THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Five THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Five Jllington 's music: Personality By BOB SCHETTER i 1 Daily Photo by KAREN KASMAUSKI Duke Ellington Kate Hepburn Weekend 'Cinema Guild, Arch. Aud. Fri., 7, 9 Philadelphia Story (1940), di- rected by Hollywood veteran George Cukor, is one of the fun- niest and best-loved of all the Hepburn comedies. Adapted for the screen by the brilliant Don- ald Ogden Stuart, it was taken from the hit Broadway play by Phillip Barry and also stars Cary Grant, James Stewart, Ruth Hus- sey and Roland Young. Hepburn mer musician and shell-shocked father who escapes from a men- tal institution to the home he left behind before the war. Di- vorcement is the story of his wife, who rejects him for an- other man, and his daughter, who loves him dearly. It also features Billie Burke, David Manners and Henry Stephenson. Though rather short on running time and plot development (Bar- rymore somehow regains his great musical gift for compos- first-rate and extremely eccen- tric tale of a girl who disguises herself as a boy to help out her beloved father, a con man and a thief. Men as well as women fall in love with her; Hepburn spends most of the screen time dressed in drag and it's hilarious- ly effective. Directed by George Cukor (his first flop), Scarlett also features Cary Grant, Brian Aherne, Edmund Gwenn and Dennis Moore. -MICHAEL WILSON Those who came to see Duke Ellington Wednesday at Power Center expecting an evening of good jazz were in for a surprise. Ellington's music was not top quality but nevertheless made for an enjoyable evening. After all, Ellington's music was only a means of reaching the inner workings of a truly spirit- ed personality. Ellington came onstage after a rather shoddy warm-up num- ber by his band. Ellington, too, seemed not in the swing of things as he stumbled through a couple of lesser-known tunes be- fore both he and the band woke up with "Take the 'A' Train." The most unusual aspects of the performance were comedy bits and high jinks integrated into the musical framework. A "drunk" musician would mean- der up to the microphone, dis- play discreetly located holes in and an especially interesting one to watch for a unique reason - a great deal of it, funny when produced just before World War 11, is almost macrabre now. -DAVID BLOMQUIST H* A*S*II UAC-Mediatries, Nat. Sci. Audi- torium. Fri., Sat., 7, 9:30 M*A*S*H, as one of the first service comedies to realistically portray the results of the war while at the same time hilarious- ly laying bare the absurdities of the military, was one of the first anti-war war comedies. Hindered only by a week script, director Robert Altman (McCabe and Mrs. Miller) has fashioned a clever and often hi- larious film, documenting the ef- forts of the doctors of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital to retain their sanity in the face of the Korean War and the U. S. Army. Some of the scenes achieve the status of classic com- edy: tho -st Supper of the Pain- less P Hawkeye and Trap- per Jo 'rip to Tokyo, and the funniest football game ever film- ed. The excellent cast includes Eliot Gould, Donald Sutherland, Sally Kellerman, and Gary Burghoff (TV's Radar O'Reilly). -JAMES HYNES The Deadly Trackers State Starring Richard Harris and Rod Taylor, Trackers is the story of a town sheriff whose wife and child are brutally murdered by a gang of bloodthirsty cutthroats that would kill for a decent meal. his pants to the audience, stagger about, and then disappear again into the orchestra to be heard plucking a violin at inopportune moments. Or a solo musician would hold a note on his instrument while Ellington casually sipped a Coke and told the musician to "Hold it!" Indeed there was even a Louis Armstrong impersonation, complete with rolled eyes and held white handkerchief. And then there were Elling- ton's introductions in which his warmth prevailed. In these spots he gave humorous accounts of his travels, rolled off his catch phrase "Love