In 1950s Harlem a vicious Italian gangster (Frank deKova) tries to muscle in on a black racketeer's (Paul Harris) numbers game.
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I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
Blistering performances.
"Pasha" (Paul Harris) is a black mobster who has a lucrative setup running the numbers racket in Harlem back in 1956. Additionally, an Italian mobster named "Big Tony" (Frank DeKova) also deals heroin in the same location which doesn't bother Pasha because their interests don't conflict with each other. Unfortunately, Big Tony gets a little greedy one day and decides that he wants to take over Pasha's gambling operation which will leave Pasha out in the cold. A turf war results with Big Tony using his influence with the local politicians to stake his claim while Pasha is forced to utilize his connections within the black community. Anyway, rather than detail the entire story and risk spoiling the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a cheaply made low-budget "blaxploitation" movie which manages to entertain to a certain degree. Although the acting was somewhat adequate the biggest problem was that the film was clearly low-grade and the lack of quality clearly shows. Overall I rate it as slightly below average.
...was there a little kid wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers cap in one scene? The Dodgers played in Brooklyn until 1958! Other than that, this film was worth watching twice and I'll watch it again next time it's on BOUNCE TV. I enjoyed Paul Harris' performance, although I think BOUNCE does him a disservice in its promos by touting Frank DeKova as the star. (Just as bad is that DeKova doesn't even appear in the promos!) The main reason I watched this movie the first time was to see if Frank DeKova was actually black. I never knew what he really looked like when he played a Native American on "F-Troop," so I was intrigued to find out.
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.
*** YO MAN! LOOK OUT FOR THE SPOILERS!!! *** I saw this under the reissue title of "Jive Turkey." This MUST have gotten some play at the inner-city grindhouses back in the 1970's. And those poor souls that sat in a theater and watched it must have wanted their $2.00 admission back.Where to begin? This is a crime action flick with a mostly black cast, released in 1974. So far, so good. But it is also a PERIOD PIECE that takes place in 1956. Whoa. And they don't pull it off successfully. The costumes are not right, everyone's hair is just too big, and you can see 1973 cars driving by in the background of most of the exterior shots. Okay, I know, it's low budget. But the producers clearly bit off more than they could chew here.As far as the plot, here it is: Italian mobsters try to muscle in on the racket of the iron-fisted "Pasha", big daddy of the numbers rackets in The Hood. (I think it's filmed in Cleveland, but it's never specified. I saw an Ohio license plate at one point.) He'll let the Eye-Ties sell heroin, but Pasha doesn't sully himself with such things, 'cause only some people shoot smack, but EVERYBODY runs the numbers.But once the Mafioso (played by F-Troop's Frank DeKova!) starts messing' with the Pasha, some heavy duty s*** is gonna go down. There's a few hits, stabbings, shootings, some time at the local cathouse, and a drag queen hit man (not revealed as a man until the end of the film -- although I've seen much uglier transvestites, it was no big shock that she was a man). Some highly bloody murders here, with the psycho hit queen laughing maniacally as the camera lens is covered in fake blood.In the end, "Pasha" kills the Mafioso (just strangles him to death, that's kind of lame), wipes out the "rat" in his own organization, and blows town with a butt load of cash before the cops can get at him (it's an election year and they can't be bribed right now). Our "hero" survives yet again.The writing is okay, with a few good zingers here and there. The acting is not bad (if you want some really bad acting in a movie like this, check out THE GUY FROM HARLEM), but no great shakes either. The direction is acceptable, but the poor execution of the 1956 setting is highly distracting. Didn't allow me to suspend disbelief for a second. One more thing I should mention is the music by ERNIE BANKS! Is that Mr. Cub, or a different Ernie Banks? There is some entertainment value here, and the whole effect is quite shlocky, so I give it a 4. You could do worse. Of course, if you're a fan of this genre, you need to check this out. Definitely a rare item, and probably one of the few period pieces from the classic Blaxploitation period. Available on a 50 Movie DVD box set called "Drive-In Classics," but I doubt this played at too many drive-ins. This same box set also contains THE GUY FROM HARLEM among other treats of bargain basement celluloid.