ﬁlm/tom spackman and mike glassman

‘lliimarried Woman’ plays with cowboys

This weeks film fare includes Paul

Mazursky's Unmarried Woman (1977),
a recent “sensitive” film about a
woman going through a divorce, and
Redﬁiver (1952) is a somewhat dated
and'cliched western starring John
Wayne.

In the latter part of the 19705, a
number of films have been made
which are supposed to be insightful or
sensitive; the audience is supposed to
learn how it feeis to be a member of a
cermin group.

One of these films is An Unmarried
Woman. It's about a woman (Jill
Clsyburgh) and what happens to her
after her husband leaves her for
another woman. At first, she is scared
and'confused. The film follows her as
she moves back into the mainstream
of life, She discovers sex for it’s own
sake and eventualiy becomes deeply
involved with another man.

The problem with this kind ol movie
is that it tries to tell you about a
group, yet has to do so by telling a
story. The audience ends up knowing
how Clayburgh felt when her husband
left, but not how women in general
feel about anything. However, this
doesn’t stop the movie irom being an
effective character study.

.The complex, and otten confused,
emotions the characters feel make the
acting very diiiicult. but Clayburgh,
andthe man she gets involved with
(Alan Bates), all rise to the challenge.

The acting gets better or worse
depending on the diiiiculty, but the ex»
cellent screenplay helps the actors
turn in strong performances all
around.

Mazursky took the time in his direc- '

tion to develop the characters iully.
The iilm opens on what appears to be
a happy iamily, but as the audience
gets to know the characters, their pro-
blems emerge. It ilows gently along
with them as they face, and ﬁnally
overcome, many obstacles.

The result is an interesting and very
enjoyable character study which,
although it gets deeply serious at
points, has many lighter scenes and is
definitely worth seeing.

fFlfteen years ago, the genre known
as the American Western caught a
plane for Italy. The last episode ol
“Gunsmoke” appeared a few years
ago, and the only place you can see
Colt 455 and horses is on the Late,
Late Show.

However, one or the best westerns
ever made, Howard Hawk’s Red
River, is appearing this weekend at
Grinnell; it should not be missed.

There is that sad aspect to it, as in
many westerns, treating the American
indians as objects instead of human

12

beings. But the racism is minimal in
this film, and it is overshadowed by
the story, the acting, and the direc-
ting.

John Wayne, in his usual non-acting
style of acting, plays the role of a
Texas rancher trying to get his cattle
north in order to save himself and the
whole great state of Texas, Mons
tgomery Cliit, as his somewhat
adopted son (brother?) steals the
movie. There are also fine supporting
performances by John Ireland, as
Cherry Valance, the ”hired gun,“ and
Walter Brenan as, well, Walter
Brenan.

The actors carry the plot along
briskly, with Brenan doubling as the
narrator, and Wayne giving an
emotion-packed, though somewhat
stiff, rendition of his character.

The first part of the film moves
quickly, but is filled with cliches;
cowboy talk, cowboy logic, and
cowboy philosophy abounds, A little
bit oi what made America great, a lit-
tle bit of the rugged individual who

can be a bastard because, goddamnit,
he worked for it, and what has to be
one of the worst love scenes in the
history of Hollywood, are all included.
But the brilliance to come is
foreshadowed by some of Hawks’
wonderful direction, There are
moments that fill the screen with an
eerie beauty that almost takes your
breath away.

As the movie progresses, Wayne
becomes more and more obsessed
wim getting his cattle north. The story
evolves into a disquieting
psychological study oi a man driven
insane by the need to accomplish a
task of survival. Conflicts develop bet
ween Wayne and Clift, Wayne and
Brenan, Wayne and everybody in the
movie. This creates a series of
dramatic climaxes. each one a bit
more intense than the one before,

Film schedule this weekend:
Unmarried Woman: Fri. 9:30, SL;
Sat, 8:00, ARH Sun, 8:00, ARH
Red River: Fri 30, ARE; Sat. 10:15,
SL; Sun. 10:00, SL

Dixie in the land of corn

wby Mark Conteroto .,

Originally formed for college credit
at the University of Miami, they are
now recognized by fellow musicians
and music critics as one of the bright,
new bands on the horizon. They are
the Dixie Dregs, a group that has
come into its own in the past year.

The Dixie Dregs is composed of five
accomplished musicians. The guitars
are manned by Steve Morse, and
bassist Andy West. Backing them on
drums and electric violin are Rod
Morgenstein and Alan Sloan, respec~
tively, The latest addition to the
group is Tee Lavitz on keyboards, also
a University of Miami graduate.

claim from both critics and fellow
musicians, and led to one of their
greatest accomplishments, an invita»
tion to appear at the Montreaux Jazz
Festival,

From this appearance came hall or
their latest album, Night or the Living
Drags, which teatures highlights oi
their Montreaux appearance and also
a studio side. ‘

On Saturday night, the Dixie Dregs
will bring their music to Grinnell,
Morse rarely likes to label their
music, but if pinned down, he calls it
"electric chamber music.”

The Dregs seem to have taken equal

 

l'l‘lie Dregs have taken equal parts of

iazz, rock and classical . . .

 

1y. The newest addition to the group
is Tee Lavitz, on keyboards, also a
University of Miami graduate.

After the group members graduated
irorn college, they moved up to
Augusta, Georgia and started perfor-
ming. Shortly following this, in the
spring oi 1977, their premiere record,
Free Fall, Was released. A year
later their next album, What H, was
produced, This album won much ac»

parts oi jazz, rock, and classical and
added their own native Georgian coun
try music to create a difierent sound
Their music ranges from driving rock
i lai back jazz to soft country
lumpu. i‘lir lungs pi L’sclll u
smorgasbord of music to please most
anyone’s palate and have everybody
coming back for a second helping.

Scarlet & Block,

 

