Billy Jack (1971)

Director:

Tom Laughlin

Writers:

Tom Laughlin (writer) and
Delores Taylor (writer)

Release Date:

2 August 1971 (Sweden)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

Just a person who protects children and other living things.

Plot:

Ex-Green Beret hapkido expert saves wild horses from being slaughtered for dog food and helps protect a desert "freedom school" for runaway.

Plot Keywords:

School | Rape | Hapkido | Chevrolet Corvette | Cannabis

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Tom Laughlin	...	Billy Jack
Delores Taylor	...	Jean Roberts
Clark Howat	...	Sheriff Cole
Victor Izay	...	Doctor
Julie Webb	...	Barbara
Debbie Schock	...	Kit
Teresa Kelly	...	Carol
Lynn Baker	...	Sarah
Stan Rice	...	Martin
David Roya	...	Bernard Posner
John McClure	...	Dinosaur
Susan Foster	...	Cindy
Susan Sosa	...	Sunshine
Katy Moffatt	...	Maria
Gwen Smith	...	Angela

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (video rating) | UK:AA (original rating) (cut) | USA:GP | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 | South Africa:(Banned) | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Eaves Movie Ranch - 105 Rancho Alegre Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company:

National Student Film Corporation

Trivia:

Elizabeth James was originally cast in the film but was later fired and replaced by Delores Taylor.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Billy Jack tells Bernard to drive into the lake and he does so. However, although partially visible, scenes with Bernard at the wheel show that the emergency brake is up.

Quotes:

Jean Roberts: He's still in the rapture of the vision. A great Indian holy man, Wovoka, is speaking through him.
Barbara: You mean they had holy men, like saints?
Jean Roberts: They sure did! And Wovoka was one of the greatest. Once even Christ appeared to him.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Track of the Moon Beast (#11.7)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Give Peace A Chance

An underappreciated masterwork

It is true that Tom Laughlin does not look like an Indian, half-breed or otherwise. It is true that some of the scenes, particularly the scenes improvised by the committee, are unnecessary (though extremely funny) and the film itself is too long. It is true that the martial arts scenes in this film are few and far between. However:

The film is not a martial arts film and it deals more with the spirit of being an Indian, a true American, than it is about the looks of one.

Often dismissed as a cheesy karate movie, BILLY JACK is in fact an excellent study of conflicting idealogies, of violence as a quick but by no means correct solution, and of the different varieties of love. Though it is much too long a film, the sheer enthusiasm and love for the children that Jean (Dolores Taylor) expresses gets the viewer involved on an emotional level. While we cannot justify Billy Jack's (Tom Laughlin) actions, we know he is doing it out of love for Jean. We feel the rage he feels towards Bernard, a character that is suprisingly deftly acted. At the start of the film, we sympathize with him; by the time he has raped Jean we, like Billy, want to rip him a couple of new orifices. His well-deserved death is quick and pathetic, like the shooting of the dog.

Billy Jack himself is an American icon, the true definition of a hero, presented in such a way that the audience questions their own ideas about heroism.

The characters are well-drawn, the cinematography breath-taking, the improvised scenes much funnier than anything to hit SNL in a long time. So why is it that this film, the most financially-successful independent film to EVER exist, is so often dismissed as nothing more than a bad karate movie? Because of bad marketing, for one thing; the other is the way it's often described: "A half-breed indian Vietnam Vet played by a white guy protects a 'hippie' school from bigotry." Much like the Freedom School that Billy seeks to protect, the film itself is marred by such bigotry and misconceptions.