PAGE TWO THE MICHIGAN DAILY 5,ZAqrTTV-1rlAV lWvMUVII IA inert TIlE MiCHIGAN DAILY A T'TT~T~ A ~7 ~ 4 A = CAI UIWAX, V(%'1'l~ ISER 14, 1967 cinema Waterhole'Fails to Create, Humor from Inept Drama dance Harkness Company Offers Exciting Contemporary Pieces - _..__ _. 1 " ,r Third in I ngmar Bergman Series By RICHARD AYRES Sometimes, when a movie crew sets out to make a few million dollars, they change horses in mid-stream. If it's a tragedy or a melodrama they started out to make, they may discover that the situation is too unbelievable and let it lapse over to comedy. This is clearly what happened with "Waterhole No. 3." The first hour of the film, with a slight change of mood, could easily have been a Brando-exis- tential horse opera. James Co- burn is, in fact, a method actor with a lot of the same style as Brando. But one can picture him crack- ing up with laughter after one of his tough moments (like the gun- fight in which.the only death in the film takes place) and saying, "oh, no, this is too much. If a guy like me really existed, he'd have his Pocketbook Camus broken ov- er his head." So they decided to doctor up the script a bit and change the last five minutes, and they got a comedy. In fact, the script needed hardly any changing to turn from melodrama to comedy. In a mo- dern, "meaningful" Western, it's easy to picture the hero locking up the Sheriff naked and going to steal his horse; Brando or Newman might then find the sheriff's daughter in the barn, and, with her slightly-concealed consent, take a roll in the hay. And so it goes. All it took to make the change+ was the right kind of smile onr Margaret Bly's face or the right motion by Coburn. So now we've got a comedy on our hands. But it doesn't act much like a comedy. James Coburn is not a comic+ character. There is no comic sit- uation. And the director doesn't' yet seem to have decided whether or not he's making a comedy. Some of the action is made up of successful parts of other mo- vies which have been canned and reproduced in this film. The most surprising case of this is the gun- fight at the beginning. There are1 six very specific motions Coburn makes and angles of the shots (such as the profile of Coburn straightening his hat, the shot of him shaking his hands and walk-1 ing over to "show-down" posi-1 tion) which are taken directlyI from Coburn's knife-showdown scene in "Magnificent Seven." It worked before and it works here, but you wish Coburn would think up something new to do for a "show-down." Furthermore, the "show-down" is a fragment which looks nice by itself but doesn't fit in with the rest of the movie. This is the problem. "Mag- nificent Seven" was well inte- grated and had a specific direc- tion. "Waterhole No. 3" isn't sure where it's going and therefore throws in whatever looked good in another context. By ELIZABETH W. BERGMANN The Harkness Ballet is a young and energetic group that danced to an enthusiastic audience last night in Hill Auditorium. As one of the few well-financed dance Nevertheless, although "Water- companies, the company has been hole No. 3" does not communicate lavishly commissioning new works any personal feelings, it's nice to from - leading choreographers. go and watch the film-makers Founder and "angel" Rebekah enjoying themselves making this Harkness and director Brian Mac- uneven film. donal are dedicated to the produc- EMU Supporting Cast Makes 'Harvey' a 17-Karat Production tion of new and provocative works in both ballet and modern dance. The company is essentially bal- let-trained, and it showed to dis- advantage in the first two modern works that were performed. Nor- man Walker's "Night Song" seem-; ed disjointed and dull except for one exciting section danced by men only. The movement on the whole was dynamically flat in contrast to Alan Hovhaness' emo- tionally packed, "Concerto for Orchestra-'Arevakal'." "Feast of Ashes" by Alvin Ailey was a fiery rendition or Lorca's "House of Bernarda Alba." The company made a better showing in this piece, with Brunilda Ruiz as a magnificent Adela. The piece on the whole was effective drama- tically, but at times seemed stilted and old hat. Brian Macdonald, director ofj the company and choreographerI for the last two pieces, really brought out the best in the group. His "Zealous Variations" to Schu- bert was absolutely delightful as it took whimsical liberties with classical ballet variations. the company, this piece certainly showed to best advantage the strength and vitality of the com- pany. The Harkness Ballet is aiming to form a company that can perform the best modern and