The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 55, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 14, 1968 Page: 4 of 12
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66
The Fox" gets chickens in perverted pastoral display
Rxf nnpnAv DO * nu\r _ v ••. , ■ ■ . "
By GORDON BRADEN
Fine Arts Staff
A good deal of literate in-
telligence went into the making
of "The Pox" (now on roadshow
at the Village), as well as some
genuine taste—far more than
studio's lascivious ad campaign
would lead us to believe.
There is a surface impres-
siveness to it that almost hides
the fact that nobody has quite
managed to control the whole
of it. Actual artistic engage-
ment the film displays only
sporadically.
Neither its animating concep-
tion nor its expressive limits
arc clearly defined, and the re-
sult is a subtle confusion of
purpose. It is a handsomely as-
sembled film, but, I think, too
seductively so for its own good.
Perverted Pastoral
The story, derived from D. H.
Lawrence's novella, tells of a
violated pastoral. Instead of
Vergil's homosexual shepherds
there is a pair of potentially
lesbian chicken-farmers (Sandy
Dennis and Anne Heywood),
idyllically locked in the middle
'i<" a Canadian winter.
Their chickens are threatened
by a fox ("symbol of the male"
the advertising notes, for the
• i nefit of the undergraduates);
' if relationship by an intrud-
{ Keir
man
then:
rv Wt
evwooci. Th
m fact to 1
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which to deal with it.
Grainy Cinema
The intentionally grainy pho-
tography of the surroundings
and Lalo Schifrin's beautifully
evocative and thoroughly silly
musical score are part of this
conspiracy.
The male counterpoint is in-
serted, in one form or another,
at all the schematically appro-
priate interstices, but it is never
physically realized.
The predatory fox, as photo-
graphed, looks more cute and
furry than sexual (something of
an object lesson in the problems
of transferring symbols across
genre lines); and Dullea, compe-
tent an actor thaugh he is, is
simply not capable of project-
ing masculinity as an autono-
mous force.
Lesbian Ethos
Such an off-balance is, of
course, deathly poisonous to any
realization of Lawrence's own
intentions; and eyen within the
context of the film itself, the
effect is disorienting; and the
final triumph of the male,
through an exploitation of a
latent death wish in the les-
bian ethos, seems hopelessly
strange.
These are not the film's only
problems. Mark Rydell's direc-
tion is riddled with half-assi-
milated mannerisms and a ten-
ency towards over-elaboration.
That ending, for eample, is
elegraphed to the point, literal-
s'. of laughter, and the fox
symbolism is laid on, as Shakes-
peare put it, with a trowel. The
omnipresent ferocious close-ups,
usually of eyes, are seldom es-
pecially revealing, either in
placing or composition.
Lack of Discretion
A*nd Rydell has a frustrating
way of botching up some beau-
tifully simple sequences that
would obviously be extremely
effective if photographed with
discretion: e.g., the cow-chasing
scene, or the opening paradig-
matic raid on the henhouse.
There are genuine moments.
A few bits, like the dirty dish-
es and the unwatered pot plants,
are first-rate cinema: both clear
symbolism and potent story-tell-
ing.
The cider-drinking sequence,
with its bawdy song unselfcon-
sciously bringing out the lines
of the hidden triangle is sim-
ply marvelous; and the notor-
ious lesbian scene between Den-
nis and Heywood is really very
delicately and movingly done.
There is a highly astute script
by Lewis John Carlino and
Howard Koch. The weighing of
a good deal of the dialogue for
its symbolic value is perhaps a
bit too palpable, but the grasp
of the shifting psychology of
the situation is secure, and the
film, while it moves quite slow-
ly, never meanders.
Yet in the end the power of
some of the individual scenes
never assembles itself into any
significant pattern. The film is
thin in too many places for the
necessity of the ending to be
fully realized, and the accumu-
lative effect is curiously tepid.
Woodwinds present bold program
By RON BROWN
Fine Arts Staff
The Woodwinds of Houston
answered the challenge of the
Contemporary Chamber En-
semble (also a woodwind quin-
tet) with a bold program on
March 1 in Hamman Hall.
The music chosen was mostly
twentieth century, with only
one nod to conventionalism in
Beethoven's Quintet for Piano,
Oboe, Clarinet, Horn and Bas-
soon, Op. 16.
Oboist Raymond Weaver,
clarinetist Jeffrey Lerner, horn-
ist James Tankersley and bas-
soonist Paul Tucci were joined
by pianist Tobe Blumenthal
for the Beethoven.
Felicitous Combination
It proved to be a felicitous
combination; possibly sparked
by some of the most exquisite
piano playing heard in Hous-
ton this season, the members
of the quintet acquited them-
selves handsomely with true
Be e t It o v en ian spi rit.
Tankersley was having prob-
lems throughout the evening,
but even that did not dim the
effects of overall excellence in
.ensemble. Everything went so
well that Mrs. Blumenthal was
not even obviously bothered
when the piano started rolling
away from, her.
Mrs. Blumenthal, Weaver
and Tucci joined after intermis-
sion in a performance of Poul-
enc's Trio for Piano, Oboe and
Bassoon (written in 1926).
The trio did not seem to have
noticed that this music is dif-
ficult; any technical problems
WINNER
7 ACADEMY
AWARD
NOMINATIONS!
Best Picture
Best Actress
Best Actor
Best Screen Play
Best Supporting Actress
Best Cinematography
Best Director
■JOSEPH t LEVINE
MIKE NICHOLS
LAWRENCE TURMAN
THE^H
GRADUATE
ANNE BANCROFT...AUSTIN HOFFMAN KATHARINE ROSS
CALDER WILLINGHAM. BUCK HENRY PAUL SIMON
MM'OMMCDBv PHOOlKfOB*
SIMONGAREUNKEL LAWRENCE TURMAN
mwcHOB*
MIKE NICHOLS TECHNICOLOR® PANAVISION"
tMBASiV PiCTuRCS PJiUSC ,
NOW
oC&e/t/s STATE
must have been worked out at
a very early rehearsal.
The overriding impression
was that the performers were
having as much fun playing the
music as Poulenc did writing it.
It was impossible for even the
hardened critic to do anything
but sit back and share the fun.
The Woodwinds of Houston
were completed by flutist Byr-
on Hester for music by Ingolf
Dahl, Charles Wuorinan and Al-
vin Etler.
Hester is the weak member
of the group, with a singularly
dull and fuzzy flute tone. Un-
fortunately this was not just
a temporary lapse; he plays
that way all the time.
Flawed Brilliance
In Dahl's "Allegro and Ari-
oso" this failing was not too
important. The highly percus-
sive nature of this piece does
not emphasize beautiful tone.
In fact, it is hard to under-
stand how any woodwind play-
er who likes his instrument
could accept Dahl's abuse of it.
Apparently this group could ac-
cept it, and with the one ex-
ception already noted the per-
formance was a brilliant one.
The Quintet II by Ethler ex-
hibited few of the faults of
the other two pieces. The wood-
wind writing was appropriate
to the instruments, and the ma-
t e rial was significant and
varied enough to maintain, in-
terest.
Again the performance was ex-
cellent, although the horn gob-
lins and fuzzy flute tone took
their toll.
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the rice thresher, march 14, 1968—page 4
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Garon, Phil. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 55, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 14, 1968, newspaper, March 14, 1968; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245024/m1/4/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.