Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes

I just saw this film a few days ago under the name "Jive Turkey". In it, a numbers kingpin tries to keep control of his empire. In the process, he has to go against the Italian mob, the cops, snitches and all kinds of unscrupulous folks.

As far as low-budget blaxploitation goes (and really, what isn't?), it's not that bad. The acting is decent, sometimes even good. The direction and cinematography is competent, sometimes even great. But what really stands out here is the story. Yeah, yeah. Same old brother-against-whitey plot that's in 99 out of a hundred of blaxploitation films. But there's a desperation in there that shines through. The best example is a scene of Russian roulette between the kingpin and the mafia boss. It's actually fairly well acted and well written.

There's some confusing moments, like what the hell is up with the murdering-psycho man-girl that everyone wants to bang? And there's sprinkles of cheesy acting and poor production values. But there's actually a lot in here that, given better people behind it, could equal a pretty damned good movie. As it is, however, it's certainly above average on the Z-grade blaxploitation flick.

All in all, recommended.

In addition to all the modern cars on the street, everyone in the movie keeps making declarative statements that it is 1956, as in "You know, this is 1956!" Also, all the white men have 70s haircuts and sideburns. The mayor would have been considered a bum, a beatnik or a surfer in 1956. Perhaps a missing subplot about a time machine wasn't fully explored. I don't know why they just didn't make it take place in present day except that the film is supposed to be based on a true story--In 1956!

If you are into blaxploitation, it's not a bad story--the main characters do their best considering the mangled plot, but Serene's secret wasn't much of a secret--if you can't figure it out right away you aren't paying attention even though it's 1956.

The other odd thing (among many odd things) is how this movie ends. It's a real WTF moment. Saying there are loose ends would be an understatement--Especially for 1956.

It's available on the "50 Drive-In Movie Classics" collection. At about 50 cents a movie, I can't complain. It's low budget but has some nudity and some cartoon-like violence. This also appears to be the only movie in this pack that takes place in 1956.

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!

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.

This is what a grind house fan likes most a movie of the era that is not the best but a treat for some. It has it's moments with classic and forgotten songs of the area, one is especially timely of that style's vibe. And Sweetman was a slick numbers runner in the urban mafia who had to help his boss fight the Italian mob who wanted to take over the urban mafia. Not the best film but fun for a watch. It turns out the writers and director didn't go on to do many films after this. Sometime the plot gets confusing and not many of the actors ever went on to do much else. Could be why they changed the title is that it didn't do to well when released. As a fan of African American cinema in the 70's it still is a must to see them all, and the best ones are the ones in the early seventies. I guess this was shot right around 1973. Thanks for reading.