SHORT TAKES ADMIT ONE

SHORT TAKES ADMIT ONE

CLEOPATRA JONES (Warner Bros.) -One of the slickest, fastest-moving black movies we’ve seen. The camp elements are fantastic, a cinematic hodge-podge: real “Beyond the Valley,” “Batman” stuff. Good soundtrack (featuring Joe Simon and Millie Jackson) too.

David Marsh

OKALHOMA CRUDE (Columbia) -After covering nuclear war, race relations, college seizures, and ecology, Stanley Kramer may have gotten around to his women’s lib film, though he denies it (and if that actually was his intent he’s botched it worse than the others). It employs his famous sledgehammer approach, this time in the typcially male concept/parody of a “liberated woman.” But thanks to Faye Dunaway and George C. Scott, Okalhoma Crude is not only tolerable, it’s even amusing and likeable at times; they bring depth and interest to roles that I suspect would lack it without them. It’s a bit predictable, but cliche is the gist of a Kramer film and that shouldn’t be held against him Anymore than it is. toward gangster, cowboy, or any genre film. This may be the best movie Kramer’s directed since...?

THE NELSON AFFAIR (Universal) -Jeez, the private hanky-panky of historicalfigures makes for fascinating viewing! Well, no it doesn’t, of course, but a good cast and plot make this a better film than I had any right to expect. If you thought the most interesting event concerning old Lord Nelson, was when the IRA blew up his statue in Dublin you may still be right, but if you don’t get caught up in the Historical Significance, which boils down to nationalistic bazooing, this tidy tale ain’t half bad. It’s well directed and Glenda Jackson is great as the vulgar wench who almost steals Nelson (Peter Finch) from his heroic destiny. Maybe three stars. Greg Popek

LADY ICE (NGP) - Donald Sutherland and Jennifer O’Neill in a sexual inversion of the great “Thomas Crown Affair.” (This time, she’s a jewel thief, and he’s the insurance investigator.) But director Tom Gries isn’t Norman Jewisori, and the scriptwriters didn’t get it quite right, either. Besides, pretty as Jennifer is, she’s also pretty dumb. Sutherland looks fabulous with ' gray hair, though.

THE BEST OF THE NEW YORK EROTIC FILM FESTIVAL (Saliva Films) — Very arty, you know? — lots of close-ups of skin surfaces, superimpositions, breaking waves, electronic music — about as erotic as a case of nectarines. In one segment a girl coming on a soccer ball was rather tantalizing (is that really possible?) but hardly perverse enough to redeem the film. The funny episodes, “The Appointment” and “Life with Video” which frame the collection, are the best and a few short animated cartoons from the 20s oddly exciting (though I wonder why the cartoon women are always voluptuous while the little men who run. around with enormous hard-ons are invariably homely — it certainly says something about the sensibility of the male animators). But this is no substitute for a dirty movie.

Vince Aletti

DILLINGER (AIP) - More nihilist Depression romanticism. This very slick color movie makes Paper Moon look like a very slick black and white movie. When the choice is between Warren Oates (whoa!), Ben Johnson (impressive by habit), former Mama Michelle Phillips and a stunning cast of minor characters, or the Ryan & Tatum crew — well? Dillinger is the best shoot-em-up since Hickey & Boggs or maybe Point Blank. The camera observes the foul business of death unflinchingly, yet with a good deal of pity, as history strikes another blow for the inevitable. Admirable first directional effort for John Milius, who also wrote the screenplay.

Tim Jurgens

BADGE 373 (Paramount) — These are the further adventures of Popeye Doyle (The French Connection) who in real life is Eddie Egan, but in this movie is called Eddie Ryan. Instead of hijacking a subway, as seen in Connection, it’s a city bus which Ryan commandeers, pursued by intent Puerto Rican liberationists yelling “Mira! Mira!” That’s the highpoint of the picture. Pete Hammil’s script surely must have been workable, and Robert Duvall has an even better New York accent than Gene Hackman. What kills me is that Howard Koch directed this film while Sam Fuller is sitting home when he could make ART out of Badge with his hands tied behind his back.

Brian Zabowski

SLAUGHTER’S BIG RIPOFF (AIP) -Are black audiences really so fantasystarved that they need dreck like this? Are any of us? Jim Brown as usual hulks out his role as the righteous avenger, Ed McMahon of all people is the big time white collar mobster and the plot is sub made-for-tv-movie, with the maxiilmum number of degrading and violent encounters. Go out and buy the James Brown soundtrack instead and pick a fight with your next door neighbor, take candy from a baby or polish your shoes — anything would be more diverting than this movie.

Vince Aletti

A TOUCH OF CLASS (Avco/Embassy) — A handful of crass. Glenda Jackson and George Segal bump into the same cab, fly off to Malaga, leaving family behind, discover they hate each other because they’re “typical,” make up and rent an apartment in Soho to keep the affair going (and the movie plodding.) Her great snappy lines turn sentimental and guess what? He breaks it off with a telegram. Segal plays the usual schmuck who rapes his women but can’t get his zipper down. Isn’t that the truth? Any highlights are smothered in London’s fog. Sorry.

Robbie Cruger

LIVE AND LET DIE (United Artists) -Just in time to catch the caboose of the blaxploitation gravy train, producers Broccoli and Saltzman present James Bond’s answer to Shaft and his bros. There should be no doubt as to what that answer is, but Rah-jah Moore sure does look funny standing next to sweaty pimps in their Eleganza threads with his Saville Road suits. The action emphasis is on small vehicles hitting one another: car vs. car on NYC’s East River Drive, car vs. airplane and running men while Bond and student pilot destroy a small Southern airport, and, boat vs. car vs. honkoid sheriff in a spectacular chase through Louisiana bayous. Guy Hamilton saves it all with his customary wham-bam direction since the script is even dumber than usual and an uncharacteristically low budget means Chevys, not Mercedes, get destroyed. After The Golden Gun Broccoli and Saltzman will quietly retire from show-biz only to resurface shortly later heading their own privately financed secret crime conspiracy (patterned after S.P.E.C.T.R.E.) which will hold the planet earth for ransom. This time for real. It’s gonna be even more fun than Watergate.

Brian Zabowski