Daily News from New York, New York • 103

is too shrieky for words 4 I) mmmmm jalerie Perrine, as Lenny Bruce's wife in "Lenny. Hollywood CREEPSHOW. Hal Holbrook, Adrlenn Barbeau. Directed by Ceoree A. Romero.

At the Murray Hill, Rlvoll, Gemini. Loews St. and RKO Win St. Twin. Runnine time: 1 hours, 2 minutes.

Rated R. George A. Romero, the director who terrorized audiences with such blood-curdling low-budget thrillers as "Night of the Living Dead," can't seem to scare up much excitement with his latest shriek show. Titled "Creepshow," Romero's new crowd teaser of a movie consists of five separate tales of revenge that have been specially designed to evoke the deliciously creepy atmosphere of the classic horror comics of the '50s, such monstrous examples of bad taste in kiddie literature as "Tales of the Crypt" and "The Vault of Horror." The tales are frankly too obvious to provide any real thrills. "CREEPSHOW," WHICH was written by Romero's new partner in cinematic mayhem, novelist Stephen King, is certainly his most professional-looking movie.

Now that he has hit the big time, Romero can also afford such high class 'actors as Fritz Weaver, Hal Holbrook, Viveca Lindfors and E.G. Marshall. The actors add a great deal to these silly cartoon-like sketches. Weaver develops a wonderfully hysterical cackle as a widowed professor who is momentarily distracted from his pursuit of the campus cuties when he foolishly opens a crate containing a man-eating monster left over from an Arctic expedition: Adrienne Barbeau is even funnier as the loudmouth wife of another faculty member, played by Holbrook, who, after years of suffering in silence, decides that his wife would be the perfect appetizer and Perrine fl OLLYWOOD I don't know if this is a threat 111 ft I or a Promise. but Valerie Perrine is talking fill about retiring from acting.

"I'm not interested in this business any ays the former Las Vegas showgirl, who hit her eak with the 1974 "Lenny" and has since been' involved with such los Adrienne Barbeau with "Creepshow" creep refers to his company executives as "bugs" have to watch them because they creep up on you," growls Marshall, complaining about his underlings), comes too late in the movie to be fully appreciated. "Creepshow" is too benign to be frightening and it is not enough of a howl to please those who just want to see a ghoulish comedy. It appears as if success may have spoiled Romero's talent for raw horror. Kathleen Carroll for the university's unwelcome visitor. Leslie Neilsen also perks up the movie with his gleeful ers as "W.C.

Fields and Me" and "Can't Stop the Music." She wants us to know, "I don't enjoy working any more." And in the subtle manner her col-. leagues have come to know, she sums up' her sentiments thusly: "Most scripts I read, both tele-v, vision and movie (bleep)." At the moment, she is working on ABC's mini-series "Malibu. She is 2m performance as a wealthy video nut who believes he has devised the perfect method for disposing of both his wife and her lover. Marshall plays an irascible r.iAQiLYrj DECK corporate biggie whose "germ-proof" apartment has been invaded by ovei weight cockroaches, but his comic monologue, during which he disdainfully Needlework enioving that experience, she says, finds the material Sewing better than most, but says it's the exception to the 'rule and that her main motivation in accepting the A mRAMnijNTnrrrtiRR Copyngh MCMLXXXtl by Pavmour'l PiclurM Coiportwn 15TH SMASH WEEK! issignment was "lots and lots and lots of money." As for Hollywood productions as a lot, she says hasn't seen anything in the last five years "that las made me feel, 'God, I wish I could have done hat'." She further blasts, "I don't know what the r-fTTT A WALTER READE THEATRE 3RD AVE NR 59TH ST 35H663 12:20. 2:40, S.

7:20 9 40 witers are doing, but they're not writing good LOEWS ASTOR PLAZA icripts.vOr maybe they are, but the people running studios no longer are artistic." Whatever, it seems she's putting up notice that the 869 830 12 20.2 40.5. 7.25. 9 A WALTER READE THEATRE EL WOOD CINEMA ELWOOD (516) 499-7609 MATTITUCK TRIPLEX MATTITUCK 1516) 298-4400 SOUTH BAY TRIO WEST BABYLON (516)587-7676 SOUTHAMPTON SOUTHAMPTON (516) 283 1300 LOEWS STONY BROOK TRIPLEX STONY BROOK (516) 751 2300 SUNWAVE TWIN PATCHOGUE (5161 475-7766 studios or whoever will no longer have Valerie Perrine's name to kick around when they're discus- 34THST. EAST 34THST NR 2ND AVE 12 20.2 40.5.7:20.9 40 BRICKTOWN MALL 12011 477 6661 CLIFTON CLIFTON (201)3652020 EAST BRUNSWICK LOEWS ROUTE 10 TWIN (201)259000 EDGEWATER LOEWS SHOWBOAT OUAD (20119413660 EDISON MENLO PARK CINLMA 12011 S4 9 6 767 FLEMINGTON- CiNEMA PLAZA 12011 782 2777 FREEHOLD OUAD (2011 4624600 HANOVER TOWNSHIP MOHRIS COUNTY MALL (201) 539 7966 MIOOLETOWN 1HE MOVIES AT MlOOLETOUVN 12011671 1020 casting. FLYING HIGH: Producer Ray Stark has ippointed Norm Can, his private pilot, as casting director of "Mermaid." Of Warren Beatty is 1 A already set for the contemporary comeay ianiasy I AVENUE 336-1234 LOEWS GEORGETOWNE TWIN 763 3000 LOEWS ORIENTAL TWIN 236-5001 that was originally planned as a ko Den tieaiorq starrr'3ut Gan still has the responsibility of finding the beauty with whom Beatty will share the screen and If you don't think that's an assignment that would have any red-blooded fellow up in tne ARCADIAN OSSINING (914)941 5200 MARTSDALE CINEMA HARTSDALE (914)761-6151 RKO CENTURV RKO PROCTORS FIVEPLEX NEW ROCHELLE (914)632 1100 WESTCHESTER MALL TRIPLEX PEEKSKILL (914) 5266822 PARAMUS Emm BOULEVARD JACKSON HEIGHTS 33541 70 CROSS ISLAND TWIN WHITESTONE 767-2800 RKO CENTURY RKO MEADOWS TWIN FRESH MEADOWS 454-6600 Thus far, he says, some 150-200 lovelies have trotted in and out of his office, and still tne search goes on.

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