Evening star., 1953-12-28
On the Air

ing on previous TV appearances
this season. it is only fair to
report that he came through
with honors on Friday night.
Mr.. Hope was one Of a number
of stars (RoSemary Clooney,
Victor Borge, Tyrone Power,
Tony Martin, etc. cast in a spe-
cial Christmas night show by
NBC-TV.
1t was designed to replace the
rude combat of prizefighting for
this particular night with a re-
laxed entertainment nightcap. 1t
filled the bill nicely and with de-
cided variety. It opened with
some zany monologue and piano
foolishness by Victor Borge and
concluded with Tyrone Power
reading from st. Luke. A much
wider range would be difficult to
encompass within one hour, even
on television.
Getting back to Mr. Hope, if
he didn't provide the comedy
high point of the special show it
is only because Mr.. Borge, to
these eyes and ears, achieves the
comedy pinnacle of any show on
which he appears. Mr.. Hope was
getting along better with tele-
vision than he has in some time,
though.
He not only was playing to
the home audience rather than
the studio audience, something
which he has always had a lot
of trouble remembering to do.
He also was playing at decibel
level and projectile speed more
suited to a living room audience
of few than to a studio audi
ence of several hundred.
Not all of Hopes material was
hilarious. maybe, but a lot of it
was very funny. His delivery,
relaxed rather than careless, as
he has seemed to be on some
past occasions, was vast i'm
provement over the Hope of
some earlier shows. This was
not the Hope who has seemed
to be walking aloof1y through a
show. This was Bob Hope who
could be one of television's lead
ing. comedy lights.
1t probably is easier, to be
sure, to add a fast 5 or 10 min
utes to somebody else's show
than it is to bear the bur-
den of an hour-long TV ex-
travaganza. The strain is not
so great when your concern is
filling the time between 8:17 and
1926 instead of that between
8:00:3O and 8:59:30.
Whatever his Friday night
secret, if Hope can apply it to
his regular show his next ap-
pearance on a Tuesday night will
be one to anticipate with pleas
ure.
4 X
NO EMBEL ELLISH HIM ENT-
There is one final word which
ought to be added on that. Fri
day night show. Viewers a year
from now will be spared a great
deal of pain if the broadcasters
will get together and agree that
Tyrone Powers reading of the
story of the nativity is the defini-
tive one. We all have had some
trying moments this holiday
season as sundry stellar perform
ers have applied their histrionicS
to the reading of st. Luke. Mr..
Power demonstrated himself to
be well aware that this story
stands on it's own as fairly dra-
matte. 1t does not have to be
whomped up as if it were a
scene written by Dion Boucicault,
the old melodramatist. Mr..
Powers reading was simple, rev.
erent, dignif1ed and completely
effective.
ADDENDA-In terday's
sketchy survey of the television
year, one noteworthy happening
was overlooked. The year 1853
was the one during which an
early television favorite set her
self up in the columniSt trade to
be. critic of her old milieu.
She became an odd sort of
critic, to be sure, and her saliva
ton was neither complete nor
immediate. She had barely got
her fingers smudged with ink or
1 her brow cooled after the hot
TV lights before she was charg-
ing into the fray.
She leaped in there, did Faye
Emerson. failing away with out
ragged feminine typewriter at
those unfortunateS who appear
on Strike 1t Rich" type TV pro-
grams. This is akin to begging,
she said. These people are de-
grading televiSion, nice. sweet
television.
1t could be, but what, some
body might ask Miss Emerson, of
thu people who conduct the pro-