The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 27

27 Th Boston Glota Thursday, August li mti nm review William Craig plods snow no more 'Enter the Dragon-is all Bruce Lee have done it, As it was I drank too much coffee." Craig received an M.A. in European history from Columbia in 1963 and, with another child on the way, he and the family moved to Westport, Conn. Once more he began selling. "One night in the fall of 19C4, I just couldn't take it anymore the anonymity, seeing the same old people. It broke over me like a wave," Craig said.

That night he wrote a chapter from the top of his head about what happened to Japan after the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. He wrote the 30 pages on the dining room table, then took them to a friend down the street. "Not bad," Craig's friend said. After a long spell of rewriting, Craig sent his manuscript to Edgar Doc-torow, an editor at Dial Press. Several months slipped by and Craig did not hear from Dial.

Finally, he called Doctorow from a drug store pay-phone. "You won't upset me if you've thrown it away." The Dial editor replied, "We're going to publish it." Craig's bellow of delight startled several customers as he ran home to tell his wife. He worked evenings and weekends on the book before getting up nerve to ask for an advance sufficient for him to quit his job and travel to Japan for interviews. "The Fall of Japan" took three years to write and its appearance was signalled by a front page notice in the New York Times Book Review. After publication, Craig and his wife were invited by a neighbor they hadn't met to come and have some champagne.

The neighbor was Cornelius By Dolph Andrews Globe Correspondent Plodding through the snows and heat of New England, Bible salesman William Craig dreamed about writing the best-selling history book of the year. And then he did. Craig came out of obscurity to write "The Fall of Japan," and have it published by Dial Press in the spring of 1967. It became the best-selling history book of that year. That single book enabled the new author to buy a new home, quit a job he found burdensome, and spend his time writing.

Craig, 35, is somewhat over six feet and has the build of a middle-linebacker for a semi-pro football team. "The extra weight helped when I had to get my foot in the door," he said recently. He was born in Cambridge, where his father was the East Cambridge jail warden, went to Cambridge Latin High School, and there met the girl he was to marry, Eleanor Russell. Within six months of his graduation in 1947, Craig's father, mother, brother and a sister died. "I was really knocked for a loop.

I was very fortunate that Eleanor said, when I eventually asked her to marry me. There was no money in the till, so we packed two suitcases and headed across country in an old Chevrolet." The year was 1951, Craig was 21, his wife a few years younger, and the two did not stop until they reached California. The Craigs spend a great deal of time in motels outside L.A. Unpacking at a new motel, Craig discovered the Gideon Bible in a drawer. He decided it "A woman like that could teach you a lot about yourself is circa very early late show, but forget the dialogue.

instead, Bruce Lee, who might have been a genuine star had he lived beyond his 32 years, and encountered a director or two with talent, and skipped hackneyed stories. He is a restrained and, at times, very funny actor, and, foremost, he is an amazing fighter, a classical combatant with astonishing poise. The scene in "Enter the Dragon" in which he, sin-gle-handledly, pummels several dozen thugs is almost believeable in fact, it is believeable. If you take the entire affair nonchalantly passing over the measly soundtrack, ignoring the stubby direction you will easily smile, laugh, enjoy your way through "Enter the Dragon," squirming a bit at the more gruesome murders and wincing at those sound-effects chops and thuds. What a pity that Lee at a time when Martial Arts films, swelling in popularity, are filling American theaters as well as Chinese theaters, as they long have died so "mysteriously" several weeks ago.

"There is no official autopsy at the moment even though he has passed away for several weeks," explained Yon G. Lee, director and founder of the Chinese Cultural Center, at a Lee Association luncheon held recently to praise the accuracy of the portrayal of Martial Arts in "Enter the Dragon." Yon G. Lee said Bruce Lee had given Martial Arts, the traditional "dis- By Patrick McGilliga'n Globe Correspondent The story goes that Bruce Lee, the late, great cine-master of Kung Fu, was so skilled in the Martial Arts that he invented an incredible move without precedent in the long history of the discipline. He could allegedly kick his legs high into the air and swat one cheek of a villain's face and then, before landing, swat the other side of the ruffian's face also which is certainly a mean feet. "Allegedly" because his technique is so swiftly-paced that it is difficult to espy his entire motions thankfully.

"Enter the Dragon" his last and only American-produced film, slows the action down at points so his splendid choreography can be savored. Lee is the Fred Astaire of the Martial Arts, an analogy not altogether wry, and he moves so gracefully, yet so militant-ly, that he is the. best example of locomotive movement to be seen on the screen for years. "Enter the Dragon," currently at the Savoy, is a silly, little film, produced by Warner Brothers, who should know better, and co-starring Americans John Saxon and Jim Kelly, who also execute some fairly flamboyant Kung Fu moves, perhaps to compensate for their obtuse ing. The plot about something ridiculously familiar like an illicit drugs lord who corrupts, then kills young women, while a super-secret CIA-ish organization is all the while hot on his trail is Asia-nized James Bond, but forget the plot.

