D-Day had come and gone six months earlier, but the war was still a constant presence on the tube. There were plenty of short films about the campaign in Europe broadcast. So were plays with themes involving soldiers. And newscasters with their maps of war zones gave summaries and analysis.
Wrestling and boxing took up a fair portion of the NBC (WNBT) schedule in the last month of 1944. Among the faces on CBS were Yul Brynner (once again) and comic Bernie West, who’s better known for producing the tacky sitcom “Three’s Company.” DuMont (WABD) continued letting WOR and WNEW use its facilities and air time. And Larry Keating (“Mr. Ed”), Barbara Hale (“Perry Mason”) and John Dehner—reading the news—were on the Don Lee station in Hollywood.
Now for news, reviews, and schedules from the New York Times and Herald Tribune.
Friday, December 1
WNBT Channel 1
8:30 p.m. “Cavalcade of Sports,” boxing from St. Nicholas Arena, Fernando Menichelli vs. Johnny White (heavyweight, ten rounds).
WCBW Channel 28:00 p.m. News, Everett Holles.
8:15 “At Home,” musical variety.
8:45 Films: “Battle for the Marianas” (Warner Bros., 1944) and “Negro Colleges in Wartime” (OWI, 1943)
9:15 “December in New York.”
9:45 to 10:00 Vera Massey, songs.
CBS
Reviewed Friday (1), 8-10 p.m. Style—Variety and film. Sustaining on WCBW, New York.
Tony Miner's production, At Home, has evolved a flexible format, found a satisfactory emsee (hostess) and brings imaginative direction to the performers who are changed for each show.
Tonight he balanced the talent nicely, with comedian Bernie West, dancer Ronnie Cunningham, singer Vera Pandowsky, guitarist Youl Bryner. Paquita Anderson, singer-pianist-hostess, is the versatile permanent muse. Her repertoire is apparently inexhaustible. More important, she's developed an ease that is reflected in her guests.
Grouping was well handled. At one point, Bryner sat cross-legged atop the Baby Grand, while Miss Anderson did a number. His partner, Miss Pandowsky, leaned against the piano, affording material for interesting two and three-shots. It made transition just a matter of moving the camera in a couple of feet—natural and smooth.
However, while the duo sang, Miss Anderson's head was turned to them, and the camera was too close to her. Result, a rear shot of the pianist's head enlarged out of proportion and out of focus. Miss Cunningham's dance would have come thru to the screen better if more shots of her nice long legs had been shown. A bouncing torso isn't enough to sell a terping turn. Full shots gave the gal a chance to show her stuff, which was good. Lights and camera were co-operative. The boys followed her speedily executed seven-league cavortings and kept her in perfect focus.
During Bernie West's rapid-fire patter, close-ups predominated. His facial contortions helped sell the act and he wisely held off making with the body gestures till the cameras pulled back. Then he let go with leaps and arm-flayings that would have been lost in close-up.
December in New York, billed as a "panorama of entertainment and points of interest available to furloughing service men and women and visitors" during the month, debbed under Paul Berlenger's direction. Idea is good, but it will take a lot of work to ship the program into entertainment that compares with other WCBW shows.
It failed to fulfill its purpose. A fashion show, with models exhibiting custom-made civilian clothes, and a round-table general discussion of sports took up time that might have been used to tell what's on tap. A serviceman and a servicewoman bore the brunt of the helpful hints. Most informative was a brief discussion of legit and musical shows.
Too much time was devoted to an exhibit of articles created to bring movement into abstract design which can be seen in town. Lighting, incidentally, was bad here. Performers cast long, dark shadows on the white walls. A gilded figure was spun around, but the background was light so that it was almost lost.
Emsee Leslie Fitzgerald could have found a way out of reading off items of interest. He stood in front of a desk with little white notes in his hands, He could have been seated and hidden the list from view. Tele emseeing requires a blending of talent and abilities that Fitzgerald may eventually acquire. It takes time to develop telegs.
Allen Jackson handled the news-analysis chore well. He makes a pleasant appearance, speaks clearly end with authority. Abetted by the clever use of map and pointer, still pix and animated maps, this seg was on the high plane that Ev Hollis established. Leo Hurwitz produced and directed.
Films, Negro Colleges in Wartime and The Battle for the Marianas, were superior to the average pix available to tele.
Vera Massey, in Will You Remember?, improved over last week. Tonight her songs and soliloquies were better chosen and faster paced. She was sentimental, not sloppy.
New twist had her at a window talking to her overseas husband. As she turned to walk to the piano, stagehands noiselessly removed the wall and window, and camera moved in while the other (inside the room) took over for a couple of seconds. She had taken only a few steps before camera one caught up and recorded the rest of her movement from the window. It was a nice touch. Wanda Marvin. (Billboard, Dec. 9)
Paramount.
Reviewed Friday (1), 8:30-9:30 p.m. Style—News travelog, comedy. Sustaining over W6XYZ, Hollywood.
One thing about television on this station is that there is nothing static. The format changes from week to week, and even tho bits of business do not come off exactly as planned, it still is to Producer Klaus Landsberg's credit that he will experiment.
Opening this week was T. B. Blakiston, war analyst who has been featured on the station for some time. Heretofore Blakiston has been working solo, to be followed by John Dehner with latest world news. But this time Landsberg had them working together. Dehner would give the news and Blakiston would analyze it, working before a large map. More action was injected into the spot by having the two men discuss the international situation than by having Blakiston analyzing by himself. Both of them ad libbed well and many humorous sidelights were brought out which helped relieve the grim side of the war picture.
Landsberg makes his own maps from week to week and these are a vital factor in selling this bit to the viewers.
Next was George Brandt with a Holland-Belgium travelog. Working before one camera, Brandt would discuss various features of the countries in question. When touching upon vital point, second, camera would be showing large photo of territory under discussion. Still photos were very clear on this. Brandt had to be reminded several times to relax in front of the camera to get away from the lecture room stuffiness. Outside of this the talk went very well.
Landsberg's long-time weekly serial, Embarrassing Situations, should be given a kudo because from week to week he has been able to sustain the interest of the set owners in the seg. Straight film technique was used on this, with close-ups and pan shots coming off well. Characters were always in focus, with only one slip when cast member inadvertently turned his back to close-up camera.
Plot concerned lawyer who had sentenced gangster to the chair. Criminal's mother comes to try and plead for son's case at lawyer's home. When lawyer refuses, woman gets tough. Pinball machine has been delivered to the house and mother informs the attorney that it contains a bomb. She pulls gun and forces hilts to play the machine. When ball hits right combination of pins it is supposed to blow up. Lively action here when attorney disarms woman and machine blows up in front of camera. Comedy relief was handled by young newspaper reporter on his first assignment.
Cast included Catherine Craig, Charles Quigley, Eva Puig, Stan Johnson, Gilda Feldrais and William Meader. Scripter was J. Gordon Wright.
Entire program was well balanced, with plenty of showmanship inserted at the right points to make it palatable for the viewers. Dean Olson. (Billboard, Dec. 16)
Saturday, December 2
WNBT Channel 1
8:00 p.m. Billiard Exhibition with Willie Hoppe, Welker Cochran and Charles Peterson.
8:45 to 10:00 Films.
After months of experimentation with live studio shows, WCBW-N.Y. has typed a group of productions which point to a coming trend in video programming. And with this development, the station has signed many performers for series.
One of the first such series, booked for four weeks, starred Una Mae Carisle with the Southern Sons Quartet and Ray Sneed, Harlem dancing star. Miss Carlisle rocketed to fame in England when she wrote and sang, “Walkin’ By the River.”
“Amanda and the Three Barons,” is one of the current program favorites on WCBW’s video schedule. Usually a guest star or two join the group. Balladeer Josh White was on hand two weeks ago, and returned Thursday for his second guest shot. Also present that evening was Juan Hernandez, who did comedy time with Amanda on “Othello.” Amanda is Amanda Randolph, of CBS radio fame.
Billboard Magazine, amusement weekly, in reviewing the Nov. 9 program of “Amanda and the Barons,” the first in which Josh White participated, said: “Amanda and the Barons were good enough by almost any standards, and Josh White is a natural for television. His easy informal approach, his guitar which seems to moan low or sing happily as he wants, and a personable presence make him outstanding. White sang one of his standards, “One Meat Ball,” and a fairly new number, “The House I Live in.”
Dancer Pearl Primus is another more or less regular performer over WCBW. Her most recent appearance was with Sophie Maslow’s group in the critic-acclaimed dance ballet, “Folksay,” Friday.
It was a stroll along the Thamas River in London that gave Una Mae Carlisle the inspiration for “Walkin’ By the River.” It caught on at once in England. When she returned to America, she sang the song on the CBS radio program, “We, The People,” and soon it was being whistled and hummed on two continents. Members of the Southern Sons quartet—first engaged in radio after a Maj. Bowes audition—are William Langford, for several years first tenor of the Golden Gate quartet—Oliver Brooks, tenor, formerly with the Southern Echoes; Clifford Givens, bass, graduate of an Attanta spiritual choir, and Wesley Hall, baritone of Danville, Va., who says the highest compliment was in his early career when his landlady handed him $20 to sing “My Buddy.”
