Friday, January 26, 1973
THE'MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Three
Friday, January 26, 1973 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Three
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Cinema Guild
Fri.
When horror films and moral
allegories converge, a deft
touch is a necessity. A fully de-
veloped screen adaptation of the
Stevenson tale Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde is yet to be done, but Vic-
tor Fleming's version, with Spen-
cer Tracy drinking the spiritual
Harvey Wallbangers, is not bad.
Unlike the "pure" interpreta-
tion by Barrymore (in which no
make-up was used), Tracy is pro-
vided with an entirely new face,
with bushy eyebrows and a dark
and gloomy complexion behind
which evil is supposedly lurking.
Tracy does exaggerate the role,
turning it into a grotesque split
between the meek and mild-man-
nered Dr. Jekyll and the man-
nerless Mr. Hyde, who thinks of
little else but Ingrid Bergman,
portraying a demure barmaid.
It is truly frightening in spots,
and Hyde gets off some interest-
ing religious comments, some of
which are laughable, but it is
Tracy who controls the laughter.
-BRUCE SHLAIN
* *M *
Lenny Bruce at
Basin St. West
Cinema Guild
Sat.
It is difficult to say anything
about Lenny Bruce without deify-
ing him, without eulogizing about
the "real" definition of a martyr,
etc. The reason this is so diffi-
cult is because his comedy was
not simply an appendage of his
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THURS./FRI.
DR. JEKYLL_
& MR. HYDE
Dir. Victor Fleming, 1942.
Robert Louis Stevenson's
frightening tale of the
good and evil in one man,
1 in an extraordinarily pol-
ished, Hollywood produc-
tion. Mixed with a bit of
Freud and "a lot of hor-
ror a la Grand Guignol.
With Spencer Tracy, In-.
grid Bergman, Ian Hunt-
er, Lana Turner.
SAT.
LENNY BRUCE AT
BASIN ST. WEST
ARCHITECTURE
AUDITORIUM
I ~ 9:05 $1
mind, not just a nightclub hob-
by - his comedy and personal
charaoter are almost indistin-
guishable.
Despite his genius, because of
the nature of his material he
was largely hidden from t h e
American people, labelled as
"sick" by the very sicknesses
he strove to eliminate. A f e w
cherished artifacts of his per-
forming remain, one of the few
being Lenny Bruce at Basin St.
West.
An extra added incentive at
this showing is the unveiling of
five Betty Boop cartoons, which
are unrivalled in the realm of
imaginative surreal animation.
Nothing in these Max Fleischer
cartoons ever stands still -
clocks, statutes, flowers, and
other heretofore inanimate ob-
jects get up, walk, and talk, all
bouncing to the beat of that sen-
sual, curly-topped torch singer,
Betty herself.
-B. SHLAIN
* * *
Blood of the Condor
Cinema Guild
Sun.
Blood of the Condor (1965-Bo-
livia) attempts to combine a re-
volutionary message with poetic
cinema. On the one hand, the
movie tells how a Bolivian
branch of the Peace Corps, in all
its well-meaning stupidity, inten-
tionally sterilizes the women of
a certain village - all of which
is supposedly based on a t r u e
incident. By the way, Condor it-
self is reputedly partly respon-
sible for the expulsion of t h e
Peace Corps from Bolivia.
On the other hand, this bizar-
re plot is offset by the movie's
depiction of the almost superna-
tural Andes landscape, the fas-
cinating daily routine of the vil-
lagers, their lives, and their my-
tLb-ogv and religion. If the mes-
sage is a bit hackneyed a n d
heavy-handed, the insight into
cinema
weekend
Bolivian culture and tl
of the Andes should
worthwhile. Not Re'
Press Time.
