The Canadian Jewish NeWs, Friday, April 12, 1974 - Page 11
Arts
Duddy-first rate effort
movies
By JENIVABERGERT
Duddy Kravitz, Mordecai Richler's heartbreak kid from St. Urbain Street who' chiselled his way into dubious respectability while stepping on a few necks, is lustily grabbing the spotlight again as the tarnished hero of John Kemeny's feature film The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz opens today at the Towne Cinema.
In the 14 years since Richler had his book published, - hearts have softened toward his intrepid, scathing porr trayed of the boys in Baron Byng High School Corps; during the '40s, and theii friends, families, and neighbors of Montreal's St. Urbair ghetto. And in the years since, a lot of psyche-searching has prompted writers to jab deep into the bowels of Jewish consciousness so that today, Richler's mighty mouse Duddy seems fairly: standard stuff, though I'm not saying there won't be some who'll still flinch once or twice at his lessen-r dearing traits.
Director "Ted Kotcheff has aimed for an accurate', resourceful .rendition of the ndvel and though many characters have necessarily collapsed into, one dimensional. . products along the way.Kot-chC'ff, with the aid of Richler's own screenplay, has made sure that you don't lose sight of the gleam in Duddy's .■ eye.
Manoeuvred down to a . nicely-spaced two hours ol Duddy's desperate and fran.r tic ambition to own a piece of land because his Zeyde once told him "a man with-' out land is nobody," only a . handful of characters gaii real proportion: D uddy.'s father, Yvette, the chambermaid, later mistress-secretary Duddy meets while working as a busboy in a nouveau-riche St. Agathe resort; and Virgil, the epilepr. tic employee who manages to invade Duddy's conscience and almost becomes his Achr illes' heel. Unfortunately, we'Ive lost much of Jerry Dingleman, the Boy Wonder of Duddy's dream, nor is Uncle Benjy, the family's lonely, wealthy^ benefactor given much in depth treatment (though Joseph Wiseman in that role makes a lot of a little) but then you can't have it work every way;
Instead Kotcheff wisely banked on Duddy carrying th( film, and carry it he does. The locale may be St; Urbain St. Montreal, but the , world of Duddy Kravitz is a . microcosmic one and Duddy a prototype of all the Dud-dies from poor neighbor^ hoods, fired by their private volcanoes to reach for the
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At Wilensky :S Light Lunch in Montreal, Max (Jack Warden) brags to his son Duddy (Richard Dreyfuss) and his fellow cab drivers of his relationship to the St. Urbain Street Boy Wonder in a scene from Mordecai Richler's The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.
unreachable. That Duddy is a Jew buckingtheanti-Semites of the "white'-' society as well as a few in his own, may provide the texture, but it isn't really the. message. Duddy, the uneducated underdog, unfavorite son, with his claws bared and his own crude methods of isucceed-. ing in a world where money is a measuring stick, is.
a lot df search went into finding the right actor to dig ^ his teeth into the role, of Duddy. In print, 1 never doubtied that soft corner of Duddy's heart: which drove him for land for his Zeyde'? farm, his father's love, and . his brother Lennie and Uncle Benjy's respect. But casting
Richard Dreyfuss, who can summon- up. all of Duddy's dimensions in a fleeting second, was a stroke of genius. With his piercing blue eyes. dissecting, burning, or brimming over, a nervous, defensive, sometimes cruel laugh and truncated vulnerable gestures, Dreyfuss tells us as much about Duddy's; soul as a thousand words.
Amongst the supporting cast, Micheiine Lanctbt is a marvellous, sensitive Yvette, and Randy Quaid from The Last Detail plays Virgil with a wrenching naivitee. Joe Silver is perfection as the hard-nosed scrap dealer, Farber, while Denhorh Elliott as the British film
producer gains the deserved laughs as the potted Anglo-artsy director who turns a Bar Mitzvah into an avante-garde horror.
Anne Pritchard, the production designer must get a lion's share of the credit for"' reminding us faithfully of the times, and the scenes in the Lac Du Sables hotel where Duddy works as a waiter are impeccably authentic.
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz may not make cinematic, history but it is a . thoroughly first rate effort and a turning point in English Canadian filmmaking. It should be in the front of the line at next Fall's Etrog Awards.
Robert Redford (background) waits to greet his golden girl, Mia Farrow, who is talking with Sam Waterston at a lavish party in The Great Gatsby now playing at Toronto's Hollywood and Imperial Theatres. The lavish production is a portrayal of the Jazz Age.
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Tuesdiav, April 16th, 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Children under 12 will not be admitted)
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ROOM 25
Starts Friday, April 12th
R^ORDECAI RICHLER'S great novel is now a movie starring "American Graff iti''star
RICHARD DREYFUSS and Academy Award nominee RANDY QUAID
If you're so smart, how come you're not rich?
7o benefit you must file both
a) Federatincome tax return
b) Ontario Tax Credit Form
even if you don 7 pay income fax.
Get your
fair share of Ontario's new $300 million tax credits.
Families, pensioners, roomers, boarders, the handicapped and others will benefit. Ontario's new Tax Credit System provides for three separate credits:.
. 1. People who own or rent (including roomers and boarders) may share in the Property Tax Credit.
2. People whofillouta Federal income tax return may share in the Sales Tax Credit.
3. People over 65 may share in the Pensioner Tax Credit.
Even if you don't pay income tax this year, please be sure to fill out and file both the Federal income tax return and the Ontario Tax Credit Form. They both come in the same epvei? ope —-you will find the Ontario Tax Credit Form on pages 2 and 3 of the T1 Schedules.
ANY QUESTIONS?
Metro Toronto local calling area residents, dial 965-^8470. Outside Metro Toronto, dial "0" and ask operator for ZEnith 8-2000 (free).
New Extended^Calling Hours:
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday toFriday. Noon to 5:00 p.nri^
Duddy Kravitz is going to find the answer.
His way. The hard way.
Saturday_and Sunday.
Onlmio's
ATedKolchsltnkn
of Duddy Kravitz
International Cinemedia Centre presents The Apprenticeship of. Duddy Kravitz starring
RICHARD DREYFUSS, MICHELINE/L'ANCTOT, RANDY QUAID. JOSEPH WISEMAN, DENHOLMELUOTT. HENRY RAWER. JOE SILVER and JACK WARDEN as MAX. Screenplay by Mordecai Richler based on his novel. Adaptation by Lionel Chetw/ynd. Executive.Producer Gerald Schneider. Produced by John Kemeny. Directed by Ted Kotcheff. Color by Bellevue-Pathe. Released by Astral Films Ltd. / .
TOWNE
Daily from 2 p.m.
sane
TM CREDIT SVSIEM
William G. Davis, Premier Arthur !<:. Meen, Minftter of Revenue