PAGE TWO
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
PAGE TWO THE MICHICAN DAILY
..... .
FILMS
Dassm Transforms 'Phaedra'
From Tragedy to Epic Mockery
The Inspector General' Plays
Primarily to Young at Heart
UNIVERSITY REFORMED CHURCH
1001 E HURON-across from Rockhom
"POWER FOR LIVING"
Dr. Calvin S. Malefyt
7 P.M. SERVICE ALSO
"THE NEXT STEP"-Richard Peterson,
By WALTER SHAPIRO
Let's play pretend: you're a
director and you 've decided to
film a hot classical property with
a racy almost-incest theme (the
act is there, it's the relationship
that's almost). How are you going
to do it? You can always play it
as an epic tragedy in modern
dress. Or you can take the dra-
matic idea and characters and
transform them into a' new drama
with a vibrancy all its own. The
trouble with Jules Dassin's 'Phae-
d ra' is that it tries to combine
the two. And merely succeeds in
bringing out the worst features
of both'.
The opening scene is a dire
warning of how badly Dassin is
going to muff it. The movie opens
to bands playing, flags waving,
'and scores of well-dressed, happy
people looking joyously affluent.
They're going to launch a ship,
a very Greek thing to do. The
ship is called the S.S. Phaedra-
a very un-Greek thing to do.
It's not that Dassni has neglect-
ed the characters. There's Phae-
dra-Melina Mercouri with her
deep Greek voice which is. sup-
posed to be "oh so alluring," but
merely comes out "oh so indis-
tinct." And Euripides' Hippoly-
tus has become modernized into
Alexia-Tony Perkins whose in-
sipid face has never totally lost
the maniacal, glint of Alfred
Hitchcock's 'Psycho.'
Super-Abundant Storyline
The ,classical storyline is super-
abundantly there as well. Phaedra-
falls in love with her step-son.
They have an affair. The step-
son, Alexis, feels. a little remorse.
Phaedra's p a s si o n eventually
overwhelms her and she lets the
deep, dark secret out. At the end
all is tied up into a neat bundle
as Phaedra commits suicide, while
Alexis gaily' drives his shiny new
car straight into the path of an
oncoming truck.
What is lacking is perceptive
characterization. The tragic fig-
urines of Euripides have become
cardboard mock-ups. D a s s i n
seems to believe that the mere
presence of the traditional char-
acters and actions are sufficient
to provide a cohesive dramatic
structure rich with tragic content.
And he is sadly mistaken.
The best example of Dassin's
failure is provided by the cli-
mactic love scene between Phae-
dra and Alexis. The screen be-
comes alive with a shimmering
succession of images of fire, sta-
tues of Aphrodite, blurred and
entwined figures, and the fire
again-all to symbolize this tragic
linkeage. And all for naught. For
the union is premised on the
flimsiest- of motivation. Phaedra
is the bored wife of a busy in-
dustrialist. And the only real ex-
planation for Alexis lies in his
look of horror when Phaedra asks
him if he has a girl.
A final word should be said
about the few awkward tragic
elements that -Dassin leaves lit-
tered about. The best example is
the silent Greek chorus which does
its best to look tragic. Instead it
emerges as a pathetic cross be-
tween a nun and one of Mac-
Beth's witches. In the final an-
alysis Dassin's 'Phaedra' doesn't
even fare this well.
By DAVID MELLINGER
It is a pity when old Danny
Kaye movies begin to lose their
charm, but eventually this starts
to happen. After a while the
pleasure of the joyful clowning,
witty songs, and warm spirit
which pervade his movies begins
to fade. These qualities, which
still so delight children, aren't
enough to make "The Inspector
General" a really worthwhile ex-
perience for people who have
viewed delightful slapsticks for
ten or more years. a
It can succeed in producing the
warm, happy feeling which is the
object of Danny Kaye films only
for those viewers who haven't
been brought up on this kind of
comedy.
Kaye's films have charm, and
Danny is still the king of happy
moile clowns, but his material is
too familiar to be great.
"The Inspector General" re-
mains a very pleasant and enjoy-
able film. Georgy (Danny Kaye)
Is the star of The Great Yakov's
medicine show. After the people
of one of the small Austrian towns
where they play unmask Yakov's
crooked racket, he and Georgy
flee to the town of Brotny, where
Georgy is mistaken by the town's
corrupt mayor and council for the
Inspector General of the Napol-
eonic Empire.
Kaye's performance as the
counterfeit Inspector General who
can neither read nor write is de-
lightful, and Walter Slezak does
a great job as the fat and avari7
cious Yakov. Though their gags
are old, they are frequently still
a pleasure to watch. The music
(this is a musical) is full of spirit,
and the photography is well done.
The warmth which pervades
his film sometimes threatens to
break down into ouright disturb-
ing sentimentality, but generally
manages to avert it 'in the nick
of time.
Thus, "The Inspector General"
remains a fine movie for viewers
who are still young and fresh in
spirit, and a pleasant one, never-
theless, for those who are not.
y
Graduate School
of Social Work
^°cscxa::S
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B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation, Picnic
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26, 1"3 pm., Room 1400 Chemistry Bldg.
Registration not necessary. Inquiries
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Zoology Seminar: Room 1139 Natural
Science Bldg. Dr. J Woodland Hast-
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University, will speak on "Biolumin-
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Doctoral Examination for Terry Dean
Cornell, Education; thesis: "The Ef-
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Performance of Children with Vary-
ing Degrees of Internality and Test
Anxiety," Mon., May 22, Room 4209
School of Education, at 10 a.m. Chair-
man, N. A. Flanders.,
Doctoral Examination for Margaret
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Subcellular Organelles," Mon., May 22,
Room 2111 Natural Science Bldg., at 1:30
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Doctoral Examination for Paul Wem-
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Study of the Effects of the College
Entrance Examination Board Advanced
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UHS, at 9 a.m. Chairman, J. I. Doi.
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top occupational magazine.
Rowe Furniture Corp., Arlington, Va.
-Sales training division, completed col-
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exper., all degree levels in science and
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VIIETNAM SUMMER
AN EXERCISE IN PRACTICAL DEMOCRACY
The Vietnam Summer Project is a concerted national effort to reach out to the now silent Americans who
are growing more and more worried about the Administration's war in Vietnam.
VIETNAM SUMMER WILL BE thousands of people in neighborhoods all across the country stimulating discus-
sion, debate, education and action.
VIETNAM SUMMER WILL INVOLVE students, workers, professionals, the poor and the middle class.
} HEL OVER4th EEK.,
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VIETNAM SUMMER
WILL ORGANIZE petition drives, grass-roots congressional hearings, draft resistance,
and referenda on the wer.