Continuing to review movies featuring African-Americans in chronological order for Black History Month, we're now at 1947 when actor/director Spencer Williams has another of his "race movies" out in theatres in segregated areas around the country. In this one, he's "Bad News" Johnson who-with July Jones as "Cornbread" Green-has come from Tennesse to a small town. They encounter the Holiday family: "Mama Lou" (Inez Newell), "Papa Sam" (Leonard Duncan), and daughters Barbara "Honey Dew" (Dauphine Moore) & Florida (Katherine Moore) as they pose as Hollywood actors with Johnson taking the name of Vanderbuilt Whitney. I'll just say now that there are some amusing interactions among this cast that brought a smile to my face whenever they were in the family house and the musical acts of the above title-Red Calhoun's Orchestra along with jitterbug dancing couples of Kit & Kit and Mac & Ace-were quite entertaining to watch. But the last 5 minutes, especially the punishment between "Mama Lou" and Florida, fell apart for me. Still, Juke Joint is worth a look for anyone curious enough about these old movies.
3 Reviews
Spencer Williams' Juke Joint is pretty entertaining until the last 5 minutes
tavm10 February 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Worth a look, but not as exciting as the title
Sleepy-1710 September 2002
Resembling a family-oriented sitcom more than a musical, this film is not as interesting as other Afro-Am flicks of the time. Spencer Williams's talent as a director was in his depiction of religion (barely touched upon in this film), not humor, and the major interest of this film is in review of his career. The scene where Mom arrives at the Joint to find various members of the family misbehaving is the high-point.
Decent Race Film
Michael_Elliott26 February 2008
Juke Joint (1947)
** (out of 4)
An all black cast feature from director Spencer Williams. Two con men (one played by Williams) travel to a small town where they get mixed up in a beauty contest. This film plays out a lot more like a sitcom than an actual feature but it never really takes off. This is probably the lowest budgeted black flick I've seen from this period but Williams is still able to get the story across and his performance is right on the mark as usual. The supporting cast, no shock, give pretty bad performances and this really hurts the main storyline since we're suppose to believe that one of the girls in the contest really does have acting talent. There's some great jazz music at the end of the film and a hilarious moment where grandma, armed with a broom, shows up at the music joint to beat some sense into her family.
** (out of 4)
An all black cast feature from director Spencer Williams. Two con men (one played by Williams) travel to a small town where they get mixed up in a beauty contest. This film plays out a lot more like a sitcom than an actual feature but it never really takes off. This is probably the lowest budgeted black flick I've seen from this period but Williams is still able to get the story across and his performance is right on the mark as usual. The supporting cast, no shock, give pretty bad performances and this really hurts the main storyline since we're suppose to believe that one of the girls in the contest really does have acting talent. There's some great jazz music at the end of the film and a hilarious moment where grandma, armed with a broom, shows up at the music joint to beat some sense into her family.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
