FILMS: A cold day
By MIKE SHEARER Arts & Reviews Editor
A wet, mute, uninhibited 18-year-old boy looked attractive to Francis Austin.
A proper woman, a lonely woman in her thirties, Frances had never indulged in improprieties—such as love. The effects of well-disguised starvation on such a woman were bound to surface sometime.
With Frances Austin, they surfaced after That Cold Day in the Park. Standing beneath a black umbrella, Frances decided she would become the woman she had never been. She would have the wet young man, have him no matter what.
The "no matter what" turns out to be rather ghastly for the tormented characters in this film starring Sandy Dennis and an extraordinary young actor named Michael Burns.
Despite the relative insignificance of the film in its entirety, the effect of years of suppression and lonliness on Frances are brilliantly carved into the movie by Director Robert Altman.
One of two changes which might have improved the film would have been to eliminate the incestuous scene with the brother and sister (possibly demoting the sister even further out of the story line) because the sister detracts from the central relationship in the film, the relationship between Sandy Dennis and Michael Burns. The scene and the sister's apparent significance lead the viewer to expect her to enter into this relationship in some real way—an expectation which is annoyingly unfulfilled.
The other change would have been a more developed character as Frances' elder companion and would-be fiance.
But abundant praise is still due Miss Dennis and young Burns. Miss Dennis is already an accomplished actress who will endure. Young Burns, I believe, will emerge as a very promising actor after his performance in this movie.
Loneliness. Miss Dennis' character's knowledge of it could only have come from Miss Dennis' sensitivity. Burn's character's innocence of its dangers could only have come from his own perceptiveness.
RECORDS: Flock soars
By JOE BILL NAAS Kansan Reviewer
In the last two years there has been a rash of seven and eight-piece blues-oriented bands. But few, except The Electric Flag and especially Blood, Swear & Tears, have been very successful. This is because very few of these groups have had anything original to offer. And not many have been capable of the smooth interaction and balance between the guitars and horns that is a necessity for this type of group.
The Flock is a group unaffected by these problems. Their first album is even better than the first by BS&T. Their music is so tight that one mind seems to be in control of all seven instruments. And they are innovators. They trip into several directions (blues, rock, jazz and even classical), but never fall into a category.
Jerry Goodman takes the lead with his electric violin in the introduction and right away this album is unique. Goodman plays beautifully and is complemented by the guitar of Fred Glickstein. The horns are unobtrusive and only enhance the double riffs of the guitar and violin.
The group is strong vocally, with Glickstein singing lead and three members of the group backing him. The songs on this album demonstrate these talents very well. "I Am the Tall Tree," and the old rock song "Tired of Waiting" are especially effective, but the whole album is top quality.
MIDNIGHT COWBOY, by James Leo Herlihy (Dell, 75 cents) Another one already made into a movie, and starring the hot Dustin Hoffman. This is about a Texan who heads for New York, where there are more women for him to conquer.
THE QUEEN'S CONFESSION,
by Victoria Holt (Crest, 95 cents)
A biographical novel about
Marie Antoinette, by a woman
BOOKS
whose forte has been the gothic suspense novel. The author tells about Marie's childhood, her early marriage, the intrigue of the French Court, the Petit Trianon, the scandals, and finally the guillotine. The novel was a big best-seller for several months.
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