The dialogue ON THE SCENE WILLIAM CRAIG "It Ryan, author of "The Longest Day." William Craig next decided to write about the battle of Stalingrad. "In high school I kept a diary about that battle instead of doing Latin. I was very moved when I saw the wire service photo of Field Marshall von Paulus after he surrendered the Germany army in Russia," Craig said. "Enemies At The Gate" took five years, 15 rewrites and a 40-page outline. Craig moved from the dining room table where he wrote the Japan book to the study of a new West-port home.

The book was published in 1972 by Reader's Digest Press. "I work in three-and four-day spasms. I alway feel guilty if I'm not working on a project Writing is a 24-hour chore," he said. When writing, Craig locks the door and paces the study's floor quite a lot. "I write because of vanity.

I like to see my words BRUCE LEE stars in his last, and best, martial arts epic, "Enter the Dragon" at -the Savoy. cipline of mind and body," a new life as a popular art, partly by inventing "his own style." Lee said many traditionalists in Hong enraged that Bruce Lee had strayed from time-honored methods, "had once openly challenged him, in newspapers and by phone, to a duel." Regardless, the consensus among many Martial Arts experts is that Lee was an accomplished practitioner, one of the best, and speculation persists in the Chinese-American press that his death was "unnatural." Certainly it was untimely for it is only now that audiences are beginning to appreciate his tongue-in-cheek' (or foot-in-mouth) style. PETER MARSHALL stage veteran eatre Rt. 1 28, BEVERLY 922-8500 EVES, at MAT. Wed.

Sat. it 2:00 DOROTHY COLLINS "APPLAUSE" Wed. Sot. Noon: Faihion Show, llinchm Matima-Comb, Ticlmt $5.70 SUNDAY, Aug. 26 at 8:00 p.m.

AEROSMITH. Tickets $4 nx VIRGINIA GRAHAM "BEST OF FRIENDS" 4 '4S mo fen I sZ II Pearl Buck writings claimed (A would be a viable item to sell. "I sold the Bible as though it were a good history book, and the two of us managed to scrape by for a few months. The only trouble came with a man who wouldn't let me talk to the people in his apartment building and followed me outside to add 'Bible Salesmen' to the list of unwanted solicitors on the door," he said. When sales nose-dived, Craig got a job teaching the alphabet to Spanish youngsters.

"Some quack had the idea that these kids would learn quicker if they were taught the alaphabet right off. Usually I just read the kids history," he said. 4I work in three-and 4-day spasms. I always feel guilty if Fni not working on a projeet. Writing is a 24-hour chore I write because of vanity.

I like to see my words on paper published paper that Craig's next occupation was a "serious one." He worked in sales promotion for various firms around the country. Stable employment enabled Craig and his wife to drive a new Ford and "stay in some better motels." Wherever they stayed, Craig tried to go to night school. In 1959, he wedged his foot long enough in the door to get a job with a large sales promotion firm in New York City. "We already had two children and I went to Columbia at nights to study history. If it hadn't been for my wife I couldn't Buck, who died May was born in Hillsboro.

6, All of the manuscripts, as well as Miss Buck's personal correspondence, are now in the possession of Creativity, a Delaware corporation owned by Theodore F. Harris, In another development, the "Inquirer" reported that the original copy of "The Good Earth," the 1931 Nobel and Pulitzer-prize winning novel by Miss Buck, has been missing for years. A STARTLING.DRAMATIC EXPERIENCE BOSTON'S LONGEST RUNNING HIT! CHARLES PLAYHOUSE 76 WARRENT0N ST. 4231767 AIR-CONDITIONED dinner theatre SAUGUS COMING SEPT. 11 MAMIE STARRING ANNE RUSSELL COMING OCT.

