Evening star., 1954-01-05

Changing Partners" and Il Love
Paris" the latter ornamented
with one of those movie musical
type production jobs. Time also
was found for a comedy skit with
Jack Benny. dance by Sheree
North and some lively scampering
by the chorus.
Crosby himself seems we'll
aware that T'V is a medium for
getting together with a few peo-
pie in a living room. He conducts
himself accordingly before the
cameras and it makes him a well
come visitor in the home.
Somebody. however. saw to it
that the Groaner's maiden T'V
effort was saddled with couple
of old-fashioned Hollywood in
gradients. This may have been
done before an audience but that
taugh-track had a definite added
later sound. When the man who
invented Blab-Of for silencing
TV commercials comes up with
one that cuts phony laughter and
lets the rest of the sound through
he'll really have something.
Crosby also was given a pros
cenium arch and curtain, obso-
lete trappings television show
needs like Marlene Dietrich needs
third leg. The approach used
by Dave Garroway or Eddie Al
bert on that summer musical
show would serve this man Just
fine. Still. we did get him started
in television and the refinements
can come later.
Spike Jones is something of a
TV veteran. having turned up
several times before on NBC.
Whether he will cut into Jackie
Gleason's siZable audience re-
mains to be seen. but he prob
ably stands better chance than
many NBC might have chosen
for the chore.
Whether any but the most
enthusiastic members of the
Spike Jones cult can take him
in weekly doses is something
else which remains to be seen.
That full scale Musical Depre-
citation Revue" that Spike does
on stage requires about six
months Of recuperation, but q
half hour on television is a great
deal less rigorous on the viewer.
The first show was fine, any,
how. George Gobels. the comic
for whom NBC has high hopes,
was aboard to lend expert
assistance and it turned out to
be good comedy pairing. Both
deal in their own different
versions Of essentially the same
thing-fantasy. Georges is
verbal fantasy, Spikes is wildly
slapstick fantasy.
1t probably is a special quirk
that makes a Spike Jones fan
but those who have it are happy
they do. 1t will do you no good
to Quibble and declare that re-
volvers. riveting machines and
seltzer bottles are not legitimate
musical instruments. The Spike
Jones cult will go right on hav-
ing a whale of a lot OF fun with
the mayhem he commits on
music.
Spike has a special liking for
keeping the premises busy with
completely irrelevant nonsense.
He'll charge across the scene be-
hind a soloist. for instance, pur-
sued by a girl waving q murder
GUS scimitar. A moment later a
pair Of pants, propelled by a
midget and purporting to be the
lower half of Spike Jones, shoots
across. the sword-waver still in
pursuit.
This man comes up with some
silly business. but in proper dos
age it can be mighty funny.
4 X \
AMENDS - Having castigated
the lads on the cameras for
CBS-TV's Orange Bowl coverage,
it is only fair to give another Of
their lens boys a hand. That's
the one. identity unknown. who
did a gtop-notch job of keeping
his zoomar on a pair of skaters
on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the
Town" Sunday night. Made
amends for any bad camera work
seen In a week. according to re-
ports, and had the towns TV
cameramen singing awe-struck
praises.