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Show J Part of that toughness is persistence. Nelson and his Fred Engel, who first showed William Ralph Nelson Director of t novel The LilBarretts ies of the Field to Nelson, badgered short-shor- Duel and Lilies By Dick Hughes Ralph Nelson, who directed Sidney Poitier to a 1964 Oscar for The Lilies of the Field and himself won a 1956 directing Emmy for his television production Requiem for a is as frustrated as a Heavyweight, penguin in a desert. Why? can't do the films want, claims Nelson through his goatee. And why not? Because of the formula system. Nelson was in Salt Lake City this past week for the world premiere of his western Duel at Diablo," which stars James Garner and Poitier and was made in Kanab, Utah. Its now at the Lyric and the Highland Drive-In- . I I Director Nelson may be exaggeratiin Hollywood he's made several successful movies, the latest Father Goose," starring Cary Grant and Leslie Caron. But he feels there are sand dunes amounting to a wasteland in Hollywood just as in television. Among these could be classed Duel, which is well done and entertaining but won't win any Oscars uness it is for Neal Hefti's excellent musical score. 'Duel' is a big action western and don't pretend it is any more," says Ralph Nelson, and he adds that he has a family to feed. But he would like to do more, in the vein of Lilies." This stems from a career beginning at 16 in Legit theater in New York. A career dedicated to excellence. "Ralph Nelson is a perfectionist, claims an associHe is a charming, brilliant ate. man, but he can be very tough to ng. In ten years I work with." United Artists seven times before the studio financed their film of the book. UA gave them $250,000, apparently in belief they'd never be able to make the film at that low cost. Nelson-Enge- l Productions brought the film in at $247,000. UA next gave them $2.5 million to make "Duel. And though Duel" is a horse and therefore opera, frustrating to Nelson, it at least fulfills half of his idea of what movies and television should do for the public. "They should entertain and instruct, believes. Take the movie of Steinbecks Grapes of Wrath in the thirties. It was shocking, but instructing." While he was instructing in television with shows like his Playhouse 90 Requiem," Nelson was happy. ; But then television went filmed programs took over. "Today film teevee is a sausage difactory," gripes the rector. He laments the death of the days when live productions on television had the same inherent quality as a stage play because the actors were on before the viewing public and you couldn't shoot retakes. It took European films after World War Two to show Hollywood that films neednt be about a dream Nelson adds, world all the time, La Strada," The Bmentioning and other award winicycle Thief This ners. impact improved Hollywood. But you still have the formula theory that a Jerry Lewis picture will gross $11 million, so you make a certain number of Jerry Lewis pictures for the money. And Ralph Nelson has to direct such formula pictures to make a living at his profession, though hed rather do art films. Hollywood just hasnt caught up with the world, he moans. Net-so- n video-tape- |