Variety (March 1956)

32 TELEVISION BEVIEWS- pqsmrf Wednesday, March 14, 1956 TV NEWSREEL With Gunnar Back Director: John Hoban 10 Mins., Mon.-Fri., 7 p.m. and 11 RCAVICTOR WFIL-TV, Philadelphia To strengthen its news coverage and at the same time meet the name competition of the other two local tv stations (Taylor Grant, WRCV-TV, and John Facenda, WCAU-TV) WFIL-TV has brought in Gunnar Back, former NBC Wash¬ ington correspondent, to act as di¬ rector of news and special events. Back’s background as reporter and interviewer (the McCarthy trials) and as moderator (America’s Town Meeting) shows through in his dispassionate approach and his lack of distracting mannerisms of voice and delivery. There is i complete absence of personal ex ploitation in Back's "no starch’ appearance and his general atti¬ tude of one "who doesn’t take it too big”. On session caught, he employed the newscaster’s usual grabbag of information—the missing Globe- master; the segregation issue; Sov¬ iets and oil; France and the Moroc¬ can situation, and the firing of Glubb Pasha. In 10-minute span he also ran down purely local hap¬ penings and sports scores. An in¬ formal touch, as well as a plug, was the interview with Pennsylvania’: Congressman Hugh Scott on civil rights. Scott welcomed the news¬ man with a warm "We all enjoyed working with you in Washington.” Program makes use of film clips. Newscaster also does the commer¬ cials and is fortunate sponsor-wise, plugging such items as the Benily Goodman album and a tape- rdcorder, which add interest with¬ out lessening dignity. Gagh. JO PORTARO SHOW With Jo Portaro, Joan Olson, Jeanne Hughes, Marge Reid, guests Director: Bob Huber 30 Mins.: Sun., 3:30 p.m. WXEL, Cleveland This half-hour Sunday afternoon stint is a glamorized beauty com¬ mercial for the Jo Portaro Salon. But, because of its friendly over¬ tones, gentle approach and deft handling by Portaro himself, the entire stanza comes up with heavy results on the plus side of the ledger. Utilizing a series of "before and after” presentations, with the "treated" women themselves ap¬ pearing on the show, Portaro scores with a showmanship stroke proving - the positive facts of his claim that a woman who knows what to do with her hair-do, etc., can achieve an additional touch of beauty. That, in itself, should assure him a heavy audience in this area. As additional fillips, the attrac¬ tive models—Joan Olson, Jeanne Hughes, Marge Reid, Rayline Hill and Audrey Kapel — provide for eye arrest. Miss Hall is particular¬ ly effective with commercial pitch. On stanza caught, (4) Higbee fashion coordinator, Helene St. Andrews, presented new hat show, that added to pleasant viewing. Mark. Rob & Ray Boston Exit Cues More Upheavals In Hub Program Skeds Boston, March 13. Shakeup in Boston radio con¬ tinues this week with the pot boil¬ ing at WBZ which just terminated their, contract with Bob & Ray, and is preparing to launch Alan Dary, disk jock from WORL, Mon. (19). Station still denies that it will sever its ties with NBC under its new program of local round the clock disk jocking. Bob & Ray contract, in effect since Feb., 1955, was terminated because of their heavy schedule, according to Grady Edney, program manager for the Westinghouse sta¬ tion in Boston, and becomes effec¬ tive March 31. Their segment, 5 to 6 p.m., will be taken over by Norm Prescott, the first disk jock in under the new program who signed with WBZ last August. Dary, who has picked up a big following in six years at WORL, gets the 10:25 to 11:55 p.m. time Mon. through Fri. and on Sat. from 9 to 12 noon on WBZ as a starter. Dary’s schedule will be enlarged in the near future, the station said. The WBZ disk jock lineup now has Carl deSuze, as anchor man, Norm Prescott and Alan Dary. Reports that Sherm Feller, WVDA disk jock, would join the group were denied by Feller. Other reports that Vaughn Mon¬ roe and Rudy Vallee were being sought by WBZ for disk jock chores were unconfirmed, Tele Follow-Up Comment 4 ♦♦♦♦♦+♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦+++♦»<♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ »»> 4+ •»♦♦♦ ♦ f ♦+-♦♦4 + ♦ 4**44 4 4 4 * Loqella Parsons Story Since television seems irresist¬ ibly drawn to anything with the Hollywood label on it, "Climax” on CBS-TV last week (8) tackled the life story of film columnist Louella O. Parsons. What the hourlong show needed most was a climax; that is unless a succession ol stars confiding their breathless "secrets” on the telephone to Miss Parsons was meant to serve as a substitute. Maybe, for some it did. Apart from a few sketchy bits about the columnist’s life (she hates being doublecrossed, loves Hearst, can’t resist sampling food from other people’s plates and is actually two people — the lady and the legend) they certainly got little else out of the show. The conglomeration of familiar faces was impressive even if the lines were not. Doing screen biogs on people who are still alive is a difficult job at best. In the case of "The Lou¬ ella Parsons Story,” adapted from her book, "The Gay Illiterate,” by Whitfield Cook, the subject just proved too much—or too little—to be entertaining. Show suffered from the dual handicap of deline¬ ating the scope of Miss Parsons’ "beat” (she’s constantly scooping everybody else, by sheer persis¬ tence) and making it visual, too, by crowding in as many w.k. person¬ alities as possible. Since this in¬ evitably involved crowding in the plugs, too, the studios really made hay that night. In the role of Miss' Parsons, Teresa Wright was mannered but quite convincing, and she effective¬ ly copied the columnist’s slow de¬ livery. In the few dramatic sket¬ ches offered, Miss Wright also proved that she’s a very capable actress. Last bit, when the camera caught her face reacting to speeches by Jack L. Warner, Dar¬ ryl F. Zanuck, Sam Goldwyn, etc., at the 1948 Coconut Grove testi¬ monial to her, brought one of the few emotional sparks of the show. Story was told in flashback as Miss Parsons was interviewed in her office where phones jangle merrily all day long to convey the "scoops.” Routine became a bit boring, but was necessary to intro such names as Robert Mitchum, Ginger Rogers, Kim Novak, Joan Fontaine, etc. Later, among those seen and “briefly heard were Rock Hudson, Lana Turner, John Wayno, Susan Hayward, Dan Dailey, Eve Arden, Eddie Cantor, Jean Pierre Aumont, Merle Oberon, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Charles Boyer, and other celebs. Since the news that some of them imparted in response to Miss Parsons’ cheery "What’s new that I don’t know about?” seemed to be of scant consequences, one couldn’t help wondering why they bothered calling at all. Impression was left that it’s a Hollywood cus¬ tom. "Parsons Story” covered the early film period in a couple of quick vignettes, establishing Miss Parsons at the • Essanay studio in Chicago and, later on the Chicago Record-Herald, at which point she received the advice never to work foi Hearst. Later, at least in this version, Hearst simply hired her away from the Morning Telegraph to work on the New York Ameri¬ can by agreeing to all of her 22 demands. There was also reference to her two husbands, the first— John Parsons—and the second, Dr. Harry Martin, who died in 1951 after 21. years of marriage. Martin was played by William Talman in a brief sketch involving his mar¬ riage proposal. Miss Parsons’ daughter, Harriet, appeared as a child. On the "Climax” show she acted as script consultant. Impression one got of Miss Par¬ sons was that she was a very busy woman, greatly addicted to the telephone, who knew absolutely anyone who had ever had anything to do with the film biz. At no point did Miss Parsons emerge as a real figure interested in more than just chit-chat; nor was there really more than a passing reference or two to Hearst, who must have fig¬ ured importantly in her life; nor did the adapter let drop more than a tantalizing hint that, prior to her second marriage, Miss Parsons was in love with a married man. Director John Frankenheimer coordinated the show as best he could, cutting back and forth from "live” show to film, or from Miss Parsons on the phone to her vari¬ ous interviewees.” The