Page 2 College Station, Texas Thursday, September 18, 1969 THE BATTAUC^N
CADET SLOUCH
by Jim Earle
At The Movies
with Bob Peek
As many of you may have al
ready noticed, there has been a
drastic change in the nature of
the movies playing in local thea
ters around the country. To be
sure, there are still cheap, sensa
tional films being ground out for
the twin-bill drive-in circuit, and
“skin flics” still abound in grimy
downtown “art” theaters, but the
features showing in first and
second run houses are different
from their ancestors in content,
style and purpose.
From the beginning movies
were intended primarily if not
totally as pure entertainment.
Film was a unique medium in
this respect. Print was all things
to all men, to steal a phrase. It
was literature, it was journalism,
it was personal communication
and it was entertainment. Movies
fulfilled only the latter purpose.
And the industry was slow to
change.
Television, and to a lesser de
gree radio, shook the film world
out of its complacency. They
brought entertainment and art
and news to virtually everyone,
and at no cost to the viewer. Why
go to the movies if you can watch
t.v. ? And the steady improve
ment if television programming
made response by the film indus
try even more imperative.
Hollywood’s answer was the
extravaganza. $11 Million! 14
Years in the Making! Cast of
Thousands! Hollywood made a
mistake. The movie moguls called
it quits after the “Cleopatra”
fiasco. The box office had spok
en. The giants were dead.
Gradually the industry realized
that to prosper it would be neces
sary to change the very nature
of the medium. Thus movies be
came more than entertainment;
they became literature. Today’s
movies are novels, short stories,
plays, cheap western adventure
tales, dirty books and even poe
try. And our society, as well as
the film industry, is better for it.
“Movies are better than ever!”
Or so the movie industry told us
back in the late fifties and early
sixties, a time when the industry
was afraid the growing populari
ty of t.v. would decimate its prof
its. If the phrase was boastful
then it is an understatement to-
Today movies are indeed far
better than they have ever been
before. The overall improvement
can perhaps best be seen in the
extinction of the “B” picture.
And the first “B” pictures we
remember were the old-fashioned
westerns. We can all remember
buckskin-clad Stewart Granger
assuring his old friend Rain-in-
the-Face that he would track
down the dirty dogs that ruth
lessly murdered the chief’s son.
The chief always agreed, provid
ed of course that the paleface
accomplish this task before the
sun set three times.
These movies were always
identifiable by their predictable
plot, trite and corny dialogue,
obscure cast and poor quality of
film and camera work. A low
budget usually meant a low qual
ity picture. This is no longer
true.
The descendants of the “B”
westerns are movies of the “Fist
ful of Dollars,” “Good, Bad and
Ugly” genre. The plots are still
predictable, and the dialogue oc
casionally breaks down into a
series of cliches, but the quality
of direction and cinematography
is such that these pictures are
highly enjoyable. Another factor
in the success of these movies is
that the studios are using well
known, competent actors in the
starring roles.
ACE HIGH is one of these
“Super-B” pictures, and it has all
their qualities for success. Not
a dramatic success by any means,
because its plot is too predictable
and tends to drag its hooves at
all the wrong times. But it will
succeed as entertainment because
the action is indeed delightful, the
camera work is superlative and
mostly because Eli Wallach steals
the show as a conniving Greek
ruffian determined to revenge
himself upon three former part
ners.
With the reluctant help of two
bounty hunters, Wallach picks off
the victims one by one in action
scenes which are comic to the
point of being sophisticated slap
stick. Finally, it takes a scheme
worthy of “Mission Impossible”
to destroy his last victim.
“Ace High” is a fun picture,
but if anything makes it worth
seeing it’s Eli Wallach’s hilari
ous performance.
Although not unique, “Ace
High” is an unusual example df'
the “Dollars” series of movies. It
is unusual in that Clint Eastwood
is absent. The Italian-made “gut”
western and the ex-Rawhide
Ramrod brought each other from
obscurity to an unprecedented
level of success, but now East-
wood has gone on to higher pay-
checks.
Noticing the popularity of such
Eastwood co-stars as Lee Van
Cleef and Eli Wallach, the Italian
movie-makers decided to create
a series of pictures starring these
men. “Ace High” is one example.
