Nameless to End Free Film Nights

Marion Brando rode off into the sunset Friday night, ending an era at the Nameless Coffee House. The Brando Flick was the last in the Nameless's regular series of Friday night movies.

Instead, the Nameless will offer live performances on Friday night, similar to its traditional Saturday night shows, said Dave Feintuch, manager of the student run, free coffee house.

Feintuch cited two reasons for the decision to cut the film series:

Since the Nameless is run entirely on donations from the audience, it cannot afford the $30 to $75 to rent a film each week, "The movies were just not paying their way," Feintuch said.

Cutting the movie series will enable the Nameless to present more of the performers who audition. At present more than half must be turned away because of time limitations, Feintuch said.

"We found our talent, list becoming longer and our budget becoming smaller," he said, summing up the situation.

Movie Quality

Feintuch also expressed concern over the quality of the movie series. "Until now some movies have been good, some have been mediocre-and the audience expects a certain standard," he said. "In the future, once a month we'll run a really good film like Psycho, The Pawnbroker, or Ship of Fools,"

The Nameless, which runs on a weekly budget of several hundred dollars, now has $57 in its treasury. In an effort to re-lieve the tight financial situation, the Nameless has begun selling its second LP, "Strike Two," recorded live at the coffee house.

The Nameless is Successful

Despite the financial problems, Feintuch feels the Nameless has been a success. "The Nameless is full every night, and sometimes we even have to turn, people away," he said. "Two and a half years ago we started out with some pretty raunchy talent," he admitted. But now, he says, the Nameless has succeeded in attracting many well-known singers, including some professionals.

Imminent Starvation

Feintuch says he doesn't mind people who come and stay a few hours, but can only donate a dime due to financial difficulties of their own. "On the contrary," he said. "We love them. Part of the atmosphere of the place is imminent starvation in everybody's eye."