Thursday,;September 18, 1975
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Pacie Seven.
. . _. - -
POOA Sven.
,.
Slow Dancer
By ANDREW ZERMAN have failed to achieve. cades, exposing hidden builts,
In a playing area no larger Why Hanley's play didn't fears and miseries while reveal-
than your living room, Couzens make a bigger commercial ing their own. This time-old
Ensemble Theatre (CET) is splash when it opened in New dramatic device may generate
presenting William Hanley's York is a mystery to me. Noth- a sense of deja vu but, in the
Slow Dance on the Killing ing about his technique or style hands of a skillful dramatist, it
Ground this week. Though their immediately distinguishes Han-' can be a potent formula. Slow
stage is tiny, the combined tal- ley from a slew of other Amer- Dance attests to that.
ents of the cast and director ican playwrights. Strangers in Randall is a product of the
are substantial. Slow Dance has the play come together, get to ghetto's squalor. He also has
an impact that several more know each other and begin to an I.Q. of 187 and this phe-
spacious University productions strip away each other's fa-! nomenal intelligence, manifest-
Film advertising:
B y Jlethal
SBy JAMES VALK ..
ed in
ing,
and p
"insul
the w
erly c
due w
tion: f
the we
mum.
of hon
WITH THE ERUPTING double bill of Deliverance and Night
Moves at Briarwood this weekend, the sad business of film of de
advertising comes to surface as a murky, callous aspect of an guilt.
industry already heavily loaded with profit-minded businessmen. They
Arthur Penn's Night Moves, a downbeat thriller that raves; togeth
Gene Hackman's best performance this year, is the noted ing th
director's first film since his 1970 Little Big Man. Admittingly, but h
Night Moves falls somewhat shy of a five year effort, but ground
nevertheless rates somewhat above the majority of the current one an
fare being thrown at the public these days. Rosie,
The matter at issue is one attributal to the advertising and ' -
marketing geniuses at Warner Brothers who, after launching a
totally ridiculous ad campaign on the film, gave up and threw it
on the double bill circuit-as the second feature, a fate generally
reserved for old Charles Bronson flicks or anything released by
American International.
This, of course, suggests some hierarchy of importance, or B
more precisely, some level of marketability that is roughly as- After
signed by the .mentors in Tinseltown. Their judgement is, need- withou
less to say, impeccible. Brothe
Win, L
TJ'HE FILMS THAT are most publically apparent are those the sistant
distributor gives top priority to, anticipating a high level of thing
excitement to be generated about the film. These films are Yded.
geneate abut he ilm.Thee flmsare Yet
generally recognized by their full page ads that are meant to record
appeal to every person within ten feet of the newspaper, with tions n
obvious current examples including Rollerball and Funny Lady. Allman
The most entertaining technique the ad men use is the with C
"pseudo-event" approach, readily recognized by the catchline the bar
"opens Friday at these selected theatres." When these biggies hit allege
town, you can rest assured that long lines are present the first Allman
few weeks to build up the excitement, creating the appearance Betts.
Ne
that virtually everyone wants to see the film when, in fact, the Nev
newest Joe Don Baker flick down the street is drawing (and enough
seating) more people than are even anticipating seeing the piece a
"event." der ju
It's a safe bet that at one time or another, everyone has have t;
fallen prey to the technique. ("it just sounds important") that had th
has made mass hits out of such mediocre works as Lenny and and ab
such rubbish as Tommy. miliar
Georgh
Inste
F COURSE, the usual junk that hits the market gets the to fol
standard mass appeal blitz that is recognized by the streamer where
"opens Friday at a theatre or drive-in in your neighborhood." so as t
This not only attracts the fast buck before word leaks out that The rF
the movie is a turkey, but attracts a sizeable crowd who are both M
easily influenced by big ads. In th
When this pitch fails, the film is thrown into the second during
phase, complete with more mass bookings and new ads that mde
generally reduce the film to little more than a cartoon (catch rarely
The Day of the Locust ads). This re-release technique can indeed togethe
prove profitable, as such now classic tripe as Walking Tall and One
Billy Jack were complete disasters the first time around. Allman
nati, 0
the form of verbal duel-
inquisitiveness, caginess
erceptivity, serves as his
ating from the fires of
orld." Mr. Glas, an eld-
candy-store owner, makes
'ith a more literal insula-
he limits his contact with
orld to an absolute mini-
Randall lives in a hell
elessness, bitterness and
rity; Glas lives in one
ebilitating, overwhelming
:y spend a couple of hours
er, never quite overcom-
eir distrust of each other
having enough common
d :to begin to understand
other. They are joined by
an unattractive, ambi-
concerned and pregnant
ills
undergraduate who is too vital
and promising to accept the
men's bleak outlook and defeat-
ist attitude toward life.
