liyiJ-il-liV.'v
Ross acts,
sings we!!
in film debut
Review by Larry Kubert
When it was announced that Diana Ross was
going to play. Billie Holiday in Paramount's
Lady Sings The Blues, many people ran their
fingers through their hair, looked silently at the
floor and shook their heads in disbelief.
Now Ross has the last laugh, and a new facet
of show business is open to her-acting.
Yes, Ross can act, and she does an admirable
job of it in Lady Sings the Blues. But Lady still
has some problems.
Foremost of these is its script The liberty
that has been taken with Holiday's life is
amazing. Billie seems to jump magically from
teenage prostitute to mature nightclub
entertainer.
Not much of an attempt is made to show the
contributions which Holiday made to both
musical and the cultural attitudes of the period.
Except for a few still montages using theater
marquees, no mention is made of Holiday's
association with Count Basie and his band. And
the musical influences of John Hammond, Artie
Shaw, Lester Young and Benny Goodman on
her are competely ignored.
Although extremely effective, the
triumphant 1939 Carnegie Hall climax is also
inaccurate. It's complete with overlay montages
of newspaper headlines showing her re-arrest on
drug charges, her failure to get a New York City
cabaret work permit and finally her obituary.
Holiday didn't play Carnegie Hall until nearly a
decade later. But the tampering with history
certainly made for a nice,' flashy" finish to the
film.
So history was played with -this can be
forgiven. What cannot be forgiven however, is
the script's lack of character continuity.
Many times, the viewer can't understand
why Holiday reacts to situations as she does.
Usually it's inferred that narcotics is the demon
controlling her soul. But this is too easy.
Agreed, narcotics played a big part in
Holiday's life. She was arrested several times
and served a jail sentence, but to use narcotics
as an excuse for unexplained character changes
is too much.
' However, none of the above problems can be
blamed on Ross's performance. In her screen
debut, she does a credible job of portraying
Holiday. The difficult change from adolescent
teenager to mature woman is handled
surprisingly well by Rossespetially considering
script difficulties.
Mostly cause by her inexperience, Ross's
weakest scenes are those which are emotionally
dramatic. But inspite of this, Ross probably will
be considered when Academy Award time rolls
around.
t
Again to her credit, Ross doesn't try to
imitate Billie Holiday's singing style. That
would have been disastrous. Instead, the dozen
or so Holiday songs included in the movie are
sung by Ross in her own style; certainly
reminiscent of Billie and a long, long way from
the Supremes.
Ross is backed by a solid supporting cast
Billy Dee Williams gives a powerful
performance as Louis McKay, Billie's gambler
lover, and husband (in reality McKay was
Holiday's third husband). Williams' sheer
character strength is an underrated highlight of
the film.
Richard Pyror does well as Piano Man,
Holiday's longtime friend who eventually is ;
? beaten to death by two pushers.
Commendable jobs are done by James
Callahan as Reg Hanley, leaders of a white
band which tours the South with Holiday, and
Virginia Capers as Billie's mother.
The big-band music is well-handled, but the
fluffy, all-violins background music by Michel
Legrand is nauseatingly out-of-place in the film.
Opinions of Lady Sings The Blues vary
depending upon the viewer's knowledge of the
period and what is expected from the film. As a
true portrayal of Billie Holiday's life, it fails.
As an entertaining interpretation of Billie
Holiday's life it's indeed very satisfing.
Perfect Christmas giftforyour
man-of-the-minute:
5 '
i n
G; -J
y
C4973M 54241M. 54271M.
Stainless steel, two tone blue dial. Stainless steel, blue minute track on Stainless steel, black dial, $79 50
189 50 wmie uibi. oj.ju
timann
TWO LOCATIONS
1 1 29 "O" - GATEWAY MALL
IMlF()ff I FIR
SfatibBPtfR httiajlt HlttNyMSfeBp j I
The "Baggie" Look
Is swlngln' on strong,
And
Lee has 'em.
A dash of old times
for new times.
Full Cut Legs. Big Cuffs.
Nostalgic Lee and the
new me.
GREEN NAVY AND YELLOW
CORDUROY
$15.
"for the latest
in styles.. .for
Guys and Gals...
shop the store
that is more
than a JEANS store
w"" U U J Li Li LI L-LJV
IN THE NEW GLASS MENAGERIE
1 2TH AND Q STREET
Wednesday, december 6, 1972
daily nebraskan
A- A , ,
page 1 1
