Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 35

(Chicago (Tribune Friday, April 9, 1976 Wknd Section 3 it tir.iiinmvininimmmiiiintmm'Mimmmtiiiiiiii' I' a 'i '''I via us NT ,111" i.i p. latii IX ait ii i. I mm 1 Hi 'III I i -nil! If I i Dustin Hoffman (left) and Robert Redford portray the Washington Post investigative reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, who track down the Watergate scandal in "All the President's Movies 'All the President's Men: Excitement from pillar to Post up caring for Redford; he doesn't give us a new character, just a variation on his dominant screen image as an American winner with some nagging doubts about success. Director Alan J. Pakula duplicates the surprise and suspense of his "Klute" while avoiding the overstatement and pandering paranoia of his more recent political thriller, "The Parallax View." Pakula's greatest achievement is the way he unobtrusively weaves outside events into narrative of the reporters' story.

While Hoffman and Redford work at their desks, a television set in the Post newsroom reveals Gerald Ford announcing Nixon's renomination at the 1972 Republican convention in Miami. The film also is successful in developing traditional movie emotions. The reenactment of the initial Watergate burglary is just good cops 'n' robbers action. It takes place in the dead of night. With the camera positioned across the street of the Watergate complex at the Howard Johnson motel, we see three plainclothes police officers hunt the trail of the business-suited burglars.

0t 1 Jason Robards is Post executive editor Ben Bradlee. reporters' story, and it's an exciting one. THE BULK OF THE film shows two reporters trying to nail down one fact: Who controlled the secret campaign cash fund that financed all the dirty tricks? Step by step, the reporters build a case that leads from Cubans arrested at the Watergate break-in to the identity of the five men who could and did authorize the expenditure of that cash: Jeb Magruder, John Mitchell, Maurice Stans, Herbert Kalmbach, and Bob Haldeman. At that point, the movie ends in a rapid-fire summary of Watergate developments' culminating in Nixon's resignation and the Ford presidency. The ending plays as abrupt, but that may be because we want to see Nixon squirm, and we don't.

The ending also may play as abrupt because we don't want the film to end, even though, at that point in running time, it's well past the two-hour mark. The movie contains a few distortions. It slights the contributions of the editors at the Post. By the force of their own movie star charisma, Hoffman and Redford blow everyone else off the screen, save for Jason Robards as Post executive editor Benjamin Brad-lee. Also, the major role of Post city editor Barry Sussman is not included.

It was Sussman whom Bernstein and Woodward credit in their book as being the one person who always understood the big picture. "More than any other editor at the Post, or Woodward and Bernstein," wrote Woodward and Bernstein, "Sussman became a walking compendium of Watergate knowledge, a reference source to be summoned when even the library failed. On deadline, he would pump facts into a story in a constant infusion, working up a body of signifi- you see it and riveting the second time you see it. AS FOR REDFORD, well, he's saddled with his luminescent looks. It took about an hour for me to get used to him as a 29-year-old reporter.

Actually, what happens is that you just end A matter of source "Five men, one oj whom said he is a former employee of the Central Intelligence Agency, were arrested at 2:30 a.m. yesterday in what authorities described as an elaborate plot to bug the offices of the Democratic National Committee. 'There was no immediate explanation as to why the suspects would want to bug the Democratic National Committee offices or whether or not they were working for any other individuals or organizations." Washington Post, June 18, 1972 THAT WAS THE way it began. The Washington Post's first Watergate story was developed by eight reporters under the byline of Alfred E. Lewis.

Among the contributors were Bob Woodward, 29, and Carl Bernstein, 28. In the next 26 months, Woodward and Bernstein, often writing under a joint byline, would author more than 100 Watergate stories for the Post, stories which, combined with a variety of other journalistic, legal, and political forces, would drive a President from office and a host of his lieutenants into the slammer. When it was all over, Woodward and Bernstein wrote an entertaining book about how they assembled their stories. Basically, it came down to a helluva lot of hard work: phone calls, record-checking, face-to-face interviews at all hours of the night, and story conferences with editors. That book is now a movie.

But the movie is as important for what it isn't as for what it is. WITH ROBERT Redford as Woodward and Dustin Hoffman as Bernstein, "All the President's Men" isn't a movie exclusively about the Watergate burglary, although the burglary is re-enacted briefly at the beginning of the film. The movie isn't about the mentality of the Nixon White House, although that is touched upon when a presidential campaign dirty-trickster describes bis work as "nickel and dime stuff; we did much worse in college elections." And "All the President's Men" isn't about fear and trembling in the Oval Office while the initial newspaper stories were breaking, although the film repeats a scene in which a presidential aide delivers early editions of the Post to the White House at night. Nor does the movie mention the Senate Watergate hearings or the contributions of John Sirica, Leon Jaworski, Peter Rodino, Archibald Cox, John Dean, or many other critical Watergate figures. No, "All the President's Men" isn't the definitive or even the essential Watergate movie.