Ray Nieto, as Mr. Glas, gives
an exquisite performance, far
and away the best of the three.
From the first seconds of the
play he communicates the in-
ner torment of his character,
the private misery he can't es-
cape, even for a second. That
his accent sounds more Irish
than German proves irrelevent
because he uses the accent to
establish a rhythm for the char-
acter. The speech and the
movements are thus all of a
piece; everything is integrated.
For almost all of the play
Gregory Miller is as effective
as Nieto. He is properly dy-
namic, wittyandslarger-than-
life. Miller controls the stage,
acting as the play's engine and
nroviding it with momentum.
But an actor must portray the
pensive, introvert moments with
as much energy and conviction
as those of bombast. When Ran-
dall "runs out of gas," as Mr.
Glas comments at one point,
Miller the actor does too. In
these few, brief, difficult mo-
Gouzens
ments that require even more death of it and wants to pre-
intensity for an actor, Miller's tend she isn't?
persona fades. Easton never quite zeros in
The shortcomings of Judith on the character (and, of
Easton's performance are more course, director Mark Mikulski
difficult to evaluate because must share the blame for this)
they stem, I think, from the and thus I didn't understand
playwright and the director as Rosie's role in relation to the
well as from the actress .Han- play's theme and structure or
ley has not woven Rosie suf- her essence as an independentl
ficiently into the fabric of the character either. I should note
.play. The relationship between that Easton's most obvious dif- I
Randall and Glas could pro- ficulty was a visible tightness
gress quite as well without her. which may have been because
She is the only source of hope it was a preview performance.
in the play but she doesn't suc-!
ceed in imparting any of this Rosie is a weak link but
hope to the other characters. she's in no danger of falling off
She exists, it seems ,as an al- the chain. Under Mikulski's di-
ternative to despair and apathy rection the three actors play
but she's too passive a charac- off each other beautifully, liv-
ter to make much of an im- mg up to CET's name. Aside
pression on the audience. from an overly-long bit of pre-
Certain ambiguities in Eas-
ton's performance don't help.
Are Rosie's apparent honesty
and guilelessness natural, or
are they, too, the defense mech-
anisms of an insecure person?
Is she quick to admit her un-
attractiveness because she's
forthright and at ease or be-
cause she's really ashamed to
gins and awkward beginnings
and endings of scenes (party
due to the horrible logistics of
the theatre), the pacing is ex-
cellent. The play's compelling
climaxes are fully realized. And
that Mikulski has been able to,
move three actors around such
a tiny space is a feat in it-
self.
i1lman. Brothers rock high
By DAVID WHITING
r nearly two dry years
t an album, The Allman
rs band has released
ose or Draw, which con-
ly rocks higher than any-
they have previously re-
l.
Win, Lose or Draw was
ed under strained condi-
marked by vocalist Gregg
n's tumultuous romance
Sher Bono and rumors of
rd breaking up because of
d ego conflicts between
n and lead guitarist Dicky
ertheless, The Brothers
ed to stick together
to produce a master-
album. One can only won-
ust how far they could
aken Win, Lose or Draw
hey been free of hassles
ble to record in their fa-
surroundings of Macon,
ia.
ad, the band was forced
ow Allman to California
he insisted on hanging outI
to be close to "his lady."
esult was recordings in'
Bacon and Los Angeles.
e year-and-a-half interum,
which Allman and Betts
separate solo tours and
ed their own albums, only
did the Brothers play
er in public.
such occasion was during
n's performance in Cincin-
Jhio. At that concert the
tragic death of the now legen- These harmonies are brought
dary Duanne Allman, the band's to their fullest potential on the
organizer and original lead gui- title cut for Win, Lose or Draw
tarist. which is written by Allman.
Betts seemed uncomfortable This song harkens back to one.
taking over the lead guitar on of his best songs on Laid Back,
Brothers and Sisters, the album 'Multi Colored Lady.'
which followed Duanne's death. Betts and Allman prove on the
Only on the cuts "Ramblin' title cut that they can achieve
Man' and Jessica' did Betts the meshing of guitar and voice
really begin to reveal his talent. that the two Allman brothers
But completing his solo al- accomplished together. Betts'
bum, Highway Call, has appar- play off of Allman's vocals with
ently given Betts the confidence slide guitar crescendoes that'
he needed to let loose and really sear the brain.
wail with his slide guitar licks. 'Just Another Love Song,' by
Allman's Laid Back, an excel- Dicky Betts proves that he can
lent although surprisingly folksy still be ranked as one of the few!
disc for him, if nothing else people able to write a rock and!
helped refine a sometimes over- roll love song. Not wishing to
ly gutteral voice and allowed All- beat the nostalgia horse to
man to experiment more with #death 'Love Song' is unavoidably
harmonic chords. reminiscent of 'Blue Sky,' from
Michigan Daily
i.
