Variety (November 1956)

38 RABIO-TELEVISION MSizmfr Wednesday, November 21, 1956 Tele Followups S Continued from page 25 that those sitting for their portraits will (2) get the idea and/or be shamed into following suit. One of the prime f'rinstances was his face-to-face last week (14) with Drew Pearson, the firebrand¬ ing Washington merry-go-rounder, in a set-to postponed from previous week. Under Wallace’s incisive, persistent, “intuitively impudent” S roddings, Pearson matched the ot, candid questions with dit.to an¬ swers—perhaps not quite as siz¬ zling in the reply at times as in the pitch, but close enough to pro¬ duce a slambang session for the pre-midnight-patrol viewers gan- dering a change of pace from the flickers, etc. In addition to presumably wide general interest, the segment was meat & potatoes for members of the fourth estate or kindred beats thereof. Such as the whys & what- fors of Washington-based pundits & pounder-outers holding back on data for print. That's a “combined operation” having to do With some soul-wrestling on whether the dis¬ closures, classified or no, would be in the public and national interest, and also hinged on whether the subject, if a person, is big enough to take care of himself under barb or revelation; and contrariwise, the futility and perhaps unfairness of putting the searchlight on mere joeblows unless the material is too earth-shaking for a zealous syndi¬ cated or one-sheet columnist to STMMG Since the sternwheelers first opened our Ohio River Valley to large-stale trade, this region has constantly steamed ahead to greater industrial records. Today, its array of manufacture ing is the most vast in America ... a solid head-of-steam typified by our own doorstep counties of Cabell and Kanawha (the Hunt* j ington-Charleston area) where— say preliminary reports of the.' ^new 0. S. Census of Manufac¬ tures — the value of industry alone is up 55% since 1947, currently over one billion dollars! This is only part of what you can command with WSAZ-TV* Sur¬ rounding our near-quarter-mile- high tower lies America’s 23rd television ^market — four states wide, four billion dollars deep in buying potential. You leave .a smart wake when you sail aboard WSAZ-TV. Any Katz office can make out a profitable bill of lad¬ ing for you. o kill off under the severe compete tion that exists. There was some naming of names along this route by Pearsofi, plus a clearly intended dig at Presidential press poobah Jim Hagerty,. at whose behest many a permanent camp follower in the Chief Exec’s reportorial corps must at times be obliged not to file adverse thisa & thata for fear that otherwise there would be retalia¬ tion, according to Pearson. And so on as to a comparative sizeup of FDR, HST and DDE, each getting his just due and all of them com¬ ing out ahead against Pearson's acknowledgment that he and Tru¬ man didn’t get along, etc. In fact, it was the former Prez who re¬ ferred to Pearson in an historic phrase utilized tongue-in-cheek by Pearson in his current Satevepost series, “Confessions of an S.O.B.'' To find the columnist self-effac¬ ing, such as owning up to how it was that some of his major “pre¬ dictions” didn’t pan out, was in itself a change-up for Pearson under Wallace’s blunt, tell-all-or- tell-nothin' approach. And for the records, Pearson’s shiny crystal- ball shows Secretary of State Dulles resigning (because of his health) and Defense Secr’y Wilson quitting (because that’s what he's wanted to do). Considering all the mamby- pamby forums even on some big- league network shows where they let the guy on the hot seat get aWay with an awful lot of “no com¬ ment,” Wallace’s nightly, beat stands out like the Eiffel Tower on the Parisian landscape. Trau. See It Now A demonstration of the U.S. Navy's might, highlighting atom- propelled submarines and super¬ aircraft carriers, unreeled on Sun¬ day’s (18) VSee It Now” afternoon telecast. The one hour proved to be .fairly interesting viewing, as well as furnishing some very sober¬ ing reflections on the new weapons which not only are in this country’s hands, but also commanded by the Russians, according to the experts. Titled “Revolution in the Navy,” the Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly production had many arresting shots, with cameras ex¬ ploring “miracle” weapons under¬ sea and in the air. The on-the-scene pictorial display was interspersed with interviews with Navy brass. Informationally, the 'CBS viewers must have been swamped by the array of material offered. The hour could have been more pointed and sharp if less of an area was on display. The show, as it focused on the cramped, efficient quarters of the atom-driven Nautilus, then shifted to interviews and aircraft carriers, had a tendency to ramble. But the drama of what already has been accomplished in naval aritia- ments and what new armaments are in the offing, always seemed to snap back one’s interest. The awesome display, which also highlighted the launching of guided missiles from submarines, found even Rear Admiral Hyman G. Rick- over, father of America's atomic