Variety (February 1959)

TRUEVISION REVIEWS SHAKESPEARE .WITHOUT TEARS With Frankie Howerd, Terence Longdon, Georgina Ceoksen, Joyce Carpenter, Bruce White- man, Wilfred Carter, others Director: Eric Miller Writer: Reuben Ship M Mh&: Wed., 8:40 pan, BBC-TV, from London Frankie Howerd. is one of Bri¬ tain's best and funniest stage and tv drolls. But he is such an offbeat individualist that he is not easy to slot into any given formula. A Howerd role has to be tailored rather than-simply glibly written. Nevertheless, as- with any come¬ dian, it’s a help if the script is well written- and based on an en¬ gaging idea. Reuben Ship created just such a script in “Shakespeare Without Tears” and it provided Howerd with a very amusing 30 minutes of tv comedy, with good gags and some slick visual situations. Wheth¬ er or not - the -. Ship script was written with Howerd in mind it certainly came off. The wffole tfripg jelled, and.it.is to be hoped that the two will get together in future excursions, into the tricky realm of television comedy. . Billed as “an .episode'in the life of the laughingstock .of television” it had. Howerd as an out-of-work, frustrated Shakespeare-crazy small- part actor. When he is fired from the coffee-bar where he is picking up a doubtful living because of a tendency to' drop plates and then blame the customers in a spate of florid Shakespearian rhetoric, How¬ erd is delighted when he is sum¬ moned for a job at the Old Vic. But it turns out that he has been hired as dresser to an irascible Shakespearean;.actor, played with panache by Terence. Longdon. From then on misunderstandings flow,' Howerd had- a chance to masquerade as tear in front of a female admirer and, among- other situation, to deputize as _ Lkertes in "the hammiest performance of “Hamlet” yet seen. Howerd’s mournful face leered triumphantly through' the 30 minutes in which he Was backed by a very good sup¬ porting cast which included glam¬ orous Georgina Cookson, Bruce Whiteman and Wilfred Carter and a number of walkers on breezily .handled by director Eric Miller. _ • Rich, - THE CRIMINALS ' . U[ith Stanley Baker, Raymond Huntley, 4*tan Cntfebertson, Frederick. Hartman. Dermof Kelly, Pet$r Swabwick, Fred Kitchen, Angus Lennie, Ronald Fraser Writers: Malcolm A. Hnlke, Eric Price Producer: Sydney Newman Director: James FeTman - 65 Mins., Sun., 10:05 p.m. ABC-TV, from Manchester Film actor Stanley Baker made one of his rare, tv appearances in this fair thriller written by Mal¬ colm A. Hulke and Eric Paice.. Plot, although riddled with innu¬ merable twists had a familiar tang about it which, because of some heavy.handed production, became even more obvious and predictable. Nevertheless. “The Criminals” made for sound tv entertainment, especially so since its theme cen¬ tred round New Year’s Eve revel¬ ries. Acting was generally good, with a performance by Baker which was better than the role deserved. Action took place in the base¬ ment of a London firm—the base¬ ment backed onto the vault of the hank next door. Baker, an escaped convict, conned four execs, who were celebrating the New Year at the office, into helping him break through the wall and get at the loot. Moral Of the piece appeared to be that every man has his price. Barg. THE EXILES (The Bird Laughed) With Brian Peck, Llewelyn Rees, John Maxim, James Hayter, George Roderick, Richard Car¬ penter, John Forbes-Kobertson, Iris Baker, Wendy Hutchinson, Jerold Wells, Laurence Hardy, Janies Copeland, Aithna Gover Director: Gerard' Glaister Writer: Lynn Foster 90 Mins.; Sun. (25), 8:45 pjn. BBC-TV, from London ‘The Bird Laughed” was the first in a cycle of four plays spe¬ cially written for tv by Lynn. Fos¬ ter under the overall title “The Exiles,” and which are ha : ng given peak Sunday vi^wm* time BBC- TV on its nat:0:i” 'd? r.ebv- The quartet will soon a ncr'o* 35 years in Australia from 1873, al¬ though the tintepiaod® covered only three years. ./ Miss Foster i$ m t Jmagtnriive and courage*** writer, who has tackled a big subject with «m-; cerity and authority. The basic idea behind the four plays is to tell the story of the development of Australia in terms of one par¬ ticular family, a story n£. jEhe pioneers who went out in searah of fortunes at a time when the colony had recently been regarded as a penal settlement. The central .character'. bjL the initial episodb.