* * *
The Good, The B
The Ugly & A I
of Dollar
Cinema II
These two films ma
first and last entries
mous "Dollar" trilogy
Spanish - made Weste
Eastwood plays TheI
No Name, a cool, deta
ern gunslinger who see
more to James Bon
Gary Cooper or John'
Both movies are ra
lar. The plots and die
very lightweight stuff.
revolve around the p
of portraying good old
blood and guts viol
camera dwells on sma
details. The films ar
with a heavy-handed1
yet some of the scene
cinating just for the
love of gore and acti
one susceptable to the
murder, bloodlust an
are great fun, can ind
selves to the utmost.'
tor, Sergio Leone, has
screen and soundtrack
bark of guns, the whi
hose shots lets and the morbid bodies of
be quite victims. He builds up a mood of
viewed at dread and danger that erupts in
cascades of violence.
-STAFF The Good, the Bad and the
Ugly seems to be the weaker of
ad, the two films because Leone
and doesn't dwell so much on the ac-
Fistful tual scene of violence as on
the small, morbid touches that
S he delights in. Myriads of char-
acters all seem to be missing
ke up the either a leg, two legs, an arm or
in the fa- an eye - all of which Leone ex-
of Italian- ploits to the hilt. The action
rns. Clint which does occur in the film's
Man With much too lengthy 2 hours all
ched West- revolves around a battle between
ims to owe three men during the Civil War
d than to as they fight over $200,000 and
Wayne. finally face off in a three-way
ther simi- shoot-out.
alogue are .Fistful of Dollars seems to be
The films a bit more on target than The
ossibilities Good, the Bad and the Ugly pri-
-fashioned marily because it involves scenes
lence. The of faster - paced action, quick-
ill, morbid er editing and more violence. It
e dripping deals with a Mexican town and
Machismo, two families, the Baxters and
s are fas- the Rojos, who are locked in a
air simple feud over who will control the
on. Every- smuggling centers in the village.
idea that Into this town rides the Man
id killings With No Name who virtually de-
ulge them- populates the village before he
The direc- rides off into the sunset.
filled the Nevertheless, both films event-
k with the ually get to be a bit of a drag.
ne of bul- Two hours of nothing but gore
and guts with absolutely noth-
ing else to hold it up just can-
not make for a successful film,
~ -although anyone with a pen-
chant for choice examples of
violence and the morbid will cer-
tainly enjoy a few minutes.
-JEFF SORENSEN
tford and McCabe and Mrs. Miller
Modern Language Bldg.
Fri., & Sat.
McCabe and Mrs. Miller is one
drawings of those unusually rich films that
grows immeasurably from one
viewing to the next. And, as of
h-ing 8-9). my last viewing, I would rank
it as the most important Ameri-
ra, Josef can film of the last decade. Mc-
Cabe's complexity is due some-
what to director Robert Altman's
Fri., Sat.) quite innovative attempt to in-
Sat.) cov- vest a commercial narrative film
t.) cover;with the sense of realism of cine-
.ma verite. Things don't seem to
FrI., Sat.) be enacted for the cimera'
; Bimbo's benefit; rather, we get not par-
Rubaiyat, ticularly privileged, ofttimes
r; Pretzel elliptical glimpses of the movie's
zz combo, dialogue and action. Conversa-
(Fri, St.,tions are occasionally muffled,
Fri., Sat., naudible. One becomes ac-
quainted with the film as with a
person, noticing some things the
first time around, other, less ob-
5 vious things the second and
third.
All of which would be a royal
pain had Altman's notion of
realism not extended beyond
mere dialogue obfuscation. The
film revolves around Punchy Mc-
Cabe (Warren Beatty), his arriv-
al, in 1900, in Presbyterian
Church, Washington, (a muddy,
paltry collection of shacks) and
his role in building the village
into a thriving community re-
plete with shops, tavern, and
whorehouse. And Altman, true
to realistic form, presents us
with a wilderness town that he
and his technicians actually
constructed in Canada and in-
habited during the course of the
shooting of the movie. Vilmos
Zsigmond's exceptional color
photography, dominated by drak
grays, dark browns, and dark
blues, conveys the wet, oppres-
sive reality of a frontier village
brilliantly.
