A decade ago this month, some 10,000 documents belonging to the late Marcus Garvey, founder of modern Pan African nationalism, were found in an abandoned building in Harlem. Garvey came to this country in the 1930s to organize black Americans into a Back to Africa movement. Many black Americans continue to strengthen the emotional ties to Africa.
…A book to be included as a collector’s item of African history is Unity And Struggle, speeches and writings by Amilcar Cabral, (Monthly Press, 298p, $16.60 hardcover). Cabral, assassinated in 1973, was the leader who launched a movement that liberated Guinea-Bissau from Portuguese colonialism.
…Back on the Western front, we have I’m Alive, an autobiography by Cecil Wiliams. Williams shares with the reader his extraordinary life written as an historical-spiritual journey through his modern American experiences. Harper & Row, 214 pp, $10 hardcover
…To all the moms and mothers-to-be, Happy Mother’s Day! The Women’s Resource and Action Center in Iowa City, Iowa has published a book of photographs entitled, Mothers: A Photography Exhibit of Our Own ($4.50), Copies can be obtained from Mothers, Inc., 823 Ronalds Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52240
….A look at women during the Revolutionary War is offered in Clio Was A Woman: Studies in the History of American Women, edited by Mabel E. Deutrich and Virginia C. Purdy. This book examines the Woman’s Land Army, black women, Indian women, female abolitionists, and provides information on where to find out more about women in American history. Howard University Press, 360pp, $19.95 cloth
…A collection of short stories chosen to reflect the efforts of black women to liberate themselves is contained in Midnight Birds, Stories of Contemporary Black Women Writers, edited and with an introduction by Mary Helen Washington (Anchor Press/Doubleday, 304p, $4.50 paperback). This publication takes a positive look at an always topical subject
…An in-depth look at the life of an American Indian woman is offered in Spirit Woman, The Diaries and Paintings of Bonita Wa Wa Calachaw Nunez. This diary is an incisive description of the life of an American Indian feminist, lecturer on Indian rights, spiritualist, and self-taught artist. She died in 1972 at the age of 84
…Howard University Press Book Publishing Institute will offer a five-week intensive course to acquaint students with the basics of book publishing. The course will run from May 27 through July 2. For information: Program Director, Howard University Press Book Publishing Institute, 2900 Van Ness Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008
…The two contestants in Little Darlings are Angel Bright, the poor street kid from the projects, superbly played by Kristy McNichol, and Ferris Whitney, the rich kid, appropriately played by Tatum O’Neal. Baited by the evil vixen, Cindy (Krista Erickson), the two girls enter into this bizarre competition purely to show their contempt for each other.
This inventive script has been transformed into a hilariously endearing film about adolescent discovery and that inevitable first time.
The praiseworthy performances by the film’s young gifted actresses, rise above some uneven directing and distracting lights. The dialogue seems purposely awkward and non-adult, giving that strange sense that one is actually peeking in on the unrehearsed and candid mischief.
…The Changeling — Associated Film, Michaels and Garth Draginsky, producers, Peter Medak, director
Halfway through The Changeling, I succumbed to a distinct feeling of déjà vu. Those high-pitched, swirling ooh and aah, that pounding symphony score said, yes, yes, it’s The Omen reborn.
George C. Scott plays a depressed composer who moves to Seattle to get over the death of his family. Unknowingly, he rents a haunted mansion that’s inhabited by the ghost of a young boy seeking revenge for his premature demise. Lonely nights with doors mysteriously opening and slamming, thundering thumps, eerie whispers — it was enough to drive anybody crazy. Of course, the composer joins the ghost’s one man army of retribution. Anything for a night’s sleep!
The film relies largely on the repetition of simple effects for tension. The séance scene provides the only innovative moment of terror that is genuinely new.
I haven’t eaten pea soup since The Exorcist and after seeing The Tenant, I dreaded going home to an empty apartment — and I wasn’t the only one who bought a night light after seeing Night of the Living Dead. However, having seen The Changeling, I will go about my usual business, because this one didn’t scare the pants off me at all.
…Scheduled for release in June is Blues Brothers, featuring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd of Saturday Night Live, with special appearances by Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, and Ray Charles.
…Billy Dee Williams stars with Sylvester Stallone in Hawks, Universal Pictures, with locations shot in New York City.
…Coming from New Yorker Films is Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, an Australian film featuring a new discovery, Tommy Lewis. Lewis will star in this flick about an Aboriginal’s first experience in dealing with a racist culture.
…Sidney Poitier is directing a new film. It’s still hush-hush.
…Scatman Caruthers will appear in two films for Warner Brothers Pictures — Honeysuckle Rose, with Willie Nelson, Dyan Cannon, and Amy Irving. He’s also set to appear in the new Clint Eastwood film, Bronco Billy, starring Eastwood.
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