It's simply the We also feel Redford's fear as he switches cabs at night when meeting code-named "Deep Throat," a primary source for the reporters' stories see adjoining box. We admire the cunning of Dustin Hoffman as he worms his way into a potential source's home by asking for a cigaret and, later when he gets his note pad out, for "just one more cup of coffee." AND ABOVE ALL else we are deeply moved when Hoffman and Redford venture into the home of Nixon campaign aide Hugh Sloan. His wife greets them, and lets them in, saying, "This is an honest house." For me, that line of dialog, which actually was said to Woodward and Bernstein by the real Mrs. Sloan, is a shocking moment in the movie. Nothing is special about the reporters' hard work paying off.

We expect that. But the line from Mrs. Sloan about honesty stands out in a film full of trickery, deceit, and threats. Standing in the darkness of her doorway, Mrs. Sloan takes on the stature of a true movie heroine.

Her message about her house is revolutionary, if you think about it. Her honest house stands in direct opposition to the other important house in the movie, the one on Pennsylvania Avenue. FILM NOTE: It has been widely reported that Woodward and Bernstein received $450,000 for the screen rights to their book. According to a reliable source, that's not precisely true. They initially received $350,000 and will receive an additional $100,000 when the film breaks even by earning 2M- times its negative cost of approximately $8 million.

After that, Woodward and Bernstein also will share on a sliding scale in subsequent profits. The film's rating recently was changed from restricted to the general audience "PG." One year ago Richard D. Heffner, the rating code administrator, told me in an interview that if a movie contained just one mention of the common four-letter word for intercourse, that movie automatically would get an R-rating. That rule has been waived in the case of "All the President's Men," which contains that word and a couple of variations. Heffner has cited the historical and educational nature of "All the President's Men" for making the exception.

That reasoning, incidentally, was the same one employed by newspapers to justify printing Nixon's obscenities on their front pages. Gene Siskel Gene Siskel reviews the mouie scene Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on Channel 2 News at 5 and iO p. m. cant information to support what otherwise seemed like the weakest of revelations." THE FILM COULD have used a scene revealing that contribution as well as a scene depicting the role of Post publisher Katharine Graham, who utimately fended off threats to her person and corporation. And, as long as we're in the gripe section of the review, I wish the film had taken the time to actually show the process word by word of how one of the major stories was written and edited.

A concrete demonstration of word choice could have revealed the difference between hard facts and attributed facts, a distinction that's critical to the controversy now surrounding the new Woodward and Bernstein book about Nixon's final days in office. Indeed, Bernstein himself credits a large part of the success of the Post stories to the quality of their writing. The film also' makes some minor changes in history, ranging from the way the tape was placed on the lock of the door at the Watergate break-In to an overstatement of the trickery Bernstein employed to get past the iron-willed secretary of a chief investigator for a Miami district attorney. Now for the good stuff. Dustin Hoffman is smashing.

I just saw him again in a double-feature of "Midnight Cowboy" and "Lenny," and Hoffman quietly makes his Bernstein equally distinctive. In all three roles, Hoffman exudes a street cunning and flash temper. With the Bernstein character, however, he holds that power and intelligence right under the skin of his face. He concentrates so hard in this movie, I often got the feeling his eyes weren't even focusing. All that energy being held in check makes for a performance that's invisible the first time if he would behave like such-and-such and I'd tell them yes or no.

They were afraid the day the film came out that Deep Throat might reveal himself as a 19-year-old, pimply-faced kid." Carl Bernstein, Woodward's writing partner, simply says, "We don't talk about Deep Throat." Asked if he thinks Deep Throat might one day reveal himself, Bernstein replies, "To answer that would imply that Deep Throat is alive." ROBERT REDFORD, star and unofficial executive producer of "President's Men," says he has a few ideas of who Deep Throat might be, "but I never asked Woodward directly, and I kind of enjoy not knowing." Redford said the film crew rarely joked about Deep Throat's identity, because "it was too obvious a joke." As for the actual shooting of the scenes in the garage between Redford and Holbrook, Redford said they weren't anything special. "The only special feeling I had was the pain in my foot. I'd broken a couple of toes in a skiing accident, and the pain was intense." C.S. CARL BERNSTEIN won't talk about it, Bob Woodward speaks about it only in the most general terms, and Robert Redford says it reminds him of his broken toes. They're all talking about "Deep Throat," the code name of the secret fountain of information who helped Woodward and Bernstein break heir Washington Post Watergate stories.

