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‘The Bingo, Etc.5 saved by three stars;,“The Bingo Longtraveling All-Stars and Motor Kings'*: (PG), ^ilh Billy Dee Williams, James Earl lt;lone s, and Richard Pryor, directed by John Badham, at the Town and Country theater. Acres and Phoenix drive-ins.By MIKE PETRYNlAs any 1939 newsreel would show, 1939 was not a very good year: there was the depression, Hiller wag beginning to stomp in Europe, some guy in Chicago was eating razor blades and black baseball players were banned from the major leagues.i Capitol hi’ “The Spirit of Independ «enee, an exhibition of ’Bicentennial prints by 12 }of America's leading eon-• temporary artists, is eiir-*rently presented by the Arizona Commission on Arts and Humanities _—■In fact, as this new movie would have it, about the only thing refreshing about 1939 was “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars anci Motor Kings.The movie may be right.“The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars is a fictional black baseball team tliat shines many a harvest moon with their spiffy baseball equivalents to the Harlem Globetrotters as they barnstorm small towns all over the Midwest.Director John Badham, who comes to the big screen for the first time after much television work, has, with this movie.s prints showthrough August 16. The Capitol Building is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.Will Barnet, Colleen . Browning. Marisol Escobar. Audrey Flack, Red Grooms, Joseph Hirseh,TtlrUntt*’* A Inv Icreated a fairly fast-paced amusement although it suffers from looking toomuch like a television movie. It has a glaringly ugly visual style.Badham, working from a script by Hal Bar wood and Mathew Robbins adapted from a novel by V/iiliam Brashler, also has a disjointed style I hat limits (he overall pleasure of his story because it leaves gaps in characterization and fails to give a welt - roundedness to the flow of events., Yet the whole thing is saved by its three stars. Billy Dee Williams, as Bingo, and Jariies Earl Jones, as his slugging catcher, keep it together through their finely acted friendship and their comic exasperations at. having to do baseball battle with both the black team owners and bigoted white teams they play.Richard Pryor, as thewomanizing right fielder who’s ever quick with a wisecrack, spends half the movie disguising himself as a Cuban in hopes of breaking into Hie big leagues and the other half Irving to figure out his own batting average. Hefails at bath much to thedelight of everyone.There is a moment of needless violence (it's not enjoyable to see a loveable clown get slashed with a straight razor) and at times the humor is too low, but more often than not “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings slugs out some riotous comedy.I delic cboilt;Flaning SealEnjoy fresh seafood n: in daily. Today’s spedi t * /i
Newspaper Details
Phoenix Arizona Republic
Phoenix, Arizona, US
Tue, Jul 20, 1976
Page 43
Full Page
Clipped by
Rotten T.
USA 24 Sep 2020
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