Variety (February 1957)

30 TfiXJBVISION REVIEWS VeAiesday, Fehrnary 13, 1957 THE LARK ^HaRmaUk UaU of Fame) With Jiilie HaxTi8> Borla Karloff, Eli Wallach, Basil Rathbone, '"BenBolm' Elliott, Jack Warden, Ward ^Costello, Harold Winston, Michael Higgins, Jan Farand, Barbara Stanton, Elspeth March, tSregoir Morton, Mary Ldane, Charles Penman, Bruce Gordon, others Producer Director: George Schaefer ^ Executive Producer: Mildred Freed Alberg TV Adaptation: James Costigan (from Lillian Hellman^s version of Jean Anouilh’s play) HALLMARK NBC-TV, from N, Y. (color) (Foote, Cone & Belding) ‘‘Hallmark Hall of Fame” offered up one of the eminently rewarding tv performances of the season on Sunday (10) when Julie Harris re¬ created her Joan of Arc role in a *90 -minute colorcast of .Jean Anouilh’s "The Lark.” The tv ver¬ sion of Lillian Heilman’s stage adaptation was achieved with con¬ summate skill shy James Costigan and as produced directed by George Schaefer this video rein¬ carnation of the Maid of Orleans came off as a powerful and exciting experience. If anything, it had the same satisfying qualities of the original full-diipcnsioned produc¬ tion on Broadway. There is, of course, something to be said *for "playing it safe” in transferring to tv the pre-tested hot-off-the-legit-boards properties such as "The Lark,” particularly at a time when good original tv works are hard to come by. For one thing, it narrows the risk (espe¬ cially when it’s a proven vehicle) and thereby avoids the pitfalls of all-too-costly speculation and guess¬ work. (Most classic exaipple was the fresh-from-Broadway tv pres¬ entation of "Peter Pan” in its original video offering, with the upcoming Old Vic performance of "Romeoand Juliet” and the Alfred Lunt-Lynn Fontanne "Great Sebas¬ tians” in the same legit-to-tv tra¬ dition.) Reducing them to tv size within the 90 minute, 21 inch framework are the only major haz¬ ards. It’s a sad commentary on a medium that it is compelled to put such reliance on "borrowed” theatre, for only when tv can cre¬ ate its own can it hope to enjoy the distinction of emerging as an art in itself. In the case of "The Lark” the transposition presented but few technical difficulties. The very simple and sparse props permitted for an easy bridging of time and scenes by' a combination of effec¬ tive lighting and camera work. Thus the back-and-forth interplay of the trial scene and the memo¬ rable episodes in the life of the Maid enjoyed a freedom of move¬ ment that, thanks to the electronic assist, was even more pronounced than in the stage version. Joan is probably Miss Harris’ most brilliant performance. On tv It lost none of its electrifying im¬ pact. Her simple yet touching in¬ terpretation jwas moving and elo¬ quent and her complete immersion In the role was in no less lessened or her mood altered by the reali¬ ties and proximity of the tv para¬ phernalia. Boris Karloff repeated his stage role of the compassionate and un¬ derstanding Archbishop Cauchon. His suffering for the Maid was deeply moving. Eli Wallach as the Dauphin demonstrated hrs versatil¬ ity as a topflight actor in a very commendable performance. Den¬ holm Elliott, who flew over from England • for this tv production, gave a highly professional por¬ trayal of Warwick, the English conqueror, vesting the role with the strength of the statesman, yet with the human sympathy for Joan.. Billed as the "guest star,” Basil Rathbone played the Inquisitor with the proper somberness and horror of that phase of the Church. Jack Warden and Bruce Gordon were particularly fine in the re¬ spective roles of Beaudrincourt and Capt. LaHir. In fact, the en¬ tire supporting cast contributed to the fin6 qualities of the whole. Rose. Tommy Sands Inked For Tennessee Frnie Show Hollywood, Feb. 12. Tommy Sands, who scpred a crit¬ ical hit on NBC-TV %raft The¬ atre” presentation of "The Singin’ Idol,” has been inked as a regu¬ lar on Tennessee Ernie Ford’s Thursday night NBC-TV show. Ad¬ ditionally, the 20-year-old rockand-roll singer will guest on Ford’s Feb. 21 daytime program. Sands is currently up to recreate his original role in the 20th-Fox filmization of "Idol.” I LA GRANDE BRETECHE (NBC Opera) With Gloria Lane, Hu^h Thompson, Adelaide BiisJiop, Davis Cnuningham, Kim! Beni, members of the