ballet from our contemporary choreographers. It is a beautiful ideal, one that hopefully can ma- terialize. Unfortunately, there are not too many dancers well trained in both modern and ballet techniques. As previously mentioned, the Harkness group is predominately ballet, trained; this makes their performance of modern works weak and it also hampers what a modern choreographer can compose for them. Hopefully, this group will concentrate more of its efforts on modern techniques so that it can reach the ideal of be- ing able to perform all dance equally well. The Harkness Ballet has great potential to develop in- to a really strong and uniqueI company. The University Musical Society opened its Sixth Dance Festival "THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY" Saturday, 8:00 P.M.-50c N EWMAN--331 Thompson We are now proudly presenting SIDNEY POITIER in JAMES CLAVEL'S ^. PRODUCTION OF 66TO SIR, WITH LOVE _______________ TECHNICOLOR*4 K ' * Dial 5-6290 By GAIL LENHOFF Edward Albee labeled Broadway the true theater of the absurd. He was not far from wrong, al- though admittedly it is a fine edge that separates the deliberate inanities of Ionesco's "Bald So- prano" from the more civilized and comfortable inanities of Mary Chase's "Harvey." Anyway, the modern intellectual usually prefers his inanities as deliberate as possible. Be that as it is, inanity has become the con- temporary idiom and the problem of a producer is how best to ex- press it. Television fans who relished Art Carney as Ed Norton, who slosh- ed around in existential nausea and sewers before existentialism was invented, will. probably have observed performance of same in "Harvey." Carney immortalized the role of Elwood P. Dowd, sponsor and mentor to a gigantic but invisible white rabbit, well over six foot, named - you called it, Reader - Harvey. Carney's body was an idiom in itself. With one twitch of his jawbone, he could express more alienation and despair than all of Ionesco's works bound to- gether. And his personal competence lifted "Harvey" into one hell of a funny play by pure energy. Two members of last night's cast at Eastern Michigan Univer- sity managed to perpetuate this tradition. Unfortunately neither played a leading role. Elwood Dowd came over as a roly-poly gentleman far more likely to ways of casting a glance, and crawl under the bar than sit on sixty-four contortions of the top of it and tell funny stofies. limbs. His interpretive abilities flowed To master this requires, in nor- out clear and smooth as vodka, mal circumstances, a rigorous that is lacking color and difficult training program of eight years. to gulp straight. s Ruth Bauer's made it as a fresh- Veta, his sister was the perfect man. The audience was loving it. complement, shrieking and kick- . Sh e was dol by ing up a stream of purple prose that pierced the eardrums. The Carpenter portraying an asylum beautiful nurse was not. attendant. Carpenter is roughly The junior psychiatrist who seven feet tall, with long pendu- reviewedjMr. Dowd's furry hallu- lous arms and legs that he jerks cinatory history, appeared to be and swings like an orangoutan. laboring under a severe case of And like Carney, he is able to thespian paranoia, leering and deliver soliloquies with an agon- smirking as though the world, ized shake of his head, not to the playwrite an the audience mention his knees which rotate were out to get him. Rest as- in iambic pentameter. When Car- sured, he escaped. penter entered clicking enormous Surprisingly,kdespite the weak teeth and hitching up his white text and 'weaker cast, the playF pants with a lewd grin, the aud- was a success, largely through the ience burst into spontaneous ap- abilities of the minor characters. plause. Myrtle Mae Simmons, played by The climax of the play came Ruth Bauer, rescued the first act when Carpenter swung into his by her arresting technique of mov- preliminary moves to seduce Myr- ing as though under a strobo- tle Mae, Dowd's sheltered niece. scope. She literally twined, bent Between her stroboscopic efforts and kicked herself in opposite to escape and his King-Kong-like directions. inevitable pursuit, the result was Her facial gestures were as what might be termed sheer spa- stylized and rapid as though she tial poetry-and ode to body Eng- had studied' in the Kathakali lish. theatre, that Oriental genre I can't remember when I have which employs no verbal expres- enjoyed an evening more and look sion. The actor communicates forward to the next production by through an alphabet of signs in- the Eastern Michigan University cluding nine