“Death Rides A Horse,” with
Lee Van Cleef, is another.
Just because Eastwood is gone,
don’t get the idea that the image
he created departed with him.
One of the bounty hunters in
“Ace High,” Terence Hill, could
very well be the grand prize win
ner in anyone’s Clint Eastwood
look-alike contest. Hill differs
only in his Paul Newman Blue
eyes. Even Eastwood’s steely
gaze and disdain for the spoken
word remain.
“Death Rides A Horse,” sched
uled to replace “Ace High” at
the Campus Theater next week,
also boasts a young Eastwood
type. The Italians don’t let a
good thing get away from them
without a fight.
ON OTHER CAMPUSES
m
By Monty Stanley
Texas Tech has a Transit Bus
Company on campus, rather than
a tram. The buses follow four
routes, named blue, green, yellow,
and red, which are run anywhere
from 5 to 20 minutes apart.
Foremost among student gov
ernment plans for this year at
Texas Tech is the institution of a
campus Better
jg||MHSgr Business Bureau,
jflf Says the Student
Hf Association Pres-
gp^ ident, “There are
■ many Lubbock
businessmen who
take advantage of
— Tech students.
They require de
posits on apartment rent that
they do not intend to give back.
Insurance and book salesmen also
take advantage of the student, as
do some merchants and restau
rants who charge unfair prices.
This business bureau would give
Tech students a chance to know
before they buy.”
A “free-speech area” has been
set aside on the Texas Tech cam
pus, set up by the administration
to allow students to speak out
when they felt it necessary. The
liberals on campus, though, re
portedly object to the placement
of the area, saying the location
is not in the mainstream of stu
dent traffic. In a better location,
they claim, passersby could be
more easily attracted, thus in
volving a greater number of stu
dents in discussion. However, in
return, it was pointed out that
the University of Texas free-
speech area, often used as an
example of the ideal, is located
just as much out of the way of
the usual student paths, yet was
Che Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of
the student writers only. The Battalion is a non-tax-
supported, non-profit, self-supporting educational enter
prise edited and operated by students as a university and
community neivspaper.
LETTERS POLICY
Letters to the editor should be typed, double-spaced,
and must be no more than 300 words in length. They
must be signed, although the writer’s name will be with
held by arrangement with the editor. Address corre
spondence to Listen Up, The Battalion, Room 211,
Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843.
MEMBER
The Associated Press, Texas Press Association
Mail subscriptions are $3.50 per semester; $6 per school
full year. All subscriptions subject to 4%
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Texas 77843.
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Members of the Student Publications Board
Clark, Colleg*
College of Agriculture.
dent Publications JtSoar
chairman ; Dr. David Bowers, College
S. White, College of Engineering; Dr
;: Jim
Liberal
The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for
•publication of all new dispatches credited to it or not
herwise credited in the paper and local news of spontaneou
Jication of all othe
reserved.
Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas.
otherwise credited in the papei
origin published herein. Rights of republ
matter herein are also
ers
Lindsey, chairm
Arts ; F. S. White, College of Engineering; Ur.
Clark, College of Veterinary Medicine; and Z. L. Carpenter,
are:
of
Donald R.
The Battalion, a student newspaper at
blished in College Station, Texas dail
publisl
Sunday, and Mon
May, and once a
Texas A&M is
except Saturda
lege Station, Texas daily except Saturday,
day, and holiday periods, September through
week during summer school.
Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising
Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and San
Francisco.
EDITOR v DAVE MAYES
Managing Editor David Middlebrooke
Staff Writers Tom Curl, Janie Wallace, Phil
Brinker, Jay F. Goode, Pam Troboy
Steve Forman
Columnist Monty Stanley
Sports Editor Richard Campbell
Photographers Bob Stump, Bob Peek
Sports Photographer Mike Wright
S’
s'
Mayor Proclaims
Constitution Week
This week has been designated
Constitution Week in College Sta
tion in a proclamation by Mayor
D. A. Anderson Monday.
In his proclamation, Anderson
noted that this week marks the
one hundred eighty-second anni
versary of the signing of the
Constitution. The statement urged
schools and churches in the area
to observe the week with appro
priate ceremonies to inspire the
citizens of the United States to
study and learn about the great
est document in American history.
