If you were one of the comparatively few who owned a TV set in the New York City area at the start of 1944 you could finally see programmes every night of the week.
Depending.
At that point, Saturday was the only night there was no television in Big Town. NBC’s WNBT had been broadcasting on Mondays since war-related cutbacks in mid-1942, but then promised to offer films on Saturday nights. The only thing was the station had straightened out a sponsorship flap, allowing it to air events from Madison Square Garden. The drawback was Saturday programming was cancelled if the sports aired on another night.
NBC kind of had a network then. Stations in Schenectady and Philadelphia were allowed to pull in NBC sports and special events coverage. They had to do it over the air. Philadelphia was also expanding its live arena broadcasts.
DuMont’s W2XWV was carrying on with its three-nights-a-week of programming, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays. The station was experimental, so different ad agencies came in to put on shows, tweaking them along the way. Fred Waring and Elsa Maxwell were among the celebrities who appeared. The company was also forming the basis of the DuMont network, getting approval to go on the air in Washington, D.C.
CBS’s station, WCBW, was beaming short films for two hours every Thursday and Friday.
Here’s a look at what was happening with TV for the first two month of 1944. We’ve linked to some old cartoons and other films; the quality of the dubs is pretty poor at times. An interesting film is a Warners short starring Jack Carson urging people to conserve food; it sounds like Bill Lava’s score in the background. We will spare you the unending pontifications in printed speeches about the future of television.
Sunday, January 2
W2XWV Channel 4
8:30 p.m. Kaaren Gibson, songs.
8:45 Film: “Food for Thought,” with Jack Carson.
9:00 “Manhattan Cocktail,” novelty musical sketch.
9:20 “Thrills and Chills,” Doug Allan, Armand Dennis.
SCHENECTADY, N. Y., Jan. 1.—WRGB, General Electric's tele station, will operate on a revised telecasting schedule beginning tomorrow (2) night when a regular two-hour program debs. Station will be on the air four nights a week, Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, instead of three nights and two afternoons.
Audience surveys recently conducted by WRGB have indicated a preference for Sunday night shows which resulted in the switch. The first half of the 7 to 9 p. m. Sunday programs will be devoted to religious and news telecasts and the remainder to films or dramatic productions.
First Sunday's show features two live one act plays, Columbine and Rehearsal. (Billboard, Jan. 8)
Monday, January 3
WNBT Channel 1
3:30 p.m. Test Pattern.
4:00 and 7:30 p.m. Air-Raid Warden’s course.
8:30 Films.
9:30 Feature film.
FIRST application for construction of a new experimental television station in the Rockies and surrounding territory was filed by KOB, operated by the Albuquerque Broadcasting Co. Even if the application is approved, the station probably will not be constructed until after the war, because of the equipment shortage. The company operating KOB plans to install several "standardized" receiving sets in Albuquerque. KOB will stress experimental telecasting of local events, such as football games, etc., in addition to using film. A new television library in the east is to supply the films. (Broadcasting, Jan. 3)
NEW YORK, Dec. 25.—Irwin A. Shane has set up a television program laboratory, television workshop, which opens its doors for business Monday (3). Shane is director of what he calls the "first independent tele program producing unit in the country." Experimental shows ranging from simple variety to full-length plays and grand opera are on the workshop sked. Productions will be made available to agencies and stations on a cost basis of around $100 per half-hour telecast.
The Reiss Agency has signed for TW's Hobby Hall of Fame, which has been a regular feature on the DuMont station, W2XWV for the last three months. The agency will also have Shane's Plays on Parade series which debs on W2XWV January 9.
Shane, who is also president of Publicity Features, Inc., has placed Nathan M. Rudich, head of the radio and drama departments of the New School for Social Research, in charge of the television workshop players, newly formed dramatic group.
Staff members of the new firm are Helen Gaubert, assistant director of the players; Glorianne Lehr, women's features; Gilbert Lawrence, puppets and children's shows; Austin O. Huhn, technical director, and Charles A. Gunther, special effects.
The workshop will have a rehearsal studio with cameras and boom mike located in the Salmon Tower. (Billboard, Jan. 1)
Tuesday, January 4
W2XWV Channel 4
8:30 to 9:30 p.m. WOR presentation.
