THE MICHIGAN DAILY


Aretha:

arts festival-
Something was


cinema


missing

that backed her up and filled
her out. Her solid r & b, throaty
and full, going the whole re-
gister, swooping into Bert
Macharach after just wailing a
deep lament of "The Night Life."
There is no doubt that Aretha
Franklin has the ability and the
material. But she didn't put
them to use as she might have.
She lost "Chain of Fools" some-
where in the, middle. "Since
You've Been Gone," sung as she
accompanied herself well on the
piano, didn't, lift itself at all,
but rather came out sterile and
pale.
I don't know, maybe it was
the audience. There's no doubt
that Aretha needs an audience,
because she only really scored
when she -caught them in her
last number, "Respect." But I
was part of the audience, and
in the past I've'thought I could
answer a performer rairly well.

I think that maybe she never
asked. She just kind of came'
on stage, did her act, fulfilled
her, obligation, and left it at
that, collecting about $3000 a
number.
So she merely performed.
She did, to be sure, make much
of the audience happy. But not
as happy as they may have
wanted to be, or as she may
have' wanted them to be.
After she left the stage in the
company of a four men guard
from the Ann Arbor Police, af-
ter she slipped back into her
dressing room, mopped her brow
and put on her big white mink,
she came back, hoping to do
more than meet her obligation.
She cane back to the stage,
and with maybe 150 people
crowded around her piano, she
sat there, with no power in the
mike, and sang "We Shall Over-
come." And went home.

StalkingI
By HENRY GRIX
The Stalking Moon, now show-
ing at the Michigan, is suggest-
ed for General Audiences, but
that doesn't mean it was made
for kids. With Gregory Peck,
Eva Marie Saint, gore galore
and a Paraphernalia fashion
show in the lobby, it was ob-
viously designed for audiences
in general.
However, such promotion
seems unnecessaty for a film'
that can, at times, succeed on
its own merits. The Stalking
Moon is a classic cowboys and
Indians flick intriguingly re-
made as a thriller; and s o m e-
times it is scary. Director Ro-
bert Mulligan patiently paces
his film, transforming an old
fashioned, action packed Wes-
tern into a taut, tense chase.
Charles Lang's stylized color
photography creates an eerie
lunar landscape out of the jag-
jged cliffs of the Southwest.
However, the technical per-
'fection of The Stalking Moon
deprives the film of its guts;
I can't help wishing the whole
thing were shot in black and
white. Preoccupied with produc-
ing a slick vehicle, Mulligan
proves unable to maintain the
delicate balance between the
seen and the unseen for the
body of the film. Although he
redeems himself with a nerve-
racking climax, the rest of the
movie advances too predictably
to that ends
Part of the blame lies with
Alvin Sargent's weak screen-
play, but Mulligan was obvious-

In need of guts

ly counting on making most of
his impact visually. Whipping
the tired old horse opera, Mul-
ligan might have expected to
redeem his story with his cam-
era. But technical masterpieces
are contrived on a quick succes-
sion of shocking actions. Like
Bullitt, they', exploit violence"
and gadgets in order to keep
the eye in gear and the m i n d
disengaged.
'However, The Stalking Moon
needs to command the atten-
tion of both eyes and brain,
pending the psychological shock
of discovering the dreaded In-
dian behind the door or over
the cliff. But Mulligan limits
his impact by never condition-
ing the audience to anything
but the spectre of violence
through the beginning of the
film.F
Nor are the characters well
enough developed by the script
or the make-up for the viewer
to empathize with them. Eva
Marie Saint, after ten years as
an Apache hostage, looks much
as she did' in North by North-
west.
"I wonder what she w e n t
through all those years," a cav-
alry sergeant gawks as he de-
livers her from her bondage.
Obviously she's passed by a
slough of make-up men who
eliminate wrinkles even during
a furious dust storm.
Peck, who displays the poten'-
tial of portraying the unadult-
erated hero Gary Cooper be-
came, seems believable when he
tells Miss Saint he "never lived