The week is also being pro
moted by the William Scott Chap
ter of the Daughters of the
American Revolution.
Mrs. Martha V. Callender,
chairman of the DAR chapter,
in a prepared statement urged
all citizens to join in studying
the Constitution.
The DAR has set up a special
program on Constitution Week
slated for today at 3 p.m. at the
home of Mrs. Sam Sharp, 301
Crescent in Bryan. Dr. Bernard
Massey, historian at Allen Acad
emy, will be guest speaker.
The DAR urged all citizens to
fly their flags each day during
Constitution Week.
unaffected by this apparent dis
advantage.
A search is on for a large dog
which bit a student from the
University of Oklahoma. If it is
not found, the boy must begin
a painful series of rabies shots.
When asked, the victim was un
able to describe the dog but did
remember it was owned by a
beautiful blonde.
Last year, about 700 students
were withdrawn from OU for
failing to register their local
addresses, telephone numbers and
selective service classifications.
Griping about new computer
systems of registration is not
limited to A&M by any means.
At SMU, for example, professors
are so bothered by their “prog
ress” that one school, that of
Humanities and Sciences, voted
unanimously for a return to the
old card system, or at least to
a revision of the old way.
Other campuses are having
about the same housing shortage
as we are here at A&M. One
place in particular comes to mind.
OU has converted a bunch of old
discarded Navy barracks to dor
mitories for women. Among oth
er problems in the process of
acculturating the girls to little
changes in accommodations, it
was said that “one innocent young
thing unknowingly washed her
hair in a plumbing fixture left
over from the days when the
dorms were designed for males.”
It seems she thought it was sort
of a sink or something specially
designed for such use.
“I know this sounds silly and I hope I’m wrong, but ever
since we went to computerized registration I’ve felt, for
some strange reason, that our equipment was in danger!”
Bulletin Board
TONIGHT
The A&M Parachute Club will
organize at 7:30 p.m. in room
113 of the Plant Sciences Build
ing. Men and women interested
in skydiving should attend; train
ing classes will be planned for
the weekend.
The Association of Students
from Mexico will present its pro
gram for the fall semester at 7
p.m. in room 3B of the Memorial
Student Center.
The El Paso Home Town Club
will meet after yell practice, room
2-A in the MSC.
FRIDAY
The A&M Rugby Club will
meet in room 2-C in the MSC at
8 p.m. to elect officers and collect
money for letters.
TUESDAY
All new Army ROTC cadet
wives are invited to a
welcoming party, 7:30 p.m. Tues
day at the home of Colonel Jim
McCoy, 2702 Burton, in Bryan.
The Memorial Student Center
Camera Committee will meet at
7:30 p.m. in rooms 3B and 3C in
the MSC. Semester membership
cards will be passed out and lock-
THE C
:OFFEE LOFT
501 University Drive — One Block East of Post Office
Presents
Friday, Sept. 19
8-12 P.M.
r ■' '
MANCE LIPSCOMB
Nationally Famous Guitarist,
Blues and Folk Singer
Saturday, Sept. 20
7:30 P.M.
Listen to A&M-LSU Game
Film During Halftime
“Humble Football Highlights of SWC”
The Coffee Loft is a Coffee House sponsored by the United Campus Christian Fellowship, which features
entertainment, dialogue and relaxation for students, faculty and staff of the university.
perma-crease
Westbury Slacks
|imt fitnrnco
unibtrtiitp men’s; toear
329 University Drive 713/846-2706
College Station, Texas 77840
er assignments will be made; a
second meeting will be Sept. 29
for those who miss this one.
Bower Named Director
Of Data Processing
Robert Bower Jr. has been
named director of the Data Proc
essing Center, announced Gen. A.
R. Luedecke, associate director of
A&M’s Texas Engineering Ex
periment Station.
Bower, 29, has served as act
ing director of the university’s
computer facility since Sept. 1,
1967. He joined the staff two
years earlier.