And yet Altman is striving for
quite a bit more here than a
simple gritty realism. In the tale
of McCabe, his relationship with
Mrs. Miller (Julie Christie), ma-
dame of his whorehouse, and his
venture into Capitalism (via the
skin business), Altman does noth-
ing less than chart the course
of American history, from the
days of the frontiersman to the
growth of American capitalism
to our present world of bureau-
cracies and corporations. It all
sounds awfully pretentious t h e
way I've presented it, I know.
And yet it all works beautifully,
probably because while Altman
is damned profound in an his-
torical sense, he never loses sight
of simple human realities, and
never sacrifices his characters
for more abstract aims.
-RICHARD GLATZER
* * *
Iy Fair Lady
Mediatrics
Fri. & Sat.
To be truthful, I haven't seen
My Fair Lady since it first came
out nine years ago, and I went
then only because of Audrey
Hepburn. In my youth I had
melted before the many televis-
ion reruns of Roman Holiday, Sa-
brina Fair, and Breakfast at Tif-
fany's (the last kiss in Tiffany's
is a killer for a 14-year-old), like
others had done when she first
aneared in movies in the early
'50s. At that time she was the
darling of America, the innocent
pixie with the high cheekbones
and slender figure who so charm-
ingly fell in love with Gregory
Peck, Humphrey Bogart, George
Peppard, etc., and who often
doubled as a model for Vogue
Magazine.
It was rarely observed that the
pixie could act. She seldom re-
ceived a role that required much
more than capturing the viewer's
heart. But when she did, as in
The Nun's Story, she played it
with depth and naturalness. Eliza
Dolittle is quite similar to her
romantic parts, though it is more
animated and calls for a much
greater change in character dur-
ing the course of the film than
those parts. For being so delight-
ful in this role she lost the Os-
car for Best Actress to M a r y
Poppins. On the other hand, Rex
Harrison won the Best Actor
Award for a role that was to him
old hat. His Professor Higgins is
exactly what you expect f r o m
having heard about it and seen
it on Ed Sullivan. As far as the
film itself is concerned, t h e
songs are good, and Hepburn
looks divine when she gets dress-
ed up.
-DAVID GRUBER
* * *
Deliverance
Fox Village
In his novel, James Dickey
transmitted the Georgia wilder-
ness so graphically that one al-
most assumed the film Deliver-
ance would make itself. Dickey,
however, just as vividly portray-
ed a mental landscape as wild as
the Cahulawassee River; thought
processes united with physical
action to create a deep, h a r d-
hitting suspense.
Somehow, this punch in the gut
eases into a slap in the face
when Dickey and director John
Boorman bring Deliverance to
the screen - it is a slap that
stings (and that ain't bad) but
the feeling doesn't last nearly as
long.
Although the details are a little
fuzzy, the storyline follows the
novel faithfully. Four middle-
aged Georgia businessmen tack-
le the wilds, spurred on by the
restless he-man of the group.
The camera plunges into Cahula-
wassee country, dipping us into
the lush jungleworld that prom-
ises deliverance from everyday
life.
The camera certainly captures
the physical world. It maintains
a high level of tension and ex-
citement throughout the m a n y
confrontations with danger, and
it lingers on painful moments
for as long a spell as any maso-
chist could ask for. The film
grips the viewer from beginning
to end, moving onward as re-
lentlessly as the river itself.
Only by comparing it to the
novel does the viewer realize
what the film is missing - the
mental landscape, the psychic
terror that should grow w i t h
each increasingly difficult step.
Burt Reynolds can look as mas-
culine and tough as you please,
but his biceps don't reveal much.
inner self. As Ed Gentry, Jon
Voight must carry the burden of
the action. The screenplay and
direction, however, give him lit-
tle opportunity to adequately con-
vey Ed's elation, his fear or,
most importantly, the extent to
which he must squeeze out the
will to survive.