Ray Sneed, Jr., dancing protégé of Paul Draper, had a feature part in the film, “Stormy Weather.” He also played theatres and clubs in many cities, and recently completed a nation-wide tour with Duke Ellington.
“The Three Barons,” just booked into the Downbeat on 52nd Street, were formerly known in Cleveland as “The Riffs.” The boys, Ed Parton, Joel McGhee, and William Howard Green—have been together since they attended Central High School in Cleveland. They deserted Cleveland radio in 1939, to join Jimmie Lunceford at the Apollo Theatre in New York, after which they went on a vaudeville tour. Parton was drafted, temporarily breaking up the trio, but since his medical discharge three months ago, the Barons have started up again. They’re also making recordings for the Savoy. (New Amsterdam News, Dec. 2)
NEW YORK, Dec. 2.—CBS will repeat Folksay, half-hour show that debbed November 24, next December 22. The telelegant production, using a modern dance ballet coupled with guitarist-singers Woody Guthrie and Tony Kraber, met with enthusiastic audience reaction.
The Billboard of last week termed the program a new high in telecasting. Cast, composed of outstanding, modern dancers under direction of Leo Hurwitz, CBS staffer, will remain intact for the request repeat. (Billboard, Dec. 9)
Sunday, December 3
WABD Channel 4
8:15 p.m. “Parisian Memories.”
8:30 Memorial Service for Elks Lodge.
9:00 “Art and You.”
9:30 “Thrills and Chills” with Doug Allan.
Monday, December 4
WNBT Channel 1
8:00 p.m. Film: “The War as It Happens.”
8:12 Televues: “Workshops of Old Mexico.”
8:22 Film: “The 957th Day” (OWI, 1944).
8:30 Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena, Billy Grant vs. Lotario Ramirez (heavyweight, ten rounds).
Affiliated Committee for Television workshop makes its debut over Don Lee’s W6XAO tonight with a 30-minute quiz show directed by Edward Ludwig. Those around the answer board will be members of industry unions supporting ACT. (Hollywood Reporter, Dec. 4)
Tuesday, December 5
WNBT Channel 1
8:30 p.m. Wrestling from St. Nicholas Arena.
WABD Channel 4
8:15 p.m. War Bond Show
9:00 Variety Show
9:30 Film: “We Said We’d Never Comes Back,” Variety Show.
NBC
Reviewed Tuesday (5), 8:30-11 p.m. Style-Wrestling. Sustaining, WNBT, New York.
NBC's heavy grunt and groan stuff, televised Tuesday for the first time in some months in New York (GE has done it in Schenectady), came thru with a much clearer pic than the web has been able to get in its boxing coverage. Definition was much better, details stood out and there was greater contrast than ever before.
The sharper pic was probably the result of additional lights. Focal width is still not great enough to cover the entire ring, but the cameraman was able to follow the action with little trouble. The fact that wrestling moves more slowly than boxing and requires less panning than other sports accounts for this.
Sam Taub's commentary could have been improved considerably. The principal fault was his persistent attempt to describe the action a la radio. Telling audiences that "he's up, he's down" is not necessary when it's all there to see. Taub could have done a service by telling the type of holds that were being used and the style of attack. A little background material would have helped too. Marty Schrader. (Billboard, Dec. 16)
DuMont
Reviewed Tuesday (5), 8:15-10 p.m. Style—Variety, film. Sustaining, WABD, New York.
If any one person was persuaded to buy one War Bond on any one day by Ray Nelson's Outpost, it may be assumed that he is either demented, delirious or desperate. If Outpost were used to plug anything less worthy than the War Loan drive, we are convinced that an immediate city-wide boycott of the product would ensue. An unrehearsed potpourri having no relation to the entertainment world, it gave the over-all impression of a riot at a cigarette-filled counter or the utter confusion of a city room at deadline time.
The general format of the show, if it may be called that, was to reproduce a USO routine in a remote battle area. To work in chronological order, here is what was wrong: Opener used a bond poster on the screen and two off-camera voices telling the need for bond purchases. The script for this bit was such a hash and its meaning so obscure that the casual listener got no idea at all of what was happening. From the poster, camera dissolved to plaque, telling name of the show and the credits, Here the timing was way off, with the audio announcement of the title way ahead of the plaque flipping. Next, Inspiration was a review of the war situation in 1942, done by Sidney Walton, WOR commentator. Walton, a competent radio man, was furnished with a poor script whose meaning was again obscure, and his lack of before-camera experience—he rarely looked into the lens—didn't help very much. From Walton the camera panned up and to the left to catch actress Jan Streit. The pan was one of those labored, out-of-focus things that always happen when the DuMont equipment is forced to do things for which it was never built. It would have been just as easy to put Miss Streit in front of the other camera. More fastidious direction and better timing could have put it over.
Miss Streit read some figures on the cost of the war. Not only did she not know her lines, but viewers might just as well have turned the video off. There was absolutely no visual appeal. The simple, almost trite expedient of putting the figures on drawings of tanks, ships, planes, etc., and flashing them while she was talking would have helped immensely. Fast footwork by the prop men could have done it.
The next thing that happened was a scene in an outpost. Opening with Delores Wilson singing The Star-Spangled Banner—with a girl sitting down right next to her. People are supposed to rise during the singing of the National Anthem, and many at home must have resented this small but important directorial oversight. Don Saxon, singer and alleged comic, did the emsee chores in the USO sequence. We haven't seen as bad a job since Bob Emery stopped doing the act intros on WOR's Video Varieties. He was windy, he was dull, he was cute, he was corny, he hogged the screen, his voice became monotonous, his jokes fell flat and he developed a charming habit of making his exits by walking straight into the camera. Outside of that he was swell. The fault, of course, was not entirely Saxon's. He was doing the chore for free and it was up to Director Nelson to provide decent material and to guide his steps.
Hope Emerson, whose raucus style is entirely unsuited for the intimate entertainment required by tele, did a piano stint that must have offended many listeners. Miss Emerson is good when she's dirty and in a smoky club, not when she's clean and in video.
There was a G.I. sketch that didn't mean much of anything. Rosemary Lombardo did a decent chirping job on two numbers, and one Elena Imaz did a Spanish dance. John J. Anthony, the repairer of broken hearts, made a pitch for the bond drive which did not utilize Anthony's specialty (a good appeal could have been built into Mr. Anthony sketch), and Walton closed the night's carnage by bringing the war up to date.
Bob Emery's Video Varieties was devoted to a history of the 50 years of the film industry. In order to honor movies, a dubious policy for video at this stage of the game, he had Francois Doublier, a pioneer in French motion pix, in the studio along with a moth-eaten movie that he shows in conjunction with talks he gives along the second-run lecture circuit. Intro shot, Emery and Doublier in a living room drinking coffee and being very chatty, was well done and helped to set a mood that should have been sustained. However, after a few preliminaries the pic was scanned and the thing started to fall apart. The film itself, while fairly interesting, was badly suited to video. Like all old stuff (this was made front clips of stock shots and early attempts) it was badly lighted. The commentary could have been instructive had Doublier been permitted to give a running account of what was happening.
Instead Emery asked questions, many of them poorly prepared, and by the time Doublier was able to answer, some other subject was on the screen. Viewers lost interest after the first five minutes. Marty Schrader. (Billboard, Dec. 16)
Wednesday, December 6
WABD Channel 4
8:15 p.m. Film: “Hollywood Luck” (Educational, 1932).
8:30 Play: “The Devil on Stilts.”
9:00 “Wednesday at Nine.”
WCBW Channel 2
8:00 p.m. News, Everett Holles.
8:15 “Three Years of War Review.”
8:45 Musical variety.
9:00 Sixth War Loan Films: “Freedom Comes High” (OWI, 1944), “A Start in Life.”
9:30 “The Missus Goes A-Shopping.”
CBS
Reviewed Thursday (7), 8-10 p.m. Style—Variety and film. Sustaining on WCBW, New York.
Jimmy Durante made a highly successful tele debut tonight. His brief, unannounced, appearance on The Missus Goes A-Shopping seg apparently surprised most of the staff as well as the audience. Arrangements were made in the late afternoon for him to pop into camera range, which he did with the agility of a tele vet.
Without script, rehearsal or make-up he went on and gave a top performance, proving that a star of Durante's caliber shines in any entertainment medium. Aware of camera angle importance, Schnozzle played his profile for all its irregularity. His ad libbing was fast and funny; his singing and playing, abetted by stooge Eddie Jackson, terrif.
Rest of The Missus was the usual zany carryings-on of audience participants who receive prizes for foolish antics. Emcee John Reed King retains his grip with the well-turned quip and keeps the show moving at a breathless clip.
Everett Holles was on hand with another of his splendid quarter-hour news analysis and then moved into the featured news program, Three Years of War, which he shared with Gregory Abbott. Half-hour seg commemorating Pearl Harbor cleverly utilised outline and animated maps, stills and film experts from The Battle of Russia.
One commentator would pick up where the other left off in a recapitulation of events since November 7, 1941. Abbott remained seated thruout, not only reading a script but at times holding it up and then again following the typewritten words, with his index fingers moving along the lines. Director Leo Hurwitz should crack down here.