Navy, bowled over. With atom- driven power, Admiral RIckover said that for the first time in history man can control his environment, rather than accomodate himself to it. He added this warning: God help us if we.don’t use it wisely. Horo. Playhouse 90 i An otherwise solid script out of; Harold Jack Bloom’s typewriter was afflicted with.ty dramaturgy’s chronic malady on CBS-TV’s “Play¬ house 90” last Thursday (15). That’s the inevitable happy finale that so often does violence to a I play’s basic honesty and con¬ sistency. This happy ending syn¬ drome is all the more incongruous when as with Bloom's “Heritage of Anger,” a virtual Pandox*a’s Box of emotions is skillfully opened for some 70 minutes, only to have the lid hastily nailed back on in the last few minutes. This edition's plot dealt with the classic father-son conflict dressed in businessmen’s garb, reminiscent of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.” Pulling out all the Freudian stops, Bloom also em¬ broidered the romance angle with some,obvious jealously overtones between the father and his daugh¬ ter's swain. Except for the abrupt shifting of gears at the end, it was powerful stuff, aided and abetted by a competent cast. Ralph Bellamy had both some fine moments and some unsure ones as the Cameron family’s aging patriarch whose singleminded con¬ centration on his wholesale, shirt business drove a wedge between him and his daughter and two sons. The youngest son, an ex-Air Force flyboy turned playboy who re¬ luctantly- joins the family firm with mounting bitterness toward his Dad, N was efficiently done by John Ericson. Tom Brown deliv¬ ered likewise as the elder son who literally earned the back of Pop's hand as the rejected tribal weak¬ ling. ’ Nina Foch turned in an able job as the daughter torn between love and sympathy for her father and her sweetheart. Latter, excellently portrayed by Lloyd Bridges, fig¬ ured prominently in the external conflict when he exited the Cam¬ eron company for a rival concern. Through his masterminding, the competing firm proceeded to work havoc with the Cameron outfit by grabbing up the latter’s sources of supply for its Xmas merchandise. Onslow Stevens neatly handled the role of the head of the rival firm whose hopes of merging with Cam¬ eron were rebuffed by the latter’s blind determination to keep the business in the family, despite the kids* recognition that a merger would be best for all concerned. The highly-charged personal and business warfare was quickly resolved in the aforementioned final scene. Dad came charging in on his daughter and her lover and pokes a gun- at the “outsider.” They talked him out-Of his homo- cidal ambitions, he exits grinning, apparently reconciled to the merg¬ er of both his business and his daughter. The young pair seal it all with a clinch at the final dis¬ solve. It was a smooth, fluffless exer¬ cise for producer Martin Manulis and director Vincent J. Donehue’s technical staffers., Dave. Ray Bolger Show Ray Bolger’s “Washlngton Square” still takes on the attitude of the last part of its name. -The show is still a self-conscious and belabored effort that seemingly needs to make up its mind whether it wants the situation comedy framework or go into a straight va¬ riety show. The elements of both are there, with Bolger in position to tie the proceedings into a sin¬ gle neat bundle, which somehow isn’t coming off yet. According to appearances, the show toppers seem ready to ditch the very thin situation of Bolger being the im¬ presario-entertainer at a Green¬ wich Village playhouse. On Sunday’s (18) session over NBC-TV, there were moments when the layout nearly made it. Yet the necessity of keeping the plot going provided some long stretches of unrewarding dialog. Martha Raye, left to her own de¬ vices, could easily have made sev¬ eral spots stand up, and Bolger who knows his way around a stage; could similarly enliven a few niches. The individual variety ef¬ forts were good. Elaine Stritch, another regular, came off well in her spot, and Rocky Marciano with his walkon, walked on and off. Others with appearances were Kay Armen, playing the Mama part, once occupied by Daniza Ilitsch, Arnold Stang working in a puppet rig gotten up by Bil & Cora Baird, and Rusty Draper, do well in¬ dividually, but yet the show falls to register as a whole. The Bolger-Raye-Stritcli takeoff on “War and Peace” had some ef¬ fective moments, but they tried too hard to get it across. It seems that if the talent, and those who know talent, had their way, every¬ thing could go well in no time at all. Jose. Toyland Express With the Christmas season set¬ ting in, Toy Guidance Council, Inc., is unreeling a group of 15- minute films, showing some of the new toys being offered and offer¬ ing pointers on the psychological gratification that some toys may offer children. Locally, carried by WABC-TV Saturday and Sunday mornings and afternoons, the 15- minute show appears lightweight in the entertainment department. The Saturday (17) 9:45 a.m. slot¬ ted film also had little of the psy¬ chological twist. David T. Marke, director