-LARRY LEMPERT
* * *
Travels With My Aunt
Fifth Forum
W h e n Maggie Smith first
jounced onto the screen in
George Cukor's Travels With My
Aunt, I immediately realized
she was supposed to be a young
woman masquerading (presum-
ably for some devious purpose)
as an old one, and doing a pretty
poor job of it. Surely no charac-
ter would believe that that ridic-
uously made up, freakish wo-
man, doing a silly Auntie Mame-
Isadora Duncan imitation, all in
an outlandishly red wig, was a
real old lady. Well, as the film
progressed, I slowly came to
realize that not only were the
film's characters buying Mag-
gie's bizarre impersonation,. but
that - you guessed it - I was
supposed to also.
All of which might convey
some sense of how desperately
wrong this pseudo-witty, occa-
sionally gray (that's as close as
it gets to black) comedy is.
And it's not entirely due to the
grotesque miscasting of Maggie
Smith in a role Cukor originally
intended for Katherine Hepburn.
Cukor's comic sense, his manner
of directing actors, his camera
placement and composition is all
abominable. Cukor is obvious-
ly trying to produce another of
the light, sharp, sophisticated,
and expensive comedies that
made both his reputation and
MGM's. And to be sure, this tale
of larcenous, free-living Auntie
Augusta (Maggie S.), h e r
straight - laced nephew Henry
(Alec McCowen - yes, Alec4
McCowen), and their interna-
tional adventures and romances
could - except for some really
horrible scenes involving pot
and an American teeny - bopper
-be the work of a sixth rate
studio director of the '30's. It's
sad enough that a once okay
film maker doesn't know when
to give it all up, but it's sadder
that he insists on dragging down
with him two actors as talented
as Maggie Smith and Alec Mc-
Cowen.
-RICHARD GLATZER
Trouble Man
State
The most serious question rais-
ed by Trouble Man, one of the
latest black exploitation films, is
simply why is this garbage
shown in an Ann Arbor movie
theater when there are a great
many excellent first-run films
that arrive here months late, if
ever. Nothing in the film is pal-
atable in the least. My urge to
leave the theater and find some-
thing better to do was nearly
overwhelming throughout. Trou-
ble Man just barely raises itself
to the level of the average
crime - detective TV series. The
film at present has an "R"
rating, but, if some of the "right
on" dialogue were trimmed by
a few unmentionables, the film
could find a comfortable slot in
between, say Columbo and Man-
nix.
Ivan Dixon appears to be re-
sponsible for directing this vomit
and Robert Hooks is responsi-
ble for playing the part of Mr.
"T", the hero - private detec-
tive of the movie.
The film goes through the mo-
tions of most of the cliches of
the crime - detective film genre,
with the only exception being
that a black man is playing the
part. T is hired to investigate
some holdups of craps games
and a trap is set whereby T is
framed for a murder charge.
Police Captain Joe Marx tries
to nail T," but T is too clever,
and Marx can't get any charges
pinned on him. The plot con-
tinues ad naseum thrqugh a ser-
ies of murders and double-cross-
es involving pathetic stock char-
acters. Don't worry ,though, be-
cause it all works out for the
best in the end as T kills his
Okotaganists in some nifty gun-
play. Along the way there is a
combination of almost unspeak-
able dialogue, pathetic acting
and thoughtless camera and edit-
ing.
The only action I suggest you
take toward this film is to stay
as far away as possible.
-JEFF SORENSEN
* * *
And Yet Another
Week Of...
The Sorrow and the Pity -
Campus - Informative, educa-
tional, occasionally quite moving.
A stunning World War II docu-
mentar-y by Marcel Ophuls.
The Poseidon Adventure -
Michigan - Ernest Borgnine and
a very fat Shelley Winters. Could
you want any more?
A
R
T
S
CULTURE CALENL
CONCERTS-Folklore Society presents John Har
Norman Blake in Power at 8.
DRAMA-JLO presents Mousetrap at Mendelssohn
ART-Kwan Lam Wong exhibits his architectural
in Architecture & Design Lobby.
DANCE-International Folk, in Barbour, 8-11 (teac
MUSIC SCHOOL-University Symphony Orchest
Blatt, conductor, in Hill at 8.
