Show I Pagn 14— Tim Harold Journal Logan Utah Tuaaday July 7 1998 ONE BIG HAPPY ‘A Separate Cinema’: of ‘race movies A'-collectio- aon’NDtrsiHCPUN I'LL TELL MY MOM THXTVXK AND YOU TELL WURHOM TMT MY MOM SAD IT MIS MOMSMDirUMSQWm OKAY WITH METOHAEDNCRAT fORRYlfOUT HR fiORMCR) HAVING WttOU KTATYUUR HOUSE YOUR HOUSE n NEW YORK (AP) — It was filmmaking that took flight on the wings of frustration die Mack artist's answer to bigotry and stereotypes Sometime mound 1910 a new genre arose in die infant movie industry Called "race movies these films came into being because white Hollywood refused to acknowledge that blacks were anything d more than shufflin’ eyes who leaned on simpletons with bugged-ou- t brooms and spoke bad English Besides this Mayers Goldwyns and Warners of Hollywood mused blacks could not possibly write head-scnitch- shiny-face- CATHY KiaT l w mouse NOUMKMILK DONE NOCMJL&MWUCD MfMEIIE$MN0C6TD direct and produce films But producers such as William Foster and George NOMONCV MULCTED and Noble Johnson and directors such as Oscar NOMUSMID in aem mu newora Micheaux and Spencer Williams ml wap It proved the big-o-ts wrong Thor magical melodramas detective HWCTD SJWWEAFMfl uf stories and musicals depicted blacks with dignity and a realism that wu absent in Hollywood On Wednesday beginning at 8 pm EDT and continuing through the night turner Classic Movies wifi show six "race movies starring Paul Robeson and Herbert Jeffrey (the black Gene Autry) on its cable channel as part of a month-ton- ZILCH j g series A Separate Cinema The series running each Wednesday night in July features the 1994 documentary Midnight Ramble about Micheaux and the race movie genre and 29 BEETLE BAILEY films starring such acton as Robeson Jeffrey Williams Josephine Baker Mantan Moreland Ralph Cooper Lena Horne William (heaves and or at special screenings in segregated movie houses The genre’s diversity is documented in the TCM there are Westerns like series Mostly Wednesday night's The Bronze Bnckaroo (1938) Harlem Rides the Range (1939) and lire Gan Man From Harlem (1938) — filmed a! one of the few dude ranches in California to allow Macks musicals like Juke Met (1947) to be shown July 15 and Duke Is Tbps the 1938 movie in which Lena Home made her film debut to be televised July 29 There also are boxing movies like the 1937 Joe Louis film The Spirit of Youth airing July 29 crime stories and mysteries — Miracle in Harlem and Midnight Shadow both telecast July 22 and loads of melodramas and dramas tackling such knotty subjects as domestic abuse education lynching In Wednesday night’s 1936 movie The Song of Freedom Robeson portrays a London dockworker John 7 up who loop to discover his African heritage The film with a score by Eric Ansell showcases Robeson's powerful bus like many films in the genre it presents blacks as dignified intelligent people who often have good taste and values Zinga and his wife (Elizabeth Welch) live in a simple but nicely appointed home with books and porcelain lining living-room shelves They treat one another with tenderness and respect And as in most “race movies' they speak in standard Eastern English as opposed to the inar- ticulate utterances so many Hollywood movies employed at the time — and still encourage today Lincoln Perry (Stepin Fetchit) In ail “race movies" viewers will see that the The series debuted July 1 with the world premiere weren't too different from white black of the restored version of Micheaux's The Symbol of at times good compelling story were There ones 1921 the Uncompleted a silent feature about ethnic and occasional inspired camera work Many lines Klux Klan Ku with the a of pride scathing portrayal “race movies" marry of which were done oo thin budgets and appear cheap others Oddly have been lost were inspired by DW Griffith's show artistry There were handsome debonair leading men glorification of the Klan The Birth of a Nation The so-call- 1913 epic which the American Film Institute ques- tionably lists as one of the greatest American movies of all time gives a naive and HAGAR THE HORRIBLE one-sid- ed view of Reconstruction and portrays black men as ugly animals who love to rape white women A year after Griffith’s tide hit the screens the Johnsons came out with The Realization of a Negro1! Ambition a movie about a black oil baron Micheaux converted his novel The Homesteader into a movie in 1917 and black film companies began popping up throughout the United States in places like Omaha Chicago New York and Los theaters Angeles showing movies tn black-owne- d gorgeous elegant leading ladies evil diabolical bad guys outrageously funny comedians talented singers and dancers acton whose performances would be at home on a Shakespearean stage The only difference is that white filmmakers and producen were allowed a (dace in American film history Blacks were not Ephraim Katz's The Film Encylopedia is one of die tew books to reference black film pioneers But A Biographical Dictionary of Film by David Thomson and Gerald Mast's A Short History of the Movies both ignore the contributions