Wednesday, January 5
W2XWV Channel 4
8:30 p.m. Glorianne Lehr, fashions
8:45 Film short
9:00 “The Face of the War,” talk
9:30 Studio Variety Show, Prof. Irving Fisher, demonstrating the Globe-Map
DuMont Television
Reviewed Wednesday, 8:30-10 p.m. Style—Variety and films. Sustaining on W2XWV (New York).
Abbott-Kimball Agency made its tele bow with a fashion show which rang in the products of a half-dozen AK clients. Glorianne Lehr introduced a drab little creature whose hair and clothes were all wrong. After she was faded out by the cameras, the annotator described the virtues of Revlon Nail Polish and Lipstick, Ogilvie Sisters' hair products, Vera Maxwell coats, Maurice Renter dresses, Knox hats, handbags by Jossett and Kinney shoes. Presto—a made-up and made-over Cinderella appeared for inspection, decked out in the clothes just described and with a new hairdo and face renovation. The now glamorous gal pranced about, a walking before and after testimonial.
Idea was excellent, but some of the wearing apparel was poorly chosen. A two-piece dress with figured skirt and contrasting blouse photographed badly. Single color dresses look best on the tele screen for a technical reason that will probably be overcome in the future.
Film fillers were Brazil at War, released by the Office of the Co-ordinator of Inter-American Affairs, and a British pic, Czech Falcon.
Lever Bros.' half-hour featured Spry. View of product revolving to show entire jar, accompanied by off-screen musical rhymes, opened and closed the show which included Sam Cuff's' Face of the War, Roberta Hollywood, singer, and radio's Aunt Jenny as guest star.
Aunt Jenny was shown visiting announcer Pat Murray in her home. After a brief conversation about pies and pastry, the two moved into the kitchen, where the older woman demonstrated the mixing of Spry and flour and offered Miss Murray a recipe book. Offer was extended to listeners.
Aunt Jenny is undoubtedly a solid sender of daytime radio, but her high-pitched folksy gushing was a little off key for the more sophisticated audience tele claims.
Miss Hollywood played piano while she sang. The blondeshell was anything but a dud in a white strapless evening gown with her soft sexy voice cooing It Had to Be You and I Can't Give You Anything But Love.
The Charles Storm Agency's variety offering entitled Dear Diary opened with an attractive model reading her script from the diary in which she was supposed to be writing. The decorative but decidedly non-dramatic miss did her best, but it wasn't enough.
Idea was to show the entertainment mentioned in her diary. The Harding Sisters, trio, sang a long medley from Oklahoma. According to the diary, the girls were Swing Frolics entertainers. It also tabbed magician Harvey Dunn from La Parisianne and singer Dorothy Simms from the Stork Club.
Miss Simms could very well fill the bill at any night spot, even if Sherman Billingsley doesn't use vocals. She uses her tall graceful body well in putting over a song, with just a suggestion of movement. Her voice has a deep throaty beauty. Sam Medoff, who accompanied the show's vocalists, has written some highly interesting arrangements for Miss Simms.
Professor Irving Fisher of Yale University demonstrated and described the 20-sided globe-like World map called Likaglobe which he has developed. The prof suffered stage fright while attempting to assemble and take the map apart, yet from his explanation of the invention it appears that he has plenty on the global ball. Wanda Marvin. (Billboard, Jan. 15)
FCC Applications, Jan. 5.
Jamaica Radio & Television Co., Long Island, N. Y.—Construction Permit for new experimental television station. 66000 -72000 kc, 250 w A 3 and special emission.
W3XWT Washington, D. C.—Mod. CP as modified for new experimental television station for extension of completion date. (Broadcasting, Jan. 10).
Thursday, January 6
WCBW Channel 2
8:00 “Through the Center.”
8:35 “Learning to Live.”
8:50 “Peg of Old Drury” with Anna Neagle (B & D, 1935).
