Thursday, May 29, 1969
THE BATTALION
At The Movies kv ^ plak e
“Good is when evil takes a
rest.”
James Coburn has joined the
ranks of the elite. He stars with
Lee Remick, Lilli Palmer, Burgess
Meredith, Patrick Magee, and
Sterling Hayden in “Hard Con
tract.”
Wondering what that first fun
ny quote I opened with means?
It’s the philosophy of Sterling
Hayden, who plays a retired syn
dicate killer. More about that
later.
This is a chilling, real film
about the beautiful people, and
how they affect/are affected by
the Syndicate. The Syndicate has
as its suburban branch head Bur
gess Meredith, an ex-college pro
fessor turned consultant. The
Organization hires him to keep a
current list of threats to security.
He takes care of dispensing with
the threats, evidently by hiring
the right man at the right time
to do the knocking off.
But this is no ordinary murder
story. In comes sedate, quietly-
efficient James Coburn, who is
the best murderer the Syndicate
has for hire.
He gets a hard contract from
Meredith: three men, each in dif
ferent countries in Europe.
In between the scenes from the
U. S. to Europe, where our hero
(or antihero) has never before
been, we get a glimpse of his
personal life. It seems that before
he leaves for an assignment, after
an assignment, and between as
signments, he has a thirst for
sex.
When he arrives in Europe,
quite naturally, with all his teeth
flashing that is what he asks for
—at the price of fifty American
dollars. Lee Remick, with a group
of the beautiful people, overhears.
Being a beautiful person, and also
an attractive, red-blooded young
women, she decides that she must
try it. So she hires herself out,
with the full post-blessings of
group leader Lilli Palmer.
At a price of $100.
And so goes the movie. The
beautiful people reverse the phi
losophy of Mom and apple pie,
and are a group of live-in exis
tentialists. Coburn knocks off two
of his contract, and becomes in
volved—yes—to use that over
worked expression, in love—with
Lee Remick. But the third man
on the contract is harder, and
Coburn’s hands are beginning to
shake.
He tries the old remedy in a
native house of prostitution, but
it doesn’t work any more. He still
shakes.
The third man on the contract
is Sterling Hayden, bearded, ro
bust, retired from the profession
of killing. Coburn is visibly af
fected by his philosophy, grow
out of reading many books since
he stopped.
Finally, Coburn wonders if he
can stop, and marry the girl next
door, and live normally, etc. The
rest of the movie he tries.
This is an unusual film. In it,
Coburn has no gadgets. He is a
highly-paid professional because
he happens to be good at his job.
The film is tightly edited, well-
photographed, with an unusual
plot. It is held together with very
good character portrayals by Lilli
Palmer and Burgess Meredith,
who proves he is worth more than
his Batman villain roles.
Worst of all, the movie points
a fascinating aspect of life on
this good green earth: are there
really men like him ? Is there
really a Syndicate which can snuff
the lives of people for dollar
bills?
My guess is, it happens every
day.
Local Poverty: A Battalion Interpretive
(Continued From Page 1)
OAA helps people over 65 who
are out of work and need money.
AFDC aids families with chil
dren up to the age of 18, or 21
if the child is in school. The
child’s parents must be either
dead, gone (desertion), sick, or
disabled. No family can receive
AFDC if there is a male in the
house able to work. About 140,-
000 Texas children from 38,000
families now receive this aid.
APDC AIDS disabled persons
18 or over who need the help of
another person in carrying out
the usual activities of living. The
program now aids 20,000 Texans.
A potential welfare recipient
must apply through the office of
O. S. Hervey, Brazos County
welfare agent.
It takes about 30 days for an
applicant to get a response,
Hervey noted. If the welfare
people don’t respond, the poten
tial recipient may ask for a fair
hearing. This means someone
in the Department of Public
Welfare who was not involved in
deciding if they were eligible
will review the case, Hervey said.
TEXAS’ WELFARE programs
are rated 46th among the states,
Hervey noted. Welfai'e funds
are limited to $60 million by the
state constitution, but an amend
ment which would raise this sum
to $80 million will be voted on
Aug. 5, he added.
There is a need to “inform the
voters on this issue; they must
pass the amendment,” he em
phasized.
The Bryan welfare fund, ad
ministered by the county, tem
porarily helps people who are in
jail or going through hard times.
It pays grocery, electricity and
other bills, County Judge W. R.
