Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes

In the early 1970s, one of the most profitable genres in films were the Blacksploitation movies. Some were made by major studios and featured excellent actors and scripts. Most were made by tiny studios and with second-rate acting, scripts and effects. Regardless, they all were quite entertaining and watching new black heroes and anti-heroes fighting 'the man' was quite enjoyable...especially for audiences not used to seeing their race winning against the traditional white establishment. Considering the cultural and political climate at the time, it's easy to see why these films were wildly successful.

"Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes" ("Jive Turkey") is one of those movies in the second group--very low budget and not particularly polished. Most of the cast are obviously not experienced actors and the production values are not great--especially since the film is supposed to be set in 1956 but looks mostly like 1974! It was obviously made on the cheap and has a homemade quality about it. But despite its shortcomings, is it any good?

Paul Harris stars as Pasha...the black mob boss who controls Harlem. However, the white mobsters are looking to push into his territory and eventually you know it's going to erupt into an all-out war with Big Tony (Frank DeKova). Up until then, there is a lot of nudity, prepping for war and jive talk from the brothers...as well as the cops, who are ALWAYS working for the man, rousting the folks of Harlem and putting a cramp on Pasha's style...and man, does he have style!

The acting ranges from decent to terrible in this film. Blame the budget for this. But it is entertaining and never is dull-- especially when the trans assassin beats her johns to death with her high heels! And, like most of the blacksploitation pics, this one is very adult...with ample boobage, cursing, extreme violence (at a much higher level than usual for these films) and incredibly politically incorrect language!

There's a big laugh in this movie's opening, which proclaims what we're going to see is a true story, but then states that the names, places, and events have been changed to protect the innocent - uh, wouldn't all that then make the movie complete fiction? Whether or not the movie has basis in fact, all the same it ends up being an almost complete bore that is badly made. I see other commenters have pointing out the movie's various anachronisms, so I won't bother to list them. But the script and the direction are more of a problem. The movie for the most part is far too serious for its own good, without a sense of fun and with the characters endlessly talking about boring topics. I will say some of the acting by the participants actually is okay, but that only helps a little. Whether you're looking for a serious (while engaging) movie or a blaxploitation romp, this movie simply doesn't work for any audience.

This is a low budget, made on the cheap film that does possess some charm. The problem is that it meanders all over the place and never picks up any real steam. The plot begins with a sit down between Pasha and his Italian gangster counter part Big Tony (played by the top billed Frank DeKova aka Chief Wild Eagle from F-Troop in the first of his two scenes). Tony tells Pasha he has to hand everything over to him and his boys or they will kill him. Pasha's girl kills Tony's man, which you would think woulds spark a gang war, it doesn't, instead it spurs the Mayor to try and close Pasha down. This leads to the numbers operation being moved, police raids and some talk about fighting back. The Italian mob does try to kill Pasha but it never amounts to much. This is a black-ploitation crime drama that is short on action.

The problem seems to be that they had almost no money to make this movie. its suppose to be set in 1956 but people wear clothes from the 1970's and the streets are filled with cars made well after 56. I'm guessing that they couldn't afford any money for blanks, or if they did they didn't have very many. What violence there is tends to be fist fights or beatings, which can be very bloody. Its disappointing especially after the opening scene. I had the sense while watching it that this was suppose to be a larger, more detailed story (there are details hanging off the screen that seem to connect to a longer story) and it wasn't filmed because of money or the film was unfinished.

Its a messy movie but I liked it. The writing is at times sharp and witty, even if the cast isn't up to it. There are numerous lines of dialog that deserve to be quoted. You have a bunch of interesting characters that seem very real. I also liked that the plot never went where you expected it to go, even though it became clear early this was headed for left field by a completely new route. Its best described as a low budget attempt at something other than your typical crime drama (black or white). No it won't win any awards but if you're an adventurous film goer it deserves to be seen, if for no other reason than to imagine it remade by Mario Van Peebles, Quentin Tarantino or the Hughes Brothers. You probably won't rave, but it will stick in your head.

According to the credits, this is a true story, but with the names, locations and events changed.

Huh? In this case, the White actor is Frank DeKova, whose best known role was as an Indian chief on F TROOP. The movie is about Paul Harris, who runs a numbers racket, with the Mafia (referred to as "Chicago") muscling in and a mayoral election putting the pressure on. It's a potentially interesting idea, but the story is told in a disjointed fashion, with many scenes of people writing numbers in spiral notebooks. Frances Williams as the drug connection is amusing and Reginald Farmer as a street runner "Sweetman" might be interesting, but he wanders in and out.

Black gangsters and the Italian mob embark on a turf war in 1950's Harlem.

Jive Turkey seems to be the retitled name for this film which seemingly went under the insane original title of 'Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes'. It's a typically low-budget bit of Blaxploitation that starts out claiming that it is based on a true story, only to then hilariously state that despite this it contains different names, places and events! So I initially thought this had to be a comedy, yet it never actually plays out like one at all, so have to imagine these opening lines were intended with no irony whatsoever. One definite defining feature though is the fact that it's a period piece given that it's set in the 50's. The trouble with this approach, however, is that the low budget hampers this quite drastically and it never feels very much like the 50's at all. It would've been far more sensible if it had been set in the present day as period detail costs money – something of which there was clearly not an abundance of here. But you have to at least give the film-makers credit for having the nerve to try to execute something so ambitious though.

Overall, despite certainly having interesting things about it, this is not truly a very successful movie. It really lacks focus and doesn't tell its story in a particularly engaging way, despite the fact that the plot elements have a fair bit of promise. There isn't even too much action either to make up for this. One definite standout aspect though was the inclusion of a transvestite psychopath hit-man character that killed people with spiked stilettos and a sharpened ring. I was interested to read here that the movie intended the fact that this character was a man to be a bit of a major surprise twist in the plot, yet I thought it was so obvious this was a guy in drag I just kind of assumed we were all meant to know this up front. On the whole, this is certainly one mainly for fans of Blaxploitation cinema; it's a bit rough around the edges and not especially good but it still has enough of that sub-genre's energy and attitude to ensure it has some interest level.