SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1953 THE MICHIGAN DAILY
lo

PAGE THREE

Theater Mural

Gothic Film 'RAMEY':

1I

't __ _ !

i

Series Set
Tomorrow
With a campus-wide reputation
as the only movie where smoking
is permitted, the Gothic Film So-
ciety will enter its fifth season at
8 p.m. tomorrow in Rackham Am-
phitheater.
First of the 10 program series
will star the Marx Brothers in
"Room Service" and a short sub-
ject on Matisse.
* * *
AN ADDED attraction in the
program schedule for the year is
a four-day documentary film fes-
tival in March. All major films of
Roberty Fleharty, top documen-
tary producer-director will be fea-
tured, including his most famous,
"Nanook. of the North."
Tomorrow's Marx brother fea-
ture is an adaption of the stage
hit "Room Service" which was
revived successfully last sprit. g on
Broadway. Wiegand pointed out
that the 15 year old movie has
many features typical of film com-
edy of its. time, since "it's about
theater people, and involves not
one comedian but a group of co-
medians."
Other films on the program
schedule include "The Story of
Gosta Berling" with Greta Garbo
Nov. 9, "The Wave" and "The
Moor's Pavanne" Nov. 30, and
"Moby Dick" starring John Barry-
more Dec. 14 and "Que Viva Mex-
ico"" and "Storm over Asia" Jan.
18.
Tickets for the series are priced
at $5 and may be obtained from
Wiegand at 2-9464 or before show
time at the door.

i

Farris' Novel Reviewed

RAMEY, by Jack Farris, pub-
lished by J. B. Lippincott and Co.
During the many years Prof. Roy
W. Cowden taught at the Univers-
ity as dean of creative writing and
director of the Hopwood awards,
a great many novels, parts of nov-
els, and ideas for novels passed
over his desk. Although he always
fervently resisted any expressions
of personal preferences, none, I
think, gave him greater pleasure
than Jack Farris' "Ramey," pub-
lished by Lippincott and Company
and a recent selction of the Chris-
tian Herald Book Club.
* * *

he does not completely lose his are fully integrated backdrops to
own world in taking the step. His this focal relationship.
father, the Reverend Holvak, is a*
man in every sense of the word. EVIL IS embodied in the only
other important character in the
4 book: Hog Waller, the bully. His
late appearance is grotesque, un-
reasonable in a way because there
is no preparation for it. Still,
what Hog performs has a sche-
matic inevitability about it; it is
.part of the pastoral tradition.
Thus, the "flaw," if an artistic
one, is morally acceptable. The in-
troduction of evil is made with-
out apology, and, remarkably
enough, becomes subsumed.

Sat., Dec. 5 8:30
REPEAT CONCERt
Sun., Dec. 6. 2:30
MAUD NOSL ER, Soprano
CAROL SMITH, Contralto
WALTER FREDERICKS, Tenor
NORMAN SCOTT, Bass
CHORAL UNION.CHORUS
and ORCHESTRA
MARY STUBB INS, Organist
L ESTER McCOY, Conductor
TICKETS - 54c and 74c
University Musical Society
Burton Memorial Tower

, * * *
A MURAL painted by Stu Ross,
'55, and an art exhibit during
the run of each play are additional
features offered to Arts Theater
Club members.
The nine by 11 foot mural, a
modern abstraction done in char-
treuse, black and white, is paint-
ed on one wall of the Club office.
The pictures scheduled for ex-
hibit during the run of "Desire Un-

--Daily-Don Campbell
der the Elms" are water colors by
William Lewis, '48A.
Lewis, who studied here under.
Carlos Lopez has taught at the
University and now is working for
Engineering Research at Willow
Run.
President of the Potters' Guild,
Lewis has had his work exhibit-
ed in a three-man show at Rack-
ham Galleries at the Michigan
Artists Show in Detroit,