of blacks including Robeson and Horne ‘Armageddon’ performs well PEANUTS LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fireworks and barbecues cut into the box office impact of Armageddon Disney's most expensive movie ever about a Texas-size- d asteroid headed for Earth opened with $348 million over the holiday weekend short of die $412 million debut of Deep Impact earlier this year according to preliminary numbers Sunday Mi“lt looks like the release of Deep Impact earlier this summer had more of an effect on the results of Armageddon than wu originally anticipated” said movie industry analyst David Davis who characterized the film's opening a “triple" rather than a u “You would definitely rather have more pictures doing $100 minion in the summer than one picture doing $300 minion" said Tom Sherak distribution head at 20th Century Fox which has the hit Dr Dolittle the near-h- it The and the disappointing Buhmrth “It’s much better for die industry for them to be spread around” As expected Armageddon drew mostly younger males The audience was 54 percent male and 46 laden Armageddon Although the special-effec- ts had the Fourth of July weekend to itself it also suffered because the holiday fell this year on a Saturand day usually the biggest day for movie-goin- g many people’s attentions were focused away from the theaters Bruce Willis leads the Armageddon cast which also includes Liv Tyler and Ben Affleck The movie received almost universally bad reviews The movie’s early performance kept to this summer's trend: Several movies doing healthy $100 million-plbusiness propelling the season toward its best total ever but no movie breaking the $200 million mark So far three films released this year have grossed more than $100 million — Deep Impact ($1372 million) Godzilla ($134 million) mid The Truman Show ($1095 million) — and others are on their-waincluding Armageddon the weekend's No 2 Dr Dolittle which grossed $198 million for a $65 million total to date and No 3 Mulan with $116 million for the weekend $771 million total blockbuster status Meanwhile showing incredible staying power is Gone With die Wind A restored version of the 1939 classic grossed $8201000 in its second week of just missing the Top 10 Here are estimated grosses far the lop movies at North American theaters for Friday through Sundry as compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1 Armageddon $348 million 2 Dr Dolittle $198 wmIImw 3 Mulan $116 million 4 Out of Sight $63 million 5 The $64 millinn 6 The Truman Show $57 millinn T Six Days Seven Nights $54 million 8 A Perfect Murder $33 millinn 9 Hope Floats $16 million 10 The Horse Whisperer $14 million “home run" MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM us REAL LIFE ADVENTURES The upcoming Small Soldiers and lethal Weapon leading candidates to break $100 4 also are seen u es percent female with 65 percent of those males under the age of 35 according to Disney raising questions about the movie's staying power The post-7-7 tonic conventional wisdom is that a movie must now appeal to both males and females to hit es CLOSE TO HOME SAX BY 7HUAYt WHAT THC VHRNiSH TO BST MAY 70 APPCf a Picnic tabib?" Atfuse use By Phillip Alder BRUS-H- DON Y 60 BACK AND FORTH BfCAUSC THAT A FOAM CUOVLD Look at the North hand Your partner opens one diamond you respond two dubs and partner rebids two diamonds What would you do now if anything? In my opinion North should rebid three clubs showing a minimum response with at least six dubs The opener with some dub fit and prime cards should either take a shot at MAfce TH£ SURFACE ALL BLOTCHY? OH two-over-o- ne three no-tru- or bid three spades asking North to go three Yes North might rebid two hearts but as most pairs (day that as game-forciit is an overbid Yet it is light years better than the recomoriginal question-cetter'- e ng :-- Getting expert advice before you start deprives you of the thriH of undobigJtyoineK At Jury Springer's family reunion mendation He told his readers that North should pass He claimed that because South had shown a minimum opening and there was a potential misfit “it spade toward his king for nine must be assumed that there is no tricks game” There are two key points ei9MbyNEAlne First I fed strongly that a ' North response guarantees a as rebid So North is not allowed to V A two diamonds over If you V pass don’t wish to rebid respond one KQII not two something Veal ' East I Secondly when yon have a aaJ ‘ respectable long minor think KQTS4 Here that conthree teas tract is still feasible Suppose South is in force KS I West win surely lead foe o iaa South's spade force a Aqaaas king as his ninth trick (given the At 2 chib split which wiU happen Vulnerable: Neither 67 percent of foe time) Lucky? Dealer South No — but let West lead a heart know I I’ve South foe (Yes Weal given Pan a 10 — enough already!) East wins la ?? ? with foe queen then switches to a diamond South can win with the Opening lead: 8 ace run the clubs and play a two-over-o- ne Jt no-tru- Qian no-tru- aiatt no-tru- 3-- J j Mkl sfowuMwa |