Parsons Story, produced by Martin Manulis, had a spectacular quality for rea¬ sons only indirectly connected with its main subject. Lensing was strictly routine except for one single shot of a room seen against the closeup of a record turning on an oldstyle phonograph. There were a couple of savvy references in the script that prob¬ ably spelled out nostalgia for old- timers in the film industry. Theda Bara came in for a brief mention. So did Mary Pickford, and there was a brief flash of one of the Chaplin silents. When it was all over, no holes had been punctured into the Parsons "legend.” If they had, it might have made a better show. HijU Star Stage Betty Grable and a roomful of roses would well satisfy the pic¬ torial requirements of any telepic. That it does quite admirably on this "Cleopatra Collins” install¬ ment but beyond this feast for the eyes there’s little to stimulate the other senses. The play by Fay and Michael Kanin must have been bought on the strength of their name and fame. About all it does is to give Miss Grable latitude to strut her physical magnificance and play quite casually the role of a happily married woman with an exciting past. But it almost catches up with her to give the vehicle what little motion it can generate under its own literary steam. Much was made of la Grable’s dramatic debut in tv and with her one can forget her acting albeit well mannered and acceptablly pleasing. It’s like swim-suited beauties around a Thunderbird. Who looks at the car? The story is this thin. Past admirers flood her with messages of affection on her birthday but one die-hard, a rajah, sends over 10 dozen roses. The husband brings home a. dozen. While she’s' away, he changes cards. The rajah calls, the three share a champagne supper and then he spills the beans, or rather- the roses. He tells her that he is sorry he could send over only 10 dozen but the florist couldn’t scrape up any more. She laughs off the de¬ ception and melts in the arms'of her husband. The rajah repeats what others have told him, "you’re a very lucky man.” Certainly no dissent at the sets. Miss Grable acts out her part as if the watchers were listening rather than ogling. Casey Adams as the jealous husband rarely got out of the mood and others com¬ petently assisting were Rick Jason, Michael Winkleman, Louise Bea¬ vers and Jack Kruschen. Direc¬ tion of Sidney Lanfield kept Miss Grable in focus most of the time for tasty segue into Swanson’s fro¬ zen chickens and Pond’s beauty products. Helm. Big Surprise There was a switch of emcees on the NBC-TV "The Big Surprise” last Saturday night (10) as Mike Wallace replaced Jack Barry, but nothing fundamental has been changed. If anything, Wallace’s handling of the emcee spot makes this show seem even more like a carbon of "The $64,000 Question,” since Wallace has apparently been Granik’s Tinder-Box "American Forum of the Air” on Sunday (11) not only scored a scoop in bringing the am¬ bassadors of two hostile coun¬ tries figuratively face, to face, but probably marked a. tv first. To point up the bitter¬ ness, the Syrian ambassador insisted on a board partition separating him from the Israeli diplomat. The Ambassadors to the U. S. from Syria and Israel observed the amenities of diplomacy, as they faced each other across the discussion table, and an¬ swered questions of moderator Steve McCormack and two stu¬ dent guests. But the apparent bitterness between them, rep¬ resentative of the tinder-box which is the Middle East, was dramatic and visual proof to the viewer of the yet un¬ leashed fury in that troubled area of the world. Producer Ted Granik is to be kudoed for his initiative in bringing electronic journalism one step further, a step, more¬ over, quite impossible for the written word. The two diplo¬ mats displayed courage in facing a nationwide audience in debate. That.they also dis¬ played the innate complexity and bitterness of their feelings is a tribute to the medium. Moderator McCormack’s ques¬ tions were keenly penetrative, albeit fair, and equally sharp with each of the adversaries. Entire show was an’ unusual