The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 18, 1977, Page Page 13, Image 13
'The La
a charm
By CHUCK CROMER
Entertainment Editor
Margo, an actress-turnedpusher-turned-neurotic,
caught up
in the romanticism associated with
private investigation in the film
"The Late Show," exclaims, "You
nmhflhlv wont thrnnrlh fKia bUJ ~f
r~ ? 'V w,,v V,M VU6U wuo ?miiu Ul
thing a million times already. But,
I mean, I feel like Nick and Nora,
for G6d's sake."
Ira Wells, Margo's baffled, overaged
private eye accomplice,
replies, "Who?"
The allusion Margo is making is
to Nick and Nora Desmond, a
wealthy and somewhat eccentric
detective team made famous in
film history by William Powell and
Myrna Lov in the 1930's Pmv*?n
and Loy, along with Humphrey
Bogart and Lauren Bacall, best
represent the romantic private
detective duos of movies in the
1930's and 1940's.
To Depression and war
audiences they symbolized intelligence,
individualism, complete
self confidence and absolute
invincibility. Audiences could be
assured that when they accepted a
case, these detectives, possessing
all the answers, would have the
mystery solved by film's end
without seeming to work up a
sweat.
THIS ROMANTICISM in
detective movies is what "The
Late Show," a clever serio-comic
mystery parodies.
It incorporates characteristics of
the 1940's detective movies in a
uuiuciiipurury selling mat IS
directed and written by Robert
Benton and produced by Robert
Altman.
Ira Wells, (Art Carney), a
onetime contemporary of 1940's
detectives Sam Spade and Philip
Newton-Jo
concert is
graceful
and fluid
VaMHMHHMHM
ite Show
ing 7 0s-<
Marlowe, is the opposite of our
preconceived notions of film
detectives; he is old, poor, has a
gimp leg, perferated ulcers, and
wears a hearing aid. There is
initially nothing about him that
inspires confidence or invincibility.
These traits are, like
everything else in Ira's world,
earned through time instead of
endowed or inbred as with Bogart's
Or Powell's phnrart??r<:
The plot of "The Late Show" is
both charming and humorous,
while at the same time graphic and
realistic. Ira Wells is a semiretired
detective who is drawn
back into action when his long-time
partner Harry Regan (Howard
Duff), is shot to death while looking
for the kidnapped cat of a Los
Angeles kook named Margo (Lily
Tomlin). When Margo shows up at
Regan's funeral wifh rhnrim.
Halter (Bill Macy), an "information
man" who has known
Wells for years, Wells agrees to
take up the case out of a sense of
duty to his dead partner.
FROM THIS POINT, the plot is
nearly indecipherable. In summation.
Mar0n and Wollc
v 0? v,..v ITVIIO IVXtlll
together to solve the complicated
mystery, but only after about ten
murders, a car chase across
suburban front lawns, several
ulcer attacks, a couple of
muggings and betrayals.
"The Late Show," critic James
Monaco writes, "is not a forties
movie made in the seventies, it's a
thoroughly seventies movie made
about the forties." Monaco is
absolutely correct in his
assessment as everything in the
movie is contemporarily centered
around memorabilia of the 1940's,
executed with comic but senBv
MARV HE!
YAK BOROUGH
Gamecock Staff Wrii
Olivia Newton-Johi
her private Lear jet a
Saturday at the
- Metropolitan Airport
. L| later she walked ontc
>1111 Coliseum stage surrc
own collection of hi
and the cheers of th
audience of 8.500 w
Olivia.
At the start of the
spoke of her recent c<
Japan, which she ma
Denver. She followed i
with a dedication to
she called, "America'
countrv hnv " n#?n\/o
Roads, Take Me Hon
of several tunes Olivi
other performers.
While Olivia's mui
appeals to young adul
many fans of all
nuAitirAnA ^^1 I ~
jfunu ACUiiif,\i ll
concert as much as (
"The Air That I Breai
song Olivia claimed w
oldies. She said sh
singing it for ten yea
10s mix
timental good taste.
BENTON HAS obviously based
his script on the two most famous
detective movies ever made, both
starring Humphrey Bogart, with
Bogart as Sam Spade in "The
Maltese Falcon" (1941), and as
Philip Marlowe in "The Big Sleep"
(1946).
Benton has incorporated the
extended dialogue with its
meticulous descriptions and
mVKfpru f rnm "Tlio C1 ? ??
