Movies

• THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN is an amiable, often lively mock-heroic western, similar in tone and spirit to BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID but somewhat different in theme and story. Paul Newman gives an inspired performance as Roy Bean, a Texas outlaw who is beaten, robbed and nearly killed by an even worse bunch of thieves and murderers in the anarcho-badlands west of the Pecos. Saved by a Mexican girl, he returns to finish off his attackers in a blazing gun battle, gets a case of law-and-order fever, decides to stay and sets himself up as a one-man limited government. (The movie contains quite a bit of libertarian symbolism, if one is inclined to look for it.) With the aid of four deputies and a beer-guzzling grizzly bear, Judge Roy Bean dispenses law and order primarily by means of public hangings, supporting himself and his colleagues with the loot recovered from outlaws. It is high and mighty adventure for a while, and Roy Bean's career is finally ended not by badmen but by the changing times. The movie's lusty, free-wheeling atmosphere is abetted by first-rate photography and fine (if often too brief) supporting performances. Victoria Principal plays the lovely, soft-spoken girl who saves Roy Bean's life. Jacqueline Bisset, as Bean's daughter, is as flinty and hard-headed as the Judge himself. Roddy McDowall is at his evil best as an opportunistic lawyer who eventually brings a different kind of law and order to the territory. Ava Gardner makes a rare appearance as Lillie Langtree, a famous actress whose posters adorn Bean's headquarters. John Huston takes a brief time-out from directing the movie to play an old mountain man who has come down to die. A few of the scenes, such as the initial gun battle, are not quite believable, but what the movie lacks in credibility it more than makes up in exuberance. Rated "PG".

• After seeing the movie 1776, I have only one question: What's all the fuss about? Since it first appeared four years ago as a Broadway play, 1776 has received an inordinate amount of praise and condemnation. A musical drama based on the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the film has been lauded for "humanizing" the founding fathers and "telling it like it was," and denounced for "vulgarizing" the founding fathers and making them appear as "buffoons." I don't agree with either side—but I did enjoy the movie. The characterizations (with a few exceptions) are only cardboard-deep, but one does get a sense of active, intelligent men embarked upon a serious mission. There are some moments of levity, but only once, during a song by Ron Holgate as Richard Henry Lee, does it get out of hand. William Daniels as the hot-tempered patriot John Adams is the chief protagonist, and his is the best-realized role in the film. Howard da Silva fits perfectly my own preconceived notion of what Benjamin Franklin was like. Ken Howard is rather silent and aloof as Thomas Jefferson. The film is weakest in the musical sequences, many of which distract from the main action. By far the strongest scenes are the debates between the patriots and the Tories, the slaveholders and the abolitionists during the attempt to hammer out the Declaration. Even if oversimplified, the issues are brought out in the movie and dramatized in word and song. A "theatrical" tone has been transferred from the stage play to the movie, but this seems appropriate in view of the subject at hand. Despite its simplifications and occasional digressions, 1776 is a positive tribute to America's revolutionary heritage. Rated "G".

• The spring entry from Walt Disney Productions is THE WORLD'S GREATEST ATHLETE, and in many respects it is not a typical Disney movie at all. The story is about Nanu (Jan-Michael Vincent), an incredibly swift and strong jungle boy who is lured to America by two college coaches (John Amos and Tim Conway) to save their fading careers. They plan to make him the world's greatest athlete, and after a period of training he is entered in all the events at the NCAA track and field competitions. Complications arise, including the boarding of Nanu's pet tiger, his involvement with his tutor, Jane Douglas ("Me Nanu, You Jane"), a bit of sorcery with voodoo dolls, and the unexpected arrival of his godfather, a witch doctor (Roscoe Lee Browne), who accuses the coaches of exploiting their prodigy. So far, so good—and typical Disney. But now for the surprises. The script, by Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso, contains a fair amount of low-comedy slapstick but also a remarkable amount of sophisticated humor and satire. In a cameo role, for instance, sportscaster Howard Cosell is hilarious in a lampoon of his own image. Some of the humor, however, is in questionable taste; one of the jokes is made at the expense of a deaf man. A bit of contemporary satire is thrown in, as the witch doctor reveals to a group of M.D.'s that he has discovered a cure for the common cold. "The pharmaceutical companies have given me $20,000," he says. "To continue your research?" "No, to keep my mouth shut." Perhaps the most startling departure is the introduction of moral complexity in the usual black-and-white world of Disney. The head coach lies to Nanu to trick him into coming to America, and when Nanu discovers this he confronts the coach with the lie. In attempting to justify himself, the coach says, "Sometimes, if you want your dream to come true, you've got to make it happen." Nanu eventually accepts this explanation, and the coach is allowed to get away with his trickery. Whatever one's evaluation of these changes from the tried-and-true formula, it appears that Disney Studio is taking some tentative steps toward the real world, and away from the cotton-candy never-never-land of many of its previous films. Rated "G".

• From the more than 50 movies I have seen in the past year, here are my picks for the "bests" of 1972:

Best Picture: BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE.
Best Actor: JON VOIGHT in DELIVERANCE.
Best Actress: DIANA ROSS in LADY SINGS THE BLUES.
Best Supporting Actor: JAMES CAAN in THE GODFATHER.
Best Supporting Actress: SIAN BARBARA ALLEN in YOU'LL LIKE MY MOTHER.