A different method of telecasting news events will be demonstrated tonight [6] over WRGB, General Electric’s station, by a staff member of the Schenectady Gazette. Local and international news events will be presented by telecasting slides of news photographs. Previous methods of news presentation by television have included movies, maps and charts and models. Included also on tonight's program will be a scene from "A Waltz Dream" with Connie Moulton and Ashley Dawes; a demonstration of Chinese painting by J. D. Hatch Jr., director of the Albany Institute of History And Art, and a discussion of postwar products. (Schenectady Gazette, Jan. 6)
Friday, January 7
WCBW Channel 2
8:00 “Nevada Cyclone.”
8:30 “Battle of the Books.”
8:40 “Inside Russia.”
Billy Haggas, 133, Clark Mills, decisioned Ted Vedder, 138, Albany, in the five-round feature of the televised amateur boxing program at General Electrlc's station WRGB last night [7]. (Schenectady Gazette, Jan. 8)
Saturday, January 8
WNBT Channel 1
8:15-11:15 p.m. Basketball: St. Johns vs. Rhode Island State and N. Y. U. vs. Connecticut at Madison Square Garden.
Sunday, January 9
W2XWV Channel 4
8:30 p.m. Forum: “Dr. New Deal vs. Dr. Win-The-War,” William S. Gailmor, Richard J. Cronan.
9:00 Film Cartoon: “Snow Time,” (Van Beuren, 1930).
9:10 Charlie Taylor’s “Television Auditions.”
9:30 Missing Persons Alarm.
The Octavo Singers will present a number of the choruses of Handel's "Messiah" over Television Station WRGB, Sunday evening [9], at 7:30 o'clock. Schenectady Gazette, Jan. 7)
Monday, January 10
WNBT Channel 1
4:00 and 7:30 p.m. Air-Raid Warden’s Course.
8:00 Films: “Feathered Follies,” (Van Beuren, 1930); “Ships of the U.S. Navy,” (OWI, 1942); Mildred Dilling, harpist.
8:40 Feature Film: “The Scarlet Letter,” with Colleen Moore, Hardie Albright and Alan Hale (Majestic, 1934).
9:30 Film: “Home on the Range.”
Tuesday, January 11
W2XWV Channel 4
8:30 to 9:30 p.m. “WOR Television Party.”
WOR NEW YORK is converting its experimental television series on W2XWV New York into an informal-party type of program, and at the same time is setting up a WOR Stock Co., made up of amateur television talent. New series, which starts Jan. 11, 8:30 -9:30 p.m. on the DuMont station, is under the direction of Keith Thompson, script editor of WOR. Ed Brainard, ex-actor now on the station's continuity staff, will serve as host at the "Television Party," introducing guest personalities, and conducting games for the guests. Products made by WOR sponsors will be offered as prizes, as an experiment in display advertising. (Broadcasting, Jan. 10).
Wednesday, January 12
W2XWV Channel 4
8:30 p.m. Glorianne Lehr, fashions
8:45 Film short.
9:00 “The Face of the War,” talk with Sam Cuff.
9:30 Film short.
9:45 Studio Variety Show.
Thursday, January 13
WCBW Channel 2
8:00 “Atmospheric Waves.”
8:15 “Last Will and Testament of Tom Smith.”
8:30 “Bizarre, Bizarre.”
Friday, January 14
WNBT Channel 1
8:30 to 11 p.m. Professional Boxing from Madison Square Garden: Bobby Ruffin vs. Tippy Larkin (heavyweight), sponsored by Gillette.
WCBW Channel 2
8:00 “Heritage.”
8:20 “Water Rustlers.”
"Miss Electronics" and her lady-in-waiting, who are the winner and runner-up, respectively, of the "100 per cent American Beauty War Production Queen" contest conducted at General Electric's Bridgeport plant, will arrive in Schenectady this noon and will visit the local company plant in the afternoon and will be televised tonight over television Station WRGB.The two young ladies—Miss Jean LaRose, as "Miss Electronics," and Miss Jean Guinta—will be accompanied by officials of the Bridgeport works.
Coronation of "Miss Electronics" took place in Bridgeport Wednesday evening. Miss LaRose and Miss Guinta were chosen from the girls in the G.E. receiver division who during December attained high attendance records at their jobs. The winners were presented with appropriate awards and were given a two-day trip to New York city and Schenectady, will all expenses paid.