In "All the President's Men," a dramatization of how Woodward and Bernstein developed those stories, Deep Throat is played in the shadows of an underground Washington parking lot by country-faced actor Hal Holbrook, best known for his one-man dramatic readings of the words of Mark Twain. THE FILMMAKERS were faced with a problem, of course, because true to their profession Woodward and Bernstein have not revealed their source, referring to him in their book only as a man, implying he. was a well-placed government official. "What we tried to do," said Woodward, "was steer them close to Deep Throat's character. They would ask me a question about him TRIBUNE MINIREVIEW Hot copy "ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN" Dirtcttd kv Alan J.

Pakula, Krwnplay by William Goldman based on tha book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, photooraphed by Gordon Willis, music by David Shire, edited by Bob Wolfe, production desifn by George Jenmits, produced by Waller Coblem, a Warner Bros, release at IM Esquiri and outlying theaters. Rated PG. THE CAST Bob Woodward Robert Redtord Carl Bernstein Ben Bradlee Harry Rosenfeld Howard Simons Hugh Sloan The Bookkeeper Deep Throat Sally Aiken Kay Eddy Mrs. Sloan Martin Dardis Donald Seareltl Dustin Hoffman Jason Robards Jack Warden Martin Balsam Slepnen Collins Jane Alexander Hal Holbrook Penelope Fuller Lindsay Anne Crouse Meredith Baxter Ned Bealty Robert Walden Theater 'Too Short to Box With God' brings the gospel home i GOSPEL MEANS "good news" and "Your Arms Too Short to Box With God" is just that from start to finish. The infectious celebration of gospel's music and message took over the Blackstone Theater Thursday night, and by the time the 15-member cast invoked the spirit of Louis Armstrong and took off up the aisles to the tune of what else? "The Saints Go Marching In," even an unrepen-tant sinner would have to shout "Hallelujah!" For the sizable portion of black Christians who keep gospel music thriving across the land, "Box With God" is a lot like church, with Good Friday and Easter Sunday combined.

It's all there. Musician-preachers bounce the message back and forth from choir to audience to a syncopated, fast-stepping beat. Full-throated female soloists build powerful moments of tension and release with stylized moans and wails whose origins have vanished in the mists of lost tribal traditions. AS IN THE gospel churches, the message is always in motion. There are the offbeat handclaps and loose-jointed sways which keep the rhythms laid back and rolling.

William Hardy's minister musician, dominant force in the proceedings, breaks into a jig and joins two of his brothers in a soft-shoe trio. The cause of his happiness is an ecumenical song, "Everybody Has His Own Way," which makes its point without pushing a bit. "Box With God," like "Black Nativity" which preceded it in 1963, is part pageant, with the first section a not always effective version of the passion story. This time, Tal-ley Beatty's dances make more of a point, depicting the central events of the foreshortened crucifixion story with incisive, stylized movement which, though occasionally balletic, is anything but classical. Stanley Perry-man's imposing Jesus dominates the stage at all times.

The violence scenes hit the audience in the pit of the stomach though you the alto who needs no accompaniment for "Were You There?" or anything else, for that matter. William Thomas Jr. spins the line from mourning to triumph in "Can't No Grave Hold My Body Down" with the buffed sheen of a natural lyric tenor. Pat Lundi answers her own question by the directness and force of "How Can I Make It?" The rest of the choir are not far behind, and the accompanying instrumentalists are excellent. For all its energy, this is an intimate show, 90 minutes long without intermission.

Wil-1 i a Schroeder's simple sets suggest stained-glass windows, archways, and a hill of boxes which could be modern Calvary. The production was conceived by Vinnette Carroll, who directed "Black Nativity" and also was responsible for "Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope." This time, she certainly does. When the preacher asked the audience to say "Amen" Thursday night, everyone within earshot responded. So did I. Thomas Willis know they are faked, his falls have the authority of the real thing, and he knows how to create a still focal point on a stage full of IT IS the music which makes this endearing, energetic presentation so special.

Alex Bradford is no longer in the cast, but his music and lyrics are enough to keep him always in mind. His "Black Nativity" in 1963 gave Langston Hughes' Christmas text unforgettable assistance. But gospel music has come some distance since then and Bradford has gone along. Without ever saying so, "Box With God" documents the history with Mie authentic experience after another. Hardy has cultivated the still lively tradition of male falsetto singing, shifting from coloratura runs in the vicinity of soprano A's and B's to a far-from-conventional baritone.

Dolores Hall, the singer best known to local audiences, revs up the show's title song with an uninhibited explosion of joy which gathers steam as it goes along. Salome Bey is Sharon Brooks as Mary and Stanley Perryman as Jesus in tne musical Your Arms loo bnort to Box With.