Variety (October 1957)

46 TELEVISION REVIEWS PShlEFi Vtdneiday, .October .2* 1957 THE PAUL WINCHELL SHOW With Jerry Mahoney, Knucklehead Smiff; Frank Fontaine, Judy Scott, The Hambones, guests Writer-producer: Carl Jampel' Director: Dave Brown 30 Mins.} Sun., 4:30 pjn. HARTZ MOUNTAIN PRODUCTS ABC-TV. from New York f Geo , H. Hartman Co.) Ventriloquist Paul Winchell, a familiar turn to viewers for the half-dozen years, is now' heading a Weekly variety series bearing his name on the ABC-TV net. On the basis of Sunday’s (29) lnitialer there’s nothing pretentious about the show. However, it has a folksy, family quality that may lure a fair slice of the late Sabbath afternoon audience. Not only does Winchell manipu¬ late his dummies, Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff, with good results but he also doubles as emcee, does impressions and works in sketches. A guest policy, which this half-hour entry apparently is pursuing, obviously will be a con¬ venient breather for Winchell. Vis¬ itors for the opener were come¬ dian Frank Fontaine, singer Judy Scott and The Hambones, a novelty turn. Fontaine’s - contribution was largely pegged around a bit of business in which he was to “help” Winchell in developing a “style." It was a case of stretching too far for an angle. Miss Scott wrapped her larynx around a couple tunes— and it may be said that she had plenty of volume if nothing else. Hambones, group of eight boys who slap hands in cadence while seated, are reminiscent of a Major Bowes show. Guests joined with Winchell in a comic western sketch that cast Winchell as a rancher. Jetty Ma¬ honey a cowhand, Fontaine as a marshal and Miss Scott the in¬ evitable femme. It was a weak finale. Hartz Mountain Products, backers of the series, have a fan¬ tastic amount of pet foods, to judge by the multitldinous plugs. Puffed was everything from dog “Yum- mies" to bird seed. Gilb. Tele Follow-Up Comment THIS IS YOUR LIFE With Ralph Edwards, host Producer: Axel Gruenberr Director: Dick Gottlieb Writers; Paul Phillips, Mort Lewis 30 Mins.; Wed., 10 p.m. PROCTER Sc GAMBLE NBC-TV, from Hollywood (Compton) Now going into its sixth season on tv, “This Is Your Life” retains the dual ingredients, of schmaltz and showmanship, insuring its con¬ tinued popularity—just so long as host-creator Ralph Edwards comes ^ up with a “living bio” such as bandleader Phil Harris, His outing on the preem (25) was a natural, bringing on stage Jack Benny (who wanted to know how much he gets paid for the stint), wife Alice Faye (still a looker) and a host of other people (one, a former booker flown in from Australia). In this surface bio treatment, the 30 minutes went fast. With so many hep, showbiz personalities on stage, Edwards, though he tried to reach for some soggy sentiment had a.I tough time. It came off better that ( w ay, without it. Picking up Harris at the Brown Derby for the usual “surprise,” the show then moved to NBC’s Holly¬ wood studios for the treatment. Voices, photos of old and on-the- spot associates delineated Harris, the boy, the drummer and gad¬ about, the struggling and then the successful bandleader. On hand, in addition to those previously men¬ tioned, were his father and mother, his two comely daughters, Minna .Wallis, his former manager, as-well as others. Harris handled himself well, seemingly genuinely moved In the number of tribute spots. His byline “That’s What I Like About the South” was played; his family and friends were there, even, his ex-boss Benny; he was showered with gifts and made a living hero. Probably, there were thousands of viewers vicariously sharing his ex¬ perience. Horo. " Studio Ono Trouble with most two-part tele¬ vision dramas Is that they spend so much time setting the stage In the first segment that there’s little else in the way of plot develop¬ ment and action that week and a crammed-full progression and de¬ nouement in the second part. In the case of Max Ehrlich’s “Mutiny on the Shark,” presented the past two weeks on “Studio One,” the reverse was true. Ehrlich turned in a masterful first part—he set the stage, devel¬ oped his conflicts and ended in a moment of strain and