Evening star., 1951-10-31
By Harry Macarthur


hard to resist the lure of easy
wealth, the call Of the $50. .00O
jackpot.
Aliens opinion of radio and its
audience plummeted with his
Hooper rating and the old sharp
satire he directed at broadcasting
became blunted with bitterness
Last season Mr.. Allen tried
television, with an almost spec
tacular lack of success. His Sec
ond show was an improvement on
his first. but Allen still found
himself considered inferior to
'Howdy Doody" and "Hopalong
Cassidy" and he took refuge with
Tallulah Bankhead on radios
Big Show" Here, at least, ne
was appreciated.
/ TeleviSion still called, though,
and, following reports that the
proper formal had been discov-
cred at last, he returned to face
the image orthicon cameras. The
formula. indeed, may be the right
one, presenting Allen commenting
on and/or acting in sketches
adapted from the work of we'll
known humorists. The first pro-
gram had skits credited originally
to Robert Benchley. Dorothy
Parker and S. j. Perelman, a
formidable trio. Two were ineptly
acted and the third was old hat,
but this, of course, doesn't mean
the formal is wrong.
Aliens major trouble seems to
be, after giving the matter due
consideration and more thought
than any other comics new TV
show has demanded, that he is
still apprehensive about televi-
sion. He seems not to trust the
cameras. the microphones, the
technicians, the writers, the vice
presidents and the ad agency
| people, above all the vice presi-
dents and the agency people.
He apparently has the notion.
too. that the audience would
rather be watching a western
movie or a disc jockey. At any
rate an air of suspicious antago-
nism drifted into the living room
with Mr.. Allen Sunday night.
Now, understandable though
this may be in the light of Mr..
Aliens post-"Stop the Music" ex-
periences in broadcasting, there,
is no real reason for it. Somebody
should point out to Allen that he
was one of the funniest men on
radio for a long time and can be
the same to television if he will
only relax.
He's just pressing too hard.
Science Simplified - Johns
Hopkins Science Review" now
moved to Monday night at $3.50
WTTG), where it is in competi-
ton with Arthur Godfrey instead
of Milton Berle, continues 10
stand as one Of television's more
|praiseworthy regular features. 1t
informs and frightening though
the word may be- educates while
always remaining fascinating en-
tertainment.
Under the guidance of Lynn
Poole, Johns Hopkins public re-
lations director. it manages al
ways to strike the happiest me-
Edium. explaining science in SIM
Iple. understandable terms with
out playing down to us as if we
were bunch of blithering idiots.
Never pedantic or confined to
an ivory tower, Science Review"
occasionally relates itself more
closely than usual to day-to-day
life, as it did this week with an
explanation of the uses of science
in crime detection. Instead of
mere laboratory lecture and DEM
onstration, Mr.. Poole devised a
murder and a hit-run case, then
followed police through their de-
velopment Of the scientific clues
which built a case against the
criminal.
1t was a thoroughly engiossing
half hour. This isn't precisely
news, since an engroSsing half
hour is habit with Science Re-
view" but it doesn't hurt to re-
mind you again that the program
is available - every Monday at
$3.50 on WTTG.
\ X \
New, After a FashiOn-A recent
note here to the effect that Holly
wood would go right on selling old
movies to television in spite of
Roy Rogers temporary victory in
his fight to keep his old movies