Hollis varied his minutes before the mike by half sitting on the edge of a desk and then moving to a standing position beside a large outline map, which he marked with crayon to illustrate his points. He occasionally looked down, probably to get a glimpse of a script, but it was never in evidence.
A sixth war loan pic, Freedom Comes High, and The Montevideo Family gave studio lights a chance to cool off.
Pan-American musical with singer-dancer, Anita De Palma; Gil Gavan and Mara Lopez, dance team, and Los Panchos, trio of singing guitarists, was well directed by Ben Feiner. He kept the talent moving. Shots of Miss De Palma moving from side to side and even behind the trio were well done. She and the musicians were in focus at all times.
Formal garden set with fountain and palm trees afforded opportunities for interesting, varied groupings, which were fully utilized. Commentator, with modulated voice that never overrode the performers, explained the meaning of Spanish gongs and dances.
The combination of a good set, talented performers, who were obviously well rehearsed, and the imaginative use of camera and lights added up to solid entertainment. Wanda Marvin. (Billboard, Dec. 16)
Balaban & Katz
Reviewed Thursday (7), 7:30 to 8:15 p.m. Style—News, interview, debate. Sustaining on WBKB, Chicago.
About the only things accomplished by tonight's program at WBKB was fulfillment of the fierce order that a video station must be on the air a certain number of hours weekly. There wasn't one thing in it that was entertaining or had even the semblance of acceptable television. Saddest part of poor programing was its disappointment to those who had read the station's announcement that it was going to present the Ritz Brothers tonight, K. T. Stevens and Hugh Marlowe, of the local Voice of the Turtle cast. Miss Stevens and Marlowe begged off for some-as-yet-undiscovered reason at the last minute, and the Ritz Brothers said "velly solly" when their agent told them no can do.
First bit of poor programing was Stella White's interview of three members of the Civil Air Patrol. Treatment of subject matter provided that participants bad not gone over it long enough before show. There was no apparent plan as to who was going to say what. Even station staff didn't seem to know, because often those talking did not have cameras trained on them. Only worthwhile thing noticeable was the chance offering of cigarettes all around by one of the participants. This, momentarily, gave the interview an air of ease, a plus on air pic.
The debaters who followed were very bad, so bad that they proved there is nothing duller than a dull televised debate, especially when participants are pseudo authorities such as tonight's from the student body of the U. of Chi and Northwestern. Noted authorities might have something informative to say, even if they are not telegenic, and thus save a show. Tonight, as participants had neither, station at least could have tried to save show by using maps and charts, to clarify international, military and political subjects discussed, but it didn't.
Fran Weigle closed the show (if it can be called that) with a newscast. He read all the way in a very dull, stammering manner. If we said more about tonight's WBKB television program we would only waste valuable newsprint. Cy Wagner. (Billboard, Dec. 16)
Friday, December 8
WNBT Channel 1
8:30 p.m. “Cavalcade of Sports,” boxing from St. Nicholas Arena: Tami Mauriello vs. Lee Oma (heavyweight, ten rounds), Buddy Garcia vs. Tommy Mills (lightweight, six rounds), four other bouts. WCBW Channel 2
8:00 p.m. News, Everett Holles.
8:15 “At Home,” musical variety show.
8:45 Films: “Photography Fights” (OWI, 1944) and “Lady Marines.”
9:15 “Opinions on Trial” with Norman Thomas and Margaret Connors.
9:45 to 10:00 Vera Massey, songs.
Saturday, December 9
WNBT Channel 1
8:00 p.m. Films: “Freedom Comes High” with Barbara Britton, James Craige and Walter Abel (OWI, 1944).
New York.—The first short made especially for television will be telecast next Monday [10] over station WABD.
“Talk Fast, Mister,” the six and one-half minute short, was produced by RKO Television Cpr. for Liberty Mutual Insurance of Boston. It is based on an original story by Claren Dudington Kelland. The cast includes Eddie Nugent, Royal Beal, Harvey Stephens, Raymond Greenleaf and Heather MacLean. (Hollywood Reporter, Dec. 5)
Sunday, December 10
WABD Channel 4
8:15 p.m. “Parisian Memories.”
8:30 WNEW Presents “A Christmas Story.”
9:00 “Private Johnson’s Christmas.”
DuMont
Reviewed Sunday (10), 8:15-9:30 p.m. Style—Drama and pic. Sustaining over WABD, New York.
Normally two plays with similar moods shouldn't follow one another on a video program. However, with Christmas in the air there's plenty justification of the doubling in this case. First piece, A Christmas Story, was presented by Station WNEW and featured Little Jeanne Elkins and Cowbilly Denver Darling. Handling of the credits on this air pic was extra nicely done, with the little youngster in a big chair before a fireplace faintly seen (about one-quarter dissolve) underneath the lettering which was picked up with a wide-angled lense on a second camera. It was typical of what can be done, with the greatest of ease, with dissolves. The story of the youngster who questioned the existence of Mr. Claus and how a cowboy with his banjo sold her on the red-coated, white-haired gentleman was well handled by Bill McGrath. What was unfortunate was that the writers, Joan Dillon (credited with being producer) and Gene Hurley, didn't add a bit of imagination to the proceedings. A typical touch that wasn't there was the seeing of the cowbilly thru the child's eyes as Santa Claus. Just that one touch would have made the entire proceedings from Denver Darling's reading of the famous New York Evening Sun editorial on Santa to his singing of typical mountain music seem in the keeping with the season.
It was an even job. If the eyes tended to stray a bit it was simply because of a lack of imagination on the part of the producer. Video would have been ideal to bring Denver Darling to the viewers, as he was—and as the youngster finally visualized him—as a Santa in chaps.
Second Yuletide show was the Gertz Department Store presentation of Private Johnson's Christmas, an original by Dave Kaplan, staged by Sanford Meisner and directed by Irwin Shane of the Theater Workshop. It was a simple tale of two G.I’s, one who gets his mail and one who gets nothing at mail call. The latter, Private Johnson, takes a little dream trip home, and his family takes a wish-fulfillment trip to be with him. Well acted and produced, the entire cast came thru the ike as real as your brother and sister. If at times the dream sequences seemed too substantial, i. e., projected without dissolves or semi-dissolves, that might be alibied on the basis of clarity for the home receivers. Still dreams should be dreams and not that too substantial flesh.
Special bows should be made to Mary Conwell as Bill's sister, Peggy Meredith as Bill's sweetheart, and Miss Van Fleet as Bill's mother. In fact, the entire cast did a swell acting job. Thumbs down, however, on the miniature of a war-town, countryside used. It was, unfortunately, so badly modeled and colored that it didn't mean a thing and it obviously presented a whale of a lot of work. Miniatures must be made with the grey scale in mind or else they're just a mass of papier mache.
Bridges between true war and the home fronts were well handled. That was tough, because the lead (Jerome P. Thor, playing Bill Johnson) had to get from one to another in nothing flat. Ease of camera handling and lights was noticeable, and Shane and Meisner rate bows for production if not imagination. The commercials were just routine radio stuff. That's got to stop some time and we hope that it will be soon. Joe Koehler. (Billboard, Dec. 23)
Television, in the past few weeks, has demonstrated that sound progress is being made in programming. What one now sees on video screens in New York has more of that subtle element which carries the televiewer through program after program with less of the small annoyances that used to mar the programmatic effort in this new art. In short, the best of what is now being televised has what it takes to make the video set owner look forward with keen anticipation to the next show. As an example, “Doug” Allan, former newspaper man, presents a series of Sunday night hair-raisers over WABD called “Thrills and Chills.” His guests are explorers who have traveled, hunted and filmed their adventures in distant lands, and have brought back motion picture records of the trips—also snakes, baboons and other live fauna which are often let loose in the studio. The result is sometimes pandemonium, not only before the electric eye but also in the homes of countless televiewers, as once when an agitated animal dived for the electric eye of the studio camera. On that occasion the camera man ducked and so did the televiewers.
Doug conceived the idea of having the explorers visit him in the studio and retell the tales of strange doings in far land and places as the films simultaneously are run off for the video audience. The program caught on and has been a high evening spot ever since. The men he interviews and whose pictures he televises have traveled in as many as 100 countries and brought back more than 2,000,000 feet of movie films. Their names would fill an explorers’ “Who’s Who?”
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The Lighthouse Players, dramatic unit of the New York Association for the Blind, with totally blind players, recently put on a playlet over the video waves that would have been a creditable performance for actors and actresses with perfect vision. In the cast were Ruth Askenas, Peggy Foley and Lillian Hillman. Burton Rascoe, dramatic critic, introduced the program. The players, obviously, had been carefully schooled in their parts. But aside from that they had to become familiar not only with the cramped setting in the television studio but with the position of the television cameras, the cable strewn about the floor, all the stage properties such as telephone, chairs, table, doors, windows, objects, and with their own positions with respect to each other.
It was a nice trick of coordination, carried off, as far as tele-viewers could detect, without the slightest flaw in stage production. It should be noted in passing that well over 100 hours of rehearsals were required under “Sketch Book” producer Bud Gamble. A moral should be cited—television shows in general could do with a lot more “pre-broadcast” rehearsals. When the show actually goes on the air it is too late for rehearsals, which some seem to have forgotten.