head motions, eleven players. Phone 434-0130 The Area's finest Drive-In is easy to reach-2 miles south of Washtenow Rd. on Carpenter. BOX OFFICE OPEN 6:30 P.M. GREAT FUN! GREAT HEART! * Winner of Three R s Academy A wrds! Fh at T 4udf/" Mocki ngbird COLOR:* GREGORY PECK NArIONAL GENERAL CORPORATION 4th WEEK -OX EASTERNTHEATRES Feature Times: NOW F K VILLaGE 2:00-5:0 SHOWING *475 No. MAPLE RD. -769-130P 8:30 {.... .;..ie' THE MIRISH CORPORATION PRESENTS JULIE ANDREWS-MAX VON SYDOW-RICHARD HARRIS in THE GEORGE ROY HILL WALTER MIRISCH PRODUCTION nr"HAWAI I"PANAVISION- COLO1 hvDLaxe i t i r 3 , "Time Out of Mind," also by with a wonderful show. Let usI Macdonald, brought the evening hope that the next two dance to a strong and biting end. Beau- events in the series are equally4 tifully danced by 14 members of as exciting as the Harkness Ballet. ""M .,::..,. ...>, , .,-. gt ". . .,.. . . . N111515 NI WILD WEL 00GI WOERE THE BAD 0GUYS WINl AND THIE 600D GIRLS! fl DIRECTOR'S NO FESTIVAL ( . M DI 4 SAT.-SUN. OCT. 14-15 INGMAR IJ+ BERGMAN'S I b This is the widely acclaimed account of a doctor's journey through a compelling landscape of dream and memory. Richly visual, startlingly dramatic, a cinematic landmark. MON.-TUES.-OCT. 16-17 SERGEIl EISENSTEIN'S Part 1 portrays a forboding image of i6th century Russia. Part 2 recounts the murderous plot of the Russian landed gentry to dethrone Ivan IV. Portions in color. WED.-THURS.--OCT. 18-19 AKIRA KUROSAWA'S MASTERPIECE RASHOMON Set in the middle ages it probes the ungraspable quick- silver nature of truth and subjective rqality. An eloquent masterpiece brimming with action. A piece of cinema art. OCT. 20-21 OCT. 22-23 OCT. 24-25 JULES & JIM * L'ADVENTURA LADY VANISHES the 3rd annual HUMPHREY BOGART film festival: TONIGHT! THE PETRIFIED FOREST (He's a killer!) and THE MALTESE FALCON (Sam Spade!?) SUNDAY-All Through the Night Treasure of the Sierra Madre DOUBLE FEATURES-FREE FOOD starts at 8 P.M.-$1 .50 330 MAYNARD 0 * Negro Drama Focuses Light On Hughes''Dark America' CARROLL O'CONNOR MARGARET BLYE-CLAUDE AKINS TIMOTHY CAREY-JOAN BLONDEL ,-. mco.w.c. WENCRW S x JOSEPH T STECK R. YOUNG JOSEPH TS3TECK-ILUM GRAHAAm - ROGER MUER I PAPAif-MT i By RONALD ROSENBLATT Langston Hughes, until his recent death was one of the bet- ter known minor American Negro writers. Though he never achieved the creative stature of a Ralph Ellison or the intellectual influ- ence of a James Baldwin, Hughes was a popular writer of plays, stories, and newspaper columns. Much of his work was in a satiric vein, attempting to illum- inate the problems of American Negroes through a sort of gentle, mocking humor. Hughes' best known creation was "Simple," a young Negro living in Harlem, whose thoughts and reflections form a large part of Hughes' writings. A Negro actor and director from Detroit, Powell Lindsay, in keep- ing with his ambition to create a theatre that will shed light on American racial problems, has put together a dramatic presentation of Hughes' work entitled "Simple Speaks His Mind - Langston Hughes Looks at Dark America." Lindsay, who has been active in Negro causes throughout the United States, directs the play, which stars Kent Martin, Car- men Decker, and David Boone. Martin received Detroit's Best Actor Award in 1964 for his per- formance in a Noel Coward play. The play, which is sponsored by the Research Association for Negro History, a Lansing group interested in making known to the public contributions by Ne- groes to history and literature, will be performed in Ann Arbor Tonight & Sunday Narius Trilogy Part I 1esar dir. Marcel Pagnol, 1936 tonight at 8 p.m. in ,Trueblood Auditorium with available tickets at the box office. The program which premriered in Lansing consists of a dramatic reading of poems, stories, and humor, with the Earl Nelson Singers, well known in Michigan for their faithful renditions of folk-music, singing blues. There are also dialogues between the author and "Simple," narrated by Lindsay, who has done grad- uate study at the Yale Drama School. The recent unhappy events throughout America give added poignance to this attempt to bring Langston Hughes' humane wit and humor to the public at large. Hughes, despite his many travels abroad; always remained concerned with the problems of his native Harlem. In view of the attention now being centered on urban racial problems, tonight's presentation promises to be actually timely as well as entertaining. II Program Information and FEATURE TIMES Dial NO 2-6264 ITATE This saves 50/% ofyour air fare. 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