THE REASON for Prof. Cow-
den's fondness for "Ramey" are
not hard to trace. His experiences
on his own large out-county farm,
to which he has since retired, made
him particularly sympathetic and
valuable to Farris as one who un-
derstood the rural scene. More-
over, he had been at least part-
ly responsible for transforming
.Ramey" from a rather wander- :. °< x:"' >;:"rt>:
ing novel about a soul-searching JACK FARRIS
young man to a more basic and JACK 'U'Rse
evocative story of a boy on the "".fm 'U' student
threshhold of adolescence. Al-
though the book did not win a That these two characters appre-
Hopwood prize, Prof. Cowden's ciate and understand each other
admiration for it naturally con- as well as they do accounts for
tinued and he was particularly much of the power of the work.
pleased when Lippincott recently Ma and Julie-Mae, Ramey's sister,
elected to publish it.
Thenovel is the story of a Panel Show
hill boy, son of the county U~
preacher, who is confronted by Be
and successfully meets a crisis
in his life. The style is idiomaticgnsh T o ay
and infallibly keyed. The char-
acters, richly drawn and never A panel show of photographs
amersericly sraw ar nd tnever and drawings by the early 20th
mere set pieces, are in motion century partnership of Purcell and
even in the calmest of pastoral Elmslie, architects, will open to-
scenes. In all parts of the book, day in the Museum of Art in Alum-
there is something at stake, ni Memorial Hall.
something to be lost and won; Members of the "progressive"
Sand that is why the resolution is
a sensitive and moving realiza- midwestern school of architects,
tion of the projected theme of their basic philosophy is pattern-
the nvel.ed after th~at of Louis Sullivan and
the novel. Frank Lloyd -Wright.
Ramey himself. at twelve, is Distributed by the Walker Art

To say the book is startlingly
different from others of its kind
would be false. However, it is
perhaps more substantial and not
self-conscious. The characters
persistently transcend their roles
as hill folks, and react, like all
people, to one another.
Farris, once a farm boy him-I
self, has evoked an eloquent piece
of retrospect in "Ramey,"
-Bill Wiegand



,i



THE GOTHIC FILM SOCIETY
in its fifth year announces its 1953-54 series:
"THE PROGRESS OF FILM TECHNIQUES"

I


Impressions of Arts

Theater

1
i
-i
I
E
j
X

Described by Swedish Visitor

Oct. 19-ROOM SERVICE,
with the Marx Brothers
Short: "Matisse"
Nov. 9-THE STORY OF GOSTA BERLING,
with Greta Garbo in her first starring role
Nov. 30-THE WAVE, directed by Fred Zinne-
man ("From Here to Eternity")
Short: "The Moor's Pavanne"
with Jose Limon
Dec. 14-MOBY DICK, with John Barrymore
Short: "One A.M." with Charlie Chaplin
Jan. 18-QUE VIVA MEXICO ("Time in the
Sun"), directed by S. Eisenstein
STORM OVER ASIA,
directed by V. Pudovkin
Feb. 15-ROAD TO HEAVEN, directed by Alf
Sjoberg ("Miss Julie", "Torment")
Short; "Ballet by Degas"

March (dates to, be announced)--
A FLAHERTY FESTIVAL, including
"Nanook," "Moana," "Man of Aran"
and "Louisiana Story"
Mar. 15--GRANDMA'S BOY, with Harold Lloyd
SHERLOCK, JR., with Buster Keaton
Mar. 29--TRIUMPH OF THE WILL,
a Nazi propaganda film directed by
Leni Riefenstahl
Shorts: German Newsreels, 1937-40
Apr. 26-THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI,
the experimental classic
May 17-LES PARENTS TERRIBLES
("The Storm Within"),
directed by Jean Cocteau
Short: "W. B. Yeats: A Tribute"

l

By NAN SWINEHART
"An unusual attic with the walls
and ceiling painted black."
In this manner the Arts Thea-
ter was described by a Swedish vis-
itor to the Theater who returned
to Sweden and wrote about it. In
his article, Arno Arola tells fac-
tually and impressionistically of
his visit to Arts Theater.
* .* *;
THE FIRST problem encount-
ered was finding the theater. Ex-
pecting to discover a large main
* * *
O'Neill Play
To Open Arts
Theater Run
The Arts Theater Club will of-
ficially open this year's season with
".Desire Under the Elms" by Eu-
gene O'Neill at 8:30 p.m. Friday
at 2092 E. Washington St.
Described by Prof. Edwin Engel
of the English department as "the
finest play O'Neill ever wrote," the
drama is the study of themoral
processes of a family in a puritan
New England society.
The O'Neill play, not produced
as frequently as some of O'Neill's
other plays, celebrated its most
recent success on the stage with
the American National Theater
Academy production in New York
two years ago.
During the run of the play, a
critical work by Prof. Engel, "The
Haunted Heros of Eugene O'Neill,"
will appear on sale in the book-
stores.
Season or semester memberships
may be obtained by calling 7301 or
at the Theater.
Other plays scheduled for the
Arts Theater Season are "Mandra-
gola"' by Machiavelli, "Noah" by
Andre Obey, "The Dance of Death"
by August Strindberg, "Starve a
Fever," an original drama by
Bill Weigand, Grad., "Heartbreak
House" by Bernard Shaw and,
"The Blunderer" by Moliere.