_rsr
INTERNATIONAL CENTER
FRIDAY, SEPT. 19
12 p.m.--1O p.m.
BEER and BASEBALL
in Detroit
SUNDAY, SEPT. 21
11 a.m.
Eat A Peach-also a Betts tune!
which Joan Baez recently took
the trouble to record but not!
rewrite.
Once again the Brothers have
chosen to play a McKinley Mor-
genfield song, 'Can't Lose what
You Never Had,' something
which they tried on Peach with
limited success. H o w e v e r,
'Never Had' clicks this time
around and kicks side one off in
a way that is befittin' to rock
and roll.
(;
(
(!
GROWTH OR
Undergraduate ME
On
HUMAN SE,
NOW FOR
" 8 weekly sessions MON
evenings.
0 Limited to 6 men, 6 wo
! DESIGNED to e x p I o
SEXUAL PREFEREN
MALE IDEAS OR SEE
! FOCUSED more on fee
attitudes, experience
tion.
--Singles or couples
--Includes an all-day wor
CALL
Len Scott C
THIS WEEK for more i
reservation. First comE
brief interview may be
FREE OF ClH
Our third year offerir
A program of Ethics and Rel
THIRD FLOOR, MICI
764-74x
A ND LAST AND certainly least, the "definite low-key" ap- Brothers made a real effort to
proach, a catagory reserved for the films that hold- little or dispell any breaking up rumors
no promise of financial infamy. It is here where George Lucas' by suddenly appearing on stage
excellent THX-1138 was burried because it wasn't another Planet stunned u fantaslayil to a
of the Apes and where every Robert Altman film after M*A*S*H thusiastic audience.
and before NashviHe sat unnoticed by the ticket buying public Also during those stormyI
'because it didn't play well. in key locations. This is now the; months most, of the band, at
chosen destiny of Arthur Penn's Night Moves, a work far superior least, got together for Alman '
to the current swill of Maneater and Beyond the Door that have "solo" effort Laid Back, where.
been given the power to play on every neighborhood theatre in Brothers Jaimow, Chuck Leavell!
the universe. and Butch Tucks provided a'
Granted, Night Moves probably wouldn't do the monatary: memorable back up.
business that the other junk would if given the chance, but in a It is clear after only one his-
time when the public screams for legitimate and responsible tening of Win, Lose or Draw
films that are more than just cinematic rip-offs, it would be a cathy Betts has progressed musi-
definite plus for the industry as a whole to be represented by thyan more over this past year
thnanyone else in the band.
something more than Mandingo. But then, Mandingo's at a He has now competently filled
selected theatre near you. the gaping hole left by the
Something's Afoot
Barbara Heuman and Willard Beckam play the "gushing
ingenue and university student" in the PTP's production of
"Something's Afoot' in the Power Center this weekend.
artistic writing?
ari s ouare nterest- I Shows at 7 & 905 p m .
ec In reviewiug Open at 6:45
poetry. and music 17t SAH WEEK
drama, dance, film
arts: contact Arts
'~) %9 P NFRM ~aATOI 434-7e2
If yoae ntret-SwsaYSIDE:5 ~
ENDS TONIGHT at 7.& 9
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Q7IITENB1I
218 N. DIVISION 665-0606
THE HOUSE IS OPEN
The bie. blue house on the corner of Catherine & Division
is open to you and everyone from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.,
Tuesdays throuah Sundays. Some folks find it a good place
to read the paper, study, come by with a friend for coffee,
or make friends with someone at the House,
If you want some help with a problem, or simply want to
talk with someone, there are people around who are easy
to talk to, includina the two chaplains. If we can't help,
we miaht know someone who can.
Pot-luck picnics on Fridays around 6:00 p.m. 5
PAT CA
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mum
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Feast of Thanksaivinq on Sundays at Noon.
fCHAPLAINS;The Rev. Andrew Foster
Please: help prevent forest fires. CHALANS The Rev. Bruce Campbell
IN
classroom instruction in
fometo
n
CAMPUS PREMIERE
HEARTS and MINDS
electronic music
the music
studio
(1974)
A Musical Spoof for
Mystery Lovers
Academy Award Winner-Best Documentary Feature. This controver-
I
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