16 ANYTHING GOES STARRING BETTY HUTTON i 1 TONITE at 7:30 wmmm I IB Xj mi I tyjJ 1131 STUART ST. I Every summer without fail any number of television personalities feel the urge to abandon the confines of the tube and get out and tread the circular boards. This summer Peter Marshall, star-host of "Hollywood Squares" is making the circle in the musical "The Music Man." This week he is at the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset. But unlike other TV personalities Marshall has a solid background on the stage. As a young actor he worked in shows on and off Broadway and later co-starrted with Julie Harris in the New York musical, "Skyscraper." He also appeared in the lead role in the London company of "Bye Bye Birdie" and played eight months engagements in Las Vegas in "High Button Shoes and "Anything Goes." So when you see Marshall sing and dance in "The Music Man," you see a stage veteran, not a clumsy television person awkwardly trying to find his way about the stage.

broke over me like a wave." on paper published paper that is," he said. During a pause in which he filled his cup of coffee and lit a new cigarette, Craig asked with a smile, "Know any places where a history writer could teach history?" Thn llrMn fin Martial Arts adventure! 'A i 1 1 Hfiiiat-rM HW UmtQ Icq JOHN SAXON JIM KELLY DOORS OPENf ot 9:30 Q.m. 1 426-Z720 rni.1. SFATS- NO ONE UNDER 18 ADMITTED 336-2870 Hill IN! HI) HUM Tme Storj of Jack Ttjmaii and Maurice Stoket Stars of IB Cincinnati Royals dh'iallH aUi aiiiiiMaia ifcn f7 A wuw luVsf vMitM ISA IUNCH DINNER 2. fl DINNER BUFFET 4.9J 5S (oS yeu tan Kl) f-r (fifforsnt Mladl Lk tlMMwi I Ty vtrlout ourepMn iptclll 'Sj vry day changing fw-I aatacllona la PjA INTW-ES LMM.se VJ 1 STEAKS J.93-6.50 Jiv XmUM Ht-Moo PA 2Zj tl Ash' A later 7ii Ctmflat j' 1 I mm OUt I I am I'miB All I 1 QIRIST II gUPERSTAR" 1 1 -All SHOWS! NOW THRU SAT ONLY THC STAR OF T.V '8 "HOLLVWOODSQUAHES PETER MARSHALL IN ME RE Ol TH WILL SON MUSICAL HIT The COMING AUG 27-SEPT1 THE GERSHWIN YEARS SUN, AUG 26 AT 8 THE IRISH ROVERS LASTKID'SSHOW THURS AUG 23 AT 10:30 2 "THE UGLY DUCKLING" TEL.

RES. INFO: 38J1400 BOXOFFICEOPENIO-10 TICKET AGENCIES ANO GROUPS ONLY. 383 093S SOUTHSME MUSIS CIRCUS COHASSET 383-1400 mtmmm A.mT MjJJmYjkllm OPENS TONITE THRU SUN. PERSUASIONS "We Still Ain't Got No Band" OPENS MON. THRU WED.

The New Riders ot the Purple Sag Tickets on Ssie Now at Cirawna 733 ONLY 2 DAYS LEFT POLYARTS 1 lSSM I BEACON ST. LAST 6 DAYS! Associated Press PHILADELPHIA A West Virginia foundation is attempting to secure the original manuscripts of author Pearl S. Buck and will go to court if necessary to obtain them, the "Philadelphia Inquirer" said yesterday. The Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Foundation of Hillsboro, W.

contends it is the rightful owner of the manuscripts by virtue of a gift Miss Buck made to the foundation in 1969, the "Inquirer" said. Miss OPENS MONDAY SEPT. 3 Thru Sat, Sept. 22 KAY AULJiHD The New Broadway Musical Itaul ctvactifi liw "III MAns tffM Mt rrr RANDOLPH COMING SEPT. 11 COMING OCT.

18 NEVER TOO LATE! STARRING BOB CUMMINGS wsmm JiirrtrnTitKiiiiitr' NEW NIGHT SPOT FOR THE FUN CROWD top 40 ROCK MUSIC Featuring "FAMILY FRIENDS" 9:30 P.M. TILL CLOSING 6 NIGHTS A WEEK S8SXal ULiiilLmi J. I STARTS WED.I "ELECTRA xmwmTl "HEAVY JUDY GARLAN IN "THE WIZARD OF OZ" PolyartsCosta Do Sal Hatch Shell Follies CHARLES RIVER ESPLANADE TONITE 7:30 P.M. FREE! -f- 1 FRAMINGHAM FMl DAYS! THRU AUG. 26 LAST A RED HOT LOVERS STARRING STUBBY KAYE COMING SEPT.

7 ANYTHING STARRING BETTY HUTTON SSCIM M82.U22 A (vrVfiWl Braes Esq AUGUST 25 26 gt 1 fpf 1 in-oojTi CAMBRIDGE COMMON 'j i piSSsH iJJlJi HARVARD SO, MASS. i mGBm Cm mmm xwnm I -fl 1 NOW! 7Vt IN PERSON? iMa.prr I inrnf mi, ftnninH ajniiriimaiK it i wr gr. iiiih4 mr aVi I'iiii4..