Vance said.
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION
schools are also helping needy
children with the aid of federal
programs.
One of these is Head Start, a
program which helps prepare
pre-school children for the first
grade. The service is available
to children of certain low-income
families, and welfare recipients
regardless of income.
There were 330 children in the
Bryan program last summer,
Mrs. Auston S. Kerley, director
of Head Start for Bryan, said.
HEAD START employs 20
primary grade teachers and
aides who are either mothers of
the children or persons from the
poverty area where Head Start
is selecting children.
Registration forms are sent to
all families of children who will
start in the first grades in all
elementary schools except Crock
ett, Henderson and Ross schools
were relatively few families are
eligible for the service, Mrs.
Kerley said.
The College Station Head Start
teaches 45-50 children each sum
mer. The children are selected
through health nurses, free lunch
programs and welfare roles,
Elvis T. Ozment, program direc
tor, said.
HEAD START in both cities
also provides free medical exam
inations, dental treatment, lunch
es, and snacks, along with dis-
Listen Up |
Editor;
The Battalion:
Recently it was my pleasure
to be on the A&M Campus as a
member of a group from the
Houston A&M Mothers Club to
make presentations to various
organizations. Our reception was
gratifying and heart-warming.
From the first Orientation
Meeting three years ago up to
the present, I have been increas
ingly impressed with the unfail
ing courtesy and good manners
that I have encountered all over
the campus. Everywhere I’ve
gone I’ve been met with helpful
ness and good humor, and I’d
like to take the opportunity to
say, “Thank You, AMU!”
Mrs. Charles W. Frank,
President
Houston A&M Mothers Club
cussions with parents on nutri
tion, advice on the use of surplus
foods and how to get the most
out of the food dollar, help and
counseling by local family agen
cies for personal problems and
help for families seeking welfare,
health, housing and educational
aid for their children.
Another program that seems
to be working is the free lunch
program.
“A CHILD’S attitude is 100
per cent improved if he comes
to school on a full stomach. He
is more responsive to the teach
er,” Mrs. Mary Ann Franke,
school dietician and head of the
free lunch program for Bryan,
said.
Bryan schools also have an en
viable record in preventing drop
outs.
The schools have a drop-out
rate of three per cent, which is
the lowest in the state and prob
ably in the nation, Mrs. Kerley
said.
“These drop-out students aren’t
the result of being poor or being
slow learners or mentally re
tarded, because such students are
well taken care of by specific
programs for them in the
schools,” Mrs. Kerley said.
Brazos county initiated a fund
in May 1968 that provides med
ical help for impoverished per
sons.
“THIS IS one of the greatest
things that Brazos county ever
did for the indigent. It helps
those in need of hospital care,”
Bill Elkins, administrator of the
Indigent Hospitalization Fund,
said.
Doctors refer their patients to
Elkins, who reviews the cases to
determine eligibility. Eighty per
cent of a hospital bill is paid by
the fund. Patients who are under
intensive care or undergoing ex
tensive examinations are sent to
John Sealy Hospital in Galveston
where the full amount is paid.
The fund helped 16 patients
last year and has helped 65 this
year, Elkins said.
Cbe Battalion
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Members of the Student Publications Board are: Jim
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EDITOR DAVE MAYES
Managing Editor David Middlebrooke
Sports Editor Richard Campbell
Staff Writers Tom Curl, Janie Wallace,
Tony Huddleston
Photographers Bob Stump, Bob Peek
WALK SHORTS BAN-LON SHIRTS
$3.75 to $7.95 $4.95 to $10.95
Large New Shipment, Just Arrived . . .
At S North Gate
Page 2
College Station, Texas
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PEANUTS
SOOP...I LL ASK HER ABOUT
THIS PAIN I'VE BEEN HAVING
IN MV SHOULPER...
By Charles M. Schulz
NEVER PAS5 UP A CHANCETOEET
A LITTLE FREE MEDICAL ADVICE
PEANUTS
60 GET ME
A GLASS
OF UUATER .
OUHV SHOULD I DO ANYTHING
FOR VOU? VOU NEVER DO
Anything for me...
TX
ON YOUR SEVENTY-FIFTH
BIRTHDAY I'LL BAKE YOU A CAKE
LIFE IS MORE PLEASANT
WHEN YOU HAVE SOMETHING
TO LOOK FORWARD TO...
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