Macario. A gifted Mexican director and cameraman make a touching ceremony out of B. Traven's profound little fable of the woodcutter who sups with Death.
The Hustler. A young pool shark (Paul Newman) takes on the old champion (Jackie Gleason) in a sort of chivalric joust on the Cloth of Green. In the hands of Director Robert Rossen, the uncouth theme rings as true as a struck spittoon.
The Mark. A serious and compassionate examination of an uncomfortably sensational theme: the rehabilitation of a man convicted of molesting a small girl.
The Man Who Wagged His Tail. Peter Ustinov plays the villain, and a four-footed Italian actor named Caligola plays Peter Ustinov in this comic allegory about a Brooklyn slumlord who is magically changed into a dog.
The Devil's Eye. Sweden's Director Ingmar Bergman brings Don Juan up from Hell on a mission of seduction, and an average 20th century girl sends him back more melancholy than ever for having learned what love is.
A Thunder of Drums. The best western so far this year is a masterly attempt to show what fighting Indians was really like.
Ada. Sharp direction makes a pleasant political comedy out of Novelist Wirt Williams' variation on the American dream; A Louisiana doxy marries a gubernatorial candidate, winds up first lady of the state.
Blood and Roses. Filmed at Hadrian's villa outside Rome under the direction of Roger Vadim (And God Created Woman), this eerie tale of a lady vampire is the most subtle of the current chillers.
TELEVISION
Wed., Oct. 18
The Bob Newhart Show (NBC, 10-10:30 p.m.).* Skits and monologues by one of the U.S.'s outstanding young comedians. Color.
David Brinkley's Journal (NBC, 10:30-11 p.m.). Maybe crime pays after all—at least Brinkley plans to reopen the question. Tonight's guest: Robert F. Kennedy. Color.
Thurs., Oct. 19
Purex Special for Women (NBC, 3-4 p.m.). After last season's investigations of everything from sexual frigidity to the problems of the single woman, the show returns to the air with a documentary drama called "What's Wrong with Men?"
CBS Reports (CBS, 10-11 p.m.). From the Tigris and Euphrates to the Feather River and the Colorado, the importance of water in the development of civilizations is examined in "The Water Famine."
Fri., Oct. 20
The Hallmark Hall of Fame (NBC, 8:30-10:30 p.m.). Maurice Evans and Judith Anderson in a repeat of last year's superb production of Macbeth, much of which was filmed at Scotland's Hermitage Castle. Color.
Eyewitness to History (CBS, 10:30-11 p.m.). The week's top news event, depth-wise.
Sat., Oct. 21
Accent (CBS, 1:30-2 p.m.). Poet John Ciardi takes over as host of the series. Today's subject: "The Rebellious Mind Behind the Iron Curtain."
Saturday Night at the Movies (NBC, 9-11 p.m.). James Mason and Jessica Tandy in 20th Century-Fox's controversial biography of Nazi General Erwin Rommel, The Desert Fox. Color.
Fight of the Week (ABC, 10 p.m. to the finish). Sugar Ray Robinson v. Denny Moyer.
Sun., Oct. 22
Wisdom (NBC, 5-5:30 p.m.). A talk with Pablo Picasso. Color.
The Twentieth Century (CBS, 6-6:30 p.m.). The 1956 revolt in Hungary. Repeat.