and bell-ringing one in the field of public forum. Flor. watching Hal March on the latter show. Wallace, in fact, even made a reference at one point to the rival stanza as "another quiz show which also gives away a consider¬ able amount of money.” But even though "The Big Sur¬ prise” gives away even more loot than "The $64,000 Question,” it still lacks the latter’s boff impact. For one thing, its frankly imitative; for another, it lacks the produc¬ tion care and class of the other Louis G. Cowan package on CBS- TV. Overall, it’s surprising how unexciting "Big Surprise” can make gambling on $100,000 seem. On last Saturday’s show, the big jackpot was won by Rear Admiral Redfield Mason, the third winner in the show’s history. An expert on Greek mythology, Mason was faced with a difficult six-part ques¬ tion involving the obscure names of some legendary femme charac¬ ters. Although Wallace tried hard to generate some tension, the lack of suspense was almost unbearable. The buildup attempt, via camera shots of the audience (which didn’t look particularly anxious as the admiral mulled the question), failed to come off arid the ulti¬ mate copping of the jackpot was anticlimactic. Opening the show, a smalltown woman mayor lost in her try at the jackpot over some 1 questions about George Washington. She gets another crack at the big prize next week. Closing the show was a hill¬ billy carpenter who’s an expert on travel. He succeeded in getting to the $200 level ("The Big Surprise” has not yet appropriated the word "plateau”) before time ran out. Incidentally, J. S. Seidman (& Seidman), w.k: as a legal angel and generally involved in show biz matters from an accountancy basis, is quoted as computing that Ad¬ miral Mason would face a maxi¬ mum Federal income tax of $52,- 000 , if he and his wife filed a joint return, as a result of winning the $100,000. Herm. Ed Sullivan Show Figure skaters Tenley Albright and Hayes Jenkins in an exhibition telecast from the Rockefeller Plaza rink gave Sunday’s (11) Ed Sulli¬ van Show a topical touch. Balance of the layout, however, was stand¬ ard vaudeo. Miss Albright and Jenkins, who appeared via courtesy of the U.S. Figure Skating Assn., the Olympic Fund and Sports Illustrated, con- tribbed a sparkling display of blades prowess. Although the rink lighting was a bit shadowy upon oc¬ casion, the cameras had little dif¬ ficulty in catching the skaters’ rapid whirls and spins. Another topical touch—this time for upcoming St. Patrick’s Day— was the Dorothy Hayden Irish Steppers. Four girls and two males, they terped a mean jig ac- comped by accordion. It was a great night for the Irish for also on" hand aside from conferencier Sullivan, was the Lynda Lynch Trio. Miss Lynch, who’s the 18-year- old daughter of Radio City Music Hall ad-pub chief Fred Lynch, was pert and vivacious in dishing up some imaginative song-and-dance routines, aided and abetted by her male partners. Roger ("Autumn Leaves”) Williams clicked handily with his pianistics. His trick mini¬ ature 88 was particularly effective. Rounding out the session were The Great Unus, balancer-equili¬ brist; Amru Sani, Indian song¬ stress; The Chaludis, a bicycle turn; Amazing Marvellos, tumbling troupe; comic Jimmy Komack plus singers Dick Duane and Enzo Stu- arti. Emcee Sullivan hosted with his usual proficiency. Julia Meade, who assists with the Lincoln-Mercury puffs, was a brief emcee whilst Sullivan hustled over to the Rocke¬ feller rink. Sullivan, incidentally, was gifted with a plaque from Olympic^ Com¬ mittee official Eddie Egan in be¬ half of the columnist’s "great work for the Olympics.” Also sharing the spotlight at the presentation was Cyd Charisse who, viewers were informed, is appearing in Metro’s "Meet Me in Las Vegas.” Gitb. City Desk WNBQ-WMAQ’s "City Desk,” Chicago’s solo radio-tv forum for the airing of civic matters, clocked its fourth anniversary last week. Sunday paneler, moderated by WNBQ-WMAQ news chief Bill Ray and featuring local newsmen grill¬ ing names in the news, has pro¬ duced a sizeable file of scoops and has played an immeasurable role in imprinting