entrance ,and accustomed to a Oif-
'ferent system of marking ad-
dresses, he said the building was
nearly "unfindable."
Impressed by the fact that
Arts Theater's actors and act-
resses are professional, Arola
reported surprise of people to
whom he talked throughout the
nation. "Really? Ann Arbor?
Professional? Do you mean that
all of them are hired actors and
not amateurs?" they said.
'Arola compares the few theaters
in American cities to Stockholm
"which has at least fourteen."
Interested in the theater in' the
round Arola evplained, "In the
center there was an open space,
intended for the actors, no paint-.
ed scenery, no curtain, no show
box theater, actors in the center
of the audience."
* * *
"A GREEN carpet on the floor
meant a lawn. Abruptly the lights
were turned off. Something moves
in the darkness. When the stage
lights are turned on the actors are
on stage."
Arola continued that the per-
formance became an outstand-
ing one. He attributed this to
the love that the young actors
have for the theater, which he
calls-"the joy of acting."
Following the play, one of
Shaw's, the Swedish visitor met
the actors informally. "When after
the show I sit drinking coffee in a
circle of Mr. Bernard Shaw's col-
orful characterizations, gentle-
men with blond whiskers, ladies+
with skirts that sweep the floor,,
one then receives the picture of
life and details."
Over coffee Arola reported hear-
ing the opinions of the Arts Thea-
ter actors about Broadway, its
"star system" and its "star-cult."
* * *-
IN HIS ARTICLE, Arola tells
how the number of American
theaters has decreased but ex-
plains the picture is not so dis-
couraging as it seems.
He describes "newly organized 1
flexible partisan groups such as
the Arts Theater are sprouts for

something completely new." Ar-
ola goes on to say that "they
have given up many of the things
which brought down the old
theater."
The Swedish visitor feels that
the theater in the round is im-
portant because "it is inexpensive,
it is intimate and it gives the au-
dience a completely new experi-
ence. It is the feeling of meeting
people, intimately and closely
which has to be awakened again
after everything mechanized and
advertised, falsified and encom-
passed with glamour has dulled
our sense for drama as the mir-
ror of mankind."
"The remarkable thing is that
it is taking place," Arola pointed
out. "When I climbed that stair-
way at 209/2 E. Washington, I was
raised to a cultural process of real
importance."
U' To Feature
Two Concerts
Two concerts are scheduled for
performance this week -in Ann Ar-
bor.
University organist Robert Noeh-
ren will present the second pro-
gram in his current series of Sun-
day afternoon organ recitals at
4:15 p.m. today in Hill Auditorium.
He will open his program with
Cesar Franck's Chorales in E ma-
jor, B minor and A minor.
Noehren will also perform
Charles Tournemire's "I'Orgue
Mystique, Suite 35."
Prof. Gilbert Ross of the music
school will conduct the University
String Orchestra, with Robert
Courte of the music school as
violist, in music of the 17th and
18th centuries at 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday in Lydia Mendelssohn
Theater.
The program will feature selec-
tions by Stamitz, Manfredini,
Boccherini, Telemann, Frescobaldi
and Handel.

a particularly good character. He
is created without essential sen-
timent. He moves in his own world
at first, then eventually into the
real world. What is good is that

Center in Minneapolis, the exhib-
it may be seen at the museum from
9 a m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and
from 2 to 5 p.m. Sundays until
Nov. 3.

1


BOST
awn H M
THURS. 8:30
Oct. 22
HILL
Auditorium
Charles Munch
Tickets: $1.50, $2:00, $2.50, $3.00
University Musical Society
Burton Memorial Tower

1

OPENING TOMORROW NIGHT
Oct. 19-ROOM SERVICE, with the Marx Brothers
MEMBERSHIPS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR
All showings at 8 P.M. at the Rackham Amphitheater.
Memberships at $5.00 for the series.

I

®i

MICHIGAN
COLLEGE WEEK
IN BERMUDA
APRIL 4 --APRIL 10, 1954
SIX FUN PACKED DAYS
$247.00-Modiied American Plan
(Breakfast and Dinner)
$199.00-Bermuda Plan
(Breakfast only)
THESE RATES INCLUDE:
Round Trip Air Transportation -
Detroit-Bermuda-Detroit including
Federal Tax
Transfers from Bermuda Airport to Hotel
and return.
Five-hour cruise around the Islands
Calypso Entertainment
Gala College Dance Party
Recreation Facilities
SBOCOK NOW!
00105MA II


1111

110

i I d__ rrrnurar 1J/a//+l asw moman."." i