Billy Jack (1971)

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

Director:

Tom Laughlin

Writers:

Tom Laughlin (screenplay), Delores Taylor (screenplay)

Stars:

Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Clark Howat

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Billy Jack is a half-Indian/half-white ex-Green Beret who is being drawn more and more toward his Indian side. He hates violence, but can't get away from it in the white man's world. Pitting the good guys, the students of the peace-loving free-arts school in the desert vs. the conservative bad guys in the near-by town, the movie plays definitive late-60s themes/messages: anti-establishment, make love not war, the senseless slaughter of God's creatures, the rape of society (figuratively and literally), two-sided justice, racial segregation and prejudices, and basic socialist ideals.

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Plot Keywords:

school | violence | hapkido | rape | war hero | 

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Taglines:

When you need him, he's always there!

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Official Sites:

Billy Jack Online

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 August 1971 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Billy, el defensor

Filming Locations:

Bandelier National Monument - 15 Entrance Road, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Student Film Corporation, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The unusual kick that Billy Jack uses in the fight in the park is known in Hapkido Karate as an "Outside Crescent Kick", a technique in which the leg is raised and swung outward striking with the outside edge of the foot.

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Goofs

Microphone clearly visible on ground as Bernard and Dinosaur sit discussing Bernard's upcoming rape of Jean.

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Quotes

Billy Jack: [giggling] I can't believe it. I really can't believe this guy. Can you believe it?
Jean: Not really, no.
Billy Jack: You know what he reminds me of?
Jean: What?
Billy Jack: A little monkey. Posner's little monkey, runnin' around tryin' to get in all the bananas. Get your blouse and get outa' here.
Girl: Will you look?
Billy Jack: [scoffs] Probably. Get your blouse.

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Crazy Credits

Special Improvised Material by The Cast and The Committee

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Connections

Referenced in Drillbit Taylor (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Freedom Over Me"
Sung by Gwen Smith

User Reviews

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.