The contest was sponsored by the all out war production committee of the G.E. receiver division. Judges at the cornation [sic] ceremony were experts from the fields of art and advertising. (Schenectady Gazette, Jan. 14)
Saturday, January 15
no programming
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 15.—Philco's Radio Hall of Fame will be the first regular network show to be picked up by the television cameras, according to plans being made here by the sponsor of the Sunday Blue net feature. Philco's video station here will make a direct pick-up from the Ritz Theater-Studio in New York. In addition, the New York television stations will be invited to train their cameras on the broadcasts. Gesture is in the spirit of co-operation for allowing Philco's WPTZ to rebroadcast the New York tele shows.
Pick-up of the Philco show for tele will depend on how fast engineers can set up a relay transmitter at some high spot in New Jersey at a point halfway between Philadelphia and New York.
New Technique Developing
More important than the show itself is the technique being devised to pick up the air show, setting a pattern for tele remotes from a theater stage both near and far away. Accordingly, Philco has decided to make its own pick-up in New York for local audiences instead of rebroadcasting the show from New York video stations. Setup evolved by engineers calls for tele cameras to beam the show as is direct from the Ritz to the relay station to be set up in New Jersey. Philly transmitter will then pick it up from relay. (Billboard, Jan. 22)
NEW YORK, Jan. 15.—WRGB, GE's television station in Schenectady, N. Y., is presenting a Phone-In show each Friday.
The title of the series gets its name from the fact that during each show the audience at home is invited to phone in suggestions and criticisms directly to the studio while the acts are hitting the ether.
Using the idea, the technical and program staffs of WRGB have been able to collect coincidental information on audience preferences as to plan of presentation, lighting and reception. The tastes of the public will be incorporated into future programs.
Similar idea was used several years ago in radio during an Amateur Script Writers' Hour, when Station WBNX (Bronx, N. Y.) asked listeners who didn't like a particular script to phone in and request its being yanked. When five people called the playlet involved got the hook. It was no surprise to broadcasters, however, that very few fans called. Dialers are known to be patient. (Billboard, Jan. 22)
Sunday, January 16
WNBT Channel 18:45 p.m. Hockey: Rangers vs. Bruins, Madison Square Garden, relayed to WRGB, Schenectady.
W2XWV Channel 4
8:15 p.m. “Television Canteen.”
8:45 Film: “Day of Battle.”
9:00 Play: “The Pearls.”
9:15 Film Cartoon: “The Fly’s Bride” (Van Beuren, 1929).
9:30 Musical Comedy: “What the Doctor Ordered,” with Bernie West.
Monday, January 17
WNBT Channel 1
8:00 Films: “Farmerette” (Van Beuren, 1932), “Trailing the Incas” (Central, 1941), “Chinook's Children” (Central, 1939), “Vronsky and Babin, Pianists.”
8:35 Feature Film: “The Unwritten Law,” Greta Nissen, Skeets Gallagher and Lew Cody (Majestic, 1932).
9:00 Film: “Televues.”
NEW YORK, Jan. 17.—Television takes its place in NBC commercial operations starting today. From now on there will be an increasing number of live shows with a serious attempt to present a balanced program, altho sporting events will continue for a long time to predominate scheduling.
NBC is not going to give time to advertisers, as General Electric and DuMont are doing. The RCA station will sell time (Firestone is paying for its weekly show now), and sales execs at the net state that there are any number of sponsors ready to sign.
Unlike other active orgs in the field of building visual air entertainment, NBC will not have a special television department, but will have the engineering, sales and program problems handled by the regular broadcasting net staff. Programs will be under Clarence Menses, v-p., and he's expected to make an announcement on NBC's visual program plans when he returns from his Florida vacation.
O. B. Hanson, chief engineer, will be handling engineering and will assign several engineers to brush up on scanning with the net's cameras. Sales will fall within the province of Roy Witmer, and promotion in the lap of Charles Hammond. Publicity will be handled thru John McKay's department. In other words, television is just one facet of NBC's operations. It's not going to be centralized as it was before the war and as it is at CBS and General Electric. (It's naturally a special job at DuMont, as this firm is not in the regular broadcasting field.)
