his animal pets. There’s no slambang play for kiddie atten- tion. It’s just a genial gent, with an obvious fondness for kids and life in general, unreeling his little yarns and ditties directly at the setslde youngsters. Also aside from the fact that he’s proved an expert tv babysitter, capable of keeping the tykes occupied for at least a half-hour daily, the conscientious moms obviously appreciate the small but meaningful lessons on kindness and fair play he weaves into his patter and songs. Dave.