-Tis a young clerk withambitious ideas of prospecting, for gold, but-iffco is tricked into becoming a “dafrttny” sheep farmer for unscrupulous operators ih Syd¬ ney. The plot developed with.maxi- mum human interest and an ample; measure of dramatic suspense. -Gerard -Glaister -has.; coped- with Miss Foster’s wide panvas to give the subject breadth- and .^atmo¬ sphere. His direction earned the stamp ofautheptieity, and he was always .in full control of his cast. Brian Peck and Wendy .Hutchinson essayed the romantic leads with authority, James',- Hayter and Llewellyn Rees made the two cfalty big town characters credible, [ with' Jerold Wells, Ins Baker* and Aithna Gover "fending admirable support - V. . Myra THE SENTRY With Lee Patterson, Harry H. Cor¬ bett, Michael Balfour, Tom Nay¬ lor, James Dyrenferfh, David Graham, Percy Herbert, Peter Boeeski, Lome Cassette, Ryck Rydori Writer: John Gay Producer: Sydney Newman. Director; William Koteheff 65 Minis., Sun., 10:5 pjU. ARC-TV; from Manchester Sydney Newman’s . production and William • Kotcheff*$ direction of a Civil War drama, allied to a standout job in the design depart¬ ment and a eOuple of, sensitive performances, Tated this aH-male-- cari: job as compelling' viewing once it got into stride'. ^Opening was somewhat dOw and puzzling for local audiences, the presentation assuming too much pre-knowledge of Civil affairs. But once' the universal situation. was established, the pressure didn’t let up-. This situation: Meade (Lee Patterson), leader of three-Con¬ federate saboteurs intent .on blow¬ ing a bridge .over which a Yankee ammo train is due to pass, believes that the sentry knifed in the proc¬ ess is his .brother. Allowed to escape by his Yankee captors in the correct ; hop.e. .that he’ll lead them back; to thie right bridge. Meade'finds that the dying man is not his brother but is nevertheless a human being raiding on bis com¬ passion and' humanity. Meade responds to t&s call, only to be shot by the ..sentry, before this enemy himself dies. Clearly such, a yam has much comment to make on the futility of war, but this emerged, from and was subsidiary to the gripping per¬ sonal situation. Canadian Patter¬ son gave a sensitive reading of the war-weary,. loyalties-tom Meade, but Harry H. Corbett tended to overplay the sidekick steeled .to hatred of his fellow-countrymen. David Graham scored with a per¬ ceptive interpretation of a battle- shy young Yankee lieutenant, while Percy Herbert did well with a forthright presentation of his sergeant. Michael Balfour and James Dyrenforth came up. com¬ petently in other roles. The ballad ‘Two Brothers,” com¬ ing in before and after commercial breaks, was used to excellent effect. Emi. DREI ORANGEN (Three Oranges) With Axel Jfreaje, Hefl Ftekefc- zeller, Hans Kjriet, Evi Kent, Bally Bxihlan, "Maria- Axt, Marina Rfed, Brigitte Mira, Kurt Pratsch- Kanfmann Producer: SFB (Berlin) Director: Hans-Waldemar Bublitz Writer: Dieter Rohkohl 100 Mins.; Sat., 8:20 pan. West German TV, from Berlin Lack of imagination, tasteless as well as suggestive dialog sequences i plus a complete absence of charm made this a rather mediocre musi¬ cal comedy. Familiar plot centered around a jealous wife who suspects her husband of unfaithfulness. Hubby returns from a business trip with a valuable mink coat as a present for her. Latter makes the wife even more suspicious. So she leaves h>m. The - innocently feeling huo^'and donates the coat to his secre’sry and the result is a number of more complicated sit¬ uations. AH, of course, «*& to- pQy. Wovec in are *ome musical numbers of -all but excttlpg ealibre. Hans-Waldemar BubJitx directed this with much routine. Acting was varied. Best performance was turned in by an all but important person: Brigitte Mira in the role of an elderly housemaid. Kurt Pratsch-Kaafaira enacted a pri¬ vate detective. - Both at least had some- funny ■ moments.' Evi Kent played the ycumg secretary, an ap¬ pealing performance, the more so ss* Miss Kent fas- a Bice-.singing • voice too. Her hubby is this was Bully Bahian; pop ringer, of whom it’ .