Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-05-28
On the Air

If, as the questions asked the
TV editor indicate, it is time
for another interim report on
color, here's the latest word.
Members of the Federal Com
munications Commission visited
the RCA laboratories at Prince
ton, N. j., last week for an in
spection of latest developments.
They were collared Immediately
afterward by a man from
Broadcasting- Telecasting maya
zine.
Chairman Rosel H. Hyde
pointed out that the inspection
was informal not official but
added, according to BITS man,
that the demonstration was "im-
pressive." He felt that consid-
cradle progress had been made.
Commissioner George Sterling
also reported to have seen signs
of progress, especially in Stabil-
ity, fidelity and registration.
Commissioner Paul A. Walker
found RCA color TV greatly
improved over what it was in
1949," according to the maya
zine.
None of this, it should be
noted again, is official. RCA
still will have to request the
FEC to reopen the color matter.
This it may do on or before July
/. While the recent inspection
at Princeton was informal, what
the commissioners saw may have
some bearing on how soon hear
ings would follow the RCA petit
ton.
After it does get FEC approval
of the compatible color system, it
probably will take RCA from nine
to IL months to get into produc-
ton. This looks more like color
by@ Christmas, 1854, than color
by Christmas this year.
The next RCA move probably
will be to ask FEC permission
to put experimental color tele-
casts on the NBC-TV network.
This would enable viewers all
over the country to discover. as
many in Washington and New
York have, the meaning of COM
patibility.
The good black and white pic
ture from color telecasts will be
important for some time to
come. According to the above
quoted Broadcasting- Telecasting
Magazine, Brig. Gen. David Sar-
nof recently told closed meet
ing of manufacturers that the
first color TV sets would cost
from $500 to $1,000 retail.
IN REVIEW-A fair example
of what TV can do to the unwit-
ting stage actor land vice versa)
was displayed the other evening
on Suspense" (WTOP-TV-|
Tuesday, $50 PM. The play
was something called THE Ad-
venture of the Black Baronet,"
really a rather feeble adventure
of Sherlock Holmes and a goblet
hiding tricky spring knife.
Since it was the sleuth of Baker
street, Basil Rathbone, an old
Sherlock Holmes man, consent
ed to make his TV debut in the
role. Unfortunately, he did so
without first learning the facts
of TV life. His exaggerated, the
atrical posturing may have been
fine for projecting Holmes on a
stage. Put right in your lap by
the closeup scrutiny of the TV
camera, it became almost a bur-
lesque:
Another regular chiller, Dan
ger" (WTOP-TV-Tuesday, 10
p.m), came up against the writ
ing problem this week Its offer
ing was something called Sub
poena," in which Eddie Albert
played a young dentist. His
orderly life was interrupted by
the arrival of a subpoena from
the State Crime Commission. It
was thrown into a turmoil by
the arrival Of a gangster who
offered to shoot him dead if he
appeared. It developed that he
was wanted as a witness to hang
a crime on a man he had seen
in the Office of his doctor father
when he was IL years old He
must by now have been twice
that, but the script never did
explain why the state or the
gangster expected him to identi-
fy a man he had seen once a
dozen years ago at the age of II.
PROGRAM NOTES-A radio
special on NBC tomorrow night
at 8 will be Glass of 49," docu-
mentary dealing with our teen
ayers. 1t will be narrated by
Supreme Court Justice William
o. Douglas :. Tomorrow nights
Tales Of Tomorrow" (WMAL-
TV) will deal with a man who
dies, is revived. and becomes a
human lie detector. Olive Deer
ing and William Price will head
the cast. Jackie Gleason has
special event coming up on
Saturday night (WTOP-TVl. He
will have so musicians and 81