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Many a pleasant evening used to be spent around the family piano as the home folks and their guests gathered for informal musicales. This is the theme of Paquita Anderson’s “at homes,” currently on WCBW Fridays at about 8:15 P.M. Paquita, daughter of a Norwegian sea captain and a Colombian mother, enlivens the gathering with her own compositions which, if you do not care to call music, certainly must be given a high standing for charm and originality. Paquita, as likely as not, may sing about an old broom, which she admonishes to “sweep my house clean.” Her guests are leading Broadway dancers, singers and comedians, who perform, or not, as they wish.
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If one likes sports, the station to tune in is WNBT. Billiard champion Willie Hoppe, also former champion Welker Cochran and others, demonstrated their best shots in a program put on the video waves on the eve of the opening of the national billiard tournament at the Capitol Hotel. Certainly the art of handling the cue made friends that night with hundreds of televiewers who had never seen a billiard match before. (T. R. Kennedy Jr., New York Times, Dec. 10)
Monday, December 11
WNBT Channel 1
8:00 p.m. Film: “The War as It Happens.”
8:12 Feature Film: “Beloved Vagabond,” with Maurice Chevalier.
9:20 Televues: “Mt. Vernon.”
9:30 Film: “Conquest of the Alps” (Hoffberg, 1940).
9:48 Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena, Roberto Ramirez vs. Billy Grant (heavyweight, ten rounds), Jerry La Starza vs. Ernest Barnwell (middleweight, six rounds), four other bouts.
WABD Channel 4
11:00-11:30 Television Broadcasters Convention program.
CHICAGO, Dec. 11.— The first local television commercial participation series will be inaugurated on WBKB early in January under the guidance of the local Ruthrauff & Ryan Agency. Idea is to have agency do a series for about five of the office’s advertisers, with about two sponsors alternately paying the talent freight for the same show one night a week. Format for shows and types of commercials have not as yet been set.
Agency has Lever Bros. definitely booked for series, but is not giving names of other sponsors because contracts have not been inked. They will include, according to present indications, a munitions manufacturer, a men's clothing company, a gum maker and a cereal outfit. Norm Heyne, assistant radio director of local R&R office, will be in charge of the series, which will be about the most ambitious commercial television undertaking ever done here. Talent for each show, as yet unset, will be paid for under a budget that will amount to "hundreds of dollars" for each stanza. Station, according to its present policy, will not receive dough for time.
Go-ahead by Lever started commercial tele ball rolling in local R&R office. Others have been shown the light of day and are going to take advantage of Lever progressiveness. New York office of R & R will have big voice in formation of shows. In fact, Heyne admitted that experience gained in New York will form backbone of series. (Billboard, Dec. 16)
Tuesday, December 12
WNBT Channel 1
8:30 p.m. Wrestling from St. Nicholas Arena.
8:15 p.m. “WOR Presents” with Bob Emery.
8:45 War Dept. Film: “The 957th Day.”
9:30 Sixth War Loan Show.
Wednesday, December 13
WABD Channel 4
8:15 p.m. O.W.I. film.
8:30 “Magic Carpet.”
9:00 “Wednesday at Nine.”
G. E.
Reviewed Wednesday (13), 8-10 p.m. Style—Variety, drama, film. Sustaining on WRGB, Schenectady, N. Y.
Perhaps the most impressive thing in G. E.'s Wednesday night showing, at least to this reviewer's mind, was a highly competent and professional scheme to achieve depth on a screen thru the use of light. Backlighting, which this department has advocated for some time, is being used at G. E. not only for dramatic effect and additional candlepower, but to model heads and bodies as well, eliminating the flatness that is so much a part of tele.
By blending an incandescent rim light, beamed to focus down and across a performer's back and showing, finally, as it highlights the left shoulder with the mercury vapors. G. E. is able to separate the actor from the backdrop. Same light-placing also contributes a great deal to the quality of the picture. In several close-ups it was easily possible to see individual hairs and other fine details.
In general, the direction was good. The cameras were handled with a skill that showed the staff's long, careful training. In one spot only did the directors fall down. In the opening shot of a dance routine, Camera No. 1 was trained on the dancer, and No., 2 on the empty floor. Director gave the wrong cue, and No. 2 went on the air scanning an empty stage.
In his haste to correct the mistake the man on No. 2 panned fast to the right to pick up the terper. Again he missed because he must have forgotten momentarily that he had optical focusing and that all things are reversed. Finally, after some furious searching, in which the lens traveled across the set like an electronic beam across a tube, he picked up the terper. However, at that point both cameramen started to give her too much floor, creating the impression that else was going to be swallowed by the boards.
The lighting, in general, was excellent, but there was one recurrent scene in which it didn't work out quite so well. Shot of seated announcer, Helen Rhodes, scanned with a high glare on the left side of her forehead and the tip of her nose. The intense glare could have been neutralized if a floor light had been placed on her right. And she could have helped the situation along herself if she had worn black mascara on her lashes and a heavy eye shadow on her upper Side. The Fourth Mrs. Phillips, an alleged play about an incorrigible rake, was badly written, badly acted, badly introed and very poorly produced. The set, dressing room of a prominent actor, looked more like a $95 set of Grand Rapids furniture. The actors, by New York standards, were amazingly bad, particularly Jane Garrett, Lynn Thomson and the leading man, George Lascellas. However, they, like their equally gruesome counterparts in the variety portion of the show, are strictly local talent and, as such, do not represent the type of work of which G. E. is capable. Marty Schrader. (Billboard, Dec. 23)
Statistics as to habits of television set owners, especially insofar as the number of people viewing a program within a given period of time, have been obtained through a survey made by NBC of tele audiences on Election night. Most indicative were the results obtained on a question dealing with the number of people per set viewing election coverage, survey showing that an average of 8.2 persons to each receiver-watched on that night. This is a higher per set figure than radio averages.
Survey was made by NBC without the network's call letters appearing anywhere on the questionnaire, chain instead using the name "Audience Research" at 49 West 49 street (RCA Bldg.). Total of 4,528 questionnaires was mailed on Nov. 22, and 835, or 18.4% were returned, of which 595 were used for survey results, this number catching election coverage. Others returning questionnaires noted they no longer had sets, sets were out of order, etc.
While the average per set figure was high, the aggregate per set was even higher. On 583 sets, a total number of viewers of 7,303 was given, 4,460 being the number who watched in homes, and 2,843 in "other places" (bars, etc.). Of the 563 sets figuring in this answer, 40 were set up in "other places," the rest being in home.
Set owners also replied that 69.7% watched the tele screen continuously and that 41.8% watched "off and on." No answer was given by 12%. Average watching time per set was 4.1 hours.
Another return revealed by the survey was that 41.8 % of those queried stuck to television throughout the night for their election news, with 57.4% turning to radio to supplement tele. Of those tuning in both mediums, 56.9% felt that television was "ahead of radio"; 28.7% about the same, and 10% "behind radio." (Variety, Dec. 13)
Washington.—Paramount Pictures, through its subsidiary, Television Productions, Inc., yesterday asked the FCC for permission to construct a series of television relay stations across the country.
Locations would be in Peru mountain in Vermont; New York City, Buffalo, Detroit, El Paso, Tex., Des Moines, Chicago and Los Angeles. Channels 9 through 12 were asked for the West, and 13 through 16 for the East. Paramount already has a television station in Los Angeles, W6XYZ, and, through Balaban and Katz, a station in Chicago, and has applied, through United Detroit Theatres, for a Detroit license.
Yesterday’s applications, however, are strictly for experimentation in demonstrating and developing the practicality of a nationwide network. (Hollywood Reporter, Dec. 13).
Thursday, December 14
WCBW Channel 2
8:00 p.m. News, Everett Holles.
8:15 “Women in Wartime,” “Christmas Without Tinfoil.”
8:45 Chess Pictures.
9:00 Films: to be selected.
9:30 “The Missus Goes A-Shopping” with John Reed King.
“CHRISTMAS WITHOUT TINFOIL”
With Betty Furness, Ruth Woodner, Marilyn Erskin, Ellen Carlyle, Frosty Webb, Virginia Dwyer, Martha Falconer, Sydna Scott, Patricia Voiles, Marilyn Maloney, Helen Brown, Michael Artisk, Ronnie Jacobi, Will Hare, Morton DaCosta, Edwin Bruce, Robert Antoine, Gordon McDonald, Tony Burger, others.
Director: Worthington Miner
Writers: Frances Hughes, Geri Troita.
Cameras: Alan Kleban, Howard Hayes.
30 Mins.; 8:15 p.m., Thurs. (14) one shot.
MADEMOISELLE
WCBW-CBS, N. Y.
Second “Women in Wartime” show telecast by CBS, N. Y., in conjunction with Mademoiselle mag was well written, directed and produced with camera (or televisor) work also holding to a fast pace, always considering, of course, present-day difficulties as regards equipment, lighting and lack of fully trained, video crews. A glance at the cast credits above, however, indicates what an ambitious venture this Xmas show was and its chief fault was that it tried to do too much. Succession of vignettes, while well rehearsed and performed, grew confusing with net result that Mlle.'s main message, dealing with problems of femmes GIs left behind, wasn't really driven home. Furthermore, no effort to identify any of the performers was made, either before or after the telecast, which, unless all signs fail, is going to be a postwar "must" for tele programs.
