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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1972)
1 a Growing up in a Civil War western '.--V.' . lorry kubert Draft evasion to stay out of, the Vietnam war is spmething we're all familiar with-but draft dodging to stay out of the Civil War is something new. . , ' ! Stanley Jaffe's off-beat production of Bad Company uses this theme as a kick-off point for his story of two nomadic youths coming of age on the western prairies. But it's not all-American Roy Rogers' West! It's gritty, violent and lonesome. Barry Brown is Drew Dixon, a fine Christian boy from "good stock". He delivers an excellent low-key performance. He drifts in with a lawless gang ofyouths who are heading West, and cradually developes the ward-core survival instinct which he r.ds to exist. Con-artist, back-alley fighter and army deserter Jake Rumsey (Jeff Bridges) is the leader of the gang and the primary cause for the changes in Drew. Bridges also delivers a fine performance, but he's less impressive than Brown, mainly because his character remains static, while Brown's character development is more interesting. The sepia-toned production (both in photography and in mood) is a sensitive approach to Drew and Jake's relationship, first as their personalities and beliefs oppose each other and later when they complement eacn other. The violence in Bad Company at times approaches morbid humor, but again, because of the brown-tinged mood of the film, it's acceptable. The supporting cast is outstanding, David Huddleston's performance as Bia Joe. an imposing leader of an inept nana of mauraders, ("I'm the oldest whore on the block,") leads the Jim Davis as a cold-hearted, all-business marshall is also good. Harvey Schmidt's occasional old-time piano m c matches the loneliness and authenticity of the movie. Bad Company is one of the better westerns to corre along in a long time but then, it's not just a western. A group of Enolish Department instructors Js presenting John Turner, a 70-year oid bmaha Indian, Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in the English Department lounge, 229 Andrews. Turner will give a concrete using'a hand-made Indian flute that has been passed down from generation to generation, and will tell stories in a session that will be vidio-tapea According to Turner, he is "the only remaining elder or me Omaha Tribe who has practiced and maintained this historic:; Indian ritual of chording." kV 1 Don Theye, poet and singer, will give a free concert Friday at 8 p-m. in the South Crib of the Nebraska Union. He's sponsored by CoffeeHouse Concerts. The Union Weekend Films offers Elliot Gould in Getting Straight Friday and Saturday in thev Nebraska Union Small Auditorium. the Messiah. . t ippa plus.,Sleefy; :'X$yfA: bTtt at 8 p. m'for :'.F (jlnidre styie': Sunday at 3 p.m in the Coliseum the School of Music will give its annual presentation of the Messiah. Insanely brilliant Frank Zappa Pershing Auditorium Sunday concert. . Foreign Films has Days and Nights in the the forest, a film from India, on tap for Tuesday.1' And the ' next .night, Wednesday, the Union Special Firms Committee has Punishment Park at the Sheldon Art Gallery. ; :; v The UNL Theatre Department's production of JBertolt Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle' opens Friday, Decv8 andfr6rt through Saturday, Dec. 16 (excluding Sunday) at Howejf Theatre. i ;f; "'i :'up West, Bruce and Laing will give a Fillmbe cpncetl'at Pershing Auditorium on Saturday, Dec. 9. at 8 pjtoaWup group is tdgar Winter and his Group, .. Jtlii II .iilMlrn,i.ii,,ii.'.i...niiT.-iiiiili.iiii,.iiM.. riiri.nmirl George C. Scott runsml with cliched 'Centurions Music students ready Christmas programs For most students the passing of Thanksgiving only brings . visions of finals, but the School of Music has visions of the ' season not far behind-Christmas. Each year students are featured in concerts celebrating Advent. The season opens this Sunday with'the 82nd annual performance of George Frederick Handel's "Messiah" at 3 p.m in the Coliseum. Earl Jenkins will be conducting the combined University orchestra, choruses and soloists. Student soloists are soprano Rita Smith, alto Cynthia McNally, tenor Philip Boehr and bass Kent Hall. The traditional Christmas Carol Concert will be presented at 4 p.m. Sunday nc. 10 at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ at 35th and Sheridan. J. S. Bach's "Wachet auf" and Benjamin Britten's "Rr joice in the Lamb," both