FILMS: It's no gem
By RICHARD GEARY Kansan Reviewer
I can't really say that "Topaz" was a disappointment to me, because I knew before I went in it would be as bad as it was. Alfred Hitchcock, at the age of 70 and in his 51st film, is finally displaying the sad lack of perception, flabbiness of style and general laziness that could be seen coming in his last three features.
This limp spy story, taken from a Leon Uris novel, never quite holds together in the tight, precise manner we have come to expect from the Master. The action takes place during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 and concerns, first, the defection of a Russian official and his family to the U.S., then the successful attempt of a French agent to obtain secret information about the Soviet missile buildup in Cuba, and, finally, the finding and plugging of a security leak among high officials of the French government.
The story boomerangs from Moscow to Copenhagen to New York to Cuba to Washington again and finally to Paris. This kind of location-jumping is not unusual in a Hitchcock picture. In fact, it provides the backgrounds to some of his most exciting adventures. But these earlier efforts were careful to give us a protagonist with whom to identify.
"Topaz" is about a fourth gone
before we are certain who, exactly, the hero is, and he turns out to be the super-clean-cut French agent, with all the personality of a department store manikin — which isn't much consolation.
Moreover, the narrative rambles in so many different directions, carried by so many characters who disappear before we can get involved with them, that the final reaction can only be, "Who cares?" At no point is the audience moved to the edge of its seat.
Of course, the spy business is somber in reality, but this director has not built his reputation on reality. "Some films are slices of life," he has said. "Mine are slices of cake."
Missing most of all, though, is the famous Hitehoockian humor. Gone is the obvious delight he takes in manipulating us, and so, consequently, is our delight in being manipulated. Missing also is the subtle playfulness in the male - female relationships. Everything is so somber.
Certainly there are a few good "Hitchcock moments"—but very few. The escape of the Russian family, a fantastically tense sequence in a Harlem hotel and a single overhead shot of a lady spy collapsing after being shot, her purple robe spreading gracefully around her on the tile floor, are particularly memorable.
But I think everyone has the right to expect more.
BOOKS
THE WEAPONS CULTURE, by Ralph Lapp (Pelican, $1.25)—A thoughtful consideration of the "military-industrial complex." Lapp, himself a scientist, looks at the spread of the military and its influence in America, moving from World War II into the cold war and the frightening years since nuclear power became a possession of several nations. America the beautiful has become America the arms-maker and arms merchant to the world, Lapp concludes in this book that is likely to interest many students of this university.
PIONEERS IN PROTEST, by Lerone Bennett, Jr. (Pelican, $1.25)—An excellent collection of biographies of men and women, black and white, who have worked in the area of black protest. Bennett is senior editor of Ebony, and he has written extensively in the field of black journalism and propaganda. Among the people he writes about are the legendary Crispus Attucks, Nat Turner, William Lloyd Garrison, John Brown, Frederick Douglass, Marcus Garvey and W.
Jan. 9
1970 KANSAN 5
E. B. DuBois. Interestingly written, these biographies should be of great interest to today's students.
THE DRAGON'S EYE, by Scott C. S. Stone (Gold Medal, 60 cents); MILLION DOLLAR MURDER, by Edward S. Aarons (Gold Medal, 60 cents)—Two thrillers, the first about life behind the Bamboo Curtain (as the book is billed). The hero is a reporter who goes to Hawaii, is pulled into action by the CIA, goes to China, and becomes involved with a babe named Choylin. Boy. The second is a suspense story about a man who falls in love with his brother's wife—and then murder.
Beatles one of 1969's be$t
NEW YORK (UPI) — What were the best records of 1969?
By WILLIAM D. LAFFLER
The answer to that question is not simple. It depends on the age and the musical tastes of the listener.
As far as the cash register is concerned, the best records were cut by the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Blind Faith.
All Beatle records win instant recognition and reception because of the versatility of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Yet professional critics were very impressed by the potential of another Beatle, George Harrison, shown in his composition of "Wonderwall."
The year 1969 brought riches to two fine singers across the Atlantic Ocean—Tom Jones and Engelbert Humpardinck. Jones had two big hits, "Help Yourself" and "I'll Never Fall in Love Again." Humpardinck's showcase song was "The Way It Used to Be," one of the best ballads of the decade. It is a song that almost demands the training of a concert singer, yet Humpardinck put it over in a relaxing but compelling manner.
Johnny Cash had a sleeper in "Boy Named Sue" but how many
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persons heard the version by its composer, Shel Silverstein?
The music from "Hair" continued to endure and Oliver scored big with "Good Morning Star-
shine" as well as Rod McKuen's "Jean."
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