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10 , THE BARB
CAy-IN© TO TOE MOVIES
With Steve Warren
Even the end of summer didn’t
bring a flood of good movies, but
they’re beginning to trickle in.
Tops on the list is “Dog Day
Afternoon.’’ It’s the story of a
psychotic bank robber, so of
course he’s gay. But wait! He’s
also human and compassionate,
played by a major star-Al Pacino-
-and the subject of one of the
year’s best movies.
Life Magazine called it “The
Boys in the Bank,” the true story
of a young Brooklynite who
arranged a holdup to get money
for his lover’s sex change
operation.
Pacino’s performance as Sonny
Wortzik is up to his usual stan
dard of excellence and should net
him another Academy Award
nomination, if not the “Oscar”
itself. His portrayal builds
carefully, from the nervous
holdup attempt until things start
going wrong.
He holds the bank employees
hostage as armed police mass
outside, ' mounting a siege.
Television^ soon arrives, with
instant cameras bringing the
crime-in-progress into New York
living rooms. Sonny comes out to
be interviewed, and it’s “Star Is
Born” time.
At this point, the audience
knows only about the straight side
to his life, his wife and family.
Freak them out too soon and
you’ve got a multi-million-dollar
production with an unsympathetic
hero. ‘ 10/-
Then he tells the police to bring
his wife to the bank, but the
person at the address he sends
them to is a man. With the story
out, the country has its first
(openly) gay folk hero.
As things begin to fall apart, I
wonder if straights will appreciate
the tragedy as Sonny is rejected
by the one he did it all for; or will
they fust be waiting for the final
shootout? \ v
Don’t miss “Dog Day After
noon.”'' ffla
Robert Redford fen “Three Days of the Condor*'
noon"
nay Aiter-
“There Days of the Condor”
shows what an all-star cast and
first-rate production values can
do for what might have been a
“B” movie.
Robert Redford stars as the
CIA functionary who finds
himself on the run when assassins
wipe out his entire office. Not
knowing why it happened, he
doesn’t know who he can trust.
Playing the odds, he figures
there are still more civilians than
CIA agents; so he kidnaps a
woman at random. A wise move,
because she happens to be Faye
Dunaway, who has all the funny
ines, most of them sexy.
Director Sydney Pollack gets a
iot of suspense out of the plot,
leaving most of the acting to such
supporting players as Cliff
Robertson, Max Von Sydow and
John Houseman.
“Three Days of the Condor” is
slick, well-made entertainment; it
doesn’t try to be more.
Neither does “Royal Flash”-
which is good, because it doesn’t
even achieve that much. It’s a
pseudo-historical comedy-
adventure, directed by Richard
Lester in the same style as his
“Three” and “Four
Musketeers.”
Lester has never let a shortage
of comedians keep him from
trying to get laughs. But here it
keeps him from getting them.
Malcolm McDowell is basically
humorless in the leading role of
Harry Flashman, the fictional
character who becomes embroiled
with most of the historical figures
of the 19th century.
Oliver Reed plays Otto Von
Bismarck, but would have been
better as a wooden Indian. Alan
Bates could be amusing, if we
were given a handle on his
character, who seems to be in the
middle of whatever intrigue is
confusing the plot.
Florida Bolkan wins acting
.honors d6fa v itlt/ ‘as’ 'thb r 1h- v -*
Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby in “Let's Do It Again"'
famous courtesan, Lola Montez.
If you want to learn more about
her, try to catch Max Ophuls’
“Lola Montez,” a celebrated
French film from 1955.
“Let’s Do It Again” is a
pleasant surprise. It sounds like
an unpromising sequel to last
year’s unmitigated bore,
“Uptown Saturday Night”; but it
seems that director/star Sidney
Poitier has learned somethirig
about comedy in the interim.
He and Bill Cosby have better
material to work with this time
out, although it’s still silly enough
to make “I Love Lucy” look
cerebral by comparison.
Poitier, Cosby and their wives
go to New Orleans to con some
heavy gambling money out of a
middleweight - . championship
fight. TVs Jimmie Walker plays
the challenger, who can’t lick his
sparring partner. How he got in
contention for the title is as big a
mystery as how he and his
muscular opponent can be
separated by only five pounds..
But don’t ask questions, just
enjoy. Most of the faults of its
predecessor have been corrected;
so in “Let’s Do It Again,” Poitier
does it for the first time.
“Whiffs” is funnier than last
year’s “S.P.Y.S.,” but itfs still
not very good. Elliott Gould stars
as an Army guinea pig for
chemical test. After 15 ydars of
being subjected to every known
and newly-created disease, his
body doesn’t work well enough to
be of any more use to the Army;
A side effect of the testing is
that his body doesn’t work well
enough to be of use to his
girlfriend, Jennifer O’Neill, who
doesn’t act well enough to be of
use to the picture.
Gould and Harry Guardino
become a holdup team. Gould
gasses the victims and Harry robs
them. As they grow more and
more ambitious, they finally
knock out a whole town to knock
over its two banks. More potential
is wasted than realized in
“Whiffs.”
Hearts of the West” also
wastes some comic potential, but
in favor of having serious
elements in its story of a mid-
western writer of westerns (Jeff
Bridges) who goes to Hollywood
in the thirties and becomes a
stuntman as his naivete slowly
wears off.
The few hilarious moments
which are the picture’s high
points make you wish there were
more. Bridges is good, and so is
Blythe Danner as the woman he
Continued on page 16
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