Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 21

ietEoditGl FAMILY LEISURE THE ARTS ST. PETERSBURG TIMES 5b AUGUST 6, 1977 Old soldiers never die, they just fade into film boss MacArthur (rated TO), produced by Fran McCarthy, dwecttd by Joaaph fargant. atarrlng Oragory Pack. Ed Flandara, Dan OHarHhy, and othara; omstna profanHy and vfcManoa. By FRED.

W. WRIGHT JR. 8t, Patarsourg Tlmaa Thaatar Critic MacArthur wasn't Patton and Mac Arthur isn't Patton. This latest war flick bio, MacArthur, trots out a heavyweight, Gregory Peck, to portray one of this country's most celebrated and most WRIGHT ON FILM controversial gener- als, Douglas MacAr- DDIIIIDII thur, also a heavy- -mTm weight Trouble is, MacArthur becomes simply a lengthy (128 minutes) history lesson, touching all the highlights of MacArthur's rocky career, carefully mouthing all his famous lines, conscientiously presenting the general in all his slightly idiosyncratic glory. IT'S A BIT like trying to capsule World War II in 30 seconds.

It can't be done with any sense of scope or appreciation. Unlike its predecessor, Patton, to which this film inevitably is being compared, MacArthur deals not with a madman but with a man who sometimes got mad. There is a world of difference, and MacArthur, like its namesake, simply isn't extreme enough, isn't audacious and outrageous enough to match the earlier and more definitive war flick. At its best, MacArthur presents the general spatting with various American Presidents down through the war years: Roosevelt, Truman (Hoover earlier, but that's not shown in this film). Truth of the matter is that MacArthur was a rather single-minded, fervent defender of the flag and country, and woe be to any mere President who got in his way.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur also was a military whiz, but MacArthur seems content only to mention his strategy of leap-frogging around Japanese strongholds during World War II, and his landing at Inchon during the Korean War. MacARTHUR ALSO had a five-star ego, which is the most appealing aspect of this film portrayal. Unfortunately, we see too little of the ego, of the petulant boy-man, of the general vanity. Some, but not much.

We get only teasing glimpses of the unique public relations campaign MacArthur's staff waged in the midst of World War II, and that aspect of generalship was equally as historic. I I i) Pal 'J "-I Still, Gregory Peck is an outstanding actor, and his efforts at MacArthur result in a diverting portrait, if not a particularly captivating one. We get only the best-remembered MacArthur traits: the jutting jaw, the corncob pipe, the sunglasses, the achoolbook mementos: I shall return; I have returned; Old soldiers never die We also get meticulous recreations of great moments in history, particularly the signing of the Japanese surrender. MacArthur, in this respect, seems more like a Roman spectacle, a remake of Caesar and his Gallic wars. There is too much time and energy spent on the touchstones of history and too little on the man.

PECK'S BAD boy is naughty only in socially accepted ways. His stubborn head-butting with Truman is partially justified by the film's biased perspective. And Truman, played by veteran stage actor Ed Flanders, steals the film. Flanders' feisty version of Truman is wonderfully animated and just the right contrast to Peck's grayish portrait of the general. There are some gratuitous scenes of combat, all except one unnecessary for telling the MacArthur story, but crucial to the lumbering pace of the film.

On the other hand, MacArthur offers several tight, well-concocted scenes, and some camera work technically unequaled heretofore in major motion pictures. By using a newly designed camera support, which employs gyros to stablize a hand-held camera, director Joseph Sargent can give the viewer a long, continous scene in which the camera follows, ducks, rises, curves and circles its subject without the picture ever bouncing or jerking. Take note of the scene in which MacArthur arrives at a just-liberated POW camp. It's a subtle but significant advance in film-making. Sadly, though, the technical expertise of this film isn't matched by the overall flavor.

Peck is always in command of his role, but MacArthur generally endB up seeming longer than the war itself. 1 The surrender of the Japanese aboard the battleship U.S.S. Missouri recreated in the movie biography of one of America's greatest soldiers. Uruvtf mi Studios Gregory Peck portrays the corncob pipe smoking Douglas MacArthur, one of this country's most controversial generals in Universal Studios' film MacArthur, Authorization sought for 2 new TV channels XT' HUMES GEnrjOUJ V'; possibilities; usually more is collected than can be used. For telereports, the nature of the visual materials is an important factor.

