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Turtles in Movies |
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The Phenix City Story (1955) |
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Spoiler Alert !
Some of these pictures and descriptions may give away plot details that you might not want to know before watching the film.
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This is a very cool crime semi-documentary based on the real life corruption in a small Southern town that catered to soldiers stationed at a military base across a river, which I assume means it's in another state without gambling.
The turtle scene
In one of the gambling clubs in Phenix City, we see the club's owner with several baby turtles, each with a different number painted on its back. In the true spirit of the corruption rampant in the city, the owner wants to find a way to get his patrons to bet on a turtle race that he can rig so he can know the winner in advance. But he hasn't yet figured out how to rig the race, yet.
Drunk people will enjoy almost anything without considering the consequences. Games such as turtle racing are still common in some bars, so this was probably based on fact. You can watch a turtle race at Big Joe's Pub in Chicago in this YouTube video, but keep in mind that wildlife organizations have been trying to stop them or at least get them heavily regulated to keep the turtles from suffering.
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My favorite scene in the movie has no turtle, but it does have a band and a sexy nightclub singer who sings "The Phenix City Blues."
Parts of the song are sung by the men in the band:
"Satan's a woman all dressed up to kill
Satan's a woman all dressed up to kill
In a honky tonky city of sin
With a sawdust soul perfumed with gin
Satan's a woman all dressed up to kill.
... ... ...
Woman's body is made of flesh and bone
Woman's body is made of flesh and bone
Tied together with a ball of twine
With a paper heart for a valentine
A woman's mind that's strictly all her own."
Watch the scene for yourself on YouTube.
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