The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 14, 1980, Page Page 6, Image 6
Entert
Jazz]
Staff Reports
Several jazz bands have
contributed their talents to
USC's Jazz Fest this week.
Participation at the concerts
are indication of how
i f>Xsl
i;:;" V^/r-JK'.:
I"- "1^VV.'ir : v
> ^ \ ^
Dick Goodwin, leadei
Quintet, plays a solo durit
at the Golden Spur Wedn
music professor at USC.
r # ifUM
Knotts,
By David Baker
Film Critic
"The Private Ej es,"
directed by I^ang Elliott,
deserves little more in the
wav r\f a ro\;io\i/ Ih-jn (Vi? lifn
vl M iV,,V" VilCAii HIV. Hit
story of a gnat deserves to be
written into a 900-page novel.
The movie is an unassuming,
mildly entertaining trifle
aimed primarily at children,
who no doubt will love every
one of its minutes.
Tim Conway and Don
Knotts nortrav thp dim
witted Dr. Tart and the
nervous Inspector Winship,
a pair of gumshoes who've
been sent by Scotland Yard
to investigate the murders of
n _ Tn.J /Tim ^/inu/dl/i A
LJf. I at i f 111 n wffwf/ <
Knotts) explore a passai
Pictures comedy "Th* Priv
;ainmei
preva
-IV* r;
1/
popular the performances
have been.
The USC Student Jazz
nnrfarniA/^ IVlAti^'nr
?^'Wiiiuu p^i wxn uitu muiiua v
and Tuesday afternoon in the
Russell House Theater. The
jH
r*8p:'v* r39Ml |
.J^ JIB
I
' o/ f/ie 0/c/r Goodwir
J- -?- 1 j/ c.
ly nis uana s performance
esdav night. Goodwin is i
{Photo by David Cut then}
2 Eyes 'j
, Conwc
Ix?rd and Ladv Mnrlpv ii
1940 England.
7
Soon after their arrival a
Morley Mansion, Tart am
Winship discover that thei
seven suspects are droppinj
like flies, supposedly at th
hands of I^ord Morley'
ghost. The phantom likes t
:?4: : n? * ? '
uiiiiiuuaie me iwo privai
eyes by leaving increasingl;
bizarre notes attached to th
clothing of his victims.
Because the mansion ha
no telephones, Tart an<
Winship must communicat
with the Yard by means of
flock of carrier pigeons, an
the scenes with the bird
provide the film with it
Bfc> '-.-^.V. .-.y >^W/Xw /
P l ' ^ f '"'
' ^' "y'-i
l #? ^ _ .. i Ji* _ < i#%
'nu inspector win snip fuoi
leway in the New Work
/ate Eyes."
ntran
1^
us
zz groups pr
students, led by USC
r i?i ivi i. _
pruic'ssor joiim r,incne,
provided the audience with a
rousing rendition of jazzfavorites.
The Combo has about 20
student and graduate
members. They tour each
year drawing crowds
wherever they go.
THERE ARE two
conoratn cfnHnnl 1177
UVV OlUUVUl JUCti
combos,each performing one
of the shows. Both groups
| exhibited professionalism
and cohesiveness. The
j concerts were well worth
going to see, and hopefully
| they will perform again on
campus soon.
The Left Bank Band took
over in the theater Wed
nesday afternoon, also
providing the crowd with
good jazz. Such favorites as
"Bill Bailey'wereamong the
crowd pleasers.
The Glenn Phillips Band
took the stage in the Golden
Spur Tuesday night. The
four-member group is
working its way to the top
with superlative guitars and
tight instrumentation.
i Phillips, clad in knee pads, a
> headband and high top proj
Keds, plays lead guitar,
making his black Gibson
sing with high, sweet notes
>oins
i y again
^ comic highlights. Especially
hilarious is Conway tossing
a pigeon through a pictun
t window.
d
r In that the character
g portrayed by Conway an
e Knotts are no different fror
s those portrayed by them i
o three other films an
e countless television show*
y it's a tribute to the talents c
e both men that overuse ha
not diminished thei
^ VIIUI U\.IV,1 O V/IICLII VL IIUD:
d Supporting performances i
e "The Private Eyes,
a however, are overdrawn t
d the point where describin,
s them as charicatures woul
s be the understatement of th
year.
The script, which Conwa
pn-wrntp with .Inhn Mvhor
in the space of three days, i
so filled with holes that, if
could be shaped into a bow
it could be used for
colander. Elliott's directio
is above average in man
respects, he even includes
tribute to "Citizen Kane" i
the opening scene, but h
- muxes poor use 01 u
^ M or ley Mansion, failing I
I utilize its spooky facade f(
any scarey purpose.
The most mysteriou
aspect of "The Privat
Eyes" is its PG rating. Th
movie contains no four-lette
1 ~i:
IYffJl Ud dl Hi I 111 ^IlllipbV il
nudity. One must assume
therefore, that the producer
opted for the harsher rat in
solely because of the stigm
7 that lately has bee
y uasuiziciit'u wun any inovi
rated G from a studio othe
than Walt Dinriey.
