Thursdav. June 10.1976
University Daily Kansan
Excellent acting marks 'Stavisky'
By CHUCK SACK Contributing Writer
With Jean-Paul Belmondo and Charles Beyer heading the cast of a film about a character in the early Art Deco '30s, one might expect "Stavisky" to be nothing more than a French imitation of "The Sting". Furthermore, in a press release announced throughout the events of the film are true, his intentions are not historical.
Movie-gore stung by decades of Hollywood's "creative" approach to history may steel themselves for the worst at that point, but this is definitely not a factual potpourri. Yet "Stavisky" has the same disturbing quality of recent works such as Nashville and the 1980s film *Garden City*, introduce to the film's fictional characters, and "Ragtime", where the novel's central figures brush elows with the likes of Freud and Houdini.
The appeal of juxtaposing fact and fiction, in roughly equal proportions, is that by including legendary actors in the soap opera material is transformed into a pop epic. Like "Nashville" and "Ragtime," "Stavisky" blends emotional fiction with political face to paint.
To its credit, this 1974 film achieves this purpose with a much steedier hand than the two American works of last year. "Stavisky" chronicles the last great scheme of the controversial swindler who gives the film its title.
When the story begins, Stavisky (Belmindo) is enmeshed in an international bond fraud. Disguised as the impresario Serge Alexandre, an alias he has assumed with the full knowledge of the police, and about cheating a gallery of corrupt victims.
Ever concerned with the subjects of time and memory, Resnais jugles scenes and settings the way that his protagonist juggles accounts. However, because the director's
earlier attempts in this field ("Last Year at Marienbad," "Muriel") were so disjointed, it's possible to overlook the ambitions (and successes) of "Stavisky." The transitions are smoother and more logical, not so much because he has abandoned his affiliation with the individual, but because he has enlarged the scope to depict the confusions of an era.
Some of this credit is due to screenwriter Jorges Semprun, who also scripted "Z." Semprun has carefully balanced Stavisky's capitalistic shell game with the destiny of another contemporary Russian emigrant, Leon Trotsky.
with Trotsky's every off-screen move faithfully reported, "Stavisky" becomes a metaphor for the death of socialism and the subsequent rise of fascism. The attempted French coup of February 6, 1934, Trotsky's exile and the unresolved "suicide of Stavisky become major in the war in end, whether the con-man or the police pulled the trigger of the gun that killed him—he has been murdered by the politico-economic system.
Lest all of this sound too imposing,
"Stavisky" gains much of its charm from
the more commercial aspects of its
production. The rich, dense detail of the sets evokes the Thirteens without the ostentatiousism. And Sacha Vierny's photography gives the reds, whites, and blacks an edge that complements the style of the settings.
But as a commercial venture, the film must stand or fall on the basis of its actors, and it must also be able to support the weight of the themes they carry. It is in this area that "Stavskij"
Charles Boyer as the right-wing Baron Raoul, Amy Dupuy as the Stisky's wife and the symbol of his pursuits, and Claude Burroughs, an angel whoBonny head the excellent support cast.
And finally, Jean-Paul Belmonde, with
'Good old rock and roll' dished out by the Hermits
Staff Writer
By JIM MURRAY
Herman's Hermits, one of the most popular of the English rock groups to invade America in the early 60's, enthralled and electrified a standing-room-only crowd of young fans. It best night with music ranging from Chuck Berry to the Eagles to their own '60s hits.
The first hour-long set featured the group's biggest hits interspersed with songs by the Eagles, Graham Nash, Nilsson, and Three Dog Night. Among the original songs were "Gone With You," "Some Good You," "Henry VIII," and "Mrs. Brown, You're Got a Loved Lady."
During "Mrs. Brown," band leader Carl Green called two women up from the club to watch him play and the women's performances. The winner remained onstage while Green put a male volunteer through the same routine. The two then joined the entire band for a final performance.
The hour-long intermission between sets.
as well as the wait before the show, was filled by local disc jockeys playing raucous disco music. The wait before the show was made bearable by a virtuoso performance by a couple dancing to "Surfin U.S.A.". The dedication had no such redeeming feature.
The Hermits' second set, like the first, featured tunes by other artists, notably a cousing rendition of Bob Dylan's "Till You Bring Your Baby Tonight." The main part of the song is about an unhappy girl that included "Hold Your Hand," "Ticket to Ride," "Get Back" and "She Loves You."
The Hermits followed the medley with what Green called "good old rock and roll," and they kept it going. Sally, They played two more of their hits, "No Mail Today" and "There's A Kind of a Hush," to the wild apollause of the crowd, and they set the two sets on its feet dancing to the music.
The band's combination of light music and loose banter with the crowd created an
his fat nose and tired beagle eyes (some say rugged good looks) gives a thoroughly enjoyable performance as Stavisky. Instead of looking uncomfortably out of place in elegant clothing as he has before, Belmondo gives the role the smooth charm and natural authority appropriate to an almost mythological con-man.
"Stavisky," 7:30 p.m. Friday at Woodruff
Auditorium.
With every aspect of the film fully realized this way, "Stavaisly" has the wide-ranging appeal that is part of a great film-flam man's bag of tricks. Luckily, when the pay-off comes, you aren't left feeling cheated.
K.U. SAILING CLUB tonight 7:30 Kansas Union
For those wonderfully hot summer days come in and get cooled with one of our crisp French Boussac cotton from John Meyer in either yellow or a soft light blue. You'll love it.
Also . . . we've got selected summer dresses, shirts and skirts at 1/3 off and all our famous swim suits at 10% off.
for women.
Located at the back of the Town Shop
Downtown, 829 Mass.
for women.
our own corsican soccer shirt designed by Mister Guy new for spring '76
reg. $15.00 now $11.95 for the summer session
open thursday nights till 8:30
MISTER
GUY
920 mass.
university of kansas contemporary traditionalists