A Force of One (1979)

When the detectives of an undercover police unit are being mysteriously killed by a martial artist, a professional kickboxer is hired to assist them.

Director:

Paul Aaron

Writers:

Pat E. Johnson (story) (as Pat Johnson), Ernest Tidyman (story)

Stars:

Jennifer O'Neill, Chuck Norris, Clu Gulager

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer O'Neill	...	Mandy Rust
Chuck Norris	...	Matt Logan
Clu Gulager	...	Dunne
Ron O'Neal	...	Rollins
Bill Wallace	...	Sparks
Eric Laneuville	...	Charlie Logan
James Whitmore Jr.	...	Moskowitz
Clint Ritchie	...	Melrose
Pepe Serna	...	Orlando
Ray Vitte	...	Newton
Taylor Lacher	...	Bishop
Lisa James	...	Harriett
Chu Chu Malave	...	Rudy
Kevin Geer	...	Johnson
Eugene Butler	...	Murphy

Storyline

A team of undercover narcotics agents is conducting an investigation when things mysteriously begin to go haywire. One by one, the squad is eliminated by an assassin. To help discover the identity of the karate killer, the police enlist the aid of karate champion Matt Logan.

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Plot Keywords:

independent film | serial murder | undercover | police | karate | 

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Taglines:

He hears the silence. He sees the darkness. He's the only one who can stop the killing.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

All fights were choreographed by Chuck Norris and his younger brother Aaron Norris, who was also stunt coordinator.

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Goofs

When Chuck Norris and Jennifer O'Neal are in a car talking, from around 18:30 to 20:41, the cars behind them as they individually speak are different (noticeably so).

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Quotes

Dunne: Oh, shit. Shit, shit!
[sigh]
Dunne: Okay, Harry, what'd ya got?
Dr. Eppis: Well, the bruises were so deep that there was internal hemorrage. And, uh, major tracheal injuries. Obliterating the air passage. In otherwords, uh... something smashed their windpipes, and they strangled in their own blood.

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Alternate Versions

UK cinema and video versions were cut by 1 min 2 secs by the BBFC to remove shots of cocaine sniffing and all footage of nunchakus. The cuts were waived for the 2012 Anchor Bay DVD.

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Connections

Featured in Remo, Rambo, Reagan and Reds: The Eighties Action Movie Explosion (2014)

User Reviews

Early Norris thriller playing a tough trainer , being packed with noisy action, tension and violence

Chuck Norris exciting vehicle with lots of action , thrills , suspense and spectacular kick-boxing fights . One time the Vietnam war is over , a Karate teacher named Matt Logan (Chuck Norris) keeps a new occupation as trainer , previous life as leader of a Vietnam commando named ¨The Black Tigers¨ (at his former film titled ¨Good guys wear black¨ by Ted Post) . A police lieutenant (Clu Gulager) attempts to resolve why his squad members (Jennifer O'Neill , Pepe Serna, Ron O'Neal, among others) are being mysteriously killed . Then Norris using his skills as fighter to help combat drug trafficking and discover as the undercover narcotic agents are being eliminated one-by-one .

This stirring picture is plenty of action-packed , excitement , tense and cheesy sub-plot to boot with wild stunts . The story displays a plethora of martial-arts struggles and especially Thailand fighting . The movie featured three members of the Norris family in acting roles , these were Aaron Norris , Mike Norris and Chuck Norris . Here Norris cleans up the nasty fighters by means of punches , kicks , bounds and leaps with fights certainly slick . Mediocre screenplay in spite of being written by Ernest Tidyman (French Connection , Shaft). It's violent , frenetic and hectic and not particularly literary but worthy entry in Kung-Fu genre , although runs out energy surprisingly early. Average Norris-thriller , exciting and tense at times with fine work from Clint Ritchie, James Withmore Jr and Clu Gulager as a brilliant chief named Dune . And , of course , Karate expert Chuck Norris who saves the day with lots of visceral violence , he's a nice wrestler who possesses incredible strength . The motion picture was regularly directed by Paul Aaron , in his second theatrical feature film and he replaced filmmaker Ted Post . The film belongs Norris's early period , as during the 70s when he made low-average budget as ¨Breaker,Breaker¨, ¨Slaughter in San Francisco ¨, after that , in the 80s and 90s he acted in better movies as ¨Code of silence¨, ¨Delta Force¨ , ¨Silent rage¨ ,¨Octagon¨ ,¨Forced vengeance¨, ¨Delta Force I,II¨ , ¨An eye for an eye¨ among others , with successful box office at cinemas and video-rentals . In the 90s and 2000s with exception of ¨Walker Texas Ranger¨, the Norris star had gone down . Action addicts will give this one a passing grade , all others need not apply . If you're a previous Norris fans , you'll like it but contains enough action and violence for enthusiasts of the Karate genre . This is a must see if you're a die-hard Chuck Norris fan .

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 May 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Bulldozer

Filming Locations:

Weyburn Apartments 10845 Weyburn Ave., Westwood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$20,166,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Cinema Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1