festival cantatas, will be included in the program. Carols from many lands and religions will be sung, ranging from the medieval "0 come, 0 come Emmanuel" to "Hacia Belen va un Borrico," a Spanish carol. Remaining concerts in the series are the Madrigal Singers performing at 8 p.m. Tuesday Dec. 12 and the Varsity Men's ' Glee Club and Women's Chorale at 4 p.m. Sunday Dec. 17 in Kimball. Heview by Roy Baldwin M Stacy Keach is still waiting for his big 'break. One look at the man and one just knows that he's going to be a great actor someday, and one goes to each of his movies-fat City last month and now The New Centurions at Cinema II- with the hope that finally the magic combination of script, director and cast is going to come his way. Well, "his" movie is still waiting out there wherever great movies are There are two reasons: (1) New Centurions is stultified by a script full of cliches; (2) George C. Scott steals every scene worth taking.' If you've caught a Rookies segment on TV you already know the plot: young law student Roy (Keach) joins the force to support wife (Jane Alexander, who gets the donkey-worker medal for carrying so much of the plot) and kid, falls in with crusty but lovable old cop Kilvinsky (Scott), who has given his life to the force arid leads Roy to 1 doing the same. Roy finds out he likes copping (policeman-ing?) more than anything else, ' drops out of school, loses his wife, etc. The rest isn't worth going into. The trouble with the movie is that the script, while trying its darndest to be sympathetic to the police, is so hackneyed the actors don't have a chance to convey anything more than cardboard cutouts of ' themselves. There's a black cop for scenes involving black crimes, there's a Chicano cop for scenes involving Chicanos, there's Whitey (Clifton Jones), crusty but lovable old cop No. 2 who manages to have the most fun of anyone in the cast, and there are swarms of cops and just-plain folks, all of whom seem equally "place-able". lo sceenwriter Mining biiiiphant s;.crefflit. though, it should be noted that -at1jiifrjwp,i ic nn hnct ri a rnmmi ma.fi ill r4 IWrtn Kaiirfi''a)T'& d. Dragnet. ;: Back to Scott, since his is the story of this movie Forall practicalpuroses th.e .film ends when Scott exits midway through. His character, while it lasts, is worth seeing. In an early scene Roy and Kilvinsky sit in a bar discussing crime and society. Kilvinsky is not so much a cop as he is a crusader. His job is not so much to enforce the law, he tells Roy, it is combating evil. "It's easy to get rid of crime", he says, "No law against selling dope; dope's. not a crime anymore. Easy, to get rid of crime not so easy to get rid of evil' ' On the eve of retirement and seeing society no better for his years of labor, he is pessimistic. Roy offers encouragement, teUlng . him about Rome's centurions -"They weren't well liked or respected either, but; they hejd the line, at least until the ' barbarians. ' , As always, Scott is such a good, such a believeaWe character that, drawn in by his lines, you realize only at the end of the scene that his whole discussion of morality and "holding the line" is taking place in a topless bar. Kilvinsky's crusade ends in retirement and death by his own hand. Roy's crusade sputters in alcoholism and death at the hand of a crazy old man. The movie ends too -after wandering around pointlessly for. another half-hour after Scott exits. If you like cops and robbers, or if you're a George C. Scott fan or a Stacy Keach fan with patience, New Centurions is your baby. . .w u. ruu, yci in me pairoi car. We re going downtown. I December 5, 6, & 7 there will be an art exhibitsale in the Centennial Rm. of the Union ANY MEDIUM ELIGIBLE PICK UP AN INFORMATION CARD TO CONFIRM SPACE IN THE STUDENT UNION PROGRAM OFFICE RM. 128 sponsored by Nebraska Union Displays Committee & Free University Clntmt 1: "Th Naw Centurion" 1, 3;02, 6:04 7:10, 0:16 p.m. Clntma 2: "Flddl.r on th Roof" 1:15,4:30,8:18 p.m. CooperLincoln "Plgy it at It Ly" 1:30, 3:30, 6:30, 7:30, 8:30 p.m. Embassy: "Stratt of 1000 Pleaturai" 11:45 a.m., 1:25, 3, 4:35, 6:10, 7:45, 9:20, 11 p.m. Stuart: "Bad Company" 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30 p.m. Stata: "Dumbo" 1, 3:11, 6:22, 7:33, 9:44 p.m. "The Legend of Lobo" 2:04, 4:15, 6:26, 8:37 p.m. Vanity: "The Mechanic" 1, 3 D 7, 9 p.m. Union film: "Gettlno Straight" 7, 9 p.m. t friday, decern ber 1, 1972 i;l ' T UP- r r a. daily nebraskan ' S ' f ' . ... s i i f -i - - - , . ... page 10