The Monkey Hustle

The Monkey Hu$tle (1976)
AIP Production #7611 

Jeff and Cheryl applaud as the neighborhood unites against the man in The Monkey Hu$tle. 

Directed by Arthur Marks
Screenplay by Charles Johnson
Story by Odie Hawkins
Produced by Arthur Marks 

Starring: 
Yaphet Kotto as Daddy Foxx
Kirk Calloway as Baby D
Thomas Carter as Player
Donn Harper as Tiny
Lynn Caridine as Jan-Jan
Patricia McCaskill as Shirl
Lynn Harris as Sweet Potatoe
Rudy Ray Moore as Goldie
Rosalind Cash as Mama
Randy Brooks as Win
Debbi Morgan as Vi
Fuddle Bagley as Mr. Molet 
Frank Rice as The Black Knight
Carl Crudup as Joe
Duchyll Smith as Beatrice
Steve Williams as The Manager
Frank Barrett as Leon  
Ralph Johnson as Cobra  
Dewellie Colbert as Moe 
Robert Townsend as Musician  

An AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL Picture 

You can stream The Monkey Hu$tle on The Roku Channel or rent it on Prime Video or Apple TV+. 

View The Monkey Hu$tle trailer here. 

Visit our website - https://aippod.com/ and follow the American International Podcast on Letterboxd, Instagram and Threads @aip_pod and on Facebook at facebook.com/AmericanInternationalPodcast 

Our open and close includes clips from the following films/trailers: How to Make a Monster (1958), The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962), I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), High School Hellcats (1958), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), The Wild Angels (1966), It Conquered the World (1956), The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), and Female Jungle (1955)

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey brothers, look what's coming down.

(00:03):
They, the head slicks themselves.
Yaphet Kotto as Big Daddy Fox.
Rudy Ray Moore as Glittering Goldie.
In Monkey Hustle.
Teaching the young bloods how to step forth into the world of flim flam.
Scoot and scam. Cool as they come.
Show me the way, Super Stud!

(00:25):
And twice as sharp.
Hey, he's so as bad.
Badder than bad.
They learn to handcuff the lightning.
Chain the thunder.
Walk through the graveyard and put the dead on a wonder.
So you see, in order to outslick the slick, you can't be sleeping late.
You gotta be up early.

(00:46):
Hey.
You gotta get your righteous scam,
runnin' through five different ways from Sundays, making sure they ain’t no holes in it.
Then after you runnin' through five different ways, then you're ready to jump out and street with your bad walk your bad down dip.
You're ready for the monkey hustle.
We're not talking about actors.
We mean a real monster.
I brought her back.
She'll live and I'll get her another body.

(01:08):
I know that's gonna catch me, but don't let anyone see me like that! Please, Doctor, help me!
Biologically speaking, it's of primary importance that man should want to mate.
Hey, that's right.
You don't get all your kicks from surfing, do you?
We want to be free to ride our machines without being hassled by the man.
And we want to get loaded.
You think you're gonna make a slave of the world?

(01:30):
I'll see you in Hell first!
The American International Podcast.
Are you ready?
Hello and welcome to the American International Podcast. I'm Cheryl Lightfoot.
And I'm Jeff Markin.
And today we are going to get down with The Monkey Hu$tle from 1976.
The Monkey Hu$tle was directed by Arthur Marks from a screenplay by Charles Eric Johnson,

(01:52):
which itself is from a story written by Odie Hawkins.
And The Monkey Hu$tle was produced by Arthur Marks and Robert E. Schultz.
The Monkey Hu$tle stars, Yaphet Kotto as Daddy Foxx, Kirk Callaway as Baby D, Thomas Carter as Player,
Don Karl Harper as Tiny, Lynn Caridine as Jan-Jan, Patricia McCaskill as Shirl,
Lynn Harris as Sweet Potato, Rudy Ray Moore as Goldie, Rosalind Cash as Mama,

(02:18):
and Randy Brooks as Win, Debbi Morgan as Vi, Frank Rice as the Black Knight,
Carl W. Crudup as Joe, Duchyll Martin Smith as Beatrice, Stephen Williams as the Manager,
Frank Barrett as Leon, Ralph Johnson as Cobra, Dewellie Colbert as Moe,
and Robert Townsend as a musician.
As The Monkey Hu$tle opens, credits are rolling, we're hearing the funky theme song,

(02:41):
and we see a truck driving to a remote abandoned warehouse.
It's a powder blue Ford pickup truck. Don't see those much these days.
Because it's powder blue or because it's a Ford pickup truck.
The former.
The truck comes to a stop and our lead character, Daddy Foxx exits.
He's carrying a small box and he goes up into the derelict building, ignoring the no trespassing sign.

(03:02):
A couple of kids are watching him go in. This is player and tiny, and they stealthily follow him inside.
Daddy Foxx plays that box on a shelf and we see that it's a clock radio.
He's just down at a desk, switches on a radio and and pulls up on the newspaper and begins to read tiny and player enter the warehouse
and try to sneak up on Daddy Foxx, but it isn't long before Fox spots them.

(03:23):
They freeze when it seems like he's reaching for a gun in his desk drawer, but he's only going for a cigar.
He wants to know what they're doing there and they say they want a job.
Daddy Foxx says they're going to work for him.
They first have to enroll in his flim flam school to learn the monkey hustle, which means learning con jobs.
If they graduate, they'll be able to scam with the best of them.
And this brings us into the credits. After they play out, we see a new character. This is Mr. Molet.

(03:45):
He's grabbing a container of milk from a parts milk truck and then he hides it under a mailbox and it goes into a corner store.
Daddy Foxx is watching all this from across the street and he's smiling at this petty death scene playing out before him.
Daddy Foxx himself grabs that milk carton, then runs back across the street just to watch and see how this unfolds.
Mr. Molet exits the store and then walks up to a newspaper vending box.

(04:07):
In order to get the box open, he uses a slug on a chain, which he inserts in the coin slot.
He steals a couple papers and then he goes to grab his milk only to find it gone aggravated. He walks off carrying his newspapers across the street.
Daddy Foxx takes a swig of milk and laughs.
Just then, a policeman drives by. This is black night from his car.
He gives a friendly honk to daddy Fox and says, Hey, Foxx, and as for Foxx, he puts up his fist in return greeting.

(04:31):
Then Foxx goes to throw his briefcase into the back of the truck, but if all's open revealing its contents. There's a couple of bricks of belt and an old shoe.
Why? Who can say? Now we meet another one of the youths in the neighborhood. This is Baby D. He runs up to Foxx who tells them to come on. They've got a tight schedule.
Baby D is kind of daddy Foxx's protégé.
He's mini me as it were. They drive off to the LaSalle Street station downtown.

(04:54):
After parking the truck, Foxx asks Baby D to choose a sign to put on the dashboard of the car. Choices include emergency health department, press, city welfare department, but D chooses the building inspector sign.
He doesn't just choose it. They're placed out back to him and he has to pick a car. So it's randomly chosen to head into the station and set up their scam.
Foxx pretends to be D's daddy and offers him advice for when Fox is away. Then he takes his briefcase to the lockers and then tries to open some of them.