Ruth Woodner acted as sort of spokesman for Mademoiselle, outlining scope of its wartime project and explaining how the video performance was supposed to tie in with WMC directives as published in the mag. Entire cast stood out, making it difficult to toss out individual credits. Open and close shots of girls' choir sinning Xmas hymns set the program’s theme smartly and effectively.
It's to be hoped Mlle. continues this series but that future shows don’t try to encompass so much. Donn. (Variety, Dec. 20)
CBS
Reviewed Thursday (14), 8-10 p.m. Style—News, documentary and audience participation. Sustaining over WCBW, New York.
Everett Holles was his usual easy self. His increasing use of news photos that tie in with what's going on on the war front gives the show a pic plus. It was a shame that he didn't have a shot of Lupe Velez when he announced her suicide. The future video station will have to maintain an active morgue so that when a flash like this comes they'll be able to get the pic from the file and do a pictorial as well an newscasting job.
Second attempt to put Mademoiselle, magazine for the 18-30-year olds, on the visual air came off infinitely better than the first attempt several weeks ago. The production, camera work and acting ware really top-drawer. Unlike the mag, however, it failed to live up to its title, which was Christmas Without Tinfoil. Mlle., as the gang who work on it like to call this Street & Smith pub, follows thru on the themes of its issues a 100 per cent. This tele version just didn't. It gave the audience a high degree of nothing but stories of girls who can take it and a few who can't.
The effect of the opening was to give the idea that Mlle. would show its listeners how fems can take a yuletide with tinfoil. But with the exception of one shot showing the girls in hospital work, there wasn't a single suggestion how to live without men and like it. Maybe it’s carping, but shots of G.I.'s writing to their fems and the dames writing to their men in uniform are hardly inspiring ways to help everyone enjoy yuletide without tinfoil. The girl where man was in Alaska and who was writing him did a top job of acting. Most of the other girls sounded like models speaking lines for the first time.
The title cards were difficult to read—they were so busy being Mlle.
The production was worthy of better writing and theming, but Geri Trotta is learning, as is Frances Hughes. The one thing the show didn't do was the flecked theme—"From it woman will learn how a wartime Christmas can be rich in the true Christmas spirit."
No one learned anything from this, except future video producers, who learned how to produce little plays and create illusions. The telecast, under the direction of Worthington Miner, did both. Credit should also be given to the Christmas carol opening and closing shot. It was video at its best, even if there was nothing Mlle. about it.
A sports interview followed the Mlle. pitch, with Jesse Abramson, of The Herald-Tribune, interviewing Lieut. Comm, Bob Edge, ex-CBS. It was an excellent example of what not to do on the video air. There's nothing telegenic about two men sitting and talking. Also, when an experienced announcer is interviewed by a tyro he often, as in, this case, takes the show away from the interviewer. Bob Edge actually signed off the spot, while Abramson hung on as the seg faded out. Final show was the usual Thursday The Misses Goes a Shopping. As usual, also John Reed King lost his over six-feet and everyone looked like something out of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Also, video requires 10 times the spontaneity of radio. This show hasn't got that extra something. Maybe it needs a sponsor. Joe Koehler. (Billboard, Dec. 23)
Friday, December 15
8:30 p.m. “Cavalcade of Sports,” boxing from Madison Square Garden. Johnny Greco vs. Bobby Ruffin, four bouts six rounds or less.
WCBW Channel 2
8:00 p.m. News, Everett Holles.
8:15 “Nations and Peoples,” educational program.
8:45 Films.
9:15 “At Home,” Musical variety show.
9:45 to 10:00 Vera Massey, songs.
Balaban & Katz
Reviewed Friday (15), 7:30-8:30 p.m. Style—Music, drama, news. Sustaining on WKBK, Chicago.
If there were to be a television Oscar Award in 1944, we would without reservation nominate tonight's program at WBKB to receive the credit for the best television show of the year. And we say this after seeing and hearing about many of the video shows in New York, Hollywood and Chicago. Tonight WBKB had the almost perfect show.
Thruout the one hour of top-notch video fare we saw much to praise, little to condemn. Worthy of the most praise was the dramatic offering, the stage for action presentation of That They May Live. Remarkable was the dramatic and artistic heights reached by the actors and the WBKB staff in this offering, which was directed and adapted for television by Pauline Bobrov, of the WBKB staff, from an original stage drama by Arthur Miller. Especially remarkable were the ways in which the WBKB staff overcome the handicaps of working with only two cameras in a studio that is only 90 feet by 40 feet merely by the application of ingenuity and hard work. That They May Live opened with a scene that was indicative of the brain power used. First shot was of a theater audience. A girl walked in, took her seat and picked up her program to read it. As she was reading it, the camera scanned in on it until it could be seen with the title and credits. Then there was a shot on a stage curtain, constructed as a miniature. The curtain was drawn up and behind it was of a dissolve to the second camera, which was trained on the actors in the opening scene, standing in the same position as they occupied in the picture behind the miniature curtain.
From here on the drama went on in excellent video style. Of note, too, was the background used. It was constructed of only paper and cardboard, with pictures painted on the walls of windows and scenes outside. We would have sworn that the windows in the background were real and the scene beyond the same.
The show was a socially conscious drama that was comparable to the works of the Russian theater, treated the problems of the returning soldier who attempts to find a new place for himself in society, and cast was small. Its cast included Norma Jean Ross, as Delia, the wife of the returned soldier played by Jerry Walter; Hildreth Price, as Ina, a friend of the wife; Hal Sims, as a man in the audience, and Jeanne Juvlier, as a woman in the audience.
The two last named, the man and woman in the audience, had roles that were excellently conceived as dramatic ending vehicles. Just when the show was at its climax and the soldier was complaining that his wife was suffering because of the complacency of the American public, a loud masculine voice was heard shouting, in essence, "You don't know what you're talking about." The camera turned on him at once and carried the picture put out over the air.
After he had given his piece, a woman in back of him argued with him, while the cast tried to plead with them to allow the show to go on. When the cast spoke, the camera on them had its moment; when the audience spoke, the one on it carried the load. Finally there was a last shot on the cast, a dissolve to a camera on a picture of the cast behind the miniature curtain again, and the curtain carne down. Thus was ended a video dramatic offering that for once and all disproved the theories that video drama has to be elaborate and expensive. This one, because of the use of special effects and the proper writing for the video medium, used only two sets and a small cast. It required only 10 hours of rehearsal, five hours of which the cast used in front of the cameras, and hour and a half of which was used for line rehearsal, with the rest being used for camera testing and shots on special effects.
The rest of the well-balanced program consisted of a joint piano and violin recital by Jannette and Sidney Weiss, and a news commentary by Fran Weigel, and Cartoonist Paul Battenfield helped the news slot. All very good. Especially video-wise was the opening scene of the recital, when one camera was trained on a title, and one on the hands at Jannette, the pianist. A dissolve technique was used so that Jannette's hands could be seen behind the title as the recital started. Cy Wagner. (Billboard, Jan. 23)
Saturday, December 16
WNBT Channel 18:00 p.m. Film: “Hideout in the Alps” with Jane Baxter, Anthony Bushell, Ronald Squire (Grand National, 1936).
9:15 Film: short subjects.
Sunday, December 17
WABD Channel 4
8:15 p.m. Film.
8:30 “Thrills and Chills” with Doug Allan.
9:00 “Hansel and Gretel,” ballet opera.
Monday, December 18
WNBT Channel 1
8:00 p.m. Film: “The War as It Happens.”
8:12 Feature Film: “The Lady Vanishes” with Margaret Lockwood, Dame May Whitty and Michael Redgrave (Gaumont British, 1938).
9:30 Film: “Conquest of the Alps.”
9:40 Televues: “The Private Life of the Ganetts.”
9:45 Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena, Archie Moore vs. Nate Belden (light heavyweight, ten rounds).
WABD Channel 4
11:00-11:30 Film: “Talk Fast, Mister.”
Tuesday, December 19
WNBT Channel 1
8:30 to 11:00 p.m. Wrestling from St. Nicholas Arena.
WABD Channel 4
8:15 p.m. Mystery Play: “The Unexpected Guest.”
8:45 Play: “Christmas 1944.”
9:15 Play: “Behind the Scenes.”
DuMont
Reviewed Tuesday (19). 8-9:30 p.m. Style—Drama, educational. Sustaining on WABD, New York.
By today's tele standards, Storm Agency's Uninvited Guest was well made psychological drama. Well acted, well written, well set, well produced and well directed, it came off with a smoothness that is rare in one of Ray Nelson's productions.
There was no one outstanding fault that could be singled out. There were, in fact, nearly no faults. The denoument (concerning a suspected ax murderer who is really a great guy) generated the proper amount of tension and unobtrusive camera work didn't distract from the plot. There were no spectacular pix, but the cameras were in focus 99 per cent of the time and followed performers without a single slip. Credit DuMont's crew and Director Nelson.