with anybody in my life." But
he is won, corrupted, by this
woman who is fleeing the fatal
wrath of her Indian husband
for stealing away with their
half-breed son.
During the slower moments of
the film, one wonders why Miss
Saint has been willing to sacri-
fice the lives of the inhabitants
of two stagecoach outposts and
risk the life of the man she
hardly knows (but loves?) to
save her son, when she just as
easily could have taken the train
to Columbus. Ohio and civiliza-
tion.
The only explanation' seems
to be because she is Eva Marie
Saint and is starring. So when
her husband overtakes her on
Peck's ranch, we know she will
escape unscathed. Just as sure-
ly, we know all of Peck's friends
will be killed off until there is
a final struggle in the bluffs
around the ranch.
Such predictability would have
been acceptable if prolonged by
real thrills. But in creating a
film for General Audiences, Mul-
ligan declined to depict the vio-
lence. Although the victims of
the stalking Apache are brutal-
ly murdered, you never see the
Indian in action until the end
of the film.
By that time, you are ready
for a quick, brutal denounce-
ment and Mulligan delivers. But
somehow I wasn't satisfied;
maybe I still wanted the Indian
to win in the end,

40

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SUNDAY, JAN. 26,
5:30-Deli House
6:15-"Me and the Colonel" starring DANNY KAYE
ADMISSION 75c (all proceeds to U.JA.)
in the MAI FN CHnAPEdLi
B'nai B'rith H illel Foundation

-4

On the editorial page of yes-
terday's Daily (Jan. 25). a
letter to the editor appeared
signed by Keith LeGrand. Mr.
LeGrand informed the Daily
yesterday that he is not the
author of the letter. We regret
the error and express our apol-
ogies.

I

MUSKET
MAIL ORDER Quota is filled for Friday
and Saturday's performances.
For Tuesday thru Thursday there is still
time to drop order forms off at Musket
office-Michigan Union.

IKTITAF


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1429 HILL ST.

663-4129

LAST

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2 DAYS
II "RECOMMENDED
WITHOUT RESERVATION"
N.Y. Post


LOX d BAGEL BRUNCH
SUNDAY, JANUARY 26

Noon

$1.25.per person

followed by a panel discussion on
h Student Rent Strilk
featuring: MARK SCHREIBER-Student Housing Assoc.

Wa'I
Jean Geniet's
erotic view of the world
where men's strange desires
ore fulfilled.
children under 18 years of
age will 'not be admitted
under any circumstances.
Sun.-5:15, 9:15
Mon. 9:15

(J CREATIVE ARTS FESTIVAL
' - PRESENTS
SUNDAY, JAN. 26
CIVE BARNES
drarna critic N.Y. Times
SPEAKING on
Theater '69 New& livin
T cetk 75c and $1.00 inay be purchased at the door UNION BALLROOM-2:00 P.M.
Creative Arts Festival Spaghetti Dinner
5-6 P.M.-HERITAGE ROOM-UNION
ILS LVINE
appearing at the Grand Opening of his environment "ELECTRIC SHOCK"
6:30-ROOM 3C-UNION

I*

#i

PETER DENTON-Tenants'

Union

Sun.-3:OO, 7:00
Mon,-7 :00

TOM BROWN-U. of M. Student-Community
Relations
MICHAEL FORSYTHE-Attorney
HILLEL FOUNDATION 1429 Hill St.



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"I have to
get my ad
in by

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TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY ONLY
"GOOD LAUGHS! AMUSING!
S-' An ingenious idea pursued with logic
and fresh invention. Original in all
respects... infidelity, crime of
passion and punishment!"
-Archer Winsten, New York Post
"THE FIRST MOTION "SEE IT! BIZARRE
PICTURE COMEDY AND FUNNY AT THE
ABOUT A MAN'S ' SAME TIME! A

Mad Marvin Invites
You to Trip with him
tiand his friends
\ El his 2nd colossal
laugh program
Thurs., Fri., Sat., Sun.-11:00 P.M.
Vth Forum-separate admission


Thank you for making last weekend's program No. 1 such a success.
If you missed program No. 1 because of the sold-out shows
be sure to come early for program No. 2-It's equally hilarious.
THE COMEDY GREATS-Program No. 2
W. C. FIELDS-"The Pharmacist"
LAUREL & HARDY-"Double Whoopeee" a really great one featuring an appear-
once by JEAN HARLOW.
CHARLIE CHAPLIN-"easy Street"; The best knowns of his Mutual Series, a sub-

RETURN TO HIS
MOTHER'S WOMB!
...QUITE FUNNY!"
-.-Vncerkt Csnby,
New York Times

J1

WILD SENSE OF
HUMOR :..AN
UNUSUAL COMEDY!"
--Ann Guarino,
New York Daily News


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