Symphony of the Air, conducted by Peter Herman Adler • Producer: Samuel Chotzinoff Director: "John Schwartz Music and Artistic Director: Peter Herman Adier Sets: Gerald Ritholz 45 Mins.; Sun. (10), 3 p.m, NBC-TV, from New York Credit the NBC Opera Co. with the courage of its convictions and a determination to keep experi¬ mentation alive on the air. But neither end was particularly well served with the presentation Sun^ day afternoon (10) of Stanley Hol¬ lingsworth’s short opera, "La Grande Breteche.” . It wAs a world premiere of doubtful importance, and it’s difficult to believe that the Hollingsworth work will get much of a heating thercaf tor. The opera, with a libretto by the composer and by Harry Duncan, gas commissioned by the NBC pera Co. some years back. It is modern and strongly reminiscent of the style of Gian-Carlo Menotti, except that the endearing lyrical touch of the Menotti pen appears to be, missing.. There is drama, and even tenderness in some of the music, but it is not distinguished writing, and it seems to strive for effect without offering the necessary substance. Colorcast, produced by Samuel Chotzinoff was produced with the usual skill and directed without much imagination by John Schwartz. . For the first time, how¬ ever, in these NBC Opera shows, there was a noor balance between the orchestra and the singers, with the instruments definitely drown¬ ing out the singers in spots. It was this very balance which, in past NBC operas, has so much been to the credit of musical and artistic director Peter Herman Adler. The whole concept. of putting on "La Grande Breteche,” based on a Balzac story, is open to question. Television is a unique and welcome medium for acquainting the broad masses with the operatic medium. It is a rewarding, but slow, process, and NBC deserves kudos for foot¬ ing the bill. Yet, operas such as this are hardly designed to bring the operatic medium new friends. In fact, this particular Hollings¬ worth work, while certainly deserv¬ ing of a performance if for no other reason than that every new talent should' be encouraged, could hardly have enjoyed a wide and enthusiastic audience. Why, with so many attractive pperas still unperformed on the air, pick an offbeat opus such as this? Unlike Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors,”“La Grande Breteche” is' an item for the modern music addict. It’s the kind of thing one would want to hear a couple of times before ft registers fully to the ear. As Countess Marie, who saw her lover walled up in a closet by a jealous husband, Gloria Lane was in excellent voice Sunday. Hers is a full, rich mezzo-soprano that was just right for the dramatic role, and she sang with spirit. Hugh Thompson acquitted himself very well in the difficult part of Robert, the husband. Adelaide Bishop sang Rosalie, the maid, with a voice that gave great promise in a small part. D^lvis Cunningham also came across with spirit as the Spanish prisoner who loved Miss Lane, and Kimi Beni appeared briefly as Gorenflot, the handyman. Miss Lane’s acting was effective, particularly in the 'trying final scene, when she appears to go mad, even as her husband pleads for her love. Gerald Ritholz’s set was spacious and yet allowed the action to focus properly. The drama on the screen wasn’t fully matched by the quality of the music, which only occasionally ^ conveyed the great emotional turmoil in Marie as she witnesses her hidden lover being sealed up. . , Opera only ran 45 minutes in¬ stead of the originally-announced hour. However, despite the fine talent involved, the running time was ample. Hift. whirlybirDs With. Kenneth 'Tobey, Cnfs Hill, Larry Dobklu, Paul Brinegar, James Bel|> Norman Leavitt, Walter Johnson^ Carey Loftin Producer: Aril^ Napoleon Director; Lew Landers ^ Writers: Jo and Art Napoleon 30 Mins., Thnrs. 