Contrary to some opinions, the questions on The Bucs are those of the fans rather than those prepared for them by Channel 13. This can be easily confirmed by the fans who appear on the show and whose names and addresses are kept on file at WTVT. Vanocur wants Schorr Sander Vanocur said he wants "tough, ambitious, difficult" Daniel Schorr in ABC News new investigative team, which Vanocur heads. He will ask ABC executives to hire him. Schorr, 60, has been treading water and writing a book since his enforced leave from CBS following his part in the publication of secret CIA reports last year.

However, ABC must top Schorr's salary which he otherwise will continue to receive from CBS until 1979. Satellite distribution The Christian Broadcast Network has joined other programers in the move to satellite distribution. Its entire 16-hour daily package women's shows, musical variety programs, instructional series, youth and minority interest shows and 700 Club is offered at no cost to broadcasters off of RCA SATCOM II. Paramount's Hughes TV Network (whose $3-million contract for bouncing space on Western Union's satellite was announced in this column last week) will offer three new hour-long Star Trek episodes each week plus two hours of movies. United Press International soon will use a satellite to transmit news shows to cable systems three times daily.

The Suncoast may get two new television stations if and the federal mills often grind the biggest "ifs" to useless pulp the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) grants approvals. The Christian Television Corp. of Largo, a nonprofit, nondenominational organization headed by Largo electrical contractor Robert D'Andrea, has asked for UHF Channel 28. The Commercial Radio Institute Inc. of Baltimore, Md.

wants permission to telecast on UHF Channel 38. According to D'Andrea, Channel 28 would present only Christian religious programing on facilities developed with capital raised among the Suncoast Christian communities. A six-month campaign to raise between $l-million and will begin later this month, D'Andrea said Thursday. "CHANNEL 28 IS A Tampa allocation," he said, so the studio must be in Tampa but the signal will be sent from WLCY-Channel 10's new tower near Holiday. Eventually Christian Television will originate live, local shows from its own 200-seat auditorium-studio, he said.

In the meantime, D'Andea has contacted religious program producers across the country who have promised "all the help we need." In addition to the familiar PTL Club, Billy Graham Crusades, Moody Bible Institute shows and 700 Club, D'Andrea said there is a variety of programing available including dramatic films, cartoons based upon Biblical stories and teenage quiz shows. "We want to do just the opposite of the other stations," said D'Andrea. "It should be possible to have soap operas and situation comedies about Christian homes. Our news and weather shows won't emphasize disasters. We'll give news about revivals and new The Bucs has potential.

McKay 3uffered TV's equivalent of chronic arthritis the football-coach-in-studio interview, a decades-old, moldy and boring format. Such restraints have been eliminated by the advent of lightweight, portable videotaping equipment, nicknamed ENG (electronic news gathering). For The Bucs, WTVT sports director Andy Hardy gets out of the studio with these light cameras to record questions from Buccaneer fans wherever he finds them on the Suncoast. Later, also with ENG, he obtains the answers from Buccaneer players or coaches. ENG CUTS PRODUCTION time dramatically.

Stations with ENG and microwave relay systems can put ENG sound and pictures on the air directly from remote locations. Videotape editing is faster (as instantaneous as an "instant than film editing because no time is needed for chemical processing and cutting and splicing. Thus material for a show like The Bucs is easily gathered with ENG within a week. No miracle required, as one sportswriter suggested. In fact, it is anticipated at WTVT that some segments for The Bucs will be taped on air-days, Fridays.

ENG's convenience makes it possible to record any impromptu encounter (for example, Hardy's chat with his barber in the premiere show) although because it is unexpected, the initial portion of a conversation may have to be reconstructed for the camera. But that isn't unknown in broadcasting. One standard procedure in obtaining interviews for TV news is to ask the question before the camera is turned on. Beside being courteous, the reporter hopes the interviewee then will be able to formulate a clear, and brief, answer. The material in any documentary report is selected by an editor from among available church-building programs in the area." D'Andrea hopes for rapid FCC approval on the two-month old application.

FCC processing usually takes a minimum of six months and sometimes, in contested cases, years. For this reason, Commercial Radio Institute's spokesman, Julian Smith, refused to discuss plans for Channel 38 when contacted Thursday by phone at his Baltimore, Md. office. "Unfortunately, we're not looking for promotion at this time," he said. The institute's application for channel 38, a St.

