''You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat'' is a 1971

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by Peter Locke.''The New York Times'' review
/ref> It involves a young

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

and his search for the

meaning of life The meaning of life, or the answer to the question: "What is the meaning of life?", pertains to the significance of living or existence in general. Many other related questions include: "Why are we here?", "What is life all about?", or "What ...

while in Central Park. Its soundtrack includes some of the earliest released music by

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his w ...

and Walter Becker, the duo who later formed the core of the group

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

. The film also stars Richard Pryor in an early role playing his signature "wino" character, and actor/director

Robert Downey Sr. Robert John Downey ( Elias Jr.; June 24, 1936 – July 7, 2021) was an American filmmaker and actor. He was known for writing and directing the underground film ''Putney Swope'', a satire on the New York Madison Avenue advertising world. Accordi ...

Future film director Wes Craven, then working at a New York City

post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. The ...

company, made his professional feature debut as the film's editor.

Plot

Cast

* Zalman King - Carter Fields *Suzette Green - Susan * Allen Garfield - Herby Moss * Richard Pryor - Wino *

- Head of Ad Agency * Liz Torres - Singer in Men's Room * Roz Kelly - Girl in Park *Stan Gottlieb - Fallestrio *Daisy Locke - Old Woman * Billy Cunningham - Fat Lady

References

External links

*
''Discogs'' entry
1971 films 1971 comedy-drama films 1970s English-language films 1971 comedy films 1971 drama films Films set in New York City {{Comedy-drama-film-stub