Jive Turkey (1974) aka Baby Needs A New Pair Of Shoes

[GlacierTuba]

Thought to share my thoughts on this film. I wrote an entry in my Letterboxd diary about it and saw noone has mentioned it here which is a shame as it's a little gem.

I don't have the Code Red blu, mainly because it would cost about $4 trillion to import it (sending a molecule of oxygen to anywhere outside the USA seems to cost more than the amount of money Jerome Powell can print at the moment, according to USPS anyway. Then there's the taxes, duty and the fact Code Red seem to print about minus 52 copies of everything they release so I can never find anything of theirs in stock anyway).

This is a bunch of mediocre thoughts on the Mill Creek DVD that came as part of a 200 film Grindhouse set, which I did import but via WowHD before Brexit ruined everything for folks in Europe.






Dug my hand in to my Mill Creek 200 films box set last night and randomly pulled out 1974 blaxploitation epic Jive Turkey (later re-titled to the rather odd Baby Needs A New Pair Of Shoes). I've seen a few films of this genre over the years, most recently Fred Williamson's Western extravaganza Boss N***** which was surprisingly very enjoyable. Jive Turkey though was a total new one on me. Never heard of it or it's later re-title. From some post-viewing research it would appear that Jive Turkey is a highly regarded film and is often touted as being a 'forgotten film' and sorely overlooked when buried in amongst the pile of films such as Bamboo Gods & Iron Men (a personal favourite), Dolemite, Penitentiary (and it's sequel), Black Heat, Super Fly, Foxy Brown, Black Belt Jones, Blackula and of course the mighty Shaft, to name just a few. Apologies if I didn't mention any of your favourites.

Set in 1956 (though everything about this film, even down to the majority of the cars reeks of the 1970's) the film centres around crime boss Pasha (Paul Harris) who runs a highly profitable numbers game in Harlem. The problem is the Mafia want to take control of his business and turf wars ensue shortly before Pasha meets with Mafia boss Big Tony (played by the excellent Frank DeKova) who tells him a mob in Chicago have put a contract out on him. It's now down to Pasha to either give in to the mob demands or fight to keep what's his.

Given that Jive Turkey was made on what looks like a budget of $3.27 inc GST, the final product is surprisingly good. You get some flashy (albeit basic) opening credits, some nice make up and effects for the kills and shootouts, a frantic car chase and an absolutely spectacular soundtrack (please someone, tell me where I can find the soundtrack). What you don't get is above average acting, tight editing and a story that makes a whole lot of sense 100% of the time. The plot tends to go off at some bizarre tangents every so often, leaving you scratching your head at numerous intervals. Moments of sloppy editing do nothing to help this either. That said, the film still manages to be highly engaging and 90 minutes or so is over before you know it.

One of the standout pieces in Jive Turkey are the underlying themes that appear to simmer throughout the runtime. Some moments of police corruption and brutality appear to be conveying a message that is more than just something slotted in for entertainment purposes, however naive they look thanks to the low budget. Pasha's sidekick Serene, a transvestite, plays a key figure in the film. Forgive me if I interpreted this incorrectly but for a film made in 1974 when 'times were different' including opinions towards acceptance, diversity and inclusivity, I felt it was a bold move to have such a character. I can't find any more information on Don Edmondson/Tawny Tan who played Serene unfortunately. As an aside I did wonder about the remark in the opening credits about the film being a true story (this is followed by a title card stating that "Only the Names, Places, and Events have been changed to Protect the Innocent.") might have a minute element of fact around it. In 1956 prominent figure Stephanie Saint-Clair was running a numbers game in Harlem that the Mafia wanted in on (according to Wikipedia). Saint-Clair never submitted to them despite the attempts to take her out and control the area. Reading up on this piece of history I got the sense that Jive Turkey may have taken some sort of inspiration for it's plot from this. It is merely my own speculation of course.

I didn't realise until after watching the film on DVD that Code Red put out a Blu Ray in 2016 from the original camera negative. You get a superb 1:78:1 picture in a world first high definition scan of the negatives. Compared to the Mill Creek DVD which is in 1:33:1 and appears to be from a VHS transfer. Both the DVD and Blu Ray are not restored in any way, this is just the raw scan and that is it. Be prepared for a lot of scratches, dirt, (literal) cigarette burns, cue marks and scuzzy audio from time to time. It bothered me none as I feel it adds to the experience. It's great to see Jive Turkey out on Blu Ray and I for one will definitely be picking up a copy. A note to make about the Mill Creek DVD which really vexed me. A couple of times throughout the film a Mill Creek logo watermark would appear for a few seconds at a time. I cannot understand why they felt the need to do this. It really spoils the viewing experience and I've a good mind to write to them to ask what the reason behind this practice is. The only people that do that are those sketchy folks that go in to cinemas and record the screen and punt out moody DVD's with their watermark all over them. I thought I'd seen the last of that practice way back in the day when friends at school who went to Greece and Malta on their school Summer holiday break and came back with a couple of VHS tapes of films not out yet. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Silence Of The Lambs and Terminator 2 (which was missing the last 20 minutes due to the pirate recording Match Of The Day over the end of the film) are just a few of the watermarked 'treasures' that emerged from the Med in the early 1990's.

I think Jive Turkey is certainly a 'must see' if you are a fan of the genre. For the curious I would recommend it for a viewing although you may not get as much out of it. Either way I think Jive Turkey is a film that is long overdue re-emergance from the shadows of it's peers and given the respect it deserves. It's a valiant effort on such a low budget and genuinely enjoyable, if a little confusing in places. Seek it out.

Here's the Jive Turkey trailer if anyone is interested in seeing more:

Jive Turkey (1974, trailer) [Paul Harris, Frances E. Williams, Reginald Farmer] - YouTube

And here is the Baby Needs A New Pair Of Shoes Trailer:

Baby Needs A New Pair of Shoes (1974, trailer) [Paul Harris, Frances E. Williams, Reginald Farmer] - YouTube