Kid actor, Alastair Kyle, turned in a convincing performance, as did Rolly Beston, John McCarthy, Steward Nedd and Announcer Dan Ferris. And a deep bow to Amanda Randolph for her fine bit in the role of the maid. Elinor Lenz's scripting was neatly done, as was the simple set. This was the sort of show that should be regular video fare; not sensational but consistently good. Separate commercials were for Tintex Dyes.
Bob Emery's Video Varieties was devoted entirely to an interesting but impractical experiment Tuesday night, an attempt to put dialog on a disk and have the actors work in pantomime. As is the case with almost all video experiments, there is a strong tendency to rationalize mistakes and hope for the best. Here, however, it is impossible. The elimination of studio noise, which, we presume, was the reason for the waxing, is not a great enough advantage to compensate for the strained, unnatural, zombie-like performances that result. And besides, the best way to end studio noise is to tell the crew to shut up, and better equipment would do away with the rumble of a panning camera.
Emery's program, a very bad play about Christmas and a Scrooge-like character, reminded this reviewer of an American remake of Serge Eisenstein's Potemkin, in which clips of the powerful mutiny scene were integrated into studio shots made here. The Eisenstein shots were originally made in silent days, but the actors were speaking Russian. The American pic dubbed in English dialog and the result was a horrible mess. Emery's play gave the same unreal effect. The performers were oft-times off-cue, and they were unable to do the job really well because of the psychological difficulty of opening one's mouth and saying nothing as well as the tendency to overact when one element of the drama is missing. Acting in silent films followed the romantic, rather than the realistic school for almost the same reason, but modern audiences have been conditioned to realism. The old school of gesticulation and mugging strikes, them as absurd.
Emery's idea was tried once before by Bud Gamble, with much better results because he used a minimum of dialog, and that only to intro dancers. Ray Nelson did the same thing with Rhythm, but there was no talk at all in that exclusively dance show.
The New School's educational feature on how to print from a silk screen, as if anyone ever would want to know, was a botch of the worst sort. It was poorly acted, badly written and produced. Everything went wrong, including out-of-focus shots, head cutting, failure to follow participants, dropped cues, obnoxous [sic] personalities and other clinkers too numerous to mention in these days of paper shortages. The most important thing in tele or any other medium is to use professionals for jobs requiring ad-lib chatter. No dice here. Marty Schrader. (Billboard, Dec. 30)
Wednesday, December 20
WABD Channel 48:15 p.m. Film.
8:30 Play: “The Vanishing Princess,” by John Golden.
9:00 Boys Choir of the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola.
9:30 Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”
CBS's video outlet, WCBW, planning half-hour-variety stanza titled, "Meet the Artist," format including interviews with topflight radio and screen personalities, plus music and comedy, with John Reed King as m.c.
Stanza will be televised Thursday nights with time and teeoff date undecided. Will result in shift of King's audience-participation program, "Missus-Goes-a-Shopping" to Tuesday nights on same station. "Artist" will teeoff sometime after Jan. 1, when WCBW's expected to expand its program sked to include Tues. night shows, in addition to current Thurs. and Fri. telecasts. (Variety, Dec. 20)
Thursday, December 21
WCBW Channel 2
8:00 p.m. News, Everett Holles.
8:15 “Opinions on Trial” with Henry Haslitt, Joseph Starobin and others.
8:45 CBS Choral Group.
9:00 Films: to be selected.
9:30 “The Missus Goes A-Shopping” with John Reed King.
CBS
Reviewed Thursday [21], 8 -10 p.m. Style—Newscasts, forum, chorals, participation. Sustaining over WCBW, New York.
Only one thing new this evening was the CBS amateur choral group singing Yuletide favorites. The other programs, the tele-newscast, the Opinions on Trial and The Missus Goes a-Shopping were all in the tested groove. How pictorial an Opinions session can be with a serious subject, is to be questioned. The broadcast on "self determination of small liberated states" got very, very heavy indeed, and while good for the ears wasn't too hot on the eyes. Also someone in the studio became a little careless on this, and at the conclusion permitted one camera to catch another—and the end of the sets which threw the illusion right out of the window.
Also there were many times between shots when the black level remained far longer than was necessary. A constant flow of movement, color or light is essential if the attention of the viewer is to be held 100 per cent.
The one new show, Christmas Carols, was camera-wise n. s. h. This was due to the fact that the singers assembled like a group of high school graduates, and on most of the close-ups you saw, besides the soloist, half an eye, a headless torso or worse. Television choral work requires that the singers be so placed as to permit the cameras taking closeups without lots of little cut-ups of bodies appearing here and there. Also, when a choral group sings a song, which musically jumps from one section of a group to another, the group should be arranged so that the camera can jump with the music. This wasn't done with this choral presentation, the different voices not being set in sections but distributed thruout the entire group.
As yet neither WCBW nor WRGB (Schenectady) have solved the problem of how to make a chorus anything but a lot of people who look funny with their mouths open. That's okay—with the correct songs—but not for most of choral tunes. Joe Koehler. (Billboard, Dec. 30)
Balaban & Katz
Reviewed Thursday (21), 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Style—Drama, news, cartoon, variety. Sustaining on WBKB, Chicago.
Tonight WBKB again demonstrated a couple of video techniques that pointed the way toward what should be done to make video production worthy of electronic potentialities. The two signposts of the future consisted of a use of the kaleidoscope as a bridge in a dream sequence and as a very effective replacement for the ordinary type of cloth stage curtain and the use of cartoons to illustrate a poem. The cartoons were used to illustrate the reading of an Ogden Nash poem, The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus, and were presented by the WBKB staff in an effort to find the type of material that could be used during set changes separating portions of an evening's video program. Jean Nimitz, of the WBKB staff, drew the cartoons with white ink on blue paper and they were then photographed and made into slides. Thirty-three individual cartoons were drawn and photographed.
Miss Nimitz had her reading of the Nash poem transcribed. As the transcription was read the slides were shown. The effect was entertaining. With this technique the WBKB staff used only one camera (the one on the slides), leaving the other studio cameras free and permitting the staff to change studio sets.
The kaleidoscope was used as a bridge in a G.I.'s dream; an original drama by Loretto Pagels, of the WBKB staff, and following Johnny Confer and Hitous Grey as soldiers of an island outpost. As one of the two began to dream about past Christmases, the kaleiaoscope [sic] was used as a flashback bridge. First, the scene on the island, then the soldier talking about his dreams of things gone by, then kaleidoscope, and finally the introduction of the scenes about which he was thinking. It was very effective and pointed the way to a video dramatic bridge that will not lose attention.
The scenes he remembers consisted of his singing in a night club, watching girls dance and finally a fashion show, altho no connection between these three could be seen. The producer made a mistake in introducing multiple-subject matter, but the kaleidoscope was used well again here. After each model came out and showed her stuff there was a shot of kaleidoscope and the following girl seemed to be coming from behind the pattern.
Other portions of the program consisted of the reading of the news by Fran Weigel and Lee Phillips' Magical Mysteries. Fran has a style of delivery that calls for a response of friendliness and confidence in his audience, but he makes the mistake of reading only instead of using map and chalk talks. Magical Mystery by now has become old stuff at WBKB. If Phillips used a theater effect with an audience from which he could draw members to use as foils in his tricks, it would help and give his show a newness absent for a long time. Cy Wagner. (Billboard, Dec. 30)
WNBT Channel 1
8:00 p.m. Premiere: “The World in Your Home.” Films: “The Winged Scourge” (Disney, 1943) “Whittemore and Lowe, Piano Duo.”
8:30 to 11:00 “Cavalcade of Sports,” boxing from Madison Square Garden. Rocky Graziano vs. Harold Green, three other bouts.
WCBW Channel 2
8:00 p.m. News, Everett Holles.
8:15 Variety show.
8:45 Images of Chess.
9:00 Films.
9:30 Dramatic Sketch: “Elissa Landi.”
9:45 to 10:00 Vera Massey, songs.
NBC
Reviewed Friday (22), 8:30-8:45 p.m. Style—Music, film. Sustaining over WNBT, New York.
The Radio Corporation of America presented a sock 15 minutes of tele entertainment over WNBT, Friday night, that bodes well for future stanzas. RCA didn't try to do too much in its first sponsored video show, but that which was tried was done almost to perfection.
The show started with WNBT's new moving station break. It then dissolved to a film of a family sitting around one of the new RCA 18 by 24 receivers on which were the words "RCA presents." Film camera then dollied right into the screen and dissolved to a trick photo-montage of old newsreel clips, which in turn, dissolved to the title The World In Your Home. At that point, sound conked out but came back in again with the announcement of artist credits.
First seg was a musical bit by the dual pianists Seamen 1/ c Wittemore and Lowe, U. S. Coast Guard, who did two numbers, a Prokofieff prelude and a special arrangement of Strauss waltzes. Pianistics are not the best possible subject for a visual medium, particularly when the medium is equipment handicapped tele, but NBC's directors and cameramen did well. The first few minutes were monotonous because of a static pic in which there was no variation from one-set long-shot. This was made even worse by the flare at the corners of the screen, a fault that can be eliminated by keeping dark objects in the center of the pic. In this particular case, the flare could have been eliminated by using grey, rather than black pianos.
