Evening star., 1952-02-19
By Harry Macarthur

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touch OF fantasy to it. 1t was a
year later, in the winter of 1942-43
before man finally decided he
knew enough about flying the
North Atlantic that the Air Trans
port Command could abandon its
return route which reached New
York by way of Africa and Brazil,
a real round round-trip.
A man could feel something
like a pioneer then and in the
few years to follow, out there. not
unlike Willy Loman in Death of
a Salesman" in the blue riding
on a dream called a C-54. Previ-
Gus ocean flying had been done
by only the more daring travellers.
They had done it in Pan -Ameri-
cans old flying boats. which flew
low and slow and in the broad
daylight and were always getting
becalmed in the Azores.
There was some excitement in
this business of cutting an ocean
down to size in a vessel which
would't float two minutes in the
Great Salt Lake. where almost
anything will float. It was dra-
matte to walk into a hotel in
Casablanca "a hours after walk
ing out Of an apartment in New
York.
Television made it fairly clear
that those pioneer days belong to
the past. They're over. Instead
OF wonder at the speed with which
TV networks and aviation got
these funeral films on the Ma
tlon's screens. there was a little
surprise here and there that it
wasn't done more quickly.
1t made one viewer know how
Daniel Boone might have felt if
he had picked up his axe to hack
his way to Kentucky and been
handed a road map.
X X x
ScoOper ScOOped-Those films
from Britain, incidentally, should
nave made it clear to the TV
broadcasters that beating the op-
position in matter of time is
not necessarily a triumph. NBC-
IV won the race to televise the
pictures, all right. at Z pm. Sat-
urday. but. as some one remarked
during the evening, it got there
"tustest without the mostest."
The IIV. treatment of the funeral
Kept getting progressively better.
NBC-TV's brief coverage of the
services and film biography of
the King was followed a couple
OF hours later by a much fuller
movie account OF the funeral on
CBS-TV.
This then was topped on Sum-
day afternoon on the news re-
view which starts WTTG's new
Sunday Show" And the best lob
of all, perhaps, was that done on
See 1t Now over CBS-TV Sum-
day afternoon. 1t was obvious
that Co-producers Edward Muir
row and Fred Friendly had given
this project some care. Their
neWsreel report had more cohe-
sion than those which preceded
1t and they used faces effectively
to capture the mood of a mourn
ing nation.
X X X X
Careful, NOw-If this is a trend
Red Shelton was starting Sunday
night, it had better be nipped in
the bud. The recent examples of
commercials which interrupt the
commercials represent only one
symptom of the trouble in tele-
Visions halls.
Mr.. Shelton felt called upon
this week to do a commercial
which was not designed to sell
the sponsors product. It was
rather a commercial designed to
sell the commercial, an example
of introspection which is note
worthy even in broadcasting cir
cles. If you've got to sell the
product, Skelton, sell it and get
on with your work. Don't stand
there yakking about your right
to make the sales pitch.
X x X
He Would, Too-Harold Levy,
musical director for "Theater
Guild on the Air" (WRC-Sunday
$50 PM sadly watched an act
ing couple who acted not at all
like an acting couple during a re-
cent rehearsal.
Look at them" he finally
growled to friend. And in the
Belasco Theater, too. Why, il
David Belasco were alive to see
this he'd turn over in his gravel!
Quick to Learn-James Stewart
the movie star, has had to enforce
a television ban for his younger
Istepson, Michael. Says he may
keep it in effect until Michael
grows up, gets married and buys a
television set of his own. The
older boy, Ronnie, is a gentleman
about his television. but Michael
seems to have been paying toe
close attention to the Westerns he
has been seeing in the living room
His new standard greeting to WIS.,
! itors at the Stewart home, anc
| the reason TV is off limits fol