suspense. Came the second part Monday (30), and the hour consisted of needless repetitive incidents which rather than butressing Tils characteriza¬ tions - and story harmed them by overstatement. And then, he pro¬ vided an ending so pat as to scut¬ tle all the good work that had gone before. Theme of “Mutiny” was intrigu- j ing, a picture of the skipper of an .atomic sub and his effect on the • people who work under him. Rich- | ard Basehart played .the captain, a | tough perfectionist who’s never made a mistake and who makes life I miserable for any of his men who {do. William Smithers, who be- ; comes exec officer on the sub, starts to emulate his boss and be¬ fore he’s through, his wife, Betsy Palmer, has left him and he’s cut his best friend’s throat by not fight¬ ing for him with Basehart. So what happens? Smithers, a , perfect officer in Basehart’s esti¬ mation, goes to pieces after his wife has run out, and makes mis¬ take after mistake, with Basehart jumping down his back. And then Basehart himself finally makes a mistake, and emerges from the experience a shattered, but wiser officer and human being. After setting things up to deal out a royal flush, Ehrlich came up with, a pair of deuces. In spite of the repetitiveness of the second part and the unsatisfac¬ tory ending, “Mutiny’-’ stood up well most of the way. Basehart contributed an impressive perfor¬ mance, in spite t>f a few. speak¬ ing lapses, as the tough-minded skipper, and Smithers was excel¬ lent as the impressionable exec. Miss Palmer turned In a believable job as the beleaguered wife, and others in the cast, Robert Loggia as one of Basehart’s victims, Ann Hillary as his wife, and Larry Gates as the sub’s doctor, were Uniformly good. Tom Dottovan’s direction gave the entire play a sense of reality, and at least in the first part, pro¬ vided a mounting tension that lost impetus later only by overstate¬ ment. With the U.S. Navy and General Dynamic’s. Electric Boat division helping out on the tech¬ nical end, the settings, equipment, procedures and other technical aspects of the action seemed high¬ ly authentic. Chan. ton did okay as Slezak’s grandson, also intrigued by the theatre, biz; Virginia Kaye had a. brief and nasty bit as the daughter, and Alan Hewitt and Mark Roberts gave standard performances as the sons- in-law. Herbert Hirshman directed, but he—like the actors—was handi¬ capped by the script. And thus fades the Goodyear series. Over the years. It presented some of the best drama tv had to offer and many a Sunday night were brightened by its talents. It's too bad the last show couldn’t have provided a worthier exit * Hift. Ted Weems Texas D.J. Dallas, Oct. l. Ted W'eems starts today (Tues.)! as a daily d.j. on KIXL and also ’ assumes residence here. ,{ Longtime maestro, who has been j a Memphis resident -and WHHM i platter spinner between band? dates, will have a two-hour after-? noon platter session here for prexy : Lee Segall. It isn’t the first time ; for Segall to engage a bandleader; as a “double duty” d.j. In 1948 i he had bandleader Denny Beckner, { in for a long nitery date, helming: an across-the-board wax session.: Goodyear Playhouse Any resemblance between the Greek theatre magnate whom Wal¬ ter Slezak portrayed in the Good¬ year Playhouse-NBC production of “The Best Wine,” and Spyros P. Skouras or any of the other Skou- ras brothers was strictly coinci¬ dental, though the similarity must have been duly noted by many. Show 7 Sunday (29) was the last of the Goodyear hour series, but un¬ fortunately far from the best. . John Vlahos wrote the uncon¬ vincing, saccharine script about the old man who finds enthusiasm'for the movies and the theatres in a. young girl from West Virginia, even as his son-in-laws are alniost giving up on the theatre biz. It was a plea for the oldfashioned values for oldfashioned people, shrouded with the kind of sticky sentimen¬ tality that some associate ;with the early days of the film Industry. Siezak did what, he could with the role of the kindly, desperate old man, battling for his belief that service and the right approach could restore the audience to the old, third-run house with which, he