Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Jive Turkey
Collapse
-
- Published: 04-02-2012, 08:27 AM
- 4 comments
X
Collapse
-
Jive Turkey
Released by: Cheezy Flicks
Released on: 9/30/2008
Director: Bill Brame
Cast: Paul Harris, , Frank de Kova, Don Edmondson, Serena, Reginald Farmer
Year: 1974
Purchase from Amazon
The Movie:
Pasha (Paul Harris, Truck Turner, Across 110th Street, The Mack) plays a smooth, mid-level crime lord running a numbers game, plus prostitution, in what is probably Cleveland, Ohio. Big Tony (Frank DeKova, The Mechanic, and Chief Wild Eagle in tv's F Troop) is having some trouble with his narcotics business, and wants Pasha to give him a piece of the numbers game. Pasha doesn't really have a choice though, since Big Tony informs him that the bigger boss in Chicago is going to put out a hit on Pasha if he doesn't comply. Pasha says he needs 30 days to get his affairs in order, and Big Tony tells him not to bother with anything funny because Tony's got a man on Pasha's crew that tells him everything. With that, Pasha takes his transvestite Serene (sorry pal, you do NOT look like a woman) and they split the scene.
One of Pasha's guys, Sweetman (Reginald Farmer, one of the mean guys at the all-black bar in Animal House) basically does all his footwork, collecting numbers and money from all the merchants. Pasha's got his eyes on a young guy named Nathan as a potential player, who has a little brother Billy who eats a lot of potato chips. Then there's a guy named DuDirty, who doesn't amount to very much other than provide a funny name, but add him to the list of people that could be working for Big Tony. Plus the cops have their noses stuck in Pasha's business even though he pays them off (apparently not the right ones) and they also have a man on the inside. Who can Pasha trust? And what's he got up his sleeve to pull one over on Big Tony?
Originally called Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes, then later titled Get Nigger Rich on Number 666, before being re-titled again as Jive Turkey, the film follows a tried and true formula for telling a story that's not very original. Thankfully, the moviemakers threw in some nuggets that keep this one's head above the water and give the viewer a thing or two to remember from the picture. Most notably is the sadistic Serene, who has one scene in particular that's quite brutal and involves a high heel. And a little kid gets shot on his bicycle in the opening credits. No one wants to see a little kid get shot in the back, but when a movie shows that happen, most people will pay attention.
Obviously this is a low-budget movie, probably made to cash in on the flood of the so-called “Blaxploitation†that hit the scene in the early and mid-1970s, and the signs are all there to call it out as a cheaply made movie (visible boom mics, low rent sets). The movie takes places in the mid-50s, but there are vehicles seen in the movie (as well as props) that scream 1970s, but that's forgivable. And the pace is sometimes tedious, but that's forgivable too. Everything's forgivable, including the way it ends, because it's got plenty stuff in it to please those who love this kind of cinema. Guns, gore, boobs, butts, hookers, drugs, a transvestite, a priest who can't keep his lil' pope in his pants, some clunky dialogue, and a character named DuDirty. It also has some solid acting, with lots of familiar faces (Ernie Banks, Frances Williams, and Henry Sanders) and some cool music as well. And the apparent attempt at a moral message at the end, “the dead endâ€, as it is, is pretty good for a snicker. It's a fun movie.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Sadly, Jive Turkey is a public domain title, so nothing was done to make it look nice. Why bother right? The source Cheezy Flicks used is beat up, but not horrible. There's lots of damage and missing frames, and the colors are pretty washed out. It would be great to see this movie get some love in the remastering department but that won't probably happen any time soon. The audio is a simple mono track that sounds pretty crummy, but does what it needs to. Pops and noises are prevalent, but everything is easy to understand.
For extras, the only thing on here, aside from chapter selections and a text page with info about the disc label, is “Cheezy Trailers and Moreâ€, which runs about 5 minutes. It features some drive-in theater promos and a few of trailers: The Firing Line (Reb Brown and a porno moustache) and Savage Weekend (with William Sanderson) and Absolution (Billy Connolly and Richard Burton).
The Final Word:
Worth checking out if you dig on 70s cinema. The extras and the a/v presentation don't add to the value of the disc, but it DVD should definitely be a welcome addition to a genre fan's collection.
-
#2Newt CoxSenior MemberFind all postsView Profile04-05-2012, 06:21 AMEditing a commentI have been meaning to watch it on the "Drive-In Classic" set,but haven't been in the right mood to watch it the past few months.