-can be said that he’*: only achmaltzy.Xas per his storing) and apish (acting). The principal -cou¬ ple was played by Heli Finken- zeller and; Axel Mouje with satis¬ factory results. Their son, Heinz Kwiet, appeared much too old for hi* role* Anotberrinadequate per¬ formance.was turned in by Marina Ried. TechnicaJ eredits were, up to par* ii- Hans. ALL ABOARD s ‘ •* I With. Susan Avril. Angers, Richard ^ Coleman, Arthur Lowe, . John ^ Gale, Charles -Morgan* Marion- Jfathicv* Jtichard Thorp, Defer. GreeMpan,? Leslie. Sands, .Elizabeth.WaBaee,-'Dave Kelly, others. . .- v ; ; .. Director; Guy Verncy > , • Writers: Gerald. Kelsey, Dick Sharpie*. - ' 30 Mins.; Sat., 6:30 pan. ABC-TV, from Birmingham ABC-TV*s pew Saturday serial Is staged aboard a luxury liner on the Atlantic run between New York .and. London.- Assorted mem¬ bers of the. crew will doubtless de¬ velop as familiar faces, while the passengers will presumably , allow for the regular introduction of new characters.-The format is.a sim¬ ple one, and in the first installment the principal ^personalities began- to take shape. », The two authors have collected a familiar bunch mf stock charac¬ ters around whom they have woven a number of snR.plots, one intro¬ ducing a touch 'of mystery and sUsp'ense, while another indicates the romantic course the series may follow... It . added up to wholesome, if not very sparkling entertainment, with an able cast making the most out of the opportunities. Myro. THE NIGHTWATCHMAN’S STORIES With Wally Batch, Mar jorieRhodes, .Victor Blaife • Charles . Lamb, : Douglas. IvCs, Norman Pierce, - Hilda Barry, Ft Stevens, Derek - Prentice Writer? W. W. Jacobs Adaptation; Doari: GBtmqn Producer: Peter Dews - Director: Terence Dudley - 30. Mins.,. WedL, 9:36 BJm - BBC-TV frmn Losdon - It’s an essential that, if the full flavor of W- W. Jacob’s waterfront stories is ; to be conveyed success¬ fully some considerable attempt be made, to re-create period atmos¬ phere. , BBC-TV teied in this, one of -a series of five adaptations, but unhappily, feather-sprouting hats and aspidistra plants didn’t prove sufficient to do the trick. Even so, while Jacobs’ humour is stylized and dated, it-has an abiding appeal on a naive level. The yarn under review, about a trio’s plot tp proclaim the death of one by drowning so that there can be a subsequent pass-the-hat- round movement ostensibly to benefit the sorrowing . wi d o wy scored .on that plane. Enthusiastic performances, especially from Vic¬ tor Platt, Douglas Ives and. Charles Lamb who was deputising for a sick Hal Osmond, helped to estab¬ lish the effort as amusing enough entertainment. .Wally Patch stood in competent¬ ly for Gordon Harker, another illness victim, as the titular nar¬ rator. * . 5 End,, MELODIE DER WELT. (Melody of the World) With Lawrence Winters, Johnny Teupen, Rudolf Schock, Eve Boswell, Helmut Zacharias, Bibi Johns, Melitla Mszeley, Fritz Sc hnl z-Reichel, others Producer: NWRV (Hambury) Direct*!? Xriredit Essberger 56 Mins,; Fri. 9 pjn. -■ * ' West. Genus. TV r from Hamborg Ooe had eipected more eff this iraw nn al coefctaB, the more so. a&a number of tog German musical stars -contributed their talents jto it. This show couldn’t overcome the handicaps of a careless song selection and a remarkably Super¬ ficial direction. With nothings spe¬ cial'and the-different numbers not even smoothly put together, the w!u&| thing