thurrisy, fcbrucry 3, 1977
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By WO IIidTmsa
Is Lorn (currently at Cinema 1) has been the
subject of so many rumors and so much gossip and pub
licity, both pro and con, that the film itself has gotten
lost somewhere in the shuffle.
Most of the controversy surrounds the film's star
and executive producer, Barbara Streisand. Some
influential critics have charged that Streisand used the
movie for a kind of private ego trip, a view that was given
support by the film's director, Frank Piersbn, in an article
he wrote for New York magazine.
According to Pierson, Streisand took over the film
editing to insert more close-ups and make sure she was the
center of attention.
Some of the film reviews were almost hysterically
abusive, especially toward Streisand herself. John Simon
of New York magazine spent a paragraph describing the
proportions of Streisand's nose and other critics accused
Streisand of becoming a megalomaniac.
All of the above only served to obscure the film itself
by focusing all of the attention on Streisand instead of the
movie.
Actually, A Star Is Bom is honest, sincere and well-done-the
sort of high-class soap opera at which
Hollywood used to excell. The movie is full-blooded
entertainment that seeks only to please its audience.
, Kris Kristofferson plays John Norman Howard, a
successful but self-destructive rock star, who comes upon
an unknown singer in a small club and becomes
fascinated by her talent.
Streisand, of course, plays the singer and you can
easily guess the rest. The two fall in love and get married
and as her star begins to rise, his begins to fall.
Streisand and Kristofferson make a great team, with his
powerfully understated performance providing the perfect
compliment to her aressive flamboyance.
Sfieisand may have re-edited the film to emphasize her
role, but there's no doubt she's got the talent and force
to get away with it.
The concert sequences are impressively staged, with the
huge crowds and first-rate soundtrack combining to
capture the look and feel of the high-powered music
world. The editing in these scenes is sharp. Robert
Surtees' cinematography provides the right touches at
the right moments with the garish lighting at the concerts
contrasted against the rugged desert landscape where
Streisand and Kristofferson build their adobe dream
house.
Eleven new songs were written especially for the film
by a number of different composers, including Paul "
Williams and Streisand herself. The music may not all be
memorable, but it does provide the backdrop needed for
the story.
The story itself is predictable at best, but what elevates
A Star Is Born is its energy and conviction. Overblown
and schmaltzy at times, the film overcomes its limitations
by pure effort and force. .
Also showing in Lincoln is The Enforcer, (at Cinema
2), the latest entry in the Clint Eastwood-Dirty Harry
series. Unfortunately it lacks the punch and pace of the
first two Harry films, Dirty Harry and Magnum Force.
This time Harry's up against a band of terrorists who
have succeeded in kidnapping the mayor of San
Professor's comedies to be published
By Carta Engstrom
Playwrights can have dry spells when it comes to pub
lishing plays, or a boom, like gold mining towns of thel
Qld West. Such is the case of playwright Joseph Baldwin,
who will have three plays published in 1977.
Baldwin; UNL theatre arts professor, submitted his one
act comedy A Golden Opportunity for a Lovcabk Loafer
to Performance Publishing Co., Elgin, HI., and the com
pany accepted it, he said.
"I never can tell why they (plays) sell and why they
don't " Baldwin said, adding, "I go for months and noth
ing happens. I like to see some action" or results on the
work.
After the first play was accepted, Baldwin said, he sent
in two more, a one-act comedy, Can the Frog Princess
Find Happiness? and a three-act comedy, Snow for the
Lovers. Both were accepted by Performance Publishing
Co.
A Golden Opportunity for a Loveable Loafer concerns
a genteel lady of advanced years who, having come into a
considerable inheritance, advertises in the want-ads for a
husband, Baldwin said.
Can the Frog Princess Find Happiness? won first prize
in a national one-act -play writing contest sponsored by
Jacksonville (Ha.) University in 1971 and was produced
there. """""
" The play is nonsensical. It's an exaggerated fantasy
about what a girl does to pass the time while her boy
friend talks on about himself, he said.
Baldwin's play Snow for the Lovers is a nostalgic
play about college life in the 1940s.
It won a national contest for. 'test original play for
high schools" sponsored by Case High School, Racine,
Wis. and was produced there in 1974.
The playwright also has a two-act play, The Gift of
a DoU, which will be produced March 17 at the Changing
Scene Theatre in Denver.
. The Gift of a DoU is described by Baldwin as a "ver
bal dance. It tells its story by strange, nightmarish scenes
which project the inner struggles of the main character,
his memories, hopes and fears."
The playwright also has a one-act play, Engine 4960,
which will be filmed this summer by the Nebraska Educa
tional Television Network.
The play will be retitled Engine 8444 since Engine
4960 is in a park. Engine 8444, a steam locomotive, is
housed by the Unon Pacific Railroad at Cheyenne. It runs
into Omaha once a year for repairs, Baldwin said, and runs
several steam excursions a year.
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Francisco. As usual, the lines are clearly drawn, with
Harry battling both the criminals and the mushy-headed
liberals within the police department.
There are the obligatory shoot-em-ups and chases, but
the thing giving The Enforcer distinction is a fine per
formance by Tyne Daly as a woman detective assigned as
Harry s partner.
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CAST & CREDITS
GREGG GARSON as Jerry Sloane
MARCIA MANSVILLE as Delia MansonConway
MAX RADKOVICHSKY as Ernie Pulaski
TOLIN PARSONS as Lt. Harris
and Introducing
DAWN and DUSK DE LUCY
Y Tl Continuous shows from It am
O'O'C
II CcmpnndlD (The Intarrujad VVeddirvg Night)
II Tl3iTO (Tne CtosK and Dsggef J
February 3, 4. 5. 8 pm
February 6 3pm
Adults $3.00
Students $2.50
65 & Over $2.50
All seats reserved
Kimball Box Office
113 Music Building
Eleventh & R
Prions orders with
MC or BA number
onlyCeSI 472-3375
1 f
' B - - 432-OtH i
