The Mouse MCA Hopes Will Roar at the Till; Eddie Murphy Tackles ‘Golden Child’s’ Turf

Wanna buy a mouse--cheap?

MCA Video is banking on lots of kids wanting to buy a mouse named Fievel--or his tale, at least--for the relatively inexpensive price of $29.95. That’s the tag they’ve pinned on “An American Tail,” the animated feature about a mouse who emigrates from Russia in the 19th Century. The release date is Sept. 3.

The movie was so popular with children that MCA hopes parents will want to buy rather than just rent a copy, in order to accommodate all those repeat viewings that children indulge in. Thus the more affordable price, instead of the usual $80 or $90.

“The Mission,” the period drama starring Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons that earned an Oscar nomination for best picture, is due out Aug. 26 on Warner Video. Vestron’s “Light of Day,” the rock ‘n’ roll drama starring Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett, is scheduled for a Sept. 2 release.

Next week: “Something Wild,” “Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold,” “Duet for One,” “The Assault” and “Meatballs 3.” Later in the month: “Wisdom” (July 22), “Hunk” (July 30) and “Black Widow” (July 30).

NEW RELEASES: In Paramount’s “Golden Child,” Eddie Murphy seems to have wandered into the wrong movie. Sci-fi fantasy is strange turf for him--he never really seems comfortable. Obviously, he’s more at home in the urban jungle, battling everyday bigots and crooks.

In this outlandish tale, he plays a social worker chosen by an irresistible, exotic woman (Charlotte Lewis) to find a young, mystical monarch--the golden child--who’s been kidnaped by thugs with supernatural powers. Under Michael Ritchie’s direction, the cast is usually underplaying and the non-action scenes seem flat and de-energized. Even Murphy’s performance doesn’t have its usual zing--though he still has a choice bit or two.

Most critics didn’t care for the movie, but they don’t covet Murphy’s noisy, slam-bang entertainments anyway. Normally, his films are funny crowd-pleasers, but the crowds weren’t as pleased with this one; though it did well at the box office, grossing $79 million, it wasn’t a bonanza like the usual Murphy movie. It should be a rental hit anyway because it may attract all those Murphy fans who shied away from it in theaters.

Warner Video’s “The Color Purple,” directed by Steven Spielberg, is the best soap opera ever made about black Southern sharecroppers. Spielberg was criticized for honing down the harder edges of Alice Walker’s novel--set in the first part of the century--and turning it into a glossy entertainment. However, a downbeat version of the book probably wouldn’t have grossed nearly $100 million, as this classy, uplifting tear-jerker did.

It chronicles the blossoming of meek, downtrodden Celie (played as an adult by Whoopi Goldberg), who’s victimized by her callous husband (Danny Glover). It’s not a pretty picture of black men, which angered some black groups. But there wouldn’t be much of a story if Celie didn’t have that rat of a husband to triumph over.

Overlooked in all the praise of Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey, who plays a high-spirited woman who’s beaten down, is the work of Desreta Jackson, who plays young Celie. She does the best acting in the movie.

Embassy’s “Marlene,” made by actor Maximilian Schell, would have been an ordinary documentary if Marlene Dietrich’s vanity hadn’t intervened. At 85, she’s undoubtedly so far removed from her old glamorous self that she refused to be photographed--which angered Schell so much that he keeps fluff and niceties at a minimum and doesn’t shy away from showing this aging star’s dark side. At least we’re spared all that talking-head footage that usually makes movie-star documentaries so boring.

Instead, Schell shows film clips while his interview with her, conducted in her Paris apartment, is on the soundtrack (mostly in German, with subtitles). Her often stinging banter with him is the heart of this documentary. At times Schell is clearly exasperated by this cranky, acerbic, cynical, rather obnoxious star whose ego has apparently expanded with age. Though she doesn’t reveal any juicy gossip, she does--under his wicked guidance--reveal a lot about herself.

Robert Duvall’s performance as a foppish hijacker considerably brightens CBS-Fox’s dark, brooding drama, “The Lightship.” For some reason, Duvall chose to portray this cold-blooded criminal as a caricature of William F. Buckley. Though his character is a distraction (you’re always aware Duvall is acting), it’s intriguing. It’s also the only interesting character in the movie, which is set aboard a lightship in the ‘50s. The hijacker and his dimwitted colleagues commandeer the small ship run by a captain (Klaus Maria Brandauer) with a secret past. The struggle between the ship’s crew and the invaders is alternately violent and boring.

OLD MOVIES: In Playhouse Video’s “The Tall Men” (1955, $59.98), a so-so Western directed by Raoul Walsh, a good guy (Clark Gable) and a good-bad guy (Robert Ryan) lust after a lusty bad girl (Jane Russell) on a long, long cattle drive. There’s too much talk and not enough action to suit Western fans. Russell, who made it on looks and figure, gives a typically awful performance. But she was the most riveting bad actress of her day.

“Rock, Pretty Baby” (Kartes/MCA, $19.95), a terrible 1957 B-movie, is fun for anyone who was a teen-ager in the late ‘50s and a curiosity for anyone else. As usual, Hollywood’s conception of teen-agers, here horribly played by John Saxon, Sal Mineo, Luana Patten and poet Rod McKuen, is off the mark. The problem centers around the efforts of a rock band to make good. The stuffy parents, of course, are part of the problem. Twelve hideous songs will keep you in stitches, and when McKuen sings, you’ll know why he eventually switched to poetry.

“Georgy Girl” (RCA/Columbia, 1966, $69.95) is a warm-hearted comedy, directed by Silvio Narizzano, about a lonely ugly duckling (Lynn Redgrave) who winds up with two suitors--a manic swinger (Alan Bates) and a rich older man (James Mason)--and her girlfriend’s baby. Who can resist a movie where an ugly duckling triumphs? The movie offers an interesting peek at mid-’60s swinging London and the cast is terrific. Redgrave, who was nominated for a best actress Oscar, hasn’t had a role this good since.

There are two $29.95 gems in a release from the International Collection this week: Alain Resnais’ “Hiroshima, Mon Amour” (1960) and Ingmar Bergman’s “A Lesson in Love” (1954). “Hiroshima,” an eerie, morbid love story, is often hard to take because of the post-bombing footage. “A Lesson in Love,” like all of Bergman’s comedies, is a bit stiff, but still worth a look.

CHARTS (Compiled by Billboard magazine) TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, RENTALS 1--”The Color of Money” (Paramount).

2--”Heartbreak Ridge” (Warner Video).

3--”Little Shop of Horrors” (Warner Video).

4--”The Morning After” (Lorimar).

5--”The Mosquito Coast” (Warner Video).

6--”Peggy Sue Got Married” (CBS-Fox).

7--”Children of a Lesser God” (Paramount).

8--”Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (CBS-Fox).

9--”Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (Paramount).

10--”Hannah and Her Sisters” (HBO).

TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, SALES 1--”Top Gun” (Paramount).

2--”Jane Fonda’s Low Impact Aerobic Workout” (Lorimar).

3--”Callanetics” (MCA).

4--”Here’s Mickey!” (Disney).

5--”Jane Fonda’s New Workout” (Lorimar).

6--”Kathy Smith’s Body Basics” (JCI).

7--”The Sound of Music” (CBS-Fox).

8--”Disney Sing-Along Songs: Heigh Ho” (Disney).

9--”Playboy Video Centerfold 5” (Lorimar).

10--”Sleeping Beauty” (Disney).