In the latter moments, the director of the program taught what should have been a good lesson, to some of his over-enthusiastic, angle-crazy colleagues by using only two other takes several times. Both of them, however (and here is where the lesson comes in), were carefully selected and executed to integrate with the music. Instead of trying a number of shots on the air in the hope that one or two would be good, he set them in advance and used them to advantage. One was a fine, sharp close-up of the head and hands of one of the pianists and the other was a sock keyboard close-up.
Program ended with a Walt Disney film about malaria-carrying mosquitos. Marty Schrader (Billboard, Dec. 30)
New York.—The RCA-Victor-sponsored television show, “The World is Your Home,” made its debut over NBC’s television station WNBT and, from where we sat, it looked very much like the first “talkie picture” we viewed years ago. There was that thrill of newness that almost awed us into a feeling of reverence. Not that video is so new, but rather the first genuine feeling within ourselves that here was a concrete example of the beginning of a new era in entertainment and education. Somehow we just lost our former feeling of “speculation”—this was it. IT IS HERE. The telecast was a combination of live talent and film show. The piano team of Arthur Whittemore and John Lowe started the show off and Walt Disney film, “Winged Scourge,” wound it up to everyone’s satisfaction. The only criticism was a psychological one. Could television overcome the phenomenon of loud sounds coming (apparently) from so small an animated object? The answer lies in a bigger screen. The program, with new talent, will be a weekly feature of NBC on Friday nights henceforth. (Hollywood Reporter, Dec. 26)
Saturday, December 23
WNBT Channel 1
8:00 p.m. Film: “Toy Time” (Van Beuren, 1931)
8:12 Film: “Children’s Corner”(World, 1939).
8:20 Film: “Zoo’s Who?” (Associated Independent Producers, 1943).
8:30 Feature Film: “The Adventures of Chico” (Woodward Brothers, 1937).
NEW YORK, Dec. 23.—Macy department store will shortly sponsor its first tele show with RKO doing the production. Program, which Tom Hutchinson will handle for RKO, will be on the DuMont station, WABD.
General format will be much like a radio's women's program, with a shopping tour thru Macy's the gimmick. Called Tele-Shopping With Martha Manning, it will have little straight entertainment, depending on Macy merchandising to sell the goods.
Exact date is not set, but it is expected that the show will preem around the end of January. (Billboard, Dec. 30)
CHICAGO, Dec. 23.— Zenith Radio Company, Chicago, became more firmly entrenched this week in the ranks of those who are advocating the development of television in ultra-high frequencies. The firm has been granted a FCC permit to construct an experimental video station which will transmit a picture in the 450 to 1,000 megacycle spectrum.
Zenith, which is now working in collaboration with CB on the development of a receiver to pick up the high frequency video picture, will not be assigned its frequency until later, FCC said, but it is known that the firm applied for the No. 3 channel in Chicago at 488 megacycles. CBS already has applied for the No. 1 channel in Chicago at 460 megacycles, and because of the nature of transmission in the very high frequencies, the No. 2 channel must be occupied by a. station in another city, possibly Milwaukee.
Zenith To Keep No. 1
Zenith, however, will keep its present No. 1 channel in the lower television bands. NBC has applied for this channel, too, and this week a spokesman for Zenith reaffirmed the company's policy that it will fight NBC tooth and nail for the lower channel.
Unlike CBS, which is having its New York ultra high-frequency video transmitter built by Federal Electric Company, Zenith will construct its own experimental station. After their new station is built, Zenith engineers intend to experiment in the transmission of color video. (Billboard, Dec. 30)
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 23.—Eight Philadelphia companies now have on file with the Federal Communications Commission applications to operate television stations here. They are Bamberger Broadcasting Service Company, Seaboard Radio Broadcasting Corporation, WCAU Broadcasting Company, WDAS Broadcasting Station, Inc., Pennsylvania Broadcast Company, Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc., WFIL Broadcasting Company and The Philadelphia Inquirer, a division of Triangle Publications, Inc.
All but The Inquirer, local morning newspaper, operate radio stations. List of applicants includes the four network outlets plus two indies—WIBG (Seaboard) and WDAS. Altho WIP (Pennsylvania) is the Mutual station, Bamberger seeks a tele outlet of its own. At present, Philco's WPTZ is the only tele station in operation here. (Billboard, Dec. 30)
Sunday, December 24
WNBT Channel 1
8:00 p.m. “Christmas in Alsace-Lorraine,” with live talent.
8:30 Film: “Starlight Night.”
8:49 English Carols.
8:59 Film: “Scrooge” with Sir Seymour Hicks, Donald Calthrop (Twickenham Film Distributions, 1935).
WABD Channel 4
8:15 p.m. Programs.
Monday, December 25
WABD Channel 45:00 to 6:30 p.m. “Police Athletic League Children’s Christmas Show” with Ralph Bellamy, Frances Fuller, Deputy Police Inspector James Nolan and others.
6:30 to 7:00 Films.
Thirty junior members of the Police Athletic League participated yesterday in a television Christmas party. It was held at CBS television station WCBW, 10 Vanderbilt Ave. Scenes of the party, showing them playing games, eating ice cream, candy and cake, watching vaudeville acts and receiving presents, were sent out over the air. (Daily News, Dec. 26)
Don Lee
Reviewed Monday (25), 8:30-9p.m.Style—Audience participation. Sustaining on W6XAO, Hollywood.
This week's offering from Don Lee was adequate tele fare and provided viewers with a suitable excuse to stay in front of their screens for a half hour. Idea was built around top cartoonists who attempted to make drawings out of haphazard lines put on paper by persons selected from audience. Dozen people were in the audience, including Hoagy Carmichael. Starting off the show with the introductions, Fred Runyan, of Foote, Cone & Belding, turned the reins over to Emsee Larry Keating.
Working smoothly Keating proved to be a good tele subject with his adlib chatter that helped bridge the gaps which might have occurred when contestants were called up for interview. First contestant drew a swastika on a three-by-four sheet of paper. Keating called on board of experts, consisting of Clifford McBride, Alexander Loomis, Robert Freeman and Barbara Hale. McBride volunteered to complete the drawing, turning it into a Rube Goldberg gadget. Barbara Luddy's mother was up next and she made a few lines on the pad, which Robert Freeman promptly turned into a fish. Prize of the evening, a War Bond, went to an army sergeant who drew a maze on the sheet that none of the cartoonists could turn into anything at all. Fred Runyan came back to take over, explaining to audience that he had bet Hoagy Carmichael that latter could not draw map of United States and name all the States in four minutes. Carmichael performed the feat with about 10 seconds to go.
Production was under the direction of Jack Stewart, of the William Morris Office. Idea had a novel twist for the home viewers and with Keating's delivery helped keep up the pace. However, close-up cameras could have been used to better advantage when cartoonists were at work. As it was, the camera picked up artists as well as the drawing, which made it hard to distinguish the cartoon on the small screen. It would have been better to have the cameras moved up so that entire cartoon filled the screen.
Film was Target for Tonight, which was poor tele subject because of inadequate lighting. Films here are usually selected with more care. Dean Owen. (Billboard, Jan. 6)
Tuesday, December 26
WNBT Channel 1
8:30 to 11:00 p.m. Wrestling from St. Nicholas Arena.
WABD Channel 4
8:15 p.m. “Thrills and Chills” with Doug Allan.
8:45 WOR Presents “Hansel and Gretel,” opera.
WOR-DuMont
Reviewed Tuesday (26), 8:15-9:30p.m. Style—Films, interviews, play. Sustaining on WABD, New York.
On the basis of his production of the fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel, Bob Emery is one of the most improved directors in video. His show, strictly for kids, was a neat, well-done job, with almost professional polish.
Camera work was smooth, using more dolly shots than are expected in the DuMont studio. The sets were effective and the acting more than acceptable. In fact, the production was so good as to lead the reviewer to suspect that Emery now has a decent sum of money to work with instead of the $40 WOR used to give him.
There were, of course, a few errors. The most outstanding was Emery's use of the canned sound gimmick. No matter how well-rehearsed the show and no matter how good the actors, putting the sound on disks still means bad cuing and un-natural, strained performances. There is little need to expand upon this thesis as it was explained at length in the DuMont review last week. (The Billboard, December 30.)
Further improvement in the program could be made by cutting the narrations, in which an old-timer reads parts of the tale to a kid. Interludes are necessary because of the time needed to change sets, but they can be shortened. Further, Emery's intro of the show, in which he stepped in front of the camera to do a corny bit with a Santa Claus character, was completely unnecessary. It satisfied nothing but the director's ego.
Greater realism could have been achieved in the outdoors scene if the shading engineer had toned down the brightness. The amount of light used was, of course, necessary to put the pic on the air, but since the scene was supposed to have taken place at dusk, the high-noon effect didn't fit in at all. Proper shading would have taken off the edge.
In general, tho, Bob Emery deserves a nod. He used his greatest radio talent, kid shows, to air a well-made tele presentation.
