Good Guys Wear Black (1978)

An ex-US Army commando must find the reason why his comrades from his unit are being systematically murdered before he is next.

Director:

Ted Post

Writers:

Bruce Cohn (screenplay), Mark Medoff (screenplay)

Stars:

Chuck Norris, Anne Archer, James Franciscus

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chuck Norris	...	John T. Booker
Anne Archer	...	Margaret
James Franciscus	...	Conrad Morgan
Lloyd Haynes	...	Murray Saunders
Dana Andrews	...	Edgar Harolds
Jim Backus	...	Doorman
Lawrence P. Casey	...	Mike Potter - The Black Tigers (as Larry Casey)
Anthony Mannino	...	Gordie Jones - The Black Tigers (as Tony Mannino)
Soon-Tek Oh	...	Mjr. Mhin Van Thieu - The Black Tigers (as Soon-Teck Oh)
Joe Bennett	...	Lou Goldberg - The Black Tigers
Jerry Douglas	...	Joe Walker - The Black Tigers
Stack Pierce	...	Holly Washington - The Black Tigers
Michael Payne	...	Mitch - The Black Tigers
David Starwalt	...	Steagle - The Black Tigers
Aaron Norris	...	Al - The Black Tigers

Storyline

The former leader of a commando rescue attempt into Vietnam tries to discover why his squad members are being murdered, one-by-one, after the war is over.

---

Plot Keywords:

time bomb | commando | rescue | vietnam | reference to j. edgar hoover | 

---

Taglines:

The C.I.A. can't afford John T. Booker... alive.

---

Genres:

Action

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Good Guys Wear Black

Filming Locations:

Riverside International Raceway, 22255 Eucalyptus Avenue, Moreno Valley, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$18,328,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Action 1 Film Partners,Mar Vista Productions,Western Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chuck Norris' first film as a Vietnam veteran; it would later become the basis for his role in the Missing In Action films during the 1980s. Co-star Soon-Tek Oh would later co-star in Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985) as the film's villain.

---

Goofs

When the Black Tiger commandos get in the helicopter at the beginning of the mission, Major Booker (Chuck Norris) enters the front of the helicopter and sits in the right hand seat. US military helicopter pilot in command fly from the right hand seat. If Major Booker had sat in the front of the helicopter he would have sat in the left hand seat however, sitting in the front seat would not allow an easy tactical egress at the Landing Zone so he probably would have sat in the rear with his squad.

---

Quotes

Booker: And so as history slowly places it into some kind of perspective, a few things about the Vietnam War have become clear. It was a war that never should have begun, and a country we never should have entered. And as thousands of victims died without really understanding why. Mainly because the reasons for the war were beyond any rules of logic. On Wednesday we'll sing patriotic songs and pretend I said none of the above.

---

Alternate Versions

UK cinema and video versions were cut by 7 secs by the BBFC to remove an ear clap and a shot of a guard being killed with a throwing star.

---

Connections

Referenced in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)

User Reviews

There's only one way to deal with people like you... Expediently!

**There are Spoilers** One of Chuck Norris' earlier works that has him play Maj. John T. Booker the leader of the secret CIA assassin/guerrilla unit named "The Black Tigers" who were used by this unscrupulous and power-hungry US diplomat Canrad Morgan, James Franciscus, as a bargaining chip in the 1973 Paris Peace Talks to end the Vietnam War.

Trying to smooth or grease both sides, the US and North Vietnamese, US diplomat Conrad Morgan made a deal with his Communist counterpart Quang Yang to have the Black Tigers sent into Communist-held South Vietnam on a suicide mission with them, the Black Tigers, thinking that their being sent to rescue a bunch of American POW's or MIA's. The Black Tigers led by Booker get pinned down by VC small arms fire and realizing that their mission is about to end, with all of them dead or captured, they make their way back to the designated spot in the jungle where their supposed to be pick up by US Army helicopters; only to find out they've been abandoned by their own higher up, like Conrad Morgan.

It's now five years later and Booker now a collage History Professor ,and part-time test car driver, meet's in his class Margaret, Anne Archer, who seems to know lot about his activities in Vietnam and the men that he commanded there The Black Tigers. Margaret also seems to know that "The Tigers" are being killed off to keep what they were doing in "Nam", being part of the covert Operation Phoenix, from getting out to the Amerian public.

A bit too long and somewhat lame action movie with Chuck Norris doing his best in trying to act seriously but not being that convincing. Booker teams up with Margaret in finding the remaining Black Tiger members before they end up getting killed off by a secret CIA hit-team lead, or controlled, by Conrad Morgan. It turns out that Booker can't prevent the killing of his fellow Black Tigers and even Margaret ends up getting blown out of the sky by a bomb placed in her passenger plane taking off from Squaw Valley.

Booker getting to the bottom of what's behind the killings which turns out to be that Morgan is about to be confirmed Secretary of State. Morgan in order to get confirmed want's all his dirty little secrets kept under wraps. Like the selling out the American MIA's, and their failed rescuers the Black Tigers, to the Communist in order to get them to sign a peace treaty in Paris back in January 1973.

Covering all the bases Morgan has the retired top US diplomat at the 1973 Paris Peace talks Edger Harolds, Dana Andrews,locked away in the Bethesda Navel Hospital psychiatric ward to discredit him. Horolds had written a letter to Booker and his friend and contact at the CIA Murray Saunders,Llyod Haynes, confirming Morgan's betrayal.

With everything cleared for his conformation as the third most powerful man in