A ..
ovidina (JSC i
and harsh, strident rilfs. u ,
The band's main claim to a H
jazz-rock fusion style of
music is their untraditional ;
guitar work and keyboards.
The equipment is basically a r?
?? 11 A I A A I
i ii run st'i-up, uui irie M
sound is quite different. The
southern origins of the group | fl
are unmistakable in the K
keyboards and the lead 9
guitar. The band could be the
beginnings of a new genre of '
southern jazz-rock artists. *
"I WOULD classify my B
style as instrumental rock. H
We play and write what we
ieei line playing at that point \m
in time," said Phillips. "My mm
style and music are totally I T
instinctual, I respond to N
what feels good and I give it i?
back to the audience." H
The Glenn Phillips Band
provided an energetic,
nr/>tirrl rvlr\or?i.\rt .. I w L 1 - f
v.i uwu-jjicaaiiig ill}-',ill UI
entertainment in the Jazz ~
Fest schedule.
The Dick Goodwin Quintet pr<
performed at the Spur ba
Wednesday night. The group to
consists of four professors gr
and one student. pr<
Dick Goodwin, USC en
Saxaphonists of the Left t
performance Wednesday in
d Fjrz*
? 1 im Con
d
i at iv sn
r
By David Baker "1
|-j Film Critic
This past June, while "The i
o Private Eyes" was on thi
g location at the Biltmore wr
d House in Asheville, N.C., I ea
e was invited to spend a day on
the set. I was able to talk <
with the picture's star and m<
y co-writer, Tim Conway, and pe
s the following is an excerpt
IS frnin nnr intornimu
II VIII VUi III IV I ViVVY , '
it ea
I, GAMKCOCK: How long foi
a did it take you and John pe
n Myhers to write "The p(
y Private Eyes?" sa
a co
n CONWAY: It took quite a on
ie long time. We talked about it up
ie for about 10 minutes one day dc
o and then we started writing ha
>r it. We put about three days fo
into it and that was it. See, m
with these plot lines, you it,
s would have to be at least I I
e three years old to un- ar
e der stand these pictures. So
r they're not all that difficult
to write. "The Prize cY
'i Fighter" only took a day and te
s a half. It has actually taken fa
K longer to film a scene than it
a did to write one, or to write
n th?* U'lmli* mnvio ""
f. ..W.v v ? IV. CI J
e ' da
r ' V^AMKCOCK: How much te
''inaterial do you write for dc
SHHHHHhHhuI
vith quality
MM *
itifll
P* If odH' .. -1? l.
Xdk JHSHHaH
Glenn Phillips of the G/ei
ome high-stepping during /
'olden Spur Tuesday night.j
lessor and leader of the pe
nd, obviously knows how rc
get an act together. The se
oup performed pe
Dfessionally and were as re
tertaining as any group ar
Ij^
the Russell House Theatre.
way sur
ow's su
'heTim Conway Show?" fc
a
CONWAY: I write about di
ree sketches a show, so I T
ite about 15 minutes of hi
eh show. hi
n<
(JAMKCOCK: Is writing rr
r>re satisfying to you than h<
rforming? 01
d<
CONWAY: Writing comes w
sier to me than oer- h;
rming. I don't work at
Tforming at all. But
jrforming is more "
tisfying because you can b<
ntrol it more. The writing, t<
ice it leaves the paper, it's
i to somebody else to
itermine what's going to si
ippen with it, unless 1 write w
r myself. 1 like writing for u]
yself and then performing
as 1 do on television. Then
know exactly what 1 want si
id I go out and do it. si
GAMECOCK: Of all the
laracters you do on pi
levision, do you have a
vorite?
A L
II
CONWAY: (In character d
, Mr. Tudball) Well, I tink
it dere are some characrs
dat you can du dat you
n't have tu write too much
shows
I
JMMIjjg
in Phillips Band does
iis performance in the
Photo by Karen Kemper)
rforming during Jazz
;st. The group has cut
veral albums and their
rformances are not
^Jy:;-^- fly / '%"i*V'^li^;-.^'^S^H^r^-'V"*
^""jmm
?rous songs from their
(Photo by Kim Newman)
'prised
ccess
>r dem. You can actually d'
character and when you're
jin' dat character, like Mr.
udball, you don't really
ave tu write too much for
im. Dat character, if you
utice, does not say too
mch. What he just does is
b has a tendency tu ramble
i and mesmerizes you with
b way he's talking and
hen he gets through, he
asn't said a damn thing.
(JAMKC'OCK: Why has
The Tim Conway Show"
Ben cut down from an hour
I 'lO minilloc tllic
' vv niiiiiuvk) VI1H7 OVUOl/ll .
CONWAY: I actually
iggested that. 1 don't know
hether variety shows' hold
p for an hour anymore.
(iAMKCOCK: Did the
low's success come as a
irr*riv:n 1vaii')
r" ,k,v 4v/ j uu
CONWAY: A total surrise.
GAMECOCK: Why do you
link your earlier shows
idn't do as well?
CONWAY: Some of them
S00 Conway pttgn 7