the NBC stations’ identity on the hometown. For the birthday show, Ray dis¬ pensed with the usual guest "sub- FRANK YANKOVIC SHOW With the Peppermints, Yankovic’s Polka band; Vince Lloyd, Pat Vance Producer: Les Urbach Director: Le Roy AUiger 69 Mins.; Tues., 7 p.m. GRAND CENTRAL MERCURY & NATIONAL CLOTHING WGN-TV, Chicago This polka bash should^go over okay with the afficionados but its 60-minute course makes it a heavy dose for the viewers with just a passing interest in the old country dances and Americanized tunes. Fronting is Frank Yankovic, a big man in the polka field. With his accordion and singing he makes up in zest and enthusiasm what he lacks in polish in the usual sense as the emcee. . It’s practically a straight musical bill of fare as Yankovic "and- his orch split duties with the Pepper¬ mints, femme trio. On chapter watched (7) composer Milton De- Lugg dropped in equipped with his own accordion for some musical byplay with the host. Also present was a group of polka dancers who went through their paces smooth¬ ly. It’s a question, however, just how much spectator interest ther« is in this traditional terping. Commercial spieler Pat Vance perhaps should have been billed as the co-star. It seemed like during the last half of the show she was on camera as often as Yankovic, making with the words for National Credit Clothing. Vince Lloyd worked the first half for the car dealer. His chores didn’t seem as lengthy but they were padded out with some hefty "bless the spon¬ sor” intros from the Polka King. Dave . Miami ’Homecoming’ For Sandy Wirth As ’Circus’ Hits the Road Miami is readying a mammoth “homecoming” celebration for San¬ dy Wirth, featured on "Super Cir¬ cus’’ and the Miss Florida semi¬ finalist in the 1955 Miss America contest. Occasion will be the "Su¬ per Circus” origination from the 76,000-seat Orange Bowl Sunday (18), the show’s first out-of-town stand. Remote was more or less forced on the show because of the ABC-TV “Voice of Firestone” spec¬ tacular the following night (19), but the ABC-TV brass decided to make the most of the situation with a hometown hoopla centering on Miss Wirth. Miss Wirth and ringmaster Jerry Colonna planed to Miami yester¬ day (Tues.) for a round of ap¬ pearances, starting with a special show on WITV, ABC-TV’s Miami affiiliate. Big hoopla comes Sat¬ urday with a parade in downtown Miami featuring bands, floats and 150 baton twirlers (her specialty), with Mayor Randall Christmas de¬ livering an official greeting. Mean¬ while, various organizations will circulate 150,000 tickets to the tele¬ cast to school children, Boy Scout groups and underprivileged chil¬ dren, while some 50 members of the Junior Chamber of Commerce have agreed to act as ushers in the Orange Bowl during the tele¬ cast. Producer Martin Stone, who with his staff will be down for the tele¬ cast (even the Ralph Herman orch is being flown ‘down), is trying his first merchandising effort on the show in the form of "Super Circus” T-shirts to be worn by the 150 baton-twirlers organized as a "Sandy Wirth Fan Club” and by the Delta Airlines hostesses greet¬ ing the contingent at the airport. Coca-Cola trucks are tying in with posters calling attention to the telecast, while additional displays are being distributed to Miami stores. ABC-TV is even sending a pair of publicity men down for the event. ject” and brought back the trio of newspaper political editors who appeared on the initial "Desk.” Present for the up-to-the-minute backgrounding of the city, state and national political picture were John Dreiske, Sun-Times; Charles Cleveland, Daily News; George Tagge, Tribune, and NBC news¬ man Len O’Conner, a "Desk” reg¬ ular. With no interviewee to toss their barbs at, the boys were all on their best behavior and generally had little fault with either the state or city administrations. Nonethe¬ less, with Ray doing his usual neat job of keeping the talk on the rails, what came out was a com¬ prehensive discussion of the cur¬ rent political scene, from City Hall to the White House. This is public service in the best sense of the phrasfe. Dave.