Doug Allen's show, Tuesday, used two films, one about a trip thru the Bronx Zoo and the other about an expedition to a cave in Mexico as the Thrills and Chills of the evening, which should give you some idea. There is actually little wrong with Allen's Thrills and Chills except that audiences tend to get rather hysterical at the sight of the interviewer wiping his fevered brow and talking about how thrilled he is after scanning a pic showing how to buy animal feed for 5 cents in the Bronx.
Thrills and Chills is a misnomer. It should be called Yawn and Corn. Marty Schrader. (Billboard, Jan. 6)
Wednesday, December 27
WABD Channel 4
8:15 p.m. Films.
8:30 “The Magic Carpet.”
9:00 Variety show.
Thursday, December 28
WCBW Channel 2
8:00 p.m. Programs.
Balaban & Katz
Reviewed Thursday (28), 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Style—Drama, news, variety. Sustaining on WBKB, Chicago.
If it were not for a few redeeming features, tonight's program at WBKB would have been a complete flop. The station in its dramatic offering What's Cooking With the Scotts, used none of the imagination and knowledge of video potentialities employed a few weeks ago in its That They May Live drama. Consequently What's Cooking was video drama of a very poor caliber. About the only defense the station could make for the poor quality of What's Cooking is that the entire production is handled by its sponsor, the Commonwealth Edison Company. But even so, we believe, the station's execs should have turned thumbs-down on the show and insisted that it be remade.
The sets were simple household scenes that were effective in spite of their simplicity and the lack of imagination that went into their construction. Camera angles were competent and that is all. But the acting!! Everett Westman, who played one of the principal roles, that of Wes Scott, did an acting job of a caliber that wouldn't be acceptable ta high school dramatic coach. His voice was a monotone most time and his actions were stiff and lifeless. We hold him largely responsible for the failure of tonight's Scott show. Wanda Raab, however, one of the fem leads, did a very good job; she seemed to have the feel of her lines and put plenty of natural interpretation in her speaking and acting. It was a shame that the writing of A. B. Rodner, who penned a fairly humorous script, woven around household planning fora New Year's Eve party, received the poor acting, which, in general it did. Rodner, however, was not entirely without blame. He didn't seem to realize that writing for tele requires awry close correlation between the direction for video and audio. Often his best lines were stepped on because excess movements of the east took the audience's attention away from the spoken word. On the stage that would not have been so noticeable. But the video screen is right in front of the viewer, and the cast seems to be much closer and therefore actions are more forceful.
Lee Phillip's Magical Mysteries tonight, was the best we have ever seen it. And merely because Phillips used imagination and video showmanship. He started off by walking on the stage, acting like a drunk. This, of course, was meant to give his show a New Year's Eve motif, and it did just that. He pulled a few typical drunken magician tricks, such as pulling cocktails out of a handkerchief and then went into a sober routine.
Ann Hunter's new commentary was delivered in her usual competent style. But the staff didn't do her justice because they used lighting that blended her blond hair into the light background.
About the only thing of interest that can be said about the singing of Catherine North, was that it proved sequins worn on the front of a woman's dress, show up well and help to reveal form. Cy Wagner. (Billboard, Jan. 6)
New York.—Macy’s department store starts regular television programs Jan. 3, using the facilities of Dumont station WABD, with RKO Television Corp. producing the shows.
Program, devoted exclusively to shopping information, will be of five minutes duration each Wednesday night for the time being, from 8:55 to 9 p.m. Martha Manning, Macy shopping advisor, will be presented showing and demonstrating articles in the Macy store. (Hollywood Reporter, Dec. 28)
WNBT Channel 1
8:15 p.m. “The World in Your Home”—Film: “Defense Against Invasion” (Disney, 1943).
8:29 p.m. Boxing from Madison Square Garden. Steve Vaccarelli vs. Bobby Smith in eight-round semi-final, Danny Bartfield vs. Morris Reif (lightweight), four other matches.
WCBW Channel 2
8:00 to 10:00 “Review of the Year.”
CBS
Reviewed Friday (29), 8-10 p.m. Style—Variety and film. Sustaining on WCBW, New York.
An hour of news analysis is a long video hour despite good script, able direction and entertaining delivery. In its end-of-the-year wind-up, WCBW devoted more than half of its two-hour show to a re-cap of world events of 1944. It was a year crammed with history-making developments, but the audience tired after 30 minutes of its review.
Director Leo Hurwitz wisely broke the news program into three parts and varied it by assigning Everett Hollis, Charles Bolte and Quincy Howe to commentary chores. Animated and outline maps, still pix and clips from documentary films were used thruout to add interest and illustrate the talks. News program was up to the usual high standards set by the station, but just too long.
All three men used scripts, but Hollis managed to draw less attention to his sheaf of papers than did the others. Apparently it's a matter of technique. He has that rare ability of convincing very watcher that he is talking directly to him instead of to the world in general. He memorizes much of his analysts and is therefore able to look into the eyes of his audience and project his personality.
Excerpts from standard shows that have been on during the year were directed by Ben Feiner. A re-enactment of George Skolsky's appearance on Opinions on Trial when he took the opposition side of the question: "America's Best Interests Would Be Served by Re-Electing Franklin D. Roosevelt," represented one program which has clicked during 1944. Professional actors were used. A portion of The Missus Goes a –Shopping, with Emsee John Reed King on hand, and Vera Massey in a musical love letter, represented the Will You Remember? show. In all three instances, tonight's samples were not up to the par set on the programs' regular appearances. All have had good and bad nights, but the very best of each should have been used for the memory book. The pic, To the Ladies, made by the U. S. Signal Corps, was indeed worthy of repetition, since its appeal for fem participation in war work needs to be heard often.
The liberation of Paris was the hinge from which to swing a fashion show, and Frances Fuller delivered off-screen commentary while models exhibited two outfits that incorporated the reported trends in French apparel that have reached us so far. Other girls wore American-designed clothes. Script and delivery were excellent. Camera caught the girls in a setting proper for their attire. A slick afternoon dress was worn by a phoning gal who turned naturally as her soundless conversation progressed. A bathing suit and beach coat were worn by a fem reclining in a beach chair. She stood up, adjusted sun glasses and gave the impression of being at the beach instead of pivoting around in the generally accepted whirling-dervish manner. Show was short, and one of the smoothest fashion shows seen on tele. Frances Buss turned in a good directing job on this one.
Thruout the evening, light and camera work were fine, but the black level was held too long in program breaks. A blank screen is a bleak and ugly thing.
Off-screen voices, unidentified to the audience but later ascertained to be those of Frances Fuller and Frank Tweddell, conducted a running commentary for Tele Documentary, an attempt to explain the medium to the layman and foretell technical advancements of the future. A series of still pix, charts and diagrams came on, but neither the explanation nor the illustrations helped clarify the subject. Maybe tele can't be made understandable to the public in three easy lessons.
A still of the reclining fem used in CBS tele color ads was shown, and a lap dissolve revealed a shot of the live original who stood up and walked out of the screen. The voices talked of color to come. Gilbert Seldes, of the station, and Dr. Mary Boynton, of the Red Cross, sat and talked about the discoveries of Dr. Edwin J. Cohen in working with blood plasma. They sat at a table on which lay dozens of test tubes, bottles and interesting exhibits of the by-products of blood. Dr. Boynton explained in simple language how Dr. Cohen had accomplished fractionation of blood and what it meant to the world.
Seldes's comments and questions kept the interview moving, and both touched and held up items for inspection as the camera moved in for close-ups of each. He apologized for using notes, but explained that the technical nature of the conversation made it necessary.
Such an interview on radio would have been dull, but intelligent use of visual objects held the watching audience. For instance, in telling how blood was separated, a pie plate was shown and cardboard markers divided the whole, aiding understanding and holding the interest of the audience. With the exception of the length of the news show, the program was entertaining. It was not, however, a birds-eye view of the station's best work in the past year. Wanda Marvin. (Billboard, Jan. 6)
Saturday, December 30
WNBT Channel 1
8:00 p.m. Film: “Hideout in the Alps” with Jane Baxter, Anthony Bushell, Ronald Squire, others (Grand National, 1936).
9:15 Film: short subjects.
Sunday, December 31
8:15 p.m. Film.
8:30 “Ballet of the Planets.”
9:00 Play: “A Sentimental Storm.”
NEW YORK, Dec. 30.—Existence of a hitherto unpublicized coaxial cable running from Washington to Philadelphia was revealed to The Billboard, Friday (29), by an engineer who claims that it will make its debut January 20, when Philco tele scans the inauguration of President Roosevelt from Washington. He says that the cable was installed by AT&T some months ago and that Philco has prior claim to its use. Thus far the scanning of the inauguration and the cable's existence have been very hush-hush. Philco planning to break the thing with great fanfare shortly before debut. (Billboard, Jan. 6)
Sadly, the rumored telecasting of the FDR inauguration in January 1945 did not happen and it would not be until January 1949 that a Presidential inauguration would be telecasted live from Washington.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, kudos to this wonderful site. I have always been fascinated by the earliest days of commercial television (1941 to 1947) and this site has been a treasure trove of terrific information.
ReplyDeleteWhat an experience television must have been in those early days. Like remembering the long bygone days of dial-up internet.
ReplyDelete