There is a feeling among several top NBC men that the decentralized operation will not work, but they're all interested in seeing that it has an opportunity of making the grade. Television still falls under the vice-presidency of John F. Royal, altho his greatest immediate concern is in the post-war international aspects of commercial radio. The European trip which Royal made with Niles Trammell, net prexy, developed a great deal of thinking along the lines of sponsored broadcasting on the continent. (Billboard, Jan. 22)
Tuesday, January 18
W2XWV Channel 4
8:30 to 9:30 p.m. “WOR Television Party For Fourth War Loan Drive” (simulcast with radio).
A visual War Bond auction was featured on the WOR Television Party program on W2XWV, Dumont television station in New York, Jan. 18. Audience was shown a copy of Lt. William Lawrence Ryan's painting, "Harbor Light, Kingston, Jamaica," and invited to call in their bond bids. (Broadcasting, Jan. 24)
FCC Applications, Jan. 18
Industrial Tool & Die Works, Minneapolis—CP new experimental television station, 78000-84000 kc, A 5 and special emission, 5 kw visual, 3 kw aural. (Broadcasting, Jan. 24)
Wednesday, January 19
W2XWV Channel 4
8:15 p.m. Film short.
8:30 “Interesting People” with Jessica Dragonette, guest.
8:45 Film short.
9:00 “The Face of the War.”
9:30 Studio varieties.
10:00 Ray Nelson’s Brevities.
“FRED WARING PLEASURE TIME"
Cast: Donna Dae, Squires, Bees and a Honey, Foley McClintock, others
Writers: Larry Bruff, Fred Waring
Director: Larry Bruff
30 Mins.; Wed., 9:40 p.m.
LIGGETT & MYERS (Newell-Emmett agency)
W2XWV-DuMont, New York
Fred Waring brought intelligence, personality and showmanship into the DuMont television studios Wednesday night (19) for his half-hour show for Chesterfield sponsored on an experimental basis. The Pennsylvanans' leader and production head, at the same time displayed a powerful tele presence, steering the show with a deftness and informal charm that registered with outstanding effectiveness.
Waring wisely decided against clogging up the studio with too many members of his organization, confining the tele performance lo specialties by his, vocal crew and bringing in a pantomime comic skit, three male vagabonds facing the camera for a chucklesome takeoff on an oldtime film audience with a tinny piano creating mood music in the background. Comedy was decidedly “earthy,” building up to oldtime burley climax with shoe-removing gag. Waring apologized to any who might have been offended adding that, if no one had, "something is wrong with culture."
Musical fare stuck to formula established on Waring's fivc-times-a-week NBC aftershows and featured the Bees and a Honey, Donna Dae and two male groups. Things moved at fast pace with exception of Miss Dae's "Beguine." done in close-up, which was a little draggy. Gal sang and televised well but was on screen a bit too long.
Studio and camera technique was good, except for usual distortion near borders, and only real boner was once when Waring walked to mike with back to camera, blotting out nearly all the screen until he reached position. Success of the show was largely due to his masterful emcee job and wise decision to shun production numbers and concentrate on presenting good entertainment within limits of present day tele facilities.
Regardless of tele's future course or bow rapidly it develops, leader of Pennsylvanians demonstrated in this brief studio exhibit that he has nothing to fear from the new medium, its camera or technique. The same bits of biz he uses so effectively on stage shows grooved in tele and his confident manner of approach transmitted itself to the rest of the cast to make for smooth sailing all the way.
Commercials were spotted midway and at close. Intermediate plug presented a lonely soldier on deck of transport being greeted and gifted with eigaret by strolling seaman and sequence finaled with closeup of soldiers hand with smoke curling from eigaret. Final plug had Waring asking for Chesterfields at cigar counter after which femme clerk held aloft carton of the smokes with offstage voice giving with the sales chatter. Effective selling but not marked by any extremes of originality which, perhaps, was not being sought. Decision on tele repeat for Waring and crew is still pending but judging from first shot, his show and ideas of presenting It deserve encores soon and often. Tele, right now, needs more hypos such as it received last week. Donn. (Variety, Jan. 26)
Thursday, January 20; Friday, January 21
WCBW Channel 2
8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Films.
Andy Ponzi of Philadelphia, the world's pocket billiard champion, gave an interesting exhibition last night [21] before a packed studio at General Electric's television station WRGB.