started his big circuit. The episode with the girl (Inga Swenson) was contrived and wholly implausible, though there were some touching moments. Slezak is better as a comedian than as a tragedian. Miss Swenson, affecting the re¬ quired Southern accent, made a fresh, pleasant impression, and she’s a joy to the eye. Her perform- , ance, in an admittedly difficult part, at times was c rerdrawii, but on the whole caught the mood of the lonely young girl who foun'd a kind soul and responded to it. This was Miss Swenson’s first tv role and there’s no question that she holds a lot of promise. In supporting roles, Martin Hus- Look Here Martin Agronsky had the dis¬ tinction of doing the first over-the- horizon live show from Cuba to the U.S. on his “Look Here” segment Sunday (29), and the somewhat more dubious distinction of hav¬ ing Cuban president Fulgencio Batista as his interview guest. Interviewing Batista was no cinch, and the program showed it. Agronsky of necessity was in an embarrassing position—it’s tough for the. interviewer to argue with a highly placed ..guest, yet that’s about the only choice (other than dropping a line of questioning en¬ tirely) when the interviewer knows his subject is propagandizing rather than answering with com¬ plete truth and candor. Agronsky, to his credit, showed no hesitation in posing direct and even embarrassing questions about Cuba’s rebellion and Batista’s dic¬ tatorial pose and position. But with Batista answering them with the standard line—it’s all a Prio plot, the Commies are in back of the revolt, Cuba is democractic and next year’s elections will be free—where could Agronsky go from there? Call him a liar? Such an interview can’t be con¬ clusive, and sometimes not even in¬ formative. But it’s value lies in the opportunity for the viewer to size up the subject. Batista looked a sharp, tough customer who knows how to handle himself in any situa¬ tion, from a streetfight to high- level diplomacy. In that sense, the program was rewarding. Pickup -came from the Presiden¬ tial palace, following a"brief cam- era’s-eye view of the Havana har¬ bor, The pictures, fed out of Goar Mestre’s CMQ-TV, were of excel¬ lent quality, and the Cuba-to-U.S. television interchange can proceed henceforth with at least the as¬ surance of good technical content. . Chan. Playhouse 94 “Playhouse 90~ is acting like confused newcomer instead of two-year t>ld* who should, know its way around the medium after such an illustrious first-year start. It' got off to an abortive start with “The Death of Manolete” as the 1957 season's opener, recovered a bit of its poise and purpose with the followup “The Dark. Side of the Earth" tout fell completely apart in its third outing last Week (26) with a remake of the close to 30-vear old “Topaze.” v It was an. Ellis St Joseph adap¬ tation of the Marcel Pagnol orig¬ inal and it was' horrible. None, of the- Pagnol wit and charm came through. It was played broadly and seemingly without aim or di¬ rection. Everybody concerned was] “acting up” but the 90 minutes was a resounding letdown. In the title role, Ernie Kovacs was inhibited and out .of place. His delineation . of. a mild-mannered ['school teacher who gets involved with an embezzling politico lacked understanding and -subtlety. -.(The role previously had been done-by Frank M6rgan on the stage and John Barrymore' in the films.) • ‘He ‘ didn’t get much * help either from- the topline supporters. Rich-] ard Hayden, Sheree North and Carl Reiner. A tv sketch and a satiric comedy can’t toe bandied the same-way, which is-something] Kovacs and Reiner ought to know. Gros. Wide Wide World - “Wide .Wide World"-looked into the world of .the young on its Sun¬ day ( 29K session over NBG-TV and came up with-a Tot of a ty pical situ¬ ations, which seemed to indicate that everything will turn out well; with today’s youngsters. The cameras moved to Evanston, Ill., which has an average annual income of about $10,000, where the youngsters, aided by Charles -Van] D.oren, can discuss going steady as though it were the most important item, in their Jives. In Tulsa,*'the 4 H clubs got a cheery report. The same applies in Sacramento