Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • 221

4 i "Austin Amerleaii-StatesgK ApfH )w' 7 "if BOOKC I I Linda Hunt, above, relieved Reg.399 ISSL-g the tedium with an eloquent 1 now 329 ZfJHHSxK- thank you, as did an emotion- 4 TnW 1 at Shirley MacLaine, cele- I V1 4 WE'RE MORE THAN JUST A MATTRESS STORE brating at right with Robert Unrewarding Oscar show's bright spots few and far between Film Patrirk Taggart before you leap. i A regal and self-possessed Cary Grant brought a much-needed touch of class to the even-more-than-usually slow-paced Academy Awards. By now, a week after the fact, it is a matter of record that Monday's Academy Award show was without a doubt the dullest ever. To list the reasons why it was so utterly lacking in drama would consume more paper than this company normally keeps in the warehouse, so we won't do that The Oscar went to the predictable choice in every case, and not only were there no surprises among the awards, there weren't even any of those deliciously embarrassing moments that make live television what it is. (Oh, for the sight of Jon Voight reacting in hysteric admiration to Laurence Olivier's unfathomable acceptance speech a few years ago.

"Terms of Endearment" best film, as expected. Shirley MacLaine, best actress, Robert Duvall, best actor in a walk. "Fanny and Alexander" as ordained, just as surely as the fact that Ingmar Bergman would not win best director. FOR MY MONEY and thank goodness we didn't have to spend any to see this travesty the high point of the evening, the thing that made it all worthwhile, was the unbilled appearance of Cary Grant His appearance came immediately after a commercial, and no one announced it He just strode on stage, the white hair glittering majestically, set off by those beefy, black-rimmed glasses. In a voice still firm and full of authority, the most endearing leading man in movies, age 80, saluted his late colleague, David Ni-ven.

They could have let him go on all night for all I cared. Every moment that he was on stage brought back savory memories of his performances in "His Girl Friday," "North By Northwest" "Topper." (Someone watching the show with me asked why, in 1966, he quit making movies. The actor has said that he thought he was too old to continue playing the romantic lead roles that had been his metier.) As unceremoniously as he appeared he was gone, and the 1984 Oscar telecast quickly slumped back into the ennui of Frank Sinatra, endless acceptance speeches and Herb Alpert plumbing the manifold mysteries of "Maniac." TRUE, IT WOULD have been difficult not to enjoy the eloquent words of Linda Hunt as she accepted her Oscar for best supporting actress, or Jack Nicholson's delightfully inarticulate thanks for his award for best supporting actor. And Shirley MacLaine's rambling, emotional words provided the nearest thing to an exciting speech, as well as a few keen observations about her peers. (Her description of Debra Winger's talent as "disturbed brilliance" is particularly Gunite Pools From (o OJ (0) 10, oHonojyy 0 0 0 Subject to area access But apart from that it was worse than business as usual.

Next year I'm crossing my fingers for another streaker, someone's refusal of the award, or even just an upset win among the nominees. And now for something completely different If you thought that "Reefer Madness" took you to Olympian heights of high camp, the Ritz has an even older, even crazier film available for viewing this week. It's called "Maniac" and was produced and directed by Dwain Esper more than 50 years ago. With a plot that defies description and all but the most extended synopsis, the film mixes acute psychological maladjustment with more than one or two nude bodies. THE FILM HAS been an underground hit for years and is beginning to attract attention among high-mind-ed and curious filmgoers.

A critic for the Village Voice called the film "the sort of cinema loco time capsule that showboat modernists as disparate as George Landow and Brian De Palma might be proud to produce today." The movie will be shown at the Ritz at 8 and 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at midnight on Friday and Saturday. Admission is $2. 8319 Research 834-833: SPAS SOLAR A. VPW HOURS: Sat.

10-4, Sun. 1-5.