Evening star., 1951-08-01
On the Air
Hollywood
Has Weapon
To Best TV
By Horry Macarthur


led sharply with his chin. If he
had ever been a cub reporter on a
newspaper, he would have known
better. He would have known
more about the sensitive aspects
of human nature.
Being a man of good will, how
ever, it never occurred to. him
that anyone would mistake any
thing he said for i'll will.
What he did, during the pause
in the cinematic gunfire. was to
say something to the effect that
THAT man Taggart's the villain.
With name like that, he couldn't
be anything else" The inevitable
happened Immediately to the
WTOP-TV telephones and Mr..
Temple came back very soon to
apologize. He didn't mean all
honest, right-thinking Taggarts,
he said. Just the one in the
movie.
Mr.. Temple was merely the vic
tim of the system. In the mass
production of entertainment, Hol-
lywood has set down certain rules.
In the run-of- Hollywood picture,
the characters are rainted in
black and white and there is no
doubt who the villain is. Another
rule is that the plot-a sort of
outline of what's been going on
must be restated every Is minutes
for the benefit of those who came
in late.
This makes American movies
especially adaptable to the con-
strictions of television's time Pc
riods. You can cut 80 minutes out
of l hour and 80 minute Holly
wood f1lna without confusing the
viewers, just so long as you leave
in enough of those restatements
of the plot.
This doesn't hold true OF many
British films. You cut some minor
minute out Of one of those British
suspense films and you are likely
to'f1nd in the end that the picture
doesn't make any sense at all. Cut
la little more than a third out, as
in the case of a l hour and 80
minute movie fitted into a TV
hour, and you are likely to wind
up with the plot completely lost,
with people acting with no mott
Ivation whatever and with fiocks
of characters and sub-plots dan
Cling at the end from the dipole
lantenna.
Television has demonstrated
this intractible nature of Brit
ish movies several times this sum-
mer and in so doing has clearly
| if unintentionally pointed the way
for Hollywood. The West Coast
movie-makers can win the battle
for the audience in a walk.
All they have to do is make
their movies in tnconvenient
lengths and abandon some of
those rules. especially the one
about clearing up the plot every
IS minutes. They can even give
their first run movies to television
then make money on them.
You can see the ads now. "You
saw part of 'Disgruntled Sinners
on TV last night! Find out what
it's all about! See it all tonight!!!
|Complete!!! Uncut! At the
IBiou!"
Any theater owner who wanted
to book Corridor of Mirrors"
right now ought to fill his estab-
Ilishment easily with people who
couldn't make any sense out of
lit on television "the other night.
y r X X
Premiere; Tonight at 8 WNBW
will send the NBC-TV network
some evidence that Washington
can produce something other than
news and interview programs. The
program will be the already-an
nounced Heritage" which will
have the WNBW cameras and
microphones at the National Gal
lery of Art for an hour of art and
music. Richard Bales will conduct
the National Gallery Orchestra
John Walker will discuss and
show paintings by Stuart, Copley
and West, and Rose D'Amore will
interview John Ward. Heritage
is being produced by Ralph Burgin
and directed by Joseph Browne
| X y X X
School of Hard knocks: Tim
Moore, who plays the Kingfish on
Amos n Andy" (WTOP-TV-
Thursday, $50 p.m.), is an ex-
prizef1ghter with 104 professional
bouts to his credit. He likes to
reminisce about Joe Cans, with
whom he toured as an exhibition
bout Sparring partner and who,
he thinks, contributed a lot to his
education.
He remembers, for instance, one
night when Cans asked him be-
fore a bout, "Is your girl out
Ithere?"
Moore said she was and Cans
said, "Okay, I'll let you tag me q
couple" A few minutes later Mr.
Moore found himself sitting or
the floor.
Il forgot to tell you," Cans ex-
planned later. MY girl was Out
there, too."
Then there was the time wher
Cans taught Moore a "secret
weapon" punch he had developed
Game that moment in their mex
exhibition when Moore thought
he'd try the blow on its inventor
He let it fly and immediately
found himself on the canva.
again.
Il never teach any one 6
punch" said Cans that time, "un.
less I have counterpunch for it.