Juke Joint (1947)

Two insolvent con men get involved in a small town beauty contest.

Director:

Spencer Williams

Writer:

True T. Thompson (original story)

Stars:

Spencer Williams, July Jones, Inez Newell

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Spencer Williams	...	Bad News Johnson / Vanderbilt Whitney
July Jones	...	'Cornbread' Green
Inez Newell	...	Louella 'Mama Lou' Holiday
Leonard Duncan	...	Samuel 'Papa Sam' Holiday
Dauphine Moore	...	Barbara 'Honey Dew' Holiday
Melody Duncan	...	Melody Holiday
Katherine Moore	...	Florida Holiday
Tilford Patterson	...	Jefferson Lee
Albert Smith	...	'High Life' Harris
Howard Galloway	...	'Juke Joint' Johnny
Clifford Beamon	...	Jackson, the bartender
Frances McHugh	...	Waitress
Don Gilbert	...	Master of Ceremonies
Red Calhoun	...	Bandleader
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Duncan's Beauty Showgirls

Storyline

Hitch-hiking conmen Bad News Johnson and July Jones arrive in a Midwestern small town with a capital of 25 cents. Taking a room with Mama Lou, whose daughter is entered in a local beauty contest, they pose as Hollywood actors who can train Honey Dew in stagecraft. Meanwhile, Mama's other daughter Florida prepares to elope to Chicago with Johnny, owner of the Juke Joint...where, after a jitterbug contest, Mama herself takes a hand.

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Plot Keywords:

african american | 

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Taglines:

The Joint is Jumpin'! / The Jive is Jivvin'! / The Jam is Jammin'! / Everybody's High in the Happy Slap-Happy Holiday Family!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Filming Locations:

Dallas, Texas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sack Amusement Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in The Films of Spencer Williams (2016)

User Reviews

Decent Race Film

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.