Preceding the exhibition, Ponzi was interviewed by Miss Helen Rhodes of the WRGB staff and during the questioning Andy brought out that he has been playing the game 25 years and in that time estimated that he has played about 28,000 hours.
Ponzi, several times holder of the world’s cue title, said that his most exciting match came a few years ago in a championship tournament when he set a new high-run record. Ponzi said he was concentrating so much on winning the match that he had forgotten about the number of balls he had run and didn't know he had set a record until told the number he had pocketed.
Ponzi explained the various fundamentals of pocket billiards, telling and showing the audience the correct position of the table, proper grip of the cue, etc. Following this brief mass instruction, the wizard of the green cloth ran off a couple of racks and then staged some fascinating trick and fancy shots that brought frequent applause from the spectators.
It was the first time a pocket billiards player had ever performed before the television cameras and it proved a great hit, both with the studio audience and those seeing it screened on the sets in other parts of the building. (Schenectady Gazette, Jan. 22)
Saturday, January 22
WNBT Channel 1
8:00 p.m. Film: “Hindu Holiday.”
8:10 “Angles of Angling.”
8:19 “Alexis Tremblay, Habintat.”
9:00 Film Feature: “Orphan of the Pecos,” with Tom Tyler (Victory, 1937). [Opening music is "In the Stirrups" by J.S. Zamecnik, familiar from Warners cartoons.]
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 22.—WPTZ, Philco's television station here, from the start pioneering in the field of remote pick-ups, has concluded plans to pick up the Friday night wrestling matches from the in-town Philadelphia arena. Remotes will start January 28, and according to Paul Knight, WPTZ program director, it is hoped to be able to pick up other events at the arena later in the season on other nights when boxing and other sporting events get going. In addition the Philco tele station also hopes to scan circus, rodeos and ice shows.
Arena remotes will find WPTZ employing still another pick-up technique, considered satisfactory for short distances. Calls for a combination of radio to transmit the picture images and regular telephone lines to carry the sound.
With the arena pick-ups, Knight has revised WPTZ's program schedule. With the Friday nights devoted to the arena events, showings of motion pictures will be concentrated on Wednesdays—making that day Movie Night. (Billboard, Jan. 29)
Sunday, January 23
W2XWV Channel 4
8:15 p.m. Doug Allan’s “Thrills and Chills.”
8:45 Treasury Dept’s “All Nations Telecast.”
9:15 Film: “Bowling Skill”.
9:25 Bureau of Missing Persons.
9:35 Preview of “Theatre House” serial.
The program is being produced and directed by Will Baltin, program manager of the station and motion picture editor of The Sunday Times. Stars to be heard include Igor Gorin, noted Russian baritone; Zinka Milanov, Metropolitan Opera star; Ilse Bois, French pantomimist, now appearing at the Ruban Blue in New York; Gertrude Ng, Chinese sword dancer; the famous Yugoslav United Chorus and others. Arrangements for the telecast were made with the foreign origin section of the Treasury Department’s War Finance Committee. Approximately 50,000 people in New York, New Jersey and sections of Connecticut and Pennsylvania will watch the parade of stars as they appear on the “All-Nations Telecast.”
Miss Maxwell will serve as master of ceremonies and will interview the guests. She will also deliver a talk on the Fourth War Loan and urge support of the $14,000,000,000 national drive.
In addition to the Treasury show, the New York City Police Department’s Bureau of Missing Persons will present its regular bi-weekly series of missing persons telecasts and Doug Allan will bring before the cameras at 8:15 o’clock a noted explorer, who will show films of his travels to the jungles of Africa. (Home News, Jan. 23).
NBC’s plans for televising fights from Madison Square Garden apparently hit a snag again. It is understood the sponsor of the fights over Mutual objected to NBC’s participation, having purchased exclusive radio rights to the events. (Jack Gould, New York Times, Jan. 23).
Monday, January 24
WNBT Channel 1
8:00 Film: “War on the Seas.”
8:40 Feature Film: “I am a Criminal” with Kay Linaker and John Carroll.
9:00 Televues: “Air for the G String.”