you madly" in the language of each country he had visited, introduced himself as "that young apprentice piano player" (He's 75), dedicated songs to the most beautiful wo- man in the audience "and I know that he knows that we know who that person it," and so on. Harris plays the embittered, revenge-bent family man who trails the killers far into Mexico, killing each one by one; Taylor is the leader of the vicious mur- derers and does little more than support the theory that he hasn't made a good film since Time Machine. If you like action, ex- citement and gutless thrills, stay the hell away from Deadly Trackers. -MICHAEL WILSON Also..." Another week of The Way We Were at Campus, Sleeper at Michigan, Chariot of the Gods at Fifth Forum and Papillon at Fox Village. Cinema IItpresents Roh- mer' s Chloe in the Afternoon Fri., Sat., Sun. at 7, 9 in Aud. A; Couzens Film Co-optshows Afri- rican Queen Fri., Sat. at 8, 10 in Couzens Cafeteria; New World Media Int'l Films presents Revo- lution Until Victory: 126 Fri., at 8 in E. Q.; BursleyeEnterprises features A Warm December Sat. at 9 in Bursley W. Cafeteria. Tonight and Saturday ANN ARBOR CIVIC THEATRE PLAY-OF-THE-MONTH CLARE LUCE'S THE WOMEN at the AACT WORKSHOP BLDG. 201 MULHOLLAND 8 P.M. 662-9405 In short, he presented an aura of goodwill to the audience and invited them to share in his own enjoyment of the performance. The second set was particularly good as Ellington presented songs composed for his African tour including "Satin. Doll" and other standards. Improvisations and ensemble playing seemed much more energetic here. Solos by Arnold Ashberry on tenor saxo- phone, Marty Johnson on trum- pet, and Russell Procope on clar- inet and alto saxophone were particularly outstanding. To end the evening, it was El- lington again, playing two up- beat encores with his band and a very beautiful piano solo. So rich and controlled was this final number that it highlighted the concert and immediately brought the crowd to its feet in apprecia- tion. In a short interview backstage, Ellington came across more ac- rimoniously than onstage. He displayed an intense dislike for "typical" questions and a deep involvement with life and the present. No longer did he want to stand accountable for his past fame. Instead, he chose to tell of his Russian tour for the U. S. State Dept., and of all things, ing music is his way of helping people, and it is something he does constantly, no matter what kind of audience. "I'm not on tour," said Elling- ton. "This is something that I do 52 weeks per year." But along with his belief in music as an aid to the beauty in people, he also notes the dark side of human conduct. Briefly he told of friction he caused in the White House by mentioning freedoms all people should have. Fin lly when informed that pl ots will respond to music of their owners, he refused to be- lieve it. "Why should plants trust humans?" he asked. "Noth- ing is more fickle or violent than man." Truly a remarkable man. His essence is captured in the com- ment of one fan: "I've listened to him for years. I just like his music. (with a smile) And he can still play them can't he!?" UNIVERSITY PLAYERS Present te secon WED.,;Feb.+6-SAT., Feb. 9 8 P.M.-THE POWER CENTER Tickets available at U Plavers Ticket Office, Mendelssohn Theatre Lobby Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-1 p.m., 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Power Center Box Office opens 6 p,m. performance days ADVANCE INFORMATION: 764-6300 the affect of music on plants. "One needs freedom from Ellington seemed annoyed that fvar." he said. "Secondly, we the State Dept. sent him on a need not be afraid that the next political "goodwill" tour rather guy will come out better than than~ as a simple musician. Play- you." Fr IMEGA 769- PIZZA AM,3400 ee Fast Delivery: SUBS CHICKEN * SHRIMP SALADS " BURGERS * FRIES * COKE I y , s W NN me e m aa aim am~m a s ...};. ."{:.t misti"}^x:?iff>:«:i::":"«iv}:a Cinema Week 6d. 4: " rV.-v.4 .4" :nv. ,4v}"% . v:.. 4.4 ^4: .X :r i«F meti} S«. , 4.