Evening star., 1936-04-05

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and it must be general instead of clas
Opera lovers expect good music and'
Indifferent plot and acting. They are
gratifled when, rarely, they get all
three. Serious drama lovers expect
well-handled, thoughtful themes. good
staging and good acting. Vaudeville
fans want rapid action and hilarity.
Comedy lovers require fresh Jokes and
perfect timing. Radios attempt Is to
provide all of these things to crafty
particular tastes.
WHILE your listener hasn't covered
w all the regular serial programs,
a representative number Of the most
popular have been followed earnestly.
1t Is Immediately evident that two
sets Of individuals hold the success
Of radio drama in their hands, the
script writers and the script readers,
or actors. or these, the script writer's
have the most exacting duty, for,
while a good actor, on the radio, as
on the stage, can make" poor script,
he has harder job Of it on the radio.
He has no chance to lean upon his
"visual personality-for neither his
own physical suitability for a role
nor the physical suitability he has
acquired through dramatic technique
will register via the microphone.
Way up front in radio offerings Is
the 15-minute skit at $3.50 pm. Mon
day through Friday called "Vic and
Sade." Paul Rhymer, the 3o-year-old
Chicago writer, who produces this
masterpiece, has not only talent for
dialogue. which is full Of both action
and Characterization, he has as no
table a talent for setting down the
average American family in every
day conversation, and making them
live to the eaves-dropper. Bernardine
Flynn, Art Van Harvey and Billy
Idelson take Rhymer's scripts and
portray this American family-an
American family not always at its
best-but excelling in its very ordi-
nariness-always likable, always un-
derstandable, always you and me and
the next-door neighbors, in the small
doings which make up our lives.
A CLOSE second Is Forever Young"
another family skit-but one
which does picture the American fam
lily at its best. Written by Elaine
Sterne Darlington, this production has
the same naturalness Of dialogue and
Of acting as "Vic and Sade"-and by
reason thereof Is also good radio"
at its best. "One Mans Family" also
is splendid offering. but at the risk
Of sounding like complete hereto,
1t must be recorded that We do not
flnd the characters as genuine as those
Of the two above. "One Mans Family
is, in a sense, the American family
idealized-through the scripts Of
Carlton E. Morse, parent Of this most
famous radio family.
Girl Alone" is another favorite.
It pictures-through the writings of
a former newspaper woman, Fayette
Krum Of Chicago-newspaper life as
it really is, not as movie producers
and popular writers would have you
believe 1t Is.
THE O,Neills" is a pleasant offer
ing-particularly the characters (both
in the script and the acting) Of Mrs.
Bailey-which is not strange, mas
much as this role is taken by the
script-writer herself, Jane West-and
of Mr.. Levy (Jack Rubin). "The
ONeills" Is good serial; some one is
always in q jam, and we all know
that, by virtue and fortuitous circum-
stance, he'll get out of the jam as soon
as the script writer has spun out his
wordage.
There are others, many others, on
the air these afternoons and occa-
sional evenings. But these i've are
typical and of such excellence as to
make us believe that portion Of the
future Of radio Is about to be realized
in them and other shows Of their
caliber.
WITH many Of the big names and
big shows getting ready to bog
down for the Summer. already the
broadcasters are laying plans to cajole
the listeners with some new shows
next Fall The new season likely
win see the return Of Jack Pearl, who
is being talked about as the successor
to the Jumbo" program, with Jane
Pickens being called back as prima
donna =. B. A. Rolfe has been audi
tioning at Columbia, the story being
that he may turn out to be Leslie
Howard,s successor for that food
sponsor.
N. B. c. is busy with additions for
an orchestra for Frank Fay's new
starring series opening April 1s from
the Coast Kornienko's Orchestra
and adventuresome Tom Terriss I'LL
in on that newly vacated S pm. Sun
day spot on N. B. c.. Fiji D'Orsay,
who will contribute a French touch
to the Howard Brothers new "FolieS
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