Petersburg allocation owned and operated until 1970 by WSUN, is so new it hasn't been published in FCC listings and thus is still uncontested. And apparently the institute wants to keep it that way. THE UNDERSTAFFED television review section of the FCC is suffering a boom of pending UHF applications more than 150 because of the boom in television business. Among them are requests for stations to be located in West Palm Beach, Jacksonville and three in the Miami area. Around the country, commercial time on existing channels is at a premium.

Schedules are nearly sold out, which makes prices for available time beyond the reach of many local advertisers. Different look at 'The Bucs' WTVT-Channel 13's new weekly sports series, The Bucs, (Fridays, 7:30 p.m.) received ANDY HARDY taking camera to gridiron. bruises in its first scrimmage with Suncoast sportswriters who seem unfamiliar with newer television technology. The Bucs certainly isn't a candidate for an Emmy. And no great hurrah can be raised in noting it is an improvement over McKay, the series Channel 13 produced last year featuring Buccaneer coach John McKay.

Anything would be an improvement and opinion SHENK ON MUSIC Jv'f Z7-i lfea3" Troupe' delights with several levels of fun 4 1,1 1 sLassassslassSBaasssaasai PhotM by GARY 8WEETMAN The masked Pantalone (Kim Ivan Motter) threatens his servant Pedrolino (Howard A. Branch, Jr.) in Troupe in a Trunk. Three young women Fhminia (Jean McDaniel), Isabella (Lou Ann Csaszar), Franceschina (Kathleen Archer) use their wiles and winning ways to get the lovers they want rather than the husbands their families intend for them. the audience: Captain Spavento (John Green) and Arlecchino (Arthur Hanket). In fact, the one time the younger children in the audience really let out a whoop was when Arlecchino tried to kill himself by holding his nose and covering his mouth.

When a noise suddenly came forth, he said, "I forgot it would come out the other end." The children howled. And I expected that to be over their little heads! So you be the judge for your children's sophistication and entertainment level. pratfalls to laugh at during the typical mixups of lovers and suitors and furious fathers; the older children could appreciate the art of makeup and costuming, plus some of the subtleties of the actors' roles; adolescents could understand more of the plot and the script, and adults could get even deeper into the play's satire on the art form of commedia dell'arte set to the highly appropriate piano score (some original, some arrangements of familiar music) by John Franceschina. So, considering all this, plus comments by the age 12, 14 and adult members of my party, I would say the company's efforts were a vigorous success in the realm of entertainment It was clever, fast, funny, easy to follow and understand and the actors were enjoying themselves as much as the audience was. The music didn't necessarily fit the style of the action, but it didn't really matter.

And the choral work was unusually good. TWO CHARACTERS seemed to especially delight That little trick apparently didn't baffle many of the youngsters in the audience, but I'd wager that much of the company's original story did (it was based on the commedia dell 'arte scenario, The Betrothed). In fact, if it hadn't been for friends of the cast who howled everytime they did anything even walk onstage perhaps there would have been little laughter at all from the children under 12, except at the obvious slapstick. BUT THEN, that may be the very idea behind this production by the first-year Asolo Associate Company. Admittedly, it would be difficult to come up with something to entertain all ages.

And Troupe in a Trunk may be the best one they have devised yet. However, if I could have seen it without the other cast members and friends present, who obviously enjoyed all the inside jokes the other audience members had no way of knowing about, the effect on children could be judged more accurately. However, the youngsters found some sword-play and Troupa In Trunk. Ato4o Stata Thaatar for Young Paopla praaantatlon; ttaood by JWn Hoaklnt, muaie and lyric by John Francaachtna, book by tha company of playara. Atolo Thaatar, flingling Muaaum Sarasota: Thursday.

Au. 4, 1 977, 2 p.m. Hapaata through August: Fridays 1 1 a.m. and 2 p.m.. Thursdays and Sundays 2 p.m.

tt SI 25. 11 .60. oal Saraaota 2SS-71 1 By MARY NIC SHENK tt. Pataraburg Tlmaa Music CrWa SARASOTA Sure enough, everyone and everything onstage came out of a trunk right before your eyes. And there were 13 cast members plus some columns and walls.

That waa the setting Thursday for the Asolo State Theater's first performance of the clever 1977 Theater for Young People, Troupe in a Trunk. As talented young singing actors emerged one after the other, then an hour later climbed back into the trunk, one small child whispered to its parent "I bet there's a big hole in there." i Correction, Section The Commodores will perform at the Bayfront Center today at 8 p.m. A different time was reported in Friday's St. Petersburg Times. I.