just had to become Medidere. ; . v . *V; Laurence Winters; a colored ; briitdpe Mving in Genntny, teed off th$ show with “(Me Man River” and latter was, although nothing special either, still the best about this 50-minute offering. Most Of I the s^ngs, of which the greater part Was not even catchy, were done .the mechanical war. That also applies to such locally, very popular ringetf ts.Bihi Johns'and Rudolf Bdbqck. Sw&hsh MISS Johhs ddlvened “Blue BegiK”. and Schock a. ichmaltzy. Viennese song.. At least Schock, the posses¬ sor. of i a fine voice, should have been gjiveu a better possibility ho come off. . Fritz Schulz-Reichel (“Crazy Otto”) vOs one of three pianists that accompanied the Harry Her¬ man orch and their “Cherokee” was just ai Routine stinL . Violin, maestro)- Helmut • Zacharias.- had. “Wild Jferlhe Wipd” and “Faithful Hiiszar* 1 <ito offer-^-same outcome. Johnny. TeUPril proved a. master of the barp. Only explanatum for this dj^s pprinting show w^th regard to its-pn Mjramming side:.OnC tried to appesd- to the strictly conven- tional hstepers.. If this category was. saiisfiedj^s also doubtful. It] was .actually neither fish nor fowl, nothing much for the younger and nothing much for the older gene-, ration. iProgTamwise, one of the poorest video offerings in many weeks. - Hans. SO EIN THEATER (Such a jrhtafoe) With Willy Reichert, Gretl Schoerg^ Oskar 1 Seiler/ Fernseh»- Ballet Sued, lathees .. Pxodnceit ^eddeutscher Rundfurk Director: Horst Jaedicke Writers: Keieherf, H. Hart wig, G. Neumann v - 70 Mins.; Sob.; 8 pja. W-German TV» fr«m Stuttgart' “Such ia" Theatre” is a cabaret- revue about “the theatre with all latter’s trimmings. It riiows Willy i Reichert,; amicable Soidh German comedian! in all possible theatre functions First he’s a porter, then a make-up artist, then an electri¬ cian, an' actor, a prompter and finally a ^heatre director. With his lovable npmicry and gestures, this true-bornl combdian and quick-1 change artist (who also helped on the script) nearly, steals the show. Program also presents comedian Oskar Heller (in a sketch with Reichert); the topnotch Femseh- Ballet Sued and Gretl Schoerg. ' Miss Schoerg delivers a number cf songs, including Walter Kollo’s i ever-popular ? ‘What a Woman Ts.1 Dreaming In Spring,” and die does i a highly appealing job. It’s hard j to understand why Miss Schoerg, ■ now as usual one of this country’s most attractive operetta stms, is'so; seldom seen on this country's ahow' .biz, media. Apart from possessing: a well trained and very appealing voice and being extremely easy-on the eyes, she has something;which.: many (most) of her older and younger colleagues lack: charm. Hans. MEETING POINT With Donald Swann, Michael FUs= ders, London Bach Society,! Hampstead Paris Church Chair : Prodimer: Noble Wilson 25 Mins., Sun., 7 pan. BBC-TV, from London - Taking as its text the need to: “make a joyful-noise unto God,” this BBC-TV program fills the time normally allotted to straight-for¬ ward religious subjects. It is in line with a new all-round thinking on the treatment of religion on Britain’s networks — a departure from the conventional format and a bid to get the widest potential viewership. The current program, recorded at a City of London Chnrch, was introduced by Donald Swann and Michael Flinders. They are the two performers who, for two years now, have starred in “At the Drop of a Hat” and who, when the Lon¬ don run eventually ends, will trans¬ fer their show to Broadway. Flan T -ders* a polio victim who- does his stint from a wheelchair, acted as an emcee, with his partner, Donald Swann, illustrating the attempts he was making to give a new lift to religious music.. With" the .rid of the London; Ba&h' Society and a' hoys’ -choir, there wore a. number ef interesting ] examples demonstrating the new trend in composing for the church. There was one particularly lively example of an cidtime Christmas j carol; Swann had come across