AS AN EXPERIMENT, a program based around the reading of comics was tried over the G.E. television station WRGB. Gene Graves was reading the funnies and to provide atmosphere a boy and a girl, each about five, sat on either side of him. He came to the point where Dagwood remained out until the wee hours of the morning and Blondie was shown waiting up for him by the front door, anger flashing in her eyes. At that point the little girl piped up: "That's nothing. My Daddy stayed out all night the other night." (Schenectady Gazette, Jan. 24)
Tuesday, January 25
W2XWV Channel 4
8:30 to 9:30 p.m. “WOR Television Party.”
DuMont-WOR Television
Reviewed Tuesday, 8:15-9:15 p.m. Style—Variety. Sustaining on W2XWV (New York).
After three tries on the DuMont station, WOR has not yet approached the program caliber achieved by agency groups who share the production burden on the station's Wednesday night shows. Format remains unchanged; the WOR Television Party idea continues with no improvement in presentation or talent.
From Producer Keith Thompson, of WOR'S program department, to Emsee Edward Brainard and student singers and actresses, it's a tyro tele troupe. WOR technicians manning cameras, lights and controls still have to master basic tele fundamentals.
Direction is slipshod. Occasionally a figure streaks across the screen between the audience and the show's participants. Brainard Is unable to hold either the watcher's attention or his flutterby crew together.
Program design might be made to function with imaginative scripting, a more experienced, personable emsee and entertainers of some professional proficiency, aided by technicians able to follow the blueprint of a producer conversant with the medium's abc's.
One glaring example of the show's lack of tele-tech is Brainard's reading of a newscast. Rank amateurs know that television's first don't is reading. It just won't work as it does in radio. The error is repeated by others in the cast who evidently refuse to believe that this radio routine is a tele inexcusable. Unfortunate attempt to show cast's reaction to war news resulted in garbled, indistinguishable chatter.
Tonight's program (25) introduced commercial product mention by the simple and ineffectual device of playing a parlor game. Blindfolded girls stepped gingerly between Coca-Cola bottles spaced at intervals on the floor. A carton of Chesterfields served as prize for the winner; no plugs were inserted; merely the smoke's name.
The WOR group might very well whip up some visual entertainment by carefully studying and sidestepping mistakes made by others in the tele field and by experimenting with new ideas. Now while the medium's program development is still adolescent, it is only by tedious trial and error that a workable entertainment formula will evolve. Wanda Marvin. (Billboard, Feb. 2)
Wednesday, January 26
W2XWV Channel 4
8:15 p.m. Glorianne Lehr, fashions.
8:30 Film shorts.
9:00 “Face of the War.”
9:30 Movie miniatures.
9:45 Hobby Hall of Fame.
10:00 Film short.
10:15 Studio Varieties.
Thursday, January 27
WCBW Channel 2
8:00 p.m. “Prelude to War.”
9:00 “The Nazis Strike.”
Friday, January 28
WNBT Channel 1
8:30 p.m. Boxing from Madison Square Garden: Beau Jack vs. Sammy Angott, sponsored by Gillette.
WCBW Channel 2
8:00 p.m. Film Feature: “Trigger Pals” (Grand National, 1939).
9:10 “The Flaming Signal.”
Saturday, January 29
7:00-7:15 p.m. Film: “Launching of the U.S.S. Missouri,” relayed to WRGB.
SCHENECTADY (AP)—General Electric workers who built the propulsion units and other electrical apparatus for the U.S.S. Missouri, the world’s most formidable battleship, will witness its launching Saturday—via television.
Receiving sets are being installed throughout the plant to receive the relayed telecast from Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Sunday, January 30
W2XWV Channel 4
8:15 p.m. “Television Canteen.”
8:45 Film: “Oil is Blood.”
8:55 Vieda Carran, songs.
9:00 Forum: The Polish Crisis.
9:30 Film Cartoon: “Oom Pah Pah” (Van Beuren, 1930).
9:40 Serial Play: Theatre House
10:00 Charlie Taylor’s Television Auditions.
