FRANKLY , IT'S NOT FOR FRANKIE .sx . NEXT month that friendly , effervescent performer Frankie Vaughan will burst on to the London Palladium stage in a new show .sx To paraphrase his well-known ditty :sx " He'll have the limelight , they'll give him the girls- and leave the rest to him .sx " I have a hunch that he will feel more at home in the old , star-studded West End than he will ever feel in Hollywood .sx His American bosses , 20th-Century Fox , have recently given Frankie the full , razzamataz , red-carpet treatment .sx But they haven't done a thing for his film career that Anna Neagle and Herbert Wilcox were not doing better here , before the platinum-plated Hollywood carrot was dangled before his nose .sx In his first Hollywood picture , " Let's Make Love , " he was swamped by the know-how of Marilyn Monroe and Yves Montand .sx Against this couple Frankie , in a cardboard role , didn't stand a chance .sx Now comes " The Right Approach " ( Rialto , " A" ) , and it's a glum business .sx He plays an aspiring actor- a selfish , arrogant , brash , ambitious , unscrupulous heel- who would tread on anybody's neck to get a break in the Hollywood ratrace .sx Cynical .sx He double-crosses the five pals with whom he lives , cheats a waitress ( Juliet Prowse ) and cynically uses a magazine editress ( Martha Hyer ) to get ahead .sx Frankie Vaughan is too nice a chap to ring quite true as a smooth-tongued , ill-mannered Yank .sx His best moments are when he swings breezily into the title song .sx But 6,000 miles seems a heck of a way to go for a new hit song .sx He might be well advised to think hard and long before his next jump into the Hollywood arena .sx VERDICT :sx Vaughan should have by-passed this approach .sx RONALD Lewis has just left for his first taste of the Hollywood treatment , thanks to a sound performance in " Taste of Fear " ( Warner Theatre , " X") .sx He has earned his break .sx The film is a well-made variation on that sinister yarn in which half the cast try to persuade the heroine that she is out of her mind .sx Despite flagrant cheating the eerie atmosphere is built up neatly .sx Susan Strasberg is the crippled damsel in distress .sx Stepmother Ann Todd and doctor Christopher Lee are also effectively around .sx They provide some chilly red herrings in this " Find-the-body " thriller .sx VERDICT :sx Don't believe all you see and hear !sx NOT for the first time the homely mug of Sidney James has pumped life into a slim , strained comedy .sx He does his rescue act in " Double Bunk " ( Leicester-square Theatre , " A") .sx Strength .sx Navigator Sid is a tower of strength when newly-weds Ian Carmichael and Janette Scott let loose their ancient houseboat on a honeymoon trip down the river .sx The film starts off brightly enough but , half-way through , the plot ( as well as the boat ) springs a near-disastrous leak .sx Familiar members of Britain's repertory team of comedy character-actors jump through equally familiar hoops to mild laughter .sx VERDICT :sx The " bunk " needed doubling .sx DONALD 'TAKES' THE EVENING .sx LAST NIGHT'S T V .sx by CLIFFORD DAVIS .sx DONALD HOUSTON had a big success on A T V's " Drama '61 " last night as a smooth , scheming jewel thief in a play by Jacques Gillies , " The Takers .sx " A polished production by Quentin Lawrence , here , held together by Mr. Houston's accomplished performance as the master mind behind a gang of crooks .sx This plot to rob a French millionaire of +300,000 worth of jewellery struck me as ingenious .sx The play had style , moved at a quick pace and everyone did well .sx But it was Mr. Houston's evening .sx Earlier , on the Palladium show I found Stanley Holloway's act too long and not particularly entertaining .sx It was also a mistake to re-book Gene Detroy and his performing chimpanzees so soon after their previous appearance .sx Their offering last night differed little from their earlier act on this show a week or so ago .sx But the Mudlarks , with Jeff Mudd out of the Army and back with sister Mary and brother Fred , were in bright , zestful form .sx Why only two numbers , though ?sx It was not enough .sx A Rix mix .sx by RICHARD SEAR .sx " A FAIR COP , " the B B C Whitehall farce last night , looked like a rabbit warren in a field of corn .sx I can't recall a production where so many comics bolted in and out of holes so often .sx The jokes were a reshuffle of the same old lot- this time Brian Rix lost his skirt instead of his trousers .sx The action moved at tremendous speed , backed by some wonderful timing by the cast .sx I especially liked the tea-cup scene where six of the cast changed cups with the dexterity of Chinese jugglers .sx Carole Shelley as the newly-wed and Larry Noble as Smiler Perkins were the most laughable .sx They alone used a sharp edge to their humour and cut through the gormless standing corn around them .sx Perhaps it was accidental- I hope not .sx If ever a bag of humour needed a thorough shaking up the Whitehall farce is it when it comes to television .sx IT'S AN OLD PIANNA PIN-UP .sx ON THE RECORD .sx by Patrick Doncaster .sx HOW do you get on records ?sx Well , you've got to have something different .sx Sing slightly flat .sx All the good singers sing in tune .sx Twang a guitar slightly off key .sx Everybody's fed up with the right way- so the best-seller charts say .sx Play an OLD pianna instead of a new one .sx You got to get it into your head , son .sx . people don't like things as they should be- not on record , anyway .sx Thus , musician David Lisbon's chances of being a starred disc solo pianist were greatly enhanced when he dug out A PACKET OF DRAWING-PINS .sx " Why not , " thought ex-soldier Mr. Lisbon , who is twenty-three , and lives in Dagenham , Essex , " press a thumb-tack into the nose of the hammers that strike the piano strings ?sx " He did , on his piano at home .sx There weren't enough tacks and he got only the middle hammers done .sx Then he tried it out for sound .sx Um-chink .sx . um-chink .sx . it went .sx Slightly flat and jangly in part .sx DELIGHTFUL !sx He put the sound on tape .sx The tape went to the Philips company .sx Within two days Mr. Lisbon had a record contract .sx And they hauled his thumb-tacked joanna the thirteen miles to London for his first session .sx Now along comes his solo disc , featuring two of his own compositions , " Deerstalker " and " Almost Grown Up .sx " VERDICT :sx Mr. Lisbon has it taped .sx And tacked .sx And he says :sx " Just as well I had only one box of tacks- it might have been so different .sx . " More news from the ivory-thumping dept .sx . Russ Conway , who has tinkled his way to fame on an old pianna , comes in with another of his own works :sx " Parade of the Poppets " ( Columbia) .sx But not one of his nimble-fingered best .sx CUTE .sx GERMANY'S Russ Conway is a pianist who calls himself CRAZY OTTO .sx But nothing crazy about his pianistics .sx He pounds merrily away at a piece called " Piccadilly " ( Polydor) .sx I find it cute .sx American pianist Floyd Cramer , who played for Elvis on " It's Now or Never , " looks like having a success on his own with " On the Rebound " ( RCA) .sx NEW boy on the vocal front is Rolly Daniels , who comes 5,000 miles from India to seek disc fame .sx Comedian Hal Monty saw him in Bombay , became his manager .sx And such is Hal's faith that he brings him to Europe .sx Now Rolly gets his big break- a record , the modern Aladdin's lamp of show business .sx Become a success with a disc and hey presto !sx You're a star .sx . Rolly sings with assuredness " Bella Bella Marie " ( Parlophone ) , a lively song that changes tempo mid-way .sx I don't think he will storm the charts with this one , but it's a good start .sx CHRIS CHARLES , 39 , who lives in Stockton-on-Tees , is an accountant .sx He is also a director of a couple of garages .sx And he finds time as well to be a lyric writer .sx OBLIGED .sx He writes with Tolchard Evans , composer of " Lady of Spain " and other big hits .sx Tolch , as he is known in Tin Pan Alley , likes songs with a month in the title .sx He wrote " My September Love , " the big David Whitfield hit of 1956 .sx " Let's have another song with a month in it , " said Tolch .sx Mr. Charles obliged with " April Serenade .sx " This week it appears , a tuneful melody sung impeccably by Robert Earl ( Philips) .sx TELEPAGE by JACK BELL .sx A PRODUCER VANISHES .sx PRODUCER Russell Turner , 33 , provides his last programme for the B B C tonight with Robert Harbin's " Mystery and Magic " ( ) .sx After six years with the Corporation , during which he started " Juke Box Jury " and directed " Six-Five Special , " Turner is aiming to go into free-lance T V , film and stage production work .sx " I feel I've done all I can at the B B C , " he told me .sx " We mutually agreed to part .sx " Escapologist Dill-Russell is a guest in Harbin's show tonight .sx Boxing fans can see an eight-round feather-weight contest between Chris Elliot and Harry Carroll from Leicester ( B B C , ) .sx 'NATIONAL' AIRS .sx A SONGS-OF-BRITAIN medley is sung by David Hughes in his " Make Mine Music " ( B B C , 9.30 ) .sx The numbers include " Scotland the Brave , " " Men of Harlech , " " McNamara's Band , " " Greensleeves " and " English Rose .sx " Fay Compton stars in " No Hiding Place " ( I T V , 9.35 ) .sx She plays the possessive mother of a man whose hobby revolves round a doll's house .sx THREE people will be hypnotised in tonight's " Lifeline " ( B B C , ) .sx They will be asked to comment on the design of everyday articles such as a chair and a motor-car .sx WHAT ?sx .sx The idea is to see what happens when parts of the mind not normally available without hypnosis are used .sx I T V have postponed Malcolm Muggeridge's " Appointment with playwright Arnold Wesker .sx " Instead , Muggeridge's appointment will be with Sir Roy Welensky the Premier of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland ( 10.30 ) .sx Say Granada T V , the producers :sx " We decided to make the switch because of the topicality of African affairs .sx The Wesker interview will be seen at a later date .sx " LAST NIGHT'S TV .sx The soldier who was scared .sx by RICHARD SEAR .sx ACTOR Tom Courtenay was an outstanding success last night in I T V's " Private Potter , " his first big T V part .sx The play was a brilliantly-written essay on soldiering which stated that a fighting man could only be regarded as a machine .sx Potter screamed during an action , and was arrested .sx He claimed he had seen a vision of God- only the padre and his C O believed him .sx Courtenay played the part with a gawky , Northern defiance .sx The cameras played continuously on his craggy face , and obstinate , baffled eyes .sx They stripped him of his ugly battle-dress , to leave him for what he was- Potter , a frightened boy who had a vision .sx It was a splendid interpretation of the part .sx The rest of the cast were well chosen , with James Maxwell making a fine job of the sympathetic C O. IMPOSSIBLE ?sx - NO !sx .sx Paul Daneman gave another first-class performance last night as a wartime naval officer in the B B C's " The Little Key .sx " The play was no more than a figment of the imagination which asked the viewer to believe in a beautiful ghost .sx It would have been an impossible piece of television but for clever production by Michael Hayes .sx He captured the atmosphere of fog and mystery to great effect .sx 'NOT FAIR' say VIEWERS .sx LAST NIGHT'S T V .sx by RICHARD SEAR .sx MORE than 100 viewers complained to the B B C last night that an American film , " Britain- Blood , Sweat , and Tears .sx . Plus Twenty Years , " was anti-British .sx The film replaced " What's My Line ?sx " and " Be My Guest " programmes because of an electricians' strike .sx It showed Britain today through the eyes of an American T V reporter , Eric Sevareid , and British personalities .sx Among them- Professor Dennis Brogan , Shelagh Delaney , and Alan Sillitoe .sx The film covered a wide aspect of the British scene , ranging from pubs , the Eton wall game , to the European Common Market .sx Shelagh Delaney and Alan Sillitoe attacked education .sx It was left to reporter Sevareid to make the strongest criticisms .sx He said that in the race of the modern nations , Britain was slipping behind .sx .