J J ?ut Ulg oiccp.
"The Late Show" is however,
primarily a parody of "The
Maltese Falcon." The plot,
dialogue, and characters in the two
films are incredibly similar which
make the puns that much funnier.
For example, Bogart gets involved
in the search for the
maltese falcon because, "When a
man's partner is killed, he's
supposed to do something about it.
It doesn't make anv
J X/*iWV
what you thought of him. He was
your partner and you're supposed
to do something about it."
When Wells gives the same
reason for his involvement in the
mystery in "The Late Show,"
Margo says, "That is just bullshit.
You just want to play cops and
robbers because you're getting up
there in years and you want one
last adventure."
BOGART SMOKES, drinks
liquor in a bar, and drives from
place to place. Ira Wells coughs
when he tries to smoke, drinks
Alka Seltzer in a bar, and either
walks or takes a bus to get around.
Belton has de-glamorized the
detective in "The Late Show," but
has not desentimentalized or
degraded him. While the puns are
amusing, tne attachment and
kn mjr a
r ft
n stepped off
t about 6 p.m.
! Columhia '
. Three hours ^jJI
> the Carolina ?
iunded by her g* - - -jmE
inging plants J
e crowd. The L
as ready for
show Olivia I
mnart tnii? ?
up her speech
Denver who Nev
s number one
r's "Country Olivia wou
ie," was one formancegol
ia sang from latest hit, "Si
uninhibited I
sic generally through the
ts, there were watched, aim
*
-<=>?' rappon ana |
> enjoy the
)livia did. Olivia use
the" was one movement tl
as one of her She also invi
e has been join in with h
rs. songs.
?91
jJKttSLJf > *
sympathy we feel towards Wells, a
man who exists in the 1970's but
lives in the 1940's, is emotionally
overwhelming.
Carney provides a touching
portrait of Wells, a man who is old,
poverty ridden and alone, yet an
individual who still retains his
dignity. He prefers the past, when
women were called "dames" and
"dolls" and life seemed simpler
because he was younger. When Ira
says, "This town doesn't change,
they just shift the names around,"
ir. ?:? A
nt io icicinug iu mmseii, a person
whose habits remain the same, but
whose habitation is constantly
"Hov
pwmmk, song? (
JjnSHH&k her sou
clannor
? , , to them
f ton-John receive^
Id not let this per- Whih
)y without singing her limousi
im." With grace and
, airport
luidity, she flowed "Hey, <
song as the crowd back to
ost hypnotized by her don't ^
physical appearance. much ^
;d a lot of body If Sat
iroughout the show. indicati
ited her audience to wanted
er in clapping to the problen
per for nr
Bill Macy, above, plays a
disreputable, small-time
chiseler in "The Late Show."
Art Carney stars as an overthe-hill
private eye who agrees
to look for Lily Tomlin's lost
cat.
| * V
< tW -?; -' -^' Wi~7 r *' ?
' -; * s
. ; > Jjf^S^^rgPf i
changing.
Lily Tomlin's Margo is exceptional.
She, too.de-glamorizes
the image of a detective's "dame,"
by being mediocre in looks and
neurotic in personality. Her lines
add to the enjoyment. For
example, when describing the man
that stole her cat, she says, "He's
this guy, a sort of tuna. We used to
have a sort of sexual interlude . . .
Vau lrnaur nr\ u?i*U fl-? i
uu mivn, gu w 1 LI 1 HIC I1UW :
"The Late Show" is a treat for
devotees of the detective film
genre since they will recognize and
appreciate the puns more, and an
entertaining film for the average
viewer.
r about a good country |
D'mon ya'll," she yelled in I
thern accent. The audience
I along as Olivia's small
inced and jumped on stage
the song "Jolene."
ing across the audience,
of fans reflected an uned
fascination for Olivia. To
she is a goddess.
S
a also sang her hits, "Have
ver Been Mellow" and "Let
rhere" before the hour-long
came to an end.
e she said goodnight to the
iative crowd, Olivia
ed "I Honestly Love You"
. The 25-year-old performer
d three standing ovations.
-
i Olivia was waiting in the
ine for her trip back to the
, a young male fan yelled,
Dlivia, when are ya coming
Columbia?" She replied, "I
now, it all depends on how
rou want me."
urday night's show was any j
on as to how much her fans
her, Olivia should have no
i heading the list of female jj
lers for some time to come. I