Movie: Billy Jack (1971)
Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor & Clark Howat Star in 1970s Film
Tom Laughlin had the title role in Warner Bros'. Billy Jack, one of the biggest box-office hits of 1971. With Delores Taylor, Clark Howat, Bert Freed, Kenneth Tobey.
Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin) is an ex-Green Beret Vietnam War vet with martial arts skills and a penchant for helping the Native American downtrodden. That theme played very well in the socially conscious 1970s, with Billy Jack -- and it's memorable theme song, "One Tin Soldier" -- attracting throngs of moviegoers in 1971.
Billy Jack First Seen in The Born Losers
The Billy Jack character was first seen in the 1967 biker movie The Born Losers. Released by American International Pictures, The Born Losers featured Tom Laughlin as Billy Jack, a half-breed martial arts expert who battles an outlaw motorcycle gang in a small California town.
Budgeted at a miniscule $360,000, The Born Losers was so violent that Sweden banned the film from its shores in 1968, 1972 and 1975.
Billy Jack Returns in 1971
The Billy Jack character returned to the big screen in 1971. As with The Born Losers, star Tom Laughlin directed, once again using the pseudonym T.C. Frank, derived from the names of his two children, Frank and Teresa Christina.
Writing the screenplay were Laughlin and his real-life spouse Delores Taylor, who used the names Frank and Teresa Christina.
Billy Jack featured original music by Mundell Lowe. The film's catchy theme song, "One Tin Soldier, The Legend of Billy Jack," was performed by Jinx Dawson of Coven. Released as Warner Bros. single 7509, "One Tin Soldier" graced the Billboard Top 100 for 12 weeks, rising to #26.
Billy Jack Cast
Heading the cast were Tom Laughlin (Billy Jack) and Delores Taylor (Jean Roberts). Others appearing in the film included Clark Howat (Sheriff Cole), Bert Freed (Stuart Posner), Julie Webb (Barbara), Kenneth Tobey (Deputy Sheriff Mike), Victor Izay (Doctor), Debbie Schock (Kit), Stan Rice (Martin), Lynn Baker (Sarah), Teresa Kelly (Carol), David Roya (Bernard Posner), John McClure (Dinosaur), Susan Foster (Cindy a.k.a. Up Yours) and Susan Sosa (Sunshine).
Howard Hesseman -- who later found fame on CBS-TV's WKRP in Cincinnati (1978-82) -- appears as Howard Johnson under the name Don Sturdy.
Budget, Filming Locations, Hapkido Master
Budgeted at $800,000, much of Billy Jack was filmed in 1968 at the Eaves Movie Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Other locations used: Los Alamos, New Mexico; Prescott, Arizona; and Imperial County, California.
A key component of filming were the martial arts scenes involving high-kicking Billy Jack. These were expertly staged by Hapkido master Bong Soo Han, who also doubled for Tom Laughlin.
Billy Jack Studio Wars
Billy Jack was to be originally released by American International Pictures. Because of studio interference, Tom Laughlin opted out of the AIP deal and took his movie to Twentieth Century-Fox.
The Fox deal also went astray when Laughlin learned that Billy Jack might be re-edited. The maverick actor-director then bought back his movie for $100,000. Laughlin soon found another taker, selling Billy Jack to Warner Bros. for $1.8 million and a whopping 45% of the film's profits.
Ex-Green Beret, Wild Horses, Freedom School
Billy Jack opens in majestic style, with an aerial shot of a herd of wild horses running through the canyons of the great Southwest.
The movie centers on half-breed Billy Jack, described as "a war hero who hated the war." An ex-Green Beret and Vietnam veteran, Billy defends the persecuted against the bigoted locals headed by town boss Stuart Posner.
Posner's son, Bernard, who pals around with a towering hulk named Dinosaur, is every bit as bad as the old man, habitually harassing the students who go to Jean Roberts' Freedom School. Jean is a pacifist, but her boyfriend and protector, Billy Jack, is not as he continually demonstrates his martial arts prowess in a series of violent encounters with the racist townsfolk.
Billy Jack is full of social idealism and violent action, with the latter including a dustup at an ice cream parlor, a brawl at a city park, a brand new Corvette plunging into a lake, killer karate chops and kicks, and a climactic shootout at an adobe church.
Release, Reviews
Billy Jack was first trade-screened in Hollywood in the spring of 1971, with the movie going into limited release on May 1, 1971.
"For a picture that preaches pacifism, Billy Jack seems fascinated by violence, of which it is full," reported Howard Thompson of The New York Times (7/29/71).
"Specious and mawkish as it is, Billy Jack has energy to burn: it's deadly stuff but at least it doesn't die on screen," wrote Gary Arnold of The Washington Post (8/7/71).
Box Office, Sequels, DVD
Billy Jack proved to be a huge box-office success, grossing $32.5 million and earning the #2 position on the list of Hollywood's top moneymaking films of 1971.
Billy Jack produced two sequels: The Trial of Billy Jack (1974) and Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977).
All four Billy Jack films are available on the Billy Jack 35th Anniversary Ultimate Collection DVD (Billy Jack Enterprises, 2005).
"I'm gonna take this right foot, and I'm gonna whop you on that side of your face, and you wanna know something? There's not a damn thing you're gonna be able to do about it," Billy tells Stuart Posner.
Right on!
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