(05:22):
I don't think he's really trying to open them. It just looks like he is looking around to get acquainted with his surroundings and he sees a familiar face. Damn, there's the Dipper. He says then Fox smiles when he sees the Dipper eyeballing the woman standing next to him.
Fox goes to a nearby security guard and points out the Dipper to him. And as he's speaking, the Dipper grabs the woman's first and takes off running the security guard chases after him.

(05:43):
And he returns the briefcase to Fox who swaps it for another briefcase that someone had left sitting around. Then Fox quietly and proudly exits as an oval iris takes us into the next scene.
And the next scene also takes place at the LaSalle Street station where three man band is heading into the station. They're there met by their manager who wants his commission from their gig money when the leader of the band and the drummer says what commission.

(06:06):
When says they hadn't been paid for their last three weeks of bookings they don't have any money and that's why he's not getting paid and that's why they quit and split manager yells at them telling that they're ripping him off and the manager says their group stinks and even holds his nose to prove it.
He claims to have booked them for two weeks in Vegas, but he snaps his calendar shut before they get a good look at it. One of the musicians hands the drum he's carrying to the manager and says goodbye and then Robert Townsend's musician character says man up your nose with it before he takes off.

(06:34):
Then player and tiny come into the station a scene with when because they run up to greet him the ask for this other guy is referring to the band's ex manager and when explains his dead weight trying to get money off him.
Grumbling when exit the station followed by tiny and Player outside Tiny and Player see an amazing convertible driven by quote the queen the queen is a very fancily dressed man and he propositions the boys asking them to come for a ride with him.

(06:58):
Then Player says that they don't need a ride then he grabs tiny who's ogling the car and holds him off the catch up with win win wants to know how they got to the station he wishes he had a rental car so that he could drive home.
Speaking of Vi tiny says wins should have seen the chick player was with last night player says he was drunk so it wasn't all his fault she may not have been the best looking but she was willing.
He meant is a Jan-Jan his regular girl won't sleep with him anymore win asks why his girl, Vi, didn't drive her mom's car down to the station tiny and player refused to comment on Vi's absence though then win notices daddy Foxx and baby D as they go back to that powder blue truck win says that player and tiny were supposed to keep an eye on D while he was away.

(07:36):
And how long has deep been hanging out with Foxx this time ever since you left says player just about the second he left.
Nevertheless the three hop in the back of daddy Foxx's truck when he pulls up and offers them that needed ride home the boys jump in the back of the truck and through the broken rear window Fox says that he has a couple of stops to make before taking them home.
And when says he's got some words for D and D says he's got something to give back to win he says someone had to make money so mom it doesn't have to work so hard Fox asked how wins tour went down when said it went down the tubes Fox offers the three of them a chance to make some scratch working for him.

(08:10):
So Foxx is making his first stop the truck pulls up to a house on Lake Michigan.
It's a derelict house set right on the lake with a 270 degree view of the whole downtown area.
I would imagine now it would cost a hell of a lot of money to live there under this house are several boxes of pork back ribs.
That's what the box says anyways because it says perishable and that's not how you store perishable things box pays the boys $5 each except for win who's not participating to throw those boxes in the back of the truck.

(08:37):
The boys want more but before they can even ask Fox tells them to shut up.
He offers them an opportunity to earn more money later though win isn't cooperating he says he's a musician not a flunky and he's disappointed in his brother.
He's also upset that player and Tiny have been casting off bad vibes about by but they won't tell him what's going on players to $5 in wins hand and that's enough to get him to assist and his assistance is just moving one box from under the house to the truck and then he demands you know what's up with by they tell him that she's been hanging out with Leon.

(09:05):
A guy who graduated the year before him because Leon has coin tiny advises win to take this class ring back and player says Cheryl and Jan Jan also have their noses in the air they won't go out with either one of them because those boys are poor sure less tiny why it doesn't have money like Leon.
Then player less had slipped that he and tiny got an offer from Goldie another hustler to a numbers for him and player thinks that win should talk to Goldie too box warns them about Goldie sure he's more big time but because of that he's not as under the radar as boxes.

(09:34):
Maybe better off sticking with him is they'll be more likely to stay out of trouble when once in a how clean box set up is box says he's just buying and selling his way to a better life fighting for truth justice in the American way.
He says with a big grin and then with another fancy transition we find ourselves at the second stop they drive to some condemned broken down buildings box.
He's some merchandise that might be worth taking but then he realizes that much of the stuff belong to him they don't really explain what exactly has gone on here or if they did it went right over my head.

(10:02):
One thing I notice that the boxes were hidden barely but box notices them and then denotuses that the f that box had put on the side of the boxes has been changed to a B meaning that somebody took some of boxes merchandise whether legitimately or not and rebranded it and the person who did this is called the rubbish man.
The hustle seems to be that box gets merchandise switches the contents of the boxes and passes on the junk items in their new packaging it's a common scam that's used in the Amazon returns today.

(10:31):
Everybody's got a hustle man so anyway box plans on taking back all this stuff plus everything else that's there.
Player says they can help but he wants to get paid box tells them that they'll get paid at the end of the day when they clock out like a factory but I never heard of a factory that paid on daily remember in one summer love where they got paid at the end of the construction site they got paid at the end of the day.
They start loading boxes into the truck but then notice a rubbish truck marked with the letters B B B silly rolling their way they yell at daddy box that they've got a split box jumps up from the recliner the day.

(11:00):
He's sitting on the bus to all the work and dashes to the truck he manages to start at just in time to get out of the clutches of B the rubbish man who had been walking towards them and got close enough to reach for win once he realized that his boxes were being stolen box in the boys drive off triumphantly giving the bird to the rubbish man but the
truck man climbs into his truck to give pursuit box pulls into a neighborhood but there are a bunch of kids and surveyors in the street and since he's being pursued he jumps over the curb.

(11:29):
He says he'll quit smoking and go back to school but he takes it back once Foxx drives back onto the road.
The kids are playing in the hydrant on the street in and around where the surveyors are working.
Let me see that a couple of kids have liberated a tire to from the surveyors truck the surveyors notice finally and start protesting but before they can get to the kids and get their
tires. The car goes attached to the hydrant on the surveyors the spray keeps them from rescuing their tires.

(11:52):
These truck rolls up to the scene but he can't get through.
Then an old Irish reveals a new scene read a new location this is Mama's diner wiping down the windows when she sees win headed up the walk she tells
buy an asked if she wasn't supposed to pick up win at the airport by does not seem happy to see win.
She goes on back he follows her and she starts yelling at him.
He's been gone for weeks and she hasn't heard from him. She says she gave him stamp so he could write and he only sent one note that says see you soon and she only was seen it yesterday.