the words in an old Bible and provided j original music. Myro. 1 BOYD QC With Michael Derito, Michael G’Halleran, Joha Cbrikuey, RUs- se& Waters^others . Writer: Jack Roffey 36 Mins., Tues., 10:15 pan. Associated-Rediffusion, from. London Returning to the schedules, and presumably to it* foriher populari¬ ty, “Boyd ftC? to •* legal procedure spiced with human interest. to the titieri^elklMicliael Denison, an actor. admiraMy .sufted to the portray*!: of sl British ri- tomey. He has warmth of person¬ ality while at the same time he displays a fitting amount of British reserve. .The show under review' was telerecorded some while bac^i Reason for this was the storyline which dealt with a couple of Scots¬ men celebrating the New Year. The adequately produced offering was f nil of hintu)r and made a heat impack. The program showed the trial following a New Year's scrap in¬ volving the Scotsmen and a gang of Irishmen. Bottles were used “in.' a friendly manner” and the Scots buddies were hauled before‘ toe judge. Denison.defended them and got them Off the charges in a very convincing manner. * Bary. PAST IMPERIAL . * * : . With-Michael Ingrams Writer-Director: Michael Ingrams 15 Minsi, Frf, 10:45 p.m. Associated Rediffusion, from London Question raised by Michael.In¬ grams in this program was: how far has British influence persisted in . India following the handing over of independence in 1647? His conclusion, readied largely through , a couple of interviews in New Delhi: \t has persisted strongly, and inter-hodividdal relationships' are on a m'uch easier, healthier footing."* ’ ‘ Maybe not overwhelmingly ^con¬ vincing in this latter assurance — necessarily, mdeh was left unex¬ amined — the brief inquiry never¬ theless held interest firmly and waved the Union Jack refreshingly. Introductory , film.., clips of high* ligfito from Britain’s Imperial In- diap day' added variety, Emi. . I Foreip T? Follownp I Sunday Night at the PalladhEm ^. The swift return (“by popular request”) of- Dickie Henderson, as topper- of this vaude show (25) again spotlights the difficulty Yad * Parnell has in. raising fresh names week after week. Not that Hen-, derson, with.his keen sense humor, -observation and ^nimbfe feet, is-not an excellent tv turn. But even he is hard put.to it not to repeat his .material. This time he again put over his. impressions of various people going up and downstairs, culminating with the inevitable drank. He also gave his impression of various people danc¬ ing the “cha-cha-cha.” It .was brisk and lively tv. Two American acts made their* British television debuts, Rosemary June and Larry Griswold* Miss June is a likeable but -fairly un¬ remarkable thrush and there are n dozen or„so British singers.'Wh# could have filled her spot with equal- charm and ability. She opened aptly with “June in Janu¬ ary,” went into “When I Fall in Love” and got in- a plug tor her latest disk by storing *TH Be With You In Apple Blossom Tjcne.” -A fussy dress and set did not help her act, ? - Best thing in the* show, by yards, was Larry Griswold. This hilarious trampolinist, purporting -. to be loaded while essaying high dives, roused continuous yocks. It" would be idle to praise his sense a£ tim¬ ing—the result of tremendous re¬ hearsals—but for that immaculate timing Griswold would By n$w un¬ doubtedly have broken Ins/hedc. This acrobatic clown is theCbest thing the States has sent to Britain for a long time. The Three Mbnarchs, a funny but by now over familiar har¬ monica act, the Palladium Girls, and Singers and Cyril Omadcl’s orch completed a hill which was produced by Albert Locke and emceed by Brdce Forsyth to his usual effusive fashion.. He x riso handled the “Bead the £3bck” spot, with a jackpot now-standing at $3,360. Forsyth’s determination that no competitor should fail to win one of the major prizes reached a pitch of lunacy on one occasion' when he actually finished off a competitor’s chore for her. Rich.