bobbie gentry album ode to billy joe knock the beatles sgt . pepper off the top of the american music chart in the 1960s and and the title track become a musical touchstone for many of that generation . it be a ballad and and it offer the story of a rural mississippi farm girl who learn through casual conversation over the kitchen table that billy joe mcallister have jump off the tallahatchie bridge . simply write and perform and gentry song have an aura of mysterious tragedy and for clearly there be some unknown relationship between the singer and billy joe and while gentry imply a great deal and she do not specify the detail and leave her listener to wonder and make interpretation of their own . one of the most popular idea about the song be that billy joe be black and and that the something he and the singer have be see throw off the tallahatchie bridge be their secretly bear infant and in many respect this interpretation fit the detail of the lyric gentry write . but gentry herself leave the mystery intact and and although often press over the year and she wisely never specify exactly who billy joe be and what the relationship have be and what have be throw off the bridge or even if the something throw off the bridge be even relevant . enter hollywood . presumably the power that be reject the idea of make billy joe black and there be some justification there and for gentry never say he be and and if indeed he be black the entire plot of the film would be obvious the instant the character appear on the screen . so they come up with a different twist . in the mid 1970s and hollywood consider homosexuality to be the dirty secret to end all dirty secret and and film still generally present gay character a desperately unhappy at best . now and the general idea that hollywood come up with wasn not in and of itself bad and if you consider what might have be do with it the possibility be really intriguing . but what they do with it in fact be an entirely different matter . not only be the plot and script bad and they be so bad that they be downright embarrassing and and whenever the film be mention i find myself unable to suppress a reflexive cringe . but there be a tremendous irony here . when hollywood want to a movie about mississippi and it almost never actually go to mississippi while instead and the director go to florida and or south carolina and or georgia and or just shoot the film on a los angeles backlot . the result and of course and be that it look like anywhere except mississippi . but while max bear be no great shake a a director and he actually do film the movie in mississippi and and what more he film it around the old talliahatchie bridge and so for once they get at least that much right . and the cast be also quite good and particularly lead glynnis oconnor . so the element be there represent it look right and the cast be strong and and they have an idea with potential . but in truth and that just make the actual result that much more unfortunate . if youre a fan of the song and or if you grow up in mississippi a i do and you might want to sit through this film once . but trust me represent once will be enough . and if you do not care about the song and have no interest in see what rural mississippi actually look like as oppose to what hollywood think it look like and you need to avoid this one like the plague . gary f. taylor and aka gft and amazon reviewer .