Hollywood Studio Magazine (October 1972)

EXPERT PRESTIGE VALLEY ESTATES Residental & Income Property STATE 8-9111 17228 Ventura Blvd Encino SAY CHEESE SAMPLE TASTE OUR CHEESE AND SMILE We'll be pleased to help you select the cheeses and wines for parties and gifts . . . give us a call 213-885-7080. — PRUTTING * ft color P M;*az,nes-HouseO, g ans Club & Organization Newsletters. a Paoe and 0V6f" 8/2^ . . 4 PaB w e delWer completed. EDITORIAL 9985g S T 99851 SERVICE.^^-- r —.— \ eer?e JACK ONGJ ON FILM THE EMIGRANTS - When a film's got plenty going for it - top notch actors, fabulous selection of natural locations, interesting story - more the same when the action plods along at the pace of a mule team. In the case of "The Emigrants," Jan Troell's ambitious movie based on 19th Century Swedish farmers uprooting their families to sail to America, there is also irony involved. Not only is Troell responsible for the good color photography that establishes such an accurate feeling of the lives and life in exodus, but so is he responsible for directing and editing . . . too much of one, not enough of the other. Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann head the fine cast, all as simple, brave farmers who risk their lives on a schooner in search of a better world. The miserable ocean voyage is the film's highlight, and it is quite an impressive sequence. "The Emigrants," one of two films based on the same story, is to be followed by "The Settiers." Deliberately building interest and a sense of tension in transition from this movie to the sequel, director Troell ends "The Emigrants" in soap opera style. Will Kristina bear a healthy fifth child this winter after losing all that blood while seasick in the terrible storm at sea? What's really wrong with Robert's ear? Will his ignorant friend become educated in America and rrse above the superiors he hates? Why did the settler lie to his old mother? If Troell will produce, direct and photograph his follow-up with the same loving care and technical expertise, fine. But if he'd only do it a little faster! ON STAGE FOLLIES - By George, we've got it: a Broadway "hit" that actually manages to live up to its Eastern raves here in Los Angeles! Featuring Alexis Smith, Gene Nelson, Janet Blair (who has replaced Dorothy Collins) and Yvonne De Carlo, "Follies" is big, splashy, spectacular and brimming with imagination. Set in an old theatre charted for demolition, the story involves a group of former show queens reassembled for a final farewell fling before their old stomping ground is converted into a garage. As the ladies recall their careers, lives and marriages, some happy, some not, their youths (in white ghostly faces and fabulous Ziegfeld-type costumes) hover around and behind like so many surrealistic dreams. Our characters take a hard look at the present and finally decide what to do with their futures. Stephen Sondheim's music and lyrics don't match up to everything he's previously done, especially "West Side Story's" lyrics, but neither do they distract from the work as a whole. Responsible for the show's resplendence are Boris Aronson's production design, Florence Klotz' costumes and Tharon Müsser's lighting effects. Before this trip of craftsmen, the corners of a set have never been utilized so effectively and extravagantly! In the role that won her a Tony Award as well as a stature close to royalty in New York, Alexis Smith shines. Tall, slim and shapely, Miss Smith dazzles you in her portrayal of a chorus girl who, with help from her husband, becomes quite the sophisticated woman . . . but is unsure where the unhappiness settled in. We saw Dorothy Collins as Sally Plummer, a character much better written than Miss Smith's Phyllis Stone. Miss Collins scores heavily with her final torch song, "Losing My Mind" and was very good as the showgirl still in love with the man she never got. "Follies" is continuing at the new Shubert Theatre in Century City. THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE - Another comedy by Neil Simon, directed by Mike Nichols, starring Art Carney and Barbara Barrie. Opening October 17 at the Ahmanson.