Kid Creole and the Coconunts

I saw this movie when it first premiered in 1984, and I was a College Junior at University of Florida. During the musical scene at the club, I got my first taste of Kid Creole and the Coconuts.

I sat there dumbstruck, believing that I was seeing Cab Calloway ( who I had grown up listening to because one of my mothers elderly friends was totally nuts over this HI-DE-HI-DE-HO crooner and was constantly playing records ) re-incarnated by this Haitian guy.....right down to his Zoot-suit.

But no sooner did I start to catch the tune of "Another Girl's Arousing My Curiosity", then all of his backup singers raise their arms and show a thick forest of armpit hair.

A drunk girl behind me exclaimed: "OH GOD! THEY DON'T SHAVE!" and the audience went nuts. I have to admit I was a bit, non-plussed but accepted it as a 'European Thing' and tried to overlook it. But the '80's college crowd ( that I guess I was more-or-less a member of, age-wise if not exactly maturity-wise ) went ballistic and all acted like they were all going to barf at once.

It was hard to follow the plot for several minutes afterward.

I think this film kind of missed as a remake of a good 'film noir' title, but it had more depth than a lot of vapid stuff I had seen earlier that year.

The armpit scene and the crowd reaction really sticks in my mind 22 years later.