"TELEVISION CANTEEN"
With Bernie West, Tony Manino, Jane Martin. Blanche Fellows, Lou Kleinman, J. Anthony Lapenna, Hannah Carroll, Madeline Lee & Bill Corf, Jane Blair, Del Hughes, Emily Remmson, Rose Bartholomew, Lorraine, Norma Ferris
Producers: Ernie Glucksman, Bud Gamble, Jay Strong
60 Mins.; Sun., 8:15-9:15 p.m.
Sustaining
Dumont—W2XWV, Channel IV
Production, while not measuring up to usual standards, adds up to a diverting session, aided by several strong individual bits, although majority of the talent still needs professional polish. Session indicates that producers still haven't found a clicko video formula and are still groping for surefire stuff.
Instance of inability to set talent off properly major fault of the stanza, was had in the opening presentation of Lorraine, ballerina, who worked in front of a stationary camera and was hampered by inadequate stage space. Cameramen made the mistake of using early portion of her terp turn on a closeup of her upper torso in a type of routine where footwork is of the essence.
In the opening series, titled 'Sketch Book.' there was some unusual production wherein pages of song-sheets introed the performers, among them Norma Ferris, juve girl violinist, who nervously ran through Kreisler’s ‘Tambourin Chinois.’ Emily Remmson, a televisionable miss, gave out with 'Sweethearts' in passable manner, displaying weakness in the upper registers. Rose Bartholomew took the spot in a Hawaiian dance for an okay impression.
Attempts at drama and gab were not the forte part of the program. Jay Strong directed an amateurish two-people melodrama 'The Pearls' with Jane Blair and Del Hughes in which performances and direction were not up to par. Unskilled use of the camera didn't help matters here either, and was reminiscent of the early days of the talking films when Hollywood hadn't found the proper metier for the added dimension of sound.
The last sequence, produced by Ernie Glucksman added up to a highly satisfactory panel, because of the inclusion of a steady flow of musical talent. Although tied together by a weak book, session had some diverting individual bits. Scoring best was Bernie West, in a series of impressions that have done him well in niteries and vaude. His Mr. Anthony satire and rendition of 'Invitation to a Dance' were productive of chuckles. Blanche Fellows also impressed with good material, strong spot being a satire of the 'Rinso-White' transcription.
There were other bits here, notably a meaningless jitterbug routine by Madeline Lee and Bill Corf, who were again hampered by inadequate dance space, and Lou Kleinmann, accordionist, who gave out with ‘Beer Barrel Polka.’ Curtain closer was Jane Martin's warbling of "Summertime." Good.
Jose. (Variety, Feb. 2)
Department of Television
(1) Difficulties between NBC and the Gillette Safety Razor Company over the televising of fights from Madison Square Garden have been settled. Gillette, which already offers the fights over Mutual, also have agreed to sponsor the NBC television version. The arrangement sets a precedent for sports in that it is the first formal acknowledgment that purchase of “radio rights” does not include “television rights.”
Incidentally, receiving both the “radio” and “television” versions of a fight at the same time offers some interesting contrasts. By comparison with the picture program, the “radio” account lags appreciably behind the actual punches. Even more important, however, is that with television only a minimum of chatter by the announcer is necessary. The “personality” sports announcers of radio apparently are headed for the dire day when the listener himself will be able to prove for a change that the flow of words is milarky.
(2) An era, or something, opens tonight when television’s first serial makes its bow at 9:40 P.M. over W2XWV (Channel 4). Jay Strong and Will Baltin are the authors of the script, which deals with performers in search of success. “Theatre House” is the title and the cast includes Jean Lewis, Loretta Schere, Marian Gardner, Toni Darney, John Kullers and Milton Stewart. The series is scheduled for thirteen weeks. (Jack Gould, New York Times, Jan. 30)
A piano trio composed of Phyllis Pearson, Joan Stewart and Betty Ann Harrison will play "Hungarian Dance No. 6" by Brahms tomorrow night [30] at 8 o'clock over WRGB, the General Electric television station. (Schenectady Gazette, Jan. 29)
Monday, January 31WNBT Channel 1
8:00 p.m. Films: Train Busters; Pencil Mania (Van Beuren, 1930); Circus Winter Quarters; Venice of the North (Van Beuren "World on Parade," 1936); Wrestling, Weider vs. McGuirk.
8:45 Feature Film: “Secret Valley,” with Richard Arlen, Virginia Grey, Russell Hicks (20th Century Fox, 1937).
9:35 Televues: “Dance of the Hours.”
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