-
#3ZoSoSenior MemberFind all postsView Profile04-05-2012, 12:21 PMEditing a commentLoved this movie, I think I have it on that 50 movie set also. This one has a great song in it, that makes a great two-fer with the Scatman-sung theme from Coonskin.
-
#4Todd JordanSmut is good.Find all postsView Profile04-05-2012, 03:50 PMEditing a commentIt's a good one for sure. Not one I'd heard of/seen until now. It's one I'll watch again for sure at some point.
Posting comments is disabled. -
Categories
Collapse
article_tags
Collapse
- album review (218)
- album reviews (274)
- arrow video (272)
- blu-ray (3225)
- blu-ray review (4162)
- comic books (1392)
- comic reviews (872)
- comics (988)
- dark horse comics (484)
- dvd and blu-ray reviews a-f (1969)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews G-M (1711)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews N-S (1757)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews T-Z (878)
- dvd review (2513)
- idw publishing (216)
- image comics (207)
- kino lorber (391)
- movie news (260)
- review (318)
- scream factory (279)
- severin films (300)
- shout! factory (537)
- twilight time (269)
- twilight time releasing (231)
- vinegar syndrome (497)
Latest Articles
Collapse
-
Released by: Kino Lorber
Released on: February 22nd, 2022.
Director: Gianfranco Parolini
Cast: Lee Van Cleef, Jack Palance
Year: 1976
Purchase From Amazon
God’s Gun – Movie Review:
Directed by Gianfranco Parolini in 1976, quite late in the spaghetti western boom years, God's Gun (Diamante Lobo in Italy) introduces us to a bad, bad man named Sam Clayton (Jack Palance) who, along with his gang of equally bad, bad men, start wreaking...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 12:10 PM -
-
Released by: Kino Lorber
Released on: October 8th, 2019.
Director: Mario Bava
Cast: Christopher Lee, Reg Park, Leonora Ruffo, Gaia Germani
Year: 1968
Purchase From Amazon
Hercules In The Haunted World – Movie Review:
Directed by Mario Bava in 1961 and featuring a screenplay by Bava (and Sandro Continenza, Francesco Prosperi and Duccio Tessari), Hercules In The Haunted World (also known as Hercules At The Center Of The Earth and...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 12:08 PM -
-
Released by: Cinématographe
Released on: March 26th, 2024.
Director: Jack Nicholson
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Mary Steenburgen, Christopher Lloyd, John Belushi
Year: 1978
Purchase From Amazon
Goin’ South – Movie Review:
Made at the height of his career as an actor, 1978’s ‘Goin’ South’ sees Jack Nicholson once again in the director’s chair, seven years after his directorial debut, ‘Drive, He Said,’ failed to set the...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 10:29 AM -
-
Released by: Radiance Films
Released on: April 20th, 2024.
Director: Noburo Nakamura
Cast: Miyuki Kuwano, Mikijiro Hira
Year: 1964
Purchase From Amazon
The Shape Of Night – Movie Review:
Directed by Noburo Nakamura for Shochiko in 1964, ‘The Shape Of Night’ follows a young woman named Yoshie Nomoto (Miyuki Kuwano). In the opening scene, she’s working as a streetwalker on the outskirts of town and soon enough, she’s picked...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 10:26 AM -
-
Released by: Film Masters
Released on: April 23rd, 2024.
Director: Bert I. Gordon
Cast: Richard Carlson, Juli Reding, Lugene Sanders, Susan Gordon
Year: 1963
Purchase From Amazon
Tormented – Movie Review:
The late Bert I. Gordon’s 1963 horror film, ‘Tormented,’ is an effectively spooky ghost story made with an obviously low budget but no less effective for it.
The story revolves around a professional piano player...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 10:19 AM -
-
Released by: Grindhouse Releasing
Released on: March 12th, 2024.
Director: William Grefé
Cast: William Shatner, Jennifer Bishop, Ruth Roman, Harold Sakata
Year: 1974
Purchase From Amazon
Impulse – Movie Review:
Directed by the one and only William Grefé, 1974’s Impulse is one of those rare films that allows you to witness what it would be like if a really sweaty William Shatner got mad at a lady carrying balloons. Before that...-
Channel: Movies
04-15-2024, 01:20 PM -