Evening star., 1951-08-29
On the Air
Hollywood
May Not Be
TV Suviour
By Horry Macarthur

launched September 4. is a scien-
tific feat in which the electronics
engineers may we'll take pride. 1t
is not, however, to be regarded
as an unadulterated blessing. Yes
terday's thoughts on the dire pos
sibility that Hollywood might be-
come the TV capital did not close
the matter.
A traveller. pauSing here the
other day in flight from Holly
wood to New York, dropped an
other hint that the babes in the
Hollywoods~ might not be exactly
the saviours of television.
do you ever see a television
program here" she asked, that
is on out in Hollywood? Let's be
Continental I think it's called"
Don't remember ever seeing
it," she was told. Besides. every
body around here is continental
already"
Well" she said. "if you ever
saw it, you'd never forget it. ]
saw it once and that's when ]
learned television doesn't have
any censors. If it did. this pro-
gram wouldn't be allowed.
1T goes like this: 1t opens on
an intimate apartment-romantic
lights. cigarettes and bottle of
wine on the coffee table and all
that sort of thing. This man
I made it point not to remem-
ber his name-offers you a glass
of wine, or he offers the camera
a glass of wine and it seems to
be you. Then he's on his way.
He goes into a romantic pitch
whispering sweet nothings into
your - or the cameras - ear.
That's all there is to it; this
man romancing the camera. It's
very popular.
Il have a feeling" our in
formant went on, that it's also
indecent. but, presumably. women
all over Los Angeles County sit
there at their television sets wal
lowing in this stuff"
Presumably. too, this is one
Hollywood notion of a profitable
and rewarding employment of the
medium of television. the sort of
thing it might be happy to export
to the rest of the country.
: We'd better lay in a stock of
provisions, men, before we take to
the battlements. 1t may be a long,
hard fight.
COrrectiOn-George Allen, au-
thor ("PresidentS Who Have
known MeD and television star
c'Man Of the Week'), has asked
his office to register a complaint
about yesterdays report on his
new TV show. Mention was made
or an anecdote Mr.. Allen tells of
"a football team of his youth,
which was trounced as thoroughly
as any football team ever. Even
at this late date, he doesn t~think
things should be made to appear
any worse than they really were,
It's unfair and unjust, he claims.
The score of that game is Mr.
Aliens message, was not 292 to O.
1t was only 222 to 0.
- X
Televiewing-Things are look
ing brighter again. No matter
how gloomy the day. how DOOM
ridden the headlines, life takes
on a pleasanter glow at 7 O'Clock
each evening. "Kukla, Fran and
Ollie" are back at their old NBC-
TV stand for another season.
There is not much new to be
said OF them. but no one will be
more welcome all through the
television season. Also re-
turning Monday night was "Video
Theater" (WTOP-TV-8 p.m.)
and the occasion was made prop
erly festive by the presence of
Celeste Holm in Jessamine Vests
Pacing Goose" Miss Holm
lent a great deal of charm to the
warm-hearted comedy about a
Quaker wife stubborn enough to
go to law for the safety of her
pet goose. This is hardly news, of
course, since Miss Holm lends
charm to anything she tackles in
the entertainment world.
Monday also brought a new entry
for the "whodunit" fans, "The
Gallery of Nine. Liu Tsong''
(WTTG-8:30 PM. The star of
this one is Anna May Wong, an
old hand at Orienital-type in
trigue, for all the fact that she
is Los Angeles girl who likes to
play golf. 1t promises a diverting
weekly half-hour of melodrama.
X X 4
DIX Teelvision-DX, as old radio
pioneers who used to sit UP until
midnight angling for the Kansas
City Nighthawks know, means
distance and that's the field the
WTOP-TV people thought they
had set a new record in the other
day. 1t was Producer Carolyn
Morgan who was given something
of a start by a request to send
some TOP kindergarten" animal
cut-outs to India. Request turned
out to be from Leonora C. Reed, of
Silver Spring, who has done relig-
ious education work in mission
schools in India. It is being
filled. of course. even if WTOP-
TV did have to give up its dream of
a distance record for it's signal.
X X
Program Notes.-The NBC-TV
summer musical program, Recital
Hail." is being extended for two
weeks, at new time. The New
Music String Quartet will be
heard Monday. September 3, at 8
p .m., and the concluding program
lis set for the same time on Sep
tember 10. =. Buster Keaton, the
veteran dead-pan movie comic.
will appear Sunday on Toast of
The Town" (WTOP-TV-8 PM
and may come up this season with
a TV series of his own. :. /. A