WEEKEND BARS & MUSIC-Blind Pig, Okra (1
cover; Golden Falcon, Majo Boogie Band (Fri.,
er; Mackinac Jack's, Ramble Crow -(Fri., Sa
Mr. Flood's Party, Brooklyn Blues Busters (1
cover; Odyssey, Store Front (Fri., Sat.) cover
On The Hill, Cricket Smith (Fri., Sat.) cover;
Iris Bell Adventure (Fri., Sat., Sun.) no cove
Bell, FFD Boys (Fri., Sat.) cover; Del Rio, ja
(Fri., Sat.) no cover; Ark, Steve Goodman (
Sun.) admission.
t
to,
W
The most remarkable 1
I have seen this year.
-Arthur Schlesh
Sat., Sun. and
Wed. at .'*''
1 P.M. and
7:10 P.M.
Promptly
toni ght
6:00 2 4 7 News
9 Courtship of Eddie's Father
50 Flintstones
56 Bridge with Jean Cox
6:30 2 CBS News
4 NBC News
7 ABC News
9 I Dream of Jeannie
50 Gilligan's Island
56 Book Beat
7:00 2 Truth or Consequences
4 News
7 To Tell The Truth
9 Beverly Hillbillies
50 I Love Lucy
56 World Press
7:30.2 What's My Line?
4 Hollywood Squares
7 Wait Till Your Father
Gets Home
9 Lassie
56 Wall Street Week
50 Hogan's Heroes
8:00 2 Mission: Impossible
4 Sanford and Son
7 The Brady Bunch
9 Woods and Wheels
56 Washington Week in Review
50 Dragnet
8:30 4 Little People
7 Partridge Family
9 Amazing World of Kreskin
50 Merv Griffin
56 Off the Record
9:00 2 Movie
"Ten Little Indians" (English
1965)
4 Circle of Fear
7 Burt Bacharach Shanigri-la
56 Fine Art of Goofing Off
9:30 9 Sports Scene
0 56 Work Day Dream
10:00 4 Bobby Darin
7 Love, American Style
9 Tommy Hunter
50 Perry Mason
56 High School Basketball
11:00 2 4 7 News
9 CBC News
50 One Step Beyond
11:20 9 News
11:30 2 Movie
"Fate is the Hunter" (64)
4 Johnny Carson
7 Dick Cavett
50 Movie
"Action in the North Atlantic
(1943)
12:00 9 Movie
"Corruption" English 1965
1:00 4 News
7 Movie
"Outside the Wall" (1950)
1:30 2 Movie
"Savage Drums" (1951)
3:00 2 7 News
I
inger Jr.
Mon.-Tue.-
Thur.-Fri. at
7:10 P.M. only
12 i 4 s. university
CAMPUS 1;,l
TAU EPSILON PHI
Fraternity at 1412 Cambridge
offers
" Lifetime Friendships.
"*An appealing living situation unlike a
large dormitory or a confining apartment.
" Social and Athletic activities.
" Comparatively inexpensive room and
board costs.
Cinema 5 Presents
The Sorrow and TherPipty
Directed by Marcel Ophuls
WHERE CAN YOU GET A
it CUP OF COFFEE?*
Dannon Yogurt for 30C?
and a great breakfast of
2 eggs, toast, bacon, and coffee
for only 65c?
Nowhere but the HALFWAY INN!
in East Quad on Church St.
*bring your own mug-save the Earth
CALL 761-3618
OR STOP BY
FOR A RIDE
ANYTIME
HELL, UPSIDE DOWN
Who will
survive-in
one of the
greatest escape
adventures ever!
PANAVISION@
COLOR BY DELUXE®
Soon: "SOUNDER"
i,
CINEMA II
FRI., SAT. & SUN.
CLINT EASTWOOD-DOUBLE FEATURE
FISTFUL OF DOLLARS
THE GOOD, BAD, AND THE UGLY
Dr. Sergio Leone
II
II