Evening star., 1950-12-26
On the Air
Hollywood
Isn't Ready
To Lead TV

4IlcIc Wclc SOIAlC IcPol 10 Ouo VI
Hollywood recently about a mo-
ton picture N. Peter Rathvon had
made for pulitzer Prize Play
house" (WMAL-TV - Friday, 8
PM. This was THE Pharma-
cist's Mate" the first film made
expressly for television by an
"a" producing company and the
first major television writing as
signment of Author Budd Schulz
berg.
Brian Donlevy and Gene Ray
mond were stars of the picture
and the Navy had loaned the
producing company the U. S. S.
Sawflsh for a week and given
other cooperation to writer and
crew. Irving Pichel, a noted Holly
wood director, was at the helm
(of the picture. not the Sawf1sh) =.
The implication of the advance
reports was that this would burst
with a blaze of glory on the TV
world and show that Hollywood
is going to lead the way in pro-
ducing television entertainment.
Hollywood may lead. but if this
is the way, let us hope all of tele-
vision doesn't follow. "The Phar-
macist's Mate" finally did turn up
last Friday night, but it did not
add particular Iustre to Pulitzer
Prize Playhouse" or to Hollywood.
1t was moderately effective
melodrama, all right. as it unfold
ed the story of an emergency ap-
pendix operation aboard a sub
marine, dramatizing a true hap
pening of World War II. Too
much Hollywood showed throught,
though. The characters, we'll
enough played by Mr.. Donlevy,
Mr.. Raymond. Daryl Hickman
and others. were stock types and
Mr.. Schulberg managed to cast
true story right into the B" pic
ture mold.
Pulitzer Prize Playhouse" still
ranks among the better television
entertainments, but Hollywood
has some things to learn about
this new art before it starts
awarding itself pathfinder badges.
One of the things Mr.. Rathvon
and Mr.. Pichel have to learn is
that the lighting problem is a diff
ferent one. The Pharmacist S
Mate" had a fiat look on the end
of viewing tube.
Before it is too late to take note
of it at all, report had better be
inserted here about an event of
some note, if not historic signifi-
canoe, which took place last week.
William Shakespeare, the de-
ceased playwright not the former
football player, made his color
television debut. Sarah Churchill
did a portion of Romeo and Ju-
liet" on one of the CHS demon
strations in New York.
X X 4
Programs and People: Eve Ar
den is taping several weeks of |
her "Our Miss Brooks" radio |
show so she can come East for
TV appearances. :. Victor Borge |
will launch a television program
on NBC early in February. i
Luba Malina (whose name trans
lates from Russian to English,
she once admitted. as Love
Raspberry") will be Jimmy Du-
rante's guest tomorrow night on
-Four Star Revue" (WNBW-8
PM. She replaces Frances
Langford, whose scheduled ap-
pearance was cancelled because
of "other commitments" There
are lot of people Miss Malina
can replace without any COM
plants around here. I. Abe Bur-
rows, a busy man, what with tele-
vision appearances and such writ
ing assignments as Guys and
Dolls" also is working on new
TV show for Glenda Farrell and
Vivienne Segal. who ought to make
quite a team.
X + X II
Production figures don't usually,
but a current set of them has
proved light-hearted reading to
the radio people who don't want
to bury it yet despite television's
inroads. Radio set production
reached q new high in 1850, 25
per cent above the 1949 figure.