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 (as T.C. Frank)

Writers:

Tom Laughlin (screenplay) (as Frank Christina), Delores Taylor (screenplay) (as Teresa Christina)

Stars:

Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Clark Howat

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

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.

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Plot Keywords:

school | native american reservation | hippie | anti establishment | violence | 

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Taglines:

You've got due process, Mother's Day, supermarkets, the FBI, Medicare, air conditioning, AT&T, country clubs, Congress, a 2-car garage, state troopers, the Constitution, color television and democracy. They've got BILLY JACK

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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:

Ashita no kabe o buchi yabure

Filming Locations:

Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$98,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eaves Movie Ranch, 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

Elizabeth James was originally cast as Jean.

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Goofs

When the sheriff's deputy comes out with the bogus warrant to search for his daughter, the kids begin singing "Rainbow Made of Children." The tempo fluctuates wildly, as if several different takes were edited together.

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Quotes

Billy Jack: Martin, do you know what mental toughness is? Well, mental toughness is the ability to accept the fact that you're human and that you're going to make mistakes - lots of 'em - all your life. And some of them are gonna hurt people that you love very badly. But you have the guts to accept the fact that you ain't perfect. And you don't let your mistakes crush you and keep you from doing the very best that you can.

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Connections

Referenced in The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976)

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Soundtracks

The Star-Spangled Banner
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Francis Scott Key and music by John Stafford Smith
Played on a saxophone at the town meeting and sung at a performance at the school

User Reviews

Unforgettable Cult Movie

The half-breed Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin) lives in an Indian reservation protecting the Indians, the stallions and the students of the Freedom School, a peaceful art school run by Jean Roberts (Delores Taylor) and where the students can choose their own destiny. When the teenage daughter of the corrupt Deputy Mike (Ken Tobey), Barbara (Julie Webb), is retrieved by Sheriff Cole (Clark Howat), she tells that she is pregnant and her father beats her up. Sheriff Cole and the local doctor (Victor Izay) ask Jean if she can lodge Barbara, she welcomes the traumatized teenager. But her father, together with the corrupt and powerful Mr. Stuart Posner (Bert Freed) and his coward son Bernard Posner (David Roya), initiate a campaign to damage the school reputation and humiliate the students while Billy Jack fight to control his temper against the bigotry and violence of the locals. But when he discovers what Bernard did to Jean, he has to use violence to defeat evil.

"Billy Jack" is one of those unforgettable cult-movies that belongs to my adolescence. I do not recall when I saw this movie for the first or last times, but I still love it. "Billy Jack" may be dated in 2013 but the Utopian non-violence, non-bigotry and non-racial segregation messages of the Freedom School are still beautiful. Unfortunately in the end peace is vanquished by violence. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Billy Jack"