of the Council’s educa¬ tional activities, only made a few comments In that vein, comments such as a girl’s layette set may help a young Miss to adjust to a new member of the family, or that a gun gives a child respect for law enforcement. The major portion of the program was devoted to a display of toys, a few of which could be considered unusual. Taking the bite away from what seems to be an overlong commer¬ cial was Jimmy Nelson and his pup¬ pets. Nelson and his characters, though, once the group of kiddies, reached “paradise” aibroad the Toyland Express, became minor figures. Emphasis was on toys, toys, toys, all of which could be bought in neighboring stores, according to the crawL Horo • , Tele Reviews . Continued from page 23 — -— ■■ tent to underplay the part, but with precisioned artistry and rarely I'aised-her voice. Her dad will be sent the lenticular film and he’ll undoubtedly approve her handling of the role that came out of his own quill, Lamont Johnson gave a worthy depiction of the dictator with all the dynamics of a rabble- rouser, and Geoffrey Toone was properly stalwart as the belea¬ guered dictator. Others lending able support included . Dayton Lummis, Val Dufour, John Irving, Norman DuPont, Tim Brown Henry, David Frankham, James Lilburn, Will. White and Booth Colman. Adaptation of Frank and Doris Hursley was fiiely wrought and won the approval of Sir Winston after the initial effort by another was' rejected. McCleery’s device of having an actor essay the role of author and narrating the tale to two young officers was both in¬ ventive and effective. Tab lifters were Armour, Sylvania, Brillo and Tide with a few more sjpots at sta¬ tion break time to seemingly over¬ load the program with commercials. John Conte tended the hosting with his usual eclat. Helm: ‘Play Marco’ — Continued from page 23 shall be consistency of interpreta¬ tion of the Federal lottery laws by the agencies charged with their en¬ forcement, particularly when . . . the Commission's decision ... is directly contrary to a long-stand¬ ing opinion of the Solicitor of the Rost Office Department, who has lield that activity of the type re¬ quired by 'Play Marco’ does not constitute consideration. Moreover, we are unable to find any indicaj tion that the Attorney General has considered or feels that the pro¬ gram in question is violative of law. “The significance of this diverg¬ ence of regulatory opinion be¬ comes apparent when it is realized that some 4,000 broadcast stations . . . will be prohibited from engag¬ ing in the advertisement of many sales promotion plans, which re¬ quire participants to visit the spon¬ sor’s store, and hitherto never considered lotteries, while . . . the printed media is, and always has been, enabled to do so.” NARTB further argued that the lottery laws were intended to ap¬ ply to gambling-type activities which defraud the public. The pro¬ gram, “Play Marco,” it declared, “cannot be reasonably construed as appealing to the gambling In¬ stinct of the individual, tending to j impoverish its participants or weakening public morality.” CBS Profits ^ - - Continued from, page 22 14 to stockholders f of record on Nov. 30. Also voted was a stock dividend of 2% on outstanding A and B shares, but with provisions forbidding issuance of fractional shares. Instead, stockholders will receive non-transferable order forms of fiftieths of a share. Board also elected Merle S. Jones, who becomes president of CBS Television Inc., a vicepresi¬ dent and board member of CBS Inc., the parent company, effective with the assumption of his new post on Jan. 1. 'Grand Central Station’ Shutters in Jan.; Paar, Others in ABC Shifts “Grand Central Station” got a I network radio reprieve last sum¬ mer when ABC picked up the for¬ mer half-hour drama and con¬ verted it into a weekday quarter- hour strip at 11 ayem. But the show has failed to catch any spon¬ sors, so it's being dropped in Jan¬ uary by ABC. Jack Paar, who be¬ gan in July at the same time as “Grand Central” *s being moved into the 11 a.m. time. Paar, who has a number of par-, ticipating sponsors at present, may ultimately be expanded to a half- hour, from. 11 to 11:30. Network feels that Paar is better back-to- back material with^the rest of the morning dramatic b’ock than is “Grand Central.” Block begins with “My. True Story,” from 10 to 10:30, and goes to two succeeding quarter-hours, “When a Girl Mar¬ ries” and “Whispering Streets.” To replace Paar temporarily at 11:15 will be “You apd .Your Mar¬ riage,” a marriage counselling stanza that has beefc running as a 10-minuter from 11:35 to 11:45 ayem, after five-minutes of news. Bob. Hammock, with' a musical combo will take over.the old “Mar¬ riage” slot, and the Buddy Weed band stays from 11:45 until noon. Hartford—John P. Shipley has been named to newly-created post of operations manager of WKNB television and radio. At WHCT- TV, Lanny Pike has been named production supervisor. Moves over from WKNB-TV, Where he held a similar post. WHY DO I PLAY BADMINTON? I have no choice. 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