^;0 ..r .".. "}. shines as the rich, misunder- stood "golden girl" in love with three men and unable to choose a husband. Grant plays beautiful- ly her first husband, a man who would rather playgolf than house, The ending will surprise you, and the picture is solid en- tertainment from start to finish. r Sat, 7, 9 A Bill of Divorcement (1932), also directed flawlessly by Cu- kor, was Hepburn's screen de- but, but you'd never know it. John Barrymore stars as a for- ing to insure a happy and Hol- lywood ending in only 80 min- utes), Divorcement is still an en- chanting Hepburn vehicle that will doubtlessly remain ageless, as she has, for another fifty years. Sun., 7, 9 Sylvia Scarlett (1935) will sim- ply astound you with its abun- dance of mistaken and ambigu- ous sexuality. Although a com- inercial flop at the time of re- lease, Scarlett emerges as a 50c Slaughterhouse 5 and The Great Dictator Slaughterhouse 5 and The Great Dictator Friends of Newsreel, MLB, Aud. 3,4. Fri., Sat., 7:30 & 9:30 Slaughterhouse 5 is a nice film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s novel (co-produced, for the record, by George Roy Hill, the fellow responsible for the recent The Sting), but it is hardly the number one item on Newsreel's menu for this week. The Great Dictator is one of the later Charles Chaplin films, A medium or large 1 item or more OMEGA PIZZA COUPON HONORED ANYTIME 50c Off A medium or large 1 itemn or more OMEGA PIZZA COUPON HONORED ANYTIME Off Name Address FOQ DELIVERY ONLY Name Address FOR DELIVERY ONLY ,EVERYMONDAY NIGHT IS GUEST NIGHT! You and a Guest admitted for rnly $2.25 (Two admitted for the price of one) EXCLUSIVELY AT THESE BUTTERFIELD THEATRES- ,X MICHIGAN,STATE, CAMPUS, WAYSIDE Ronstadt deserves more recognition By DIANE LEVICK Hopefully you weren't turned off to Linda Ronstadt when you heard her croon ex-Monkee Mi- chael Nesmith's less-than-poetic "Different Drum." 'Cause she's back to prove she's got better taste on a "best of" album by the same name. Different Drum (Capitol ST- 11269) includes Nesmith's metric- ally awkward paean to female independence plus his fun "Some of Shelly's Blues," a swinging country blues. Ronstadt delivers the works of Dylan, Tim Buckley, and Jack- son Browne with usually pleas- ing, forceful - but sometimes -forced vocals. Her cultivation of a slight natural vibrato occa- sionally gets in the way of her easy, gliding style. Ronstadt's emotional control over her voice is tight; she gives Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby To- night" all the suggestiveness its author could never communicate himself. Along with Browne's "Rock Me on the Water," Gary White's "Long Long Time" is one of Ronstadt's most melodically memorable selections. It's the story about the worst kind of hurt: pain for a relationship A THIS WEEKEND $2.50 8:30 FRI-SAT.-SUN. Rouncder Record's NORMAN BLAKE that never was. Yet just when you want to cry along with Linda for an emotional catharsis, the weepy strings intrude, and you feel as drippy as you did upon exiting from Love Story. On "Will You Love Me To- morrow" Ronstadt takes the back seat again while the instru- mentation buries her and an atrocious female chorus puts in its two cents. Different Drum presents a singer who deserves more than her short-lived Top-40 fame. Be- sides, the material included couldsstand on its own merits. { KATHERINE HEPBURN WEEKEND THE PHILADELPHIA STORY George Cukor's 1940 look at "The Privileged Class Enjoying Its Privi- leges," is one of the funniest films ever made. A high-society Katherine Hepburn throws out her husband Cory Grant and reporter Jimmy Stewart comes in to investigate. The scene where Hepburn gets drunk is classic. A triple-crown winner in comedy. SAT.: BILL OF DIVORCEMENT ARCHITECTURE AUD. CINEMA GUILD Tonight at Adm$1 7 and 9:05 2nd LAUG WEEK "TERRIFIC" HNAB E--Canby, N.Y. Times "Allen's Masterpiece" -News 'v WOODY ALLEN TAKES A NOSTALGIC LOOK AT THE FUTURE. OPEN 1 2:45 " SHOWS AT ,3,5,7,9P.M. 'Wgody 'Diage cAlleq ''Iaton "1ee peC" 603,E. LIBERTY 0 DIAL 665-6290 . a