7:30 p.m. WINSTON CIGARETS, DUFFYMOTT WPIX, New York (film) (Wm. Esty, Young & Ruhicam) “Whirlybirds” has been on trie Desilu Productions drawing boards for over a year now, having first waited in line for a CBS-TV net¬ work exposure on a coproduction basis until CBS Television Film Sales stepped in and grabbed off the series for syndication. That happened shortly before Christ¬ mas, and sales have been moving fast ever since, with the series sold in over 100 markets and still mov¬ ing. • Perhaps the sales succees of the show, however,. Is more a reflec¬ tion of the supply-and-demand situation in the firstrun telefilm field than of the quality of the show itself. At least on the basis of the first showing in N.Y.. (via WPIX), "Whirlybirds” shapes as a routine adventure series with the helicopter ' angle as the hook. ‘Tain’t badly done, but it doesn’t shape as anything out of the rou¬ tine action cataloj^. Series stars Kenneth Tobey and Craig Hill as the partners ‘in Whirlybirds Inc., a helicopter serv¬ ice in lower California. First yarn has the pair hired to track down an old gent who’s been out pros¬ pecting for uranium and is long overdue. They find the gent, pinhned under a landslide, free him by ' using the helicopter as a leverage agent, and catch up to two hombres who had stolen his claim while he was helpless. An un>^ usual chase, with the helicopter running down their jeep and forc¬ ing them to overturn it, winds the story. Tobey and Hill make a couple of appealing heroes, while James Bell was credible as the old man and Larry Dobkin as the chief heavy. Lew Landers’ direction kept things moving quickly enough, but the photography tended to be hazy on some of the flight scenes. This one was virtually entirely locationed; no chance to see the production elements of future shows. Chan. Tele Follow-Up Comment CAPTAIN DAVID GRIEF With Maxwell Reed, Tudor Owen, Mickey Simpson, George E. Stone, Larry Gelbman, Melvin Prestidge, Peter Whitney, Helen Westcott, Danny Aoki Producer: Duke Goldstone Director: Stuart 'Heisler Writers: S. Ellis, R. Arkay 39 half-hour telefilms Distributed by; Guild Films Guild would have had the per¬ fect telefilm series if it found a way to use some of that reputed $1,900,000 spent in producing "Captain David Grief” on improv¬ ing the lot of the half-hour script. Stanza seen had beautiful color, beautiful scenery, okay photog¬ raphy, a lot of actors (ranging from fair to excellent in technique), (Continued on page 75) I VINCENT LOPEZ SHOW With Judy Lynn, Teddy Norman, Eddie O’Connor, "Johnny Messner, Johnny Amorosa, JIanny Davis, others Director: Ned Cramer 3(9 mins.. Sat., 7 p.m. CBS-TV, from New York From his vantage point on the podium of New York’s Hotel Taft Grill for the past 16 years, Vincent Lopez has been able to get a line on the musical tastes of the hinter¬ lands. Room has been pulling in out-of-towners steadily and Lopez has been^ the prime reason. In sending him out on the net, there¬ fore, CBS-TV virtually has a builtin^ grassroots aud for the Lopez Lopez joined the CBS family last October with a 45-minuter over the net’s Gotham key and his promo¬ tion to a coast-to-coaster indicates that the net is trying to get its foot into Lawrence Welk-land. Lopez hits a similar schmaltzy beat in an easy-to-take manner. He keeps his arrangements simple and mixes UP the standards . and pops for a pleasant melodic pattern. The vo¬ calists, too, deliver without any undue embellishments.' Maestro’s bland personality shows up in his intros of the numbers and when he acts as a one-man cheering squad for his help but it has yokel appeal, and that’s what counts. His bandsmen, fogr the most part, double as crooners, which allows for a varied voice selection in the songbag workover. Teddy Norman, Eddie O’Connor, Johnny Amorosa and Johnny Messner are among those who pitch in neatly. Danny Davis, a newcomer to the org, comes through nicely with his vo¬ cal shots as does thrush Judy Lynn. Tunes are presented with a mini¬ mum of backdrop and dressing but all in good taste and just enougri to showcase the material. Show goes on the net at 7 p.m., after a half-hour warmup on WGBS-TV, the New York outlet. Gros. Geo. May’s Golf Telecast Chicago, Feb. 12. George S. May Co., management engineering outfit, will underwrite a special NBC-TV telecast of the final rounds of the World Cham¬ pionship golf tourney from . the Tam O’Shanter course here Aug. 11. The hour pickup tees off at 5 p.m., Chi time. It’ll be pretty much a family af¬ fair since George S. May, head .of the firm, owns the Tam course and doubles ag a golf tourney impre¬ sario. Agency is M. M. Fisher. i ♦ »t»4f4 4»4ft444 4 4 4>f»4t oddly enough, the warmth that could be expected to be developed immediately didn’t build until the latter portion of the play; Playing Annie Sullivan, MlsS • Keller’s first teacher, was Teresa Wright, who grimly went about her task. 'In her portrayal she got %11 of the determination needed idi* such a job, hut hardly captured the warmth, or possibly the humor, also required. Patty McCormack played Miss Keller at the age o£ seven, the period of the draipa. As written, her’s was the role of a brat, wild, animal-like traits Caused ' by her infliction and over-indulg¬ ing parents. . She . knocks out th0 tooth of her teacher, she kicks, pinches and is unruly. It seems the author bent backwards in '.making his characters unappealing, afraid of over-sentimentallzing, an unjust tified fear if sentinaent is well hau<i .died as indicated In the last act when the seven-year-old afflicted child finally learns the sign lan¬ guage, when the delight of the tutor and child is mirrored, when the teacher spells out to the child "I Love You.” Those final few moments were worth the time spent staying with the play. Burl Ives was very Competent as the father, while John Barry¬ more Jr., was properly jarring as the mocking half-brother, and Katharine Bard as the mother lent moments of warmth. Akim T^miroff as head of an institution for the blind appeared miscast. >Director Arthur Penn would have done better at the beginning with fewer scene switches,., shifting which tended to jar the drama initially. Production values and sets were good. Miss McCormack, riandllng the difficult role of trie criild, was entirely credible, but she appeared older. than seven years, the age portrayed. Horo. Omnibus As a work tailored for television, "The Ballad of Baby Doe” made an impressive debut against selfimpost limitations on "Omnibus” Sunday (10) over ABC-TV. When and if p;roducer Michael Myerberg brings it to Broadway ("Doe” preemed at Central City, Colo., last July), the potential may be realized. Although described as a musical drama, "Baby Doe” seems closer to the idiom of an Ameri¬ can folk opera — a gloomy opera, honest in its intentions, rich and forthright in its music and elabo¬ rate in scope. In the televersion, it tried to take in too much, with result that there was apparently a miscued compromise that tended to. reduce the story values to mere vignettes. It came out. as a series of brief .episodes, inherently, in¬ capable of proper bridging,' with the music expected to carry the narrative. In scarcely 60 minutes, siich a burden was too formidable. Se the -romantic tragedy was all but lost on the storyboard. "Yet "Baby Doe,” composed by Dr. Douglas Moore, music profes¬ sor at Columbia U. and with sev¬ eral homegrown operatic works tO I his credit • ("The Devil & Daniel Webster,” "Giants in the Earth,” "The Emperor’s New " Clothes”), represented a striking bid by Myerberg to raise the Broadway dough for "Doe” via the video showcasing. It was a bid worthy of special attention. : . Since the story cannot be prop¬ erly judged from the ostensible condensation made in this depart¬ ment, it’s sufficient to state, that the libretfto of the late and la¬ mented John Latouche seemed to have the basics for the enlarge¬ ment that already exists and that was undoubtedly fulfilled in its Central City version. This musicalized epic, of how pioneer Horace Tabor won and lost his silver spurs in Colorado mining in the last two decades of the 19th Century, spotted three principals splendidly endowed as singers. These were William John¬ son as Tabor, . Metopera mezzosojprano Martha Lipton as Augusta, his shrewd and knowledgable first wife, and soprano Virginia Cope¬ land as the delicate, unknowing Elizabeth "Baby Doe,” his younger second wife. (Miss Lipton was re¬ peating her Central City role.) Twjo scenes were all but “wasted” — the marriage sequence centering Pres¬ ident Chester Arthur as a Tabor friend in attendance, and a rally for perennial Presidential riopeful Wilham Jennings Bryan who did not speak or sing. Perhaps these scenes were more detailed in the stage version. And yet the very near-vacuum in these instances showed there was no attempt to punch up the "celebrity” values to yield extraneous razzle-dazzle, emerging merely as name-dropping of historical dimension. In fact, John Taliaferro, enacting the swiftie. President Arthur, doubled in the chorus; latter consisted of singers and dancers, with chore¬ ography by John Butler. Behind the power vocalistics was the Symphony of the Air, conducted faultlessly and with conviction by Sylvan Levin. The overall director was Charles S. Dubin. The post-"Doe” fillout was a re¬ peat of Barnaby Conrad’s "The Day Manolete Was Killed,” first given on "Omnibus” last October. This consisted of a series of cork¬ ing still pictures with accompany¬ ing narrative. It was a stirring rendering of the life & death of the great Spanish bullfighter. Good as it was, this was a repeat edition, raising the question .of why "Baby Doe” should not have been af¬ forded the extra 30 minutes or so for a better fulfillment of its mission. Trau. Playhouse 90 For "The Miracle Worker,” the drama about Helen Keller’s child¬ hood and the "magic” wrought by the teacher of this deaf, dumb, blind youngster who grew up to win world-wide renown, "Play¬ house 90” picked a star-studded, capable cast. But they operated In the limits of a confining script' which hardly captured either the story of Miss Keller’s first teacher, or the inspirational story of Miss Keller, herself. The original, penned by William Gibson, for one thing tended to wander, throwing the focus of at¬ tention on peripheral characters at tmes, such as Miss Keller’s halfbrother. Other times, it was over repetitious, establishing • and re¬ establishing a point, such as the stick-to-it-iveness of the teacher, the savagery of the child. The story of the teacher’s determina¬ tion was told, but with all trie aforementioned faults. It did not add up to exciting drama. And Ed Sullivan Show Ed Sullivan bounced back on the name kick with the Sunday (10) meet over CBS-TV. Just one, Vic¬ tor Borge, was apparently enough to sustain the stanza, with other entertainers to round out the ses¬ sion. Borge is a great wit and has proven to himself as well as the entire industry that he can sustain a show by himself on any medium. Borge, who started an appearance from the New Frontier Hotel, Las Vegas, the following day (Mon.), telecast from that hostel. He was loaded with surprises. Ordinarilyone doesn’t expect a wit and satir¬ ist of Borge’s stature to push a piano into the pool, and then walk into the aqua on his finale. On his second turn during this show, ho doubletaked how it was done with trick camera work and again walk¬ ed into a watery installation tails and all, and pulled in musicians along with him. Even though Borgo took the easy way out on this showhis efforts, were laugh-productive. For. a genuine flashback into nos¬ talgia, the pairing of the vet pros Blossom Seeley & Benny Fields provided a peek into trie type of entertainment that toppers of yes¬ teryear dispensed and which is still potent today. They delivered "That Old Soft Shoe” and "No Biz Like etc,” with class /and authority in a plug for their current Mercury Al¬ bum, "Two-a-Day at the Palace.” Another peek into the tastes of yesteryear was the swing of Benny Goodman Orch which still contains some of the best examples of this kind of music. Goodman is still a master at, the clarinet with a dis¬ play of clean tones and imaginative flights on the scale. Other examples in the comedy' department Included Charlotte Rae, out of "Li’l Abner” who gave a few impressions of singers and got 'latighs in the process, and Johnny Carson. Latter, after a few good topical gags, ^sked for a vol¬ unteer to give some subjects fotf him to • discourse on. Even if legit, it sounded like a setup and de¬ tracted from his overall effective¬ ness. Rene’s Puppets gave a brief, but good accounting, and a filmed interview and test of Erin O’Brien indicated that Academy Awards shouldn’t be expected of her for a long time. Jose, Person To Person The most exciting thing on Ed Murrow’s "Person To Person’* show last Friday night (8) was whether Gypsy Rose Lee’s gown would stay, up during her 15-min¬ ute portion of the show. She wore one of those strapless creations which went out of style on video several years ago when all the talk about "cleavage” grew tiresome. Miss Lee’s, gown apparently was just one of those things she knocks around the house in when tv cam¬ eras are there. The gab between 'Murrow and Miss Lee was anti-climactic. Par(Continued on page 74)