A 1961 chemical engineering
graduate of Texas A&M, Bower
received a master’s degree in
computer science here in 1966
and is now completing require
ments for his Ph.D.
While serving as director,
L.
AGGIES
Come in five or more in one car. The driver of the
car eats free. Any of our Mexican plates. The driver
must bring this ad with him.
We have the best in Mexican Food.
EL TORO RESTAURANT
. 500 N. Sims & 22nd
Bryan, Texas
Hours 11 a. m. to 2 p. m. — 5 p. m. to 10 p. m.
7 days a week
.J
LET US ARRANGE YOUR
TRAVEL ..
ANYWHERE IN THE U. S. A.
ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD
Reservations and Tickets For All Airlines
and Steamships — Hotels and
Rent Car Reservations
-Call 822-3737-
Robert Halsell Travel Service
1016 Texas Avenue Bryan
5°° cvc?*^-
?o
You’re in charge of building the float, decorating the house
and dressing up the party. So you need Pomps, the flame-
resistant decorative tissue. You can decorate anything beau
tifully with Pomps, inside and out, and do it faster, easier,
better. Pomps don’t cost much. They’re cut S" x S" square,
ready to use, come in 20 vivid colors that are virtually run-
proof when wet. Buy Pomps at your bookstore, school supply
dealer or paper merchant. And ask your librarian for our
booklet “How to Decorate With Pomps.” If she doesn’t have
it, just tell her to write for a copy. Or, order your own copy.
Send $1.25 and your address today to The Crystal Tissue
Company, Middletown, Ohio 45042. . . _ _
>,v pomps
Bower had responsibility for in
stallation of Texas A&M’s IBM
360/66 computer. He and his
staff have since modified the
third-generation computer to pro
vide storage for almost 400,000
words, giving the university the
largest memory unity of any edu
cational institution in the South
west.
Prior to joining the Texas
A&M staff. Bower was a chemi
cal engineer at Sinclair’s Hous
ton refinery.
HUMPTY DUMPTY
CHILDREN’S CENTER
3406 So. College Ave.
Bryan, Texas
Announces the Staff for
1969-1970
Kindergarten
Mrs. Nancy Whitlock, B.S.
6 Year Old
Pre-Kindergarten
Mrs. Beryl Barr, B.S.
4 Year Old
Playschool
Mrs. Lynda Hathcock, B.A.
5 Year Old
Playschool
Mrs. Marilyn Pringle, B.A.
2 Year Old
Child Care
Mrs. Ruth White
Over 8 Years
Child Care
Mrs. Dorothy Bond
One Year Old
Child Care
Mrs. Ingeborg Bengs
Infants
Cook
Rachel Benson
Secretary-Bookkeeper
Mrs. Francis Griffin
Enrollments Are Being Taken Now
823-8626
Mrs. Larry Jones, R.N., Owner
WELCOME AGGIES
to
Central Baptist Church
30th & Coulter, Bryan, Texas
Take advantage of our free bus
service.
Bus Schedule
Stop 1 - 9:10 — Dorm 2
Stop 2 - 9:15 — Henderson Hall
Stop 3 - 9:20 — Dorm 22
Services
Sunday School 9:40 a.m.
Training Union 6:00 p.m.
Morn. Worship 11:00 a.m.
Evening W or &hip! r 7:00 p.m.
Join us for coffee, donuts &
orange juice Sunday at 9:40 a.m.
... PEACE OF MIND
Peace of mind—if you have
it, great. If you don’t you're
uptight.
It’s easy now to start plan
ning for peace of mind by
investing in a life insurance
program that can provide the
foundation for a solid financial
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cause the earlier you start, the
less it costs, and the more
security you’ll have a chance
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Give us a call. Or stop by our
office and talk with one of
our qualified representatives.
You’ll find the talk informative
and refreshingly low-key. So
do it today. Avoid the war of
nerves tomorrow.
?
j
Gordon B. Richardson
Aggie Campus
Career Life Underwriter
Phone 713 — 567-3165
PROVIDENT
MUTUAL^te LIFE
INSURANCE COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA
PEANUTS
By Charles M. Schulz