where the youngsters are working with crippled children, and in Point_ Mogu, Cal., a rocket society dis- one another. covers new missiles, In an urban area, should any of the .kids try to buy aluminum tubing, it might be suspected that the juve is inter¬ ested in do-it-yourself zip gun kits. There was one major * instance of the other side of the coin. ■ Iir| the Bronx, N. Y., where conditions were of such nature that the Youth Board had to take over to fore¬ stall gang warfare and wholesale departures from law and . order, there was an inkling of what par¬ ents have to go* through to fore¬ stall wholesale defections. But as many newspaper readers, know, rumbles are fairly frequent here, as well as in other blighted urban areas. There was insufficient J dwelling on the economic and so¬ da! causes for such wholesale re¬ bellion of the teenagers in these instances. In the Chicago seg¬ ment, the major discussion re?] volved around rock ’n’ roll,, which seems to toe a waning factor among youth these days. Every thing isn’t as • Well as “WWW” said it was, tout neither is everything as bad as some news ac¬ counts say. The truth must lie somewhere between both accounts.] Jose. Climax The “human spider” theme got a good working- over by scripters Leonard Spigelgass and Walter Reilly on CBS-TV “Climax” and gave this long excursion in psy¬ chiatry its teeming moments of gripping tension that must have raced pulses and speeded’ heart beats. Its thrill-proof enactment was enhanced by some superior acting by Ruth, Leif Erickson, Don Dubbins and Natalie Trundy. Credit, too, the direction of Arthur Hiller. In less competent hands than Miss Hussey and Dubbins, the emo¬ tional struggle between psycho- patic killer and a femme psychia¬ trist might have worn thin by lack of sustained interest Dubbins, an acute couch case, finally took mat¬ ters into his own hand and held Miss Trundy prisoner. When the police Were called he crawled out on the ledge high above the city with the girl as hostage. Nets were spread below and please were made without success. The girl was finally released when Dubbins pro¬ posed a deal and Miss Hussey, her mother, took her place on the ledge. In crawling back to Safety, Miss Hussey lost her footing and Dub¬ bins plunged to the net below. It was a fine acting performance by the four leads, with Mist Hus¬ sey and Dubbins capital In their roles. As the sullen, pugnacious- mental case, Dubbins may have typed himself but few have done it better in tv. Miss Trundy, a com¬ parative newcomer, shows- good promise. Miss Hussey and Erickson are old pros by now; just throw ’em a script and they’ll do a job. Hiller directed with firm.hand and struck a high note of realism. Bill Lundigan and Mary Costa 'pleaded their case” for the Chrys¬ ler line in a courtroom atmosphere as a tie-in to the earlier sequences, a-novel and effective device. Heltn- FATHER KNOWS BEST With Robert Yeung, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, LaUreu * Chapin, otheri Writers; Pan! West. Reawell Rogers Producer: Eugene B. Rodney Director; Poter Tewksbury 34 Mins., Wed.; 4:39 phi, SCOTT PAPER, LEVER BROS, NBC-TV (film) CJ. Walter Thompson) One of tv’s more familiar situa¬ tion. comedies, “Father Knows Best” started the fall season Wednesday (25) with, a. contrived script , involving problems of tooth teachers and students in those first few toack-to-school days. As might have been expected the star of the half-hour filmed outing wasn’t Robert Young, who holds down the. title role,.but Billy Gray as his teenage offspring. Gray and his classmates had been looking forward to the return of a favorite teacher. To their consternation another instructor appears and they vent their disap* S roval in unsubtle ways. Gray, owever, doesn’t share his friends’ dislike of the new teacher. Returns for advice to Young who tells him the decision is his to make. Rest Is rather obvious with Gray mak¬ ing the first conciliatory move and the class follows suit. Schoolroom locale afforded; I writer Paul West ample opportuni- fty to toss in. a flock pf incidents which presumably would draw titters. For the most part the fun- making was rather forced and artificial. But Gray’s performance was amusing in a deadpan sort; of way while the roles of both Young as the father and Jane Wyatt were relatively subordinate in this initial _ Screen Gems episode for the 1957- ’58 season. Elinor Donahue and Lauren Chapin, as other members of the .Young-Wyatt household, had evert less to do. Peter Tewksbury's direction stressed the levity in the Eugene * B, Rodney production. With school now safely in session, let's hope that ’’Father” settles down in a. less clicked groove. Picking up th# tab this year are Scott Paper Co. 1 and Lever Bros.. Gilb. "I' BIRTHDAY OF THE WORLD With Alexander Scourby, Michael Wager, Robert H. Harris, Chisuk Amuno Congregation Choir, others Producer: Wiley Hance Writer: Morton Wiahengrad • - 34 Mins., Sun. (29), 3 p.m. • . ABC-TV, from New. York In commemoration of the Jewish High Holidays, ABC-TV, in a tie- up ’With the.-Jewish Theological Seminary, presented* a.*program aiming* to explain the significance and meaning of Rosh Hoshaha and YOm .KIppur. ' -■ The Wiley .Hance production and. Morton Wishengrad scriptcaptufed some of the poetry, wisdom and- mysticism, in the holiday“ Obser^ vance, but the-program* at times became bogged down with, words, platlfudeness generalities .lacking ‘dramatic' impact: * ' The Chfzuk Amuno Congregation Gholr.of Bal¬ timore, MdL, .directed, .tog*. Hugo. Weisgall, was a big assist, singing th’e religfoso tnusic 'With style and authority. * -Alexander Scourby as narrator was effective. The best of the al¬ legorical skits presented was that of Alexander the Great’s visit to Paradise, In this skit Michael Wager played Alexander and Rob¬ ert H. Harris the gatekeeper,* tooth, rendering competent performances. Big merit of the program was that it presented in an understand¬ ing TashioM the religion of Jews to a nationwide audience, a program¬ ming gesture which, should help people of all faiths to understand Horo. . CHEYENNE (Incident at Indian Sprints) With Clint Walker, Bonnie Bold¬ ing, Dan Barton, Carlyle Mit¬ chell, Chris Olsen, others Producer: Arthur W. Silver Director: Thomas Carr Writer: Georg*-Sierin 44 Mins., Tuts., 7:39 pjtt. GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. ABC-TV (film) (Young It Rubiccmv) At times, thin story of this sea¬ son debuter for “Cheyenne” series hardly rates the “adult western’' billing. Motivations in tale by George SlaVin are never very clear, which hampers proceedings throughout. Star Clint Walker Is presented here as the sheriff of a town in which the bank!* held up. Local schoolteacher, Dan Barton, turns up with dead body of one *f ;tte; robbers. V '■ First Barton's a hero; but when Iff discovered that Barton's the re¬ formed half-brother of the outlaw** and after the baddies make several attempts at revenge, the towns¬ people desert him and Walker. Finally, their consciences . re viva enough to tome, to the rescue of the beseiged pair. Mixed up in this are questions of respect due a schoolteacher, the teaching of vio¬ lence, and- whether Barton should haye demanded the reward for his dead half-brother, as demanded by his wife, Bonnie Bolding. VWalker continues to display Tils brand of soft-spoken heroics cap¬ ably and Barton is good as the troubled sehoolteacher. Miss Bold-. Ing shows nice promise. . . Direction .'.of Thomas Carr is okay* - • “ Koue, JIMMY DEAN SHOW v' With Deak Jst Crockett, Jo Davis, . Mary KUck, Country Lads, Dick Flood, Billie Graves, Texas Wildcats, Alee Houston; guests Producer;. Canute B. Gay Director: BUI Linden ' 44.Mina.; Sat., 12 (noon) CBS-TV, from-Washington Jimmy Dean, who has a. cross- the-board- morning show ‘On CBS- TV, has added an hour-long Satur¬ day afternoon -show to his yked. The - youthful singer has a casual ~ delivery that makes this noontime stanza a. pleasing entertainment session. The program is grooved in the country-style idiom, but the song-spread isn’t entirely in the hillbilly genre. Dean is a likeable personality and a potent songsellcn He was responsible for a healthy portion of the tunes offered on the show. Also pitching in on the vocals, be¬ sides members of the regular cast, - (Continued on page 48)