(12:19):
She also mentions a collect call that her mama got but buy was unavailable to talk to win says that he thought about her a lot and by says yeah between chippies.
He tries to make nice and ask her out for tonight but she coldly informs him that she's already engaged for the evening.
She's going out with Leon.
She goes back inside and win follows her just in time to see her cozy up to Leon who had just arrived Leon tells her to wear that casual

(12:42):
butter and she promises to also wear the pretty dress he bought her for her birthday they're doing all of this for win's benefit.
Leon promises to replace last year's class ring the one that win gave her with something that glitters.
Leon pays a 35 cents for his coffee and gives via dollar tip and then says he'll see her tonight and leaves mama gives win a cup of coffee.
He's fuming.

(13:04):
Viren's up and says that'll be 35 cents win says laugh to always to her mama says that's fine. She knows he's good for it.
Then when remembers that he does have some bills from his afternoon exploits so he gives fine money for the coffee and a little extra for her trouble.
Then he skulks off.
He never even got that coffee.
It didn't drink a drop by it is not look triumphant though.
He's got a lot of money to buy that win has a good heart and that her friend married a drummer and got to travel all over the world settle in California and has any mother ever encouraged her daughter to run off with a drummer before this.

(13:33):
I doubt it.
A frustrated Vi says, "oh Mama" and clumps out the front door.
And outside Joe Johnson, the neighborhood CPA, has gathered a bunch of children to work for him.
He's having them put up signs that advertise a 24 hour block party slash fundraiser slash stop the expressway of it at the site of the future Olympics.
Yeah, that's not really mentioned too much, but we do see some gymnastics happening later on.

(13:55):
Oh, it was real. I thought they were just doing that because why not there's a lot of things that go unexplained in this movie that being one of them.
A few blocks away. We see player and tiny painting a mural Joe runs up to them and says that they're supposed to be putting up the posters. He paid them to do that.
Tiny and Player say trust them. They'll get to it.
But Joe says that he saw them with Daddy Foxx and he can't trust their word just like he doesn't trust Fox. We should also mention that the posters and question have been placed in a trash can that has been tipped over.

(14:22):
So I don't think they intended to do anything with them.
He picks up the trash can though and for some reason it gives them another dollar each to finish the poster job, though he threatens to steal their case if the job's not done when he returns. I think that's what he says.
He takes off and then so do they next Joe bumps into win.
They discuss the situation with the expressway and somehow a block party is supposed to prevent all this from happening.
Then Joe suggests that when play the drums for that party and when agrees to do that.

(14:47):
Then when wonders why Alderman Black hasn't stopped this expressway coming through their neighborhood.
Joe says that he's going to talk to him and remind Black that he's not one of those white dudes.
Let me see flamboyant Pimp Goldie park his sweet ride in front of Mama's house.
A bunch of men including the Dipper and Mr. Mollet come out to greet Goldie.
He's very popular in the neighborhood. Goldie looks at Mollet and sees the rolled up papers in his coat pocket.

(15:08):
He pulls them out of Mollet's pocket and yells at him for engaging in petty theft.
That makes them all look bad in the neighborhood.
But if he wants to do some serious leaving, Goldie can show him how it's done inside Mama's.
The cook is a familiar face and he seems to really enjoy his job.
He does everything with Flair and we saw him in Coole High as Detective Number One, aka George.
Goldie attempts to flirt with Mama and maybe establish a little corner to do business there.

(15:32):
Mama says no to both but she will fill up his stomach with some good food.
Goldie says he's going to try again next week and then Goldie chases off a group of construction men who are eating at a table and sits himself down.
Then Daddy Foxx comes in and seeing Goldie joins the man to his table.
Goldie tries to make Foxx an offer he can refuse.
Slowly does. Goldie had offered to let Fox work for him but Foxx says the interest is too high.
But apparently Goldie still owes Foxx a favor but Fox plans to keep Goldie on the hook for now and save that favor for a rainy day.

(15:59):
And they both have a good chuckle about it and now we're out on a street where a new character who is known as Sweet Potato in the credits and possibly on the street.
And the reason for that is because she's wearing a shirt that says Sweet Potatoes.
She's bent over trying to pick up some signs that are sitting on the sidewalk.
Baby D comes up behind her and pinches her butt.
Sweet Potato does not smack him though when she stands up and sees who did that.

(16:23):
But when he asks for a chance to go out with her she reminds them of their insurmountable age gap.
She's 16 and he's only 14.
He suggests they discuss it over a hot speed potato pie and a coke and she says okay in about 10 years.
And she walks away but turns her head back to make sure he's watching her as she leaves.
And now we're back with Leon.

(16:48):
He comes out of a phone booth just as a couple of his associates, Cobra and Moe come up to greet him on the sidewalk.
Cobra and Moe hand Leon a sack of cash, a literal brown paper sack, and report on some in jail bait they met and can't wait to turn out once this jail bait graduates high school.
Her name's Tanya and we will see her later.
They say Leon should get some of that meaning the young girl.
But Leon sees by walking across the street and tells his buddies why should he settle for hamburger when he's got filly mean young.

(17:16):
He then promises to introduce them to vise foxy friends.
Again, dick.
Cobra and Moe leave and Leon puts the paper bag into a satchel which he hands over to the black night as he drives by.
Us where when his playing blues harmonica by the lake by comes by I guess this is where she was headed and she sadly shares it in.
When doesn't notice her she looks conflicted but leaves me where he spots her now right Mr. Molitz discount store in the back box appears to be betting on the ponies and mo let is taking the bets down in middle of all this our friend the black night arrives to scoop up any bags of cash that happened to be lying around.

(17:49):
Then he mentions in passing that Cobra and Mo are hitting the warehouse tonight.
Well, that had given Cobra and Moe the key this afternoon but he stopped by to pick up the books and black night says he can't stay he's got a meeting with Goldie before he gets away though box ask him why the black night has to brown nose Goldie but the black night does not want to talk about it.
Box wonders out loud who side the black night is on seems to me he's on his own side though.

(18:12):
Now back at mama's players dancing with the girl and she tells him her name is Tanya the jailbait she starts to lead outside when time runs up hey where we going.
Tells me we aren't going anywhere gives tiny couple of hats on the cheek that follows time outside as they step out sure and Jan Jan are walking up to mama's seeing play with another woman Jan Jan tell sure the holder purse.

(18:33):
She can France player player claims that Tanya is just as cousin but Jan Jan's not buying this tiny decides that she's going to exit this unfolding drama however Jan Jan decides to take her iron out on Tanya and a girl fight erupts on the lawn clothes are torn wigs are ripped off and the whole neighborhood is entertained by the display including Mr.
Molet and player who looks a bit too pleased with himself at this turn of events then the black night pulls up and tries to break up the fight for the first time he's going to do some police work with the two girls stop fighting each other and start pummeling him instead.

(19:02):
As he's being beaten up by girls the black night says he's the police and then the girls get up and run away the rest of the assembled crowd laugh at the cup who walks off cursing all of them next we see player in tiny or casing on a movie theater from across the street Leon comes out of the theater from apparently just watching JD's revenge according to the poster behind him I'm jealous we'll see it eventually I'd rather be watching that he puts on his hat and continues around the corner play reminds tiny that Leon hurt their buddy and vows revenge for Wednesday.

(19:31):
The boys follow him to an alley where they confront him Leon pulls out a switchblade but after a brief discussion decides that he can fight them without it player gets the upper hand in the beating right away and then Leon rallies and starts beating up player.
Tanya's just watching after a few more punches tiny tries to pull player off so they can run for it and they do after a few more punches tiny pulls player off of Leon and they run for it.

(19:55):
Then back at mama's vice upstairs and she yells down good night before headed to bed then back downstairs box comes in with a box that appears to contain candy and a dozen roses he comes behind mama and grabs her from behind she turns around and they kiss she tells him she doesn't know what she's supposed to call him the Phantom that he fox etc.
Fox says that's a mystery is either a poet a hustler or both he's honestly charming but he's always on the make then he has mama's help to leave that chilly jungle outside meaning stop worrying about the outside world and get it on inside outside the house when decides on a little breaking and entering he climbs up to the second story floor and then goes in vice open window she's asleep with her arms out stretch and some kind of weird crucifixion pose for some reason win has a shirt tied in an outfit like he's busy do or something.

(20:43):
There are so many crop tops in this movie and not one of them is worn by a woman anyway when gently wakes by a pretels are explaining everything and Betty loves her and that seems to be all the explanation they need because they start to kiss and now it's the next day we're at the community center gym.
Joe and his girl Beatrice will see her later she works for him meat and have a brief smooch tiny win and player arrive tiny and player ogle the girls for a bit but then see the sour expressions on Jan Jan and Cheryl's faces

(21:12):
and go to try to sweet talk them a little to get back in their good graces Jan-Jan's playing hard to get until she sees the water cash that player accidentally flashes in front of him then Jan Jan decides as long as players treating Jan Jan and Cheryl will go along with him they go to grab their things and tiny as player where he got that though
player opens up the cash to reveal that most of it is pieces of newspaper with a couple of bills on the outside.

(21:34):
Another girl in the gym also saw player flashes wide so she comes over to say hello player greets her and says he just carries around those bills in case he meets a lady with potential and she looks like a lady with potential so he kisses her hand which Jan-Jan sees and then she goes on the attack.
Jan-Jan returns to unleash her fury on once again the wrong person and she chases the new chick around the gym and out the door and then we cut to win in his bedroom.

(22:00):
Leon has destroyed his drums and scribble the words you been warned sucka on the wall player and tiny are there and I guess the implication is that it was Leon who did this since no one else we have a vent that against him players says he should have killed Leon when he had the chance win correct
him and says that he should have left Leon alone.
Yeah, win could have handled it now or at Foxx's warehouse office box is giving a lesson in monkey hustle 101 to tiny baby D player and win win is not enjoying the lesson though he's got

(22:28):
on his mind isn't one any part of this plan con but Foxx says all for one and one for all they're all in or nobody's in.
So now it's field study that powder blue truck is backed up to the BBB's garbage truck behind Molet’s discount store D player tiny and win
unload a bunch of boxes of quasar TVs into the back of the garbage truck and then cover them with tree branches then they all scatter and Fox drives the truck away as the rubbish collector returns

(22:54):
well that comes out to dump some of his own trash into his cans.
Molet watches as the rubbish collector dumps a can of boxes into the back of his truck before leaving to return that can then is
Molet watches box brings out his powder blue truck again the kids all come from the field grab the TV boxes from the back of the
garbage truck throw it back in the powder blue truck before they all take off themselves so this seems to have all been done for the benefit of being seen by

(23:18):
mulitz then the rubbish man B returns and drives off unaware of what is transpired in the back of his truck then Fox who had parked nearby walks away from his truck well it's still watching as the boys return unload some of those TV boxes from the back of the truck and put them behind some
cans that are sitting nearby then everybody but D leaves well it comes over to him and offers to buy those TVs for $55.

(23:43):
D says $100. Well, that says 60 D says 75. Well, that says he'll call the cops and D says 55 is good so they have a deal well it pays D as soon to watch the boxes while he goes to get a dolly.
Well, it leaves and these signals the others who will all run out from the alley grab the TV boxes and run back down the alley D stashes some of that money into his sock before running off himself.

(24:04):
Well, that returns with his dolly only to find his purchase has disappeared he starts to call for help he's been robbed then he realizes this is a crime you can't report.
You can't call the man.
In another location we see the guys dumped the debris out of those TV boxes from the truck that they left behind yet somehow they went back for the truck because they left it behind we're trying to describe this as best we can it makes almost no sense.

(24:34):
Box gives the boys their money each of the four get $9 not a big call for all that work tiny and player donate their cuts to win so that he can buy new drums.
Win is grateful in the three happily run off box tells D that a few more scams like this and they'll be able to buy win a whole new set of drums that is as long as D forks over the rest smiling D retrieves the money he had stashed away in his sock and has it over to Fox.

(24:57):
And now seeing that fairly matters we over Iris into a movie theater player and Jan Jan are making out on the stage I guess all is forgiven Jan Jan says the floor is cold and demands that player be the one to lay on the stage and she can be on top in the seats tiny and sure they're making out and tiny is trying to get her to go further but she's got the curse.
And then the black night arrives and chases everybody off that's the end of that now we're at the office of Joe Johnson certified public accountant news on the phone yelling at all the black about not doing anything about the express play coming in Beatrice is there with her sister with sweet potato sweet potato is looking out the window where daddy Fox and baby D are loading the truck D waves up at her Joe warn sweet potato that she shouldn't be hanging around with guys like that Beatrice tries Joe a little bit for dissing D but Joe has his opinions she tries talking to her sister she calls her quant.

(25:46):
But sweet potato says that Beatrice is in her mother and storms out and then we're out on the street Mr. Molis coming down from the elevated station and Joe chases after him Joe wants to know what a set of drums would cost to rent just for the party Mr. Molis says $150 but he's more interested in the commotion happening outside his shop there's a lot of people gathered outside his discount store let goes inside where he finds player tiny and win jamming players on trumpet tiny on base guitar and win is of course on the drums it all sounds terrible to even so people are.

(26:15):
Dancing including Jan-Jan and Shirl who apparently work there Molis chases everyone off until Jan-Jan and Cheryl to get back to work and now we're also in the neighborhood where Goldie rolls up in his I don't know what kind of card is but it's absolutely gorgeous and parks he gets out and I think it should be noted that Goldie is wearing a gold sequined fish net fest it's not gold sequined it's like gold chain with little gold coins hanging off of it it's backless with tiny chains connecting it there's nothing under this best except for bear skin and chest hair I wrote down what it was.

(26:44):
I wrote down what it was but I still can't describe it adequately I just wrote down what I saw is also a color with three tassels and he's wearing what looks like a golden cabbie hat I thought it was a sailor hat I think I can drive his hat it's stunning that's all I can say he calls over player tiny and win he's mad because they put Leon out of commission for a while and that cost Goldie money yes is Dennis for some cosmetic gold teeth and to buy them of course needs the cash but before that can be addressed box and baby D stole buy in.

(27:13):
Goldie glows at Foxx what it is as Foxx when again tells D that he shouldn't be hanging out with Foxx.
D replies that when maybe his brother but Foxx is daddy and maybe if we can find his real daddy then they can talk but until then then do you remember
is that when his only is half brother and he runs off box lots of D with his hat as he's running off but he is gone box tells when he should lay off of D or he risks driving him away for sure and when agrees and runs after D and tiny and player follow

(27:40):
leaving Foxx and Goldie alone Goldie wants Foxx to stop Pimp blocking him he can help those boys earn some real cash plus they owe him for the loss of Leon but Fox says let those young bloods be and he'll introduce Goldie to someone well connected in the Justice Department or system this was a little incomprehensible but Goldie says that he's got people to answer to as well and he can't just let it go but then Fox makes an ostentatious departure to make sure that Goldie is aware that he's not backing down.

(28:09):
And then inside where D is taking money off even little their kids been on whether a tower of flap jacks will fall or set a new record at a table we see Player and Jan-Jan and Tiny and Shirl and Win all sitting together.
Player says something about a way to get drums for the party so he says he and tiny have got to go they've got to take care of business this is news to tiny who gets a thwack on the back from player until he agrees to leave and as they push their way outside we see D trying to make on sweet potato but she pushes him away outside tiny asks what's up and player tells them they're going to out slick the slick rob the teacher in order to get those drums.

(28:45):
In Foxx's warehouse though D is open every box of merchandise and to tiny is delight discovers they're all empty and eventually even player has to laugh at the absurdity of this.
Now we're at the roller skating rink where apparently all the kids in the neighborhood have decided to hang out this one night outside D and sweet potato and a bunch of younger kids are hanging out.
D collects money from each of them and puts it in a paper bag and drops it off of the black night is he drives by details black night not to put the slips under the floorboards of daddy foxes truck anymore this is D's action black night agrees we don't know what slips are and I don't think we ever will then D tries to get his entourage into the rink but the manager deems them all too young and sends everyone home except for the sweet potato of course inside we see tiny hanging out with Cheryl and players skating the Jan Jan we don't.

(29:33):
We have seen by in a while when invite take a break from skating to sit and talk win is depressed he has no bread no skins and no gig I tell them is luck is about to change the moon is moving into a query is when is not cheered by this news but then he laughs and predicts that it means he's going to be discovered by a talent agent at the block party and then they'll ride off into the sunset together by says nope they're going to drive off into the sunset in his new car then win can treat it to that weekend away that he promised her now we see D takes we potato into the backseat of a car.

(30:02):
She wants in that all she's going to do is let him kiss her they go into the car and she immediately stops him from putting his hand under her shirt saying it'll stun his growth.
Now we see by and when sharing a tender moment outside in the street near mamas when Cobra and Moe sneak up on them the attack and after Vi fails to stop them she runs home to where mama and fox are at mamas fox is trying to convince mamas who lent him 150 hours for drums when vi comes running in hysterically saying that they're killing win in the park.

(30:30):
So Foxx, Mama and Vi run to the park and then fox joins them away after a struggle he punches out mo and cobra takes off running the mama and vi tend to win he had been beaten rather badly they bring him home for some first aid and then fox lectures win a little bit is wasting his talent and should get off the streets he goes to leave and mama asked if she'll see him later and he says she will and then vi tends to win injuries they are in tiny seem to have come up with another plan to get drums for the party because they along with D are on the rooftop of the street.

(30:59):
The roof top of molets discount store and they've lowered a rope ladder down through the skylight and tiny has gone down to grab a drum set nobody realizes the silent alarm has been triggered when the bass drum is pulled up and tiny makes his way back up to the roof the black night shows up in response to the alarm.
The Black Knight climbs up to the roof and confronts the boys and these shoots at the black night with a flare gun it momentarily blinds him player attempts to run off with a bass drum but ends up but when the black night gets too close to him.

(31:26):
There's a flash is the drum over the cops head nobody takes a drum with them as they go and so this whole mission was for nothing.
This was another fun cute scene that accomplished nothing now we see the neighborhood comments association meeting it isn't progress among those present are Foxx, Goldie, Molet and Black Knight.
Everyone agrees with Goldie the highway cannot come through this neighborhood Goldie says that they're going to put the squeeze on those suckers and everyone agrees.

(31:48):
I guess they're talking about the city and with that Goldie sends everyone away except for Daddy Foxx Goldie tells Foxx to alderman black is in the city.
Thanks to Goldie but he can only use his influence so far he needs Fox to make the alderman do what needs to be done to stop that expressway.

(32:10):
Set up as underway for the black party a banner says save the home of the future Olympics keep the killer expressway out people are putting food on the tables and the black night supervisors all the action.
That is until Foxx pulls his next con box and the friendly neighborhood prostitute of stage of transaction for the black nights benefit box gives the prostitute money all within view of the black night when the prostitute turns to leave she turns around and waves to the black night.

(32:35):
And she goes then D comes over to the black night has a much that you love money and in return black night gives him some slips all this is being done for fox is benefit.
Foxx calls out “D" and D runs off and Black Knight jumps into his car and drives off box miles everything is going according to plan.
Whatever that plan is now outside of townhouse black night is driving past Foxx the street walker and another guy or inside the townhouse looking out the street walker and the man go outside and stage a person hatching for the black night to see.

(33:08):
The man takes the prostitute's purse and attempts to run off she gives chase and starts fighting with the guy has black night runs over to help.
Meanwhile Daddy Foxx rolls on over to black nights car and believes that satchel of the money inside look like it's about 208 bucks down there's plenty to buy a set of drums.
The guy runs off and as he does the woman needs the black night in the growing she tells him not to worry about him is he okay and she offers to let him escort her home for little TLC if you know what we mean.

(33:36):
A little while later the party is in full swing a band is playing and of course win is beating the drums those drums still have the price tag on them but that doesn't make them unplayable.
The band is rocking out and everyone is dancing and it seems everyone indeed is there looks like the whole neighborhood has turned out Goldie is there dancing and Mr. Molet and Foxx have a tense meeting but all as well after that.

(33:58):
This goes on for a while but the party does start to slow down when two bulldozers arrived to start demolishing buildings Joe Johnson starts arguing with the city official who accompanied them a bunch of people at the party decided to put themselves between the bulldozers and the condemned building.
But the city official says he's going to move them and knock down the building anyways but never fear D in his kid army are armed and ready that fire hose that they attach to the hydrant.

(34:21):
Joe tells him he can do his thing and they'll do theirs he signals D and the hose is switched on the bulldozer operators and the city official are doused with water and pelted with plates of food and other people with fire extinguishers spray them with those as well somehow they've had a bunch of those just lying around.
The onslaught continues until Alderman Black is brought into announce that the expressway project is off he rolls up in a limo wearing a loud suit and announces that the highway project has been rerouted.

(34:46):
Of course that means that the bulldozer crew was sent out by people who knew that they didn't have to be there which allowed them to be attacked anyway box and Goldie share a look apparently it's a day who made this happen.
The celebration is short lived however because cobermo and Leon drive up looking for revenge the crowd charges at their car kicked their ass yells Goldie they don't work for Goldie no more.

(35:07):
Cobra, Moe and Leon drive off and retreat and win player and tiny hop into fox's truck to take off after them before they can get too far.
Cobra crashes into the Black Knight's cop car the cop runs up to the scene and is very distressed to see his car wrecked he groans and throws his hat on the ground that's about all he can do for now.
Tiny, Player and Win exit the truck and before Cobra, Moe and Leon can get out of the car they're already beating them up even tiny throws a punch much to his regret he really hurts his hand.

(35:35):
Black Knight comes up and tells them to stand back he's going to show them what a black knight can do only onto his gun in the night stick but instead they leave because cobermo and Leon aren't conscious lucky for them says black night we assume they get arrested.
So when Player and tiny return to the black party by looks worried but once win returns she runs to him and Jan-Jan and sure will run to their men as well.

(35:56):
And we see that the manager from the beginning of the movie is also at this black party he tells when he's got in book for two weeks he's just going to need his commission up front this time win as by she's willing to take a rain check on that weekend get away.
And she says sure for two weeks pay I can't believe when is falling for this again and then Foxx sees D he calls after him and D runs box chase him and then suddenly it's the next day and everyone's in different clothes box is frog marching D through the school yard.

(36:22):
Foxx tells D that it shouldn't be running scams on his own yet he's still in training and where he needs to be is school outside the school they're greeted by a stern looking matron who relieves D of his cigar and calls him into the school and devous revenge on Fox for doing this to him.
Now we're back at a South Street station Foxx is working his briefcase switch.
He watches the new arrivals looking for a mark with a similar briefcase he finds one and follows his mark then when he goes to make the switch D is there and he flags down that same security guard from earlier and points box.

(36:51):
Out as he's about to steal that briefcase box has no choice but to drop both bags and run and the next time we see them they're hauling us down the street is your cargo tribute building behind them box commens D on his skills saying he must have had a good teacher and then the credits roll and we get to meet the cast again.
If you brief scenes but honestly that's the end.

(37:18):
Welcome back to the American International podcast where we're talking about The Monkey Hu$tle from 1976 the budget for the monkey hustle was $300,000 according to an article in the Decatur review the monkey hustle storyline mirrored a real life protest against a plan super highway that would cut through Chicago's South side.
In July 9 1976 Maggie Daley's column in the Chicago Tribune announced that the monkey hustle plan to start filming all around town beginning on July 14th and that the movie's cast would be announced the following Friday daily reported that director Arthur Marx and producer Bob Schultz and staff quote have been working day and night in pre filming work and that Marx who directed the Perry Mason series for years had had a chance to see Raymond Burr who was in town performing the good doctor on stage at the jury lane theater but that he'd arrange a visit as soon as he could.

(38:05):
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times wrote an article from the set of Monkey Hustle published in August of 1976 he described a scene filmed on South L.A. Street saying there are kids everywhere and flags flying from the houses and trees and stands overflowing with food and soul music by an neighborhood band called the C.B.s it looked just like a block party except for the determined banner stretched overhead keep the killer express way out.

(38:26):
The party was thrown by the South Ellis black club but the ban was contributed by American international pictures.
Luckily we have this article because almost all of the production information I found out about this movie came from that in the same article.
Ebert described a scene where you have a Kotto's character Daddy Foxx was trying to drum up support for his anti express way scheme with groups of locals dancing in the background as Cotto walked up and down the street prop food was set up for the block party scenes but later the extras and volunteers were served box lunches when there was a break in filming.

(38:53):
Arlen Hayes as in the block club told the Ebert that some people were not happy with the movie filming in their neighborhood a few of the neighbors have been bothered by the fact that the movie would be a commercial venture but we like what the movie was about he said it's about people who do show faith in neighborhood even despite the feelings of frustration.
Director Arthur Marks told Ebert that he in the casting crew quote we're having a wonderful time filming here these to say Chicago wasn't particularly crazy about movies being made here but we've had great cooperation the police have gone out of their way to be helpful.

(39:22):
Mark said he chose the Ellis street location because he like to look at it.
We scouted several locations I like the open space for the block party I like Chicago in general marks told Ebert he was playing this shoot another movie in Chicago in 1976 tentatively titled Mr Chicago the monkey house was marks last feature film effort.
Kotto told Ebert he liked the fact that Monkey Hustle was a comedy said quote I've been in so many rough and tumble blood and violence movies I'm sick of them I'm having a much better time here.

(39:48):
Kotto had just got done filming a movie called drums in which his character had the box can not any promoted the film while he was in Chicago or into a peace press book this was Cotto's first ever comedic role.
Kotto also said that he and the other angelians in the cast noticed they were calling the highway a freeway L.A. style instead of the Midwest term expressway and also said that the monkey hustle was across between the sting and Oliver twist and he was playing the role all new would have had if marks that offered it to him the movies entertainment it has no sex no violence no message I think we're getting away from the idea that all black movies had to be violent filled with breaks and all that.

(40:23):
Rudy Ray Moore got the part after someone who had seen him in Dolomite told Arthur marks that more would be perfect for the director's new movie but when more read for the part he was as marks puts it dreadful until marks told him to throw away the script and just be himself quote then he was really terrific just what the film needed Mark said in an interview conducted for the book “Blaxploitation Cinema" by Josiah Howard.

(40:44):
Moore used money he earned from his popular comedy albums to produce his successful star vehicles Dolomite and the human tornado he is quoted in the A.I.P. press book for monkey hustle as enjoying working for another director for the first time states Rudy I can concentrate on my acting and let somebody else for a production problems.
The Monkey Hustle was released on December 24th 1976 the A.I.P. press book recommended that theater owner stage a block party in a rope-dough area in front of their location which was a bold choice considering the movie's opening date guaranteed that cold weather would be affecting a large portion of the country at the time quote the games and all the food soldier of names pertinent to the film i.e. monkey dogs also sandwiches con punch etc wrote the creative person in A.I.P.s marketing department as I feel hot hot dogs and figure sandwiches would be more appropriate.

(41:30):
A more weather-friendly idea was a Monkey Hustle dance party contest promotion near their location offering prizes from local merchants free admission tickets to the movie or other prizes going to the person who devise the most original dance that could go by the name of the Monkey Hustle.
A.I.P.s suggested that the theater owners higher musicians radio station personnel or dancers or dance instructors as the judges.

(41:51):
Finally A.I.P. included a coloring page made from an image from one of The Monkey Hustle posters and offered the idea of putting the image in quote local or ethnic newspapers and quote to create a coloring contest to engage potential young movie goers.
Taglines for the monkey hustle include meet Daddy Foxx, Baby D and Goldie they're gonna do the Monkey Hustle.
It ain't legal and it sure ain't safe but it do seem worthwhile.

(42:15):
Roger Ebert who had written such a nice article about the filming of the Monkey Hustle only gave it one and a half stars out of four calling it a "good-hearted model a totally confused movie that manages to be fun from time to time."
It was shot entirely on location in Chicago but they must have left half the script back in Hollywood some of the scenes lead nowhere some of the characters hardly seemed to have a reason for being in the movie and it's still a mystery to me how they kept the expressway from coming through.

(42:40):
In quote Ebert mentioned the scene where Foxx and his minions steal and then sell more at the empty TV boxes as having a kind of cheerful illogic but said most of the scenes didn't work that well.
The brief review in the L.A. Times said the movie was scrambled and unjeled but inoffensive the muskieghin chronicles many review call it tasteless and wobbly and said it was loaded with confusing street lingo unnecessary brutality and moral confusion is the audience that will be hustled by this blatantly bad film.

(43:06):
Lawrence van Gelder in the New York Times called the Monkey Hustle movie of jellied brain and idiot eyes like the defective product of combining an old Andy Hardy movie and modern black urban life.
He emphasized the brutality of the character saying this movie's major hustle will be to separate from their money and time the adolescence who might logically be the Monkey Hustle's audience if it merited one.
Edward L. Blank in the Pittsburgh press called the movie a dud and vilified the producers saying the existence of a movie like the monkey hustle makes a single insulting point clear the producers are convinced they can make a quick buck from black audiences by slapping together a collection of badly made scenes and calling it a movie.

(43:43):
Blank praised the performances of Kotto and cash it's always disconcerting to see pros slumming the caption under a photo of the two read something sparkling in the trash.
John Furcolow in the Lexington Harold was much kinder saying “Monkey Hustle has a good black cast learning a message you may not want to hear or even let your kids here if you want to live you've got to hustle."
He said "the film is enjoyable with the cast enveloped in a contagious spirit of fun but every male in the pictures on the take or at least in various stages of learning the game of the con man sometimes films of this sort have an accidental way of backing into reality this may be the case here."

(44:17):
Recommending the casting director see the film the variety review stated there's not no performance even at the bit level.
Louis Beale looking back at the black exploitation genre in his 2009 article in the LA Times said about the film quote it may not have been high art but in its own sneaky way the Monkey Hustle was truly glorious.
He quoted Michael Jai White who starred in and co wrote the black exploitation spoof Black Dynamite as saying quote it was just brush unlike anything I'd ever seen I remember these bigger than life characters who reminded me of my uncles and it was the first time I saw anything familiar in my life on the big screen.

(44:59):
I've now as a portion of our podcast where we talk about how we felt about the film what are your thoughts on the monkey hustle well this was a strange one isn't it is but I don't think that's a bad thing there's a lot of things to note here.
I think the most obvious thing is that this movie plays more like a dream than any kind of reality I was going to say a fairytale things happen and they seem to be somewhat connected but are they really well you mentioned this was a paper movie and it is but in paper movies that were used to seeing you know your oceans 11, 12, 13.

(45:28):
The paper is spelled out all the parts of it are labeled so we know what's going to happen the mechanics are there they don't go that way of course something goes wrong every time but at least we know what the plan is here if there is a plan it doesn't make sense we don't know what it is and did it work I guess it works for a while anyway but how I'm not sure how but the end goals are met they got drums for the party and somehow the party stopped the expressway for coming through well Goldie and Fox did some of the things that I was going to say.

(45:57):
And Foxx did something but what did they do we don't know and we never will that being said though this movie is a lot of fun there's some fun moments I was just a lot less confusing yeah I guess if you don't get hung up on thinking about the plot this movie is fun if you do you're not going to enjoy it as much that's why I say it plays like a dream because each moment is fun on its own but when you're stringing it together and try to make a storyline it just doesn't make sense.

(46:24):
Yeah it may not hold up I did enjoy the acting in the movie yeah if it could oh is so good in this movie it's got such a great smile he does and he's so charming and you just want to watch him all the time and we switched other characters unfortunately but really more is also a treat he's just a little spark that comes to life every time he's on screen I think a part of that is his wardrobe of course in his car I love that car it's sort of blue green and sparkly speaking of wardrobe there is just some really interesting wardrobe choices in this.

(46:53):
Such as won't be mentioned the crop tops. Oh yeah only on boys yeah and several of the guys have their shirts not in the front yeah there's almost like they got the girls wardrobe instead of their own I don't know I don't know what's going on there I know I was happy to see Debbi Morgan as Vi this is a me thing because she was on all my children forever and I loved her as Angie on that show so seeing her in an early role she's young here and she's a little over dramatic but she's playing an eight.

(47:22):
She's playing an 18 year old and she's supposed to be over dramatic I think that totally fit and even though the hustles made no sense I enjoyed the spirit in which they were carried out the home will be is about the community coming together to stick it to the man and that's something we all take a lesson from I think right even though they have these petty things that they work against each other when comes down to it the whole neighborhood is united and you're right we need to be united against the man for whatever's coming our way we kind of touched on some of the scene transitions is basically two.

(47:51):
That they use there's a checkerboard white and then there's a novel iris way yeah reminded me of using the video toaster when I did video editing in the 2000s 1990s 90s yeah people worked at a local TV station and we got this editor called the video toaster we were not allowed to use any of those wipes by a manager so we just had to do straight up transitions but no one told them they couldn't use them in this movie.

(48:16):
Well they were using a video toaster this is 1975 but right just the it's the wipes they were transitions that would become popular with the video is poster oh they didn't have the falling sheep one the fall and sheep of the Kikifex. Kikifex for those who are not in the industry and don't know was a silhouette of a woman doing various things pulling down a shade and that would be the transition or just twisting around across the screen and her name was Kiki.

(48:41):
I did not know her name I just like I said I know you're not allowed to use those transitions ever there were a few scenes that didn't seem like they finished before transitioning to new ones these cons don't make any sense so what maybe they just cut them short because they didn't really know where to go with them.
The writer or the director kind of threw up their hands and just sort of assume that we would make it work in our heads while we watch the movie.

(49:05):
A little more coverage would have solved all these mysteries like when they drive up to that house and there's the boxes of ribs under the house maybe something showing where those ribs came from the first place would be helpful we know there are ribs in there it's summer time and they're outside.
If there was meat in those boxes they'd be slimy and smelly and unusable so that didn't make any sense the dialogue in this movie was kind of a challenge for us I have to admit I think at one point we were thinking of the line from airplane stewardess.

(49:34):
I speak jive because this movie didn't need a little translation yeah we watch a bit of a scene and talk to each other about what we think they might have been talking about because we got it right but I think it did take a moment for us and we had to translate into English that we can understand I wouldn't say we had to translate into English but we had to translate it into layman's terms let's put it that way because we are layman there is one moment that I question more than others has nothing to do with the hustles here.

(50:03):
But if feeding up Leon was enough to take on a commission how did he trash Win's room in drums you could have had cobra and mo do it it may be as simple as that explanation I guess yeah well never know like I said a lot of things you just have to let it flow over you you can't stop and think about it and again that's why I say it's like a dream yeah because stuff happens it may be extremely logical especially taking with the context of what has happened before and after but in the moment you just go with it because it's obviously happening because you're seeing it.

(50:32):
Yeah, I don't know I had a lot of fun watching this movie even the second time around and I feel very fondly about it despite all its flaws of which there are many.
Roger Ebert wrote about how he wasn't sure how the expressway situation wrapped up and I think that's pretty funny because you mentioned that goalie and Fox share this look so obviously they had something to do with it.

(50:53):
We don't know what it is Roger Ebert missed the look apparently because he had no idea even with the look we still don't know what they did just to say it's not a good idea.
I don't know what they did just that they did something but I love the idea that the city sent to bulldozers down to take on a building for nothing they're going to take it down if they hadn't stopped them they would have done it anyways well even if they did it's just to bulldozers yeah and we're pushed dirt and

(51:17):
debris and stuff they don't knock down buildings right they should have got a that's extremely dangerous if you're going to drive a bulldozer into a building because it's going to collapse down on top of you you normally would use a wrecking ball maybe dynamite yeah they didn't
float it because these are like five story buildings these aren't just houses which even so would be difficult for bulldozers to take out so at that point I was reading for the city I wanted to see how this is going to pan out it

(51:41):
seemed like those poor guys went down there just to get attacked like somebody sent them down there knowing that they weren't supposed to be there they
don't know no questions this is yours and then they come back and they quit or they file work was comp or something learn a union I'm sure this will not stand it's funny I think I kind of fell in love with this movie at that

(52:10):
I don't have a source on the budget but it did seem very cheap and $300,000 does not seem like a whole lot of money at least it didn't go to the movies look however they had more name actors than Kooley
Hi did last week there are a ton of characters in this movie yeah I don't know if they were all necessary some of the subplots the

(52:31):
rubbish guy for example yeah I think it may have made the movie more complicated than it should have been and maybe that detracted from some of the scams which is what I would have like to
a scene more right it's the name of the movie or see how they were carried out instead of seeing what we saw because it wasn't enough to explain it to me how all these
worked up and they didn't make very much money no they were like nickel and timing all this it's like okay I guess I go to McDonald's for dinner tonight I

(52:59):
think we figured out that the $55 is like $305 today and they have split it five ways and I was thinking there's an
episode of MASH and there's like a trend that went viral where you start with one small thing and you trade up and up and up until you have one big thing so they did that
on an episode of MASH I've seen that done in sort of a viral video thing these days but that's not what happened here everything was small time they didn't get bigger and

(53:27):
bigger and bigger which would have made more sense they buy some cheap merchandise and sell it for more than it's worth and then they'd sell that for more than it's worth and up and up but this was just empty boxes for money that's all that happened here as far as we know they didn't
explain it no they didn't but did you ever see anything come out of a box that wasn't garbage or nothing at all not in this movie no so it's interesting that this movie like the last movie we reviewed

(53:52):
Cooley High was shot in Chicago and we saw some of the same actors Lynn Caradine as Jan-Jan was Dorothy and Kuli high loved her here loved her there she could be in every movie that would make me happy she's so alive I love to see her
Robert Townsend was credited in this one he wasn't credited in Cooley High his role was smaller here though wasn't it I think you have the same number of lines but I think he said more in Kuli

(54:19):
high maybe Stephen Williams was in both movies he was Jimmy Lee and Cooley High and the Manager here which is a much smaller role Nate Reed here played the cook and he was credited as an
Nathaniel Reed in Cooley High as Detective Number 1, George, as we stated earlier and also Joseph Carter Wilson who played Tyrone in Cooley High appears here as “Bodyguard" but I wasn't able to pick him out I don't remember a body

(54:43):
guard in this movie he must have been one of Goldies men yeah there were a couple people that we saw with gold well remember in the con man association meeting there was the one guy there that we didn't know who it was was that
him I couldn't tell you think I would have recognized his face if he had any screen time this Tyrone was a big part of Cooley High main character who knows but yeah they kept with the locals but there were more

(55:08):
than there were in Cooley High which had a higher budget so that's kind of weird so in my mind this movie came into town all these local actors to had appeared in Kuli high not long before that hey to this again and they probably all tried out and a handful of them got to be in both films and they probably thought this was a start of a career for them and it wasn't for the best majority of these two films was all they ever did but being in Kuli high which we both gave a pluses to was a big thing so at least they had that

(55:37):
and then this to sort of also ran well in caradena had a bigger part in Monkey Hustle then in Cooley High which is probably pretty rare for anybody in the situation to be a non professional actor doing a second film I don't know I think her part was better in Kuli high but it wasn't bigger right
right right and she was more fun in Cooley High than she was here here is kind of like why don't you beat up player is the one cheating on you these girls don't even know you exist and they didn't really delve into the lives of the women in this movie either course same with Cooley High I think only Vi really had a sort of emotional journey in this movie you could say

(56:18):
but they're all young they're all kids so that wasn't much of a journey I she well she was mad at and when and then she wasn't anymore so that's the extent of her journey right that's why I'm saying she had something but it wasn't much Leon got beat up and she never saw him again till he showed up at the end of the movie and
can even get on the car she took wind back pretty fast there wasn't a lot of time spent fretting about forgiving him or not she forgive him as soon as he broke into a room and woke her up from a dead sleep was probably because he had a shirt tied up and

(56:50):
he shows off a lot of chest in this movie more than anybody even Rudy Ray Moore that's not true.
Alright so let's put a great on this movie using our scale that we always use a for awesome I for intermediate and P for pathetic well I think there are short bits of this movie that you can show clips from and think this is a movie but you put it all together it's really kind of a mess.

(57:15):
There's a lot of fun to be had here but it doesn't really string through a plot of any kind and with there being so many characters it's really hard to follow plus they all speak their version of street lingo that I am not well acquainted with so it was hard to follow at times so I'm going to definitely have to
dip it down to an eye for those reasons what are your thoughts Cheryl I think I feel quite the opposite in that individual scenes when you break them down they don't really make sense but as a whole this movie is fun and it keeps moving and we've already said this when you stop and think about the movie and how everything played out it doesn't make sense but as a whole it just keeps

(57:56):
chugging along and it's a lot of fun and I plan to give it an A it's silly and goofy but I really liked it and for me it's an A movie I guess you're right in that they set their goals and they met their goals.
However they did it will never know but as a viewer I want to see how they did that so I'm going to stick with my eye.

(58:17):
I totally understand I just feel the opposite way because I had fun watching this movie and it was better than I expected and that's always a step towards an A for me being better than I expected to be to find out more about the monkey also and other films we reviewed on the American international podcast is our website a
I can watch trailers see examples of advertising posters and lobby cards and other items that aren't available to you on an audio only medium such as a podcast you can also messages and let us know what you think of the podcast what we could be doing better what we've done that you love we love to hear about it all that's a

(58:53):
great idea and I'm Jeff Markin and we'll meet you at the drive in.
Follow the American international podcast on Instagram and letterbox @aip_pod and on Facebook at Facebook.com/AmericanInternationalPodcast.

(59:16):
American International Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Markin--a man whose mind is distorted by hatred--and Cheryl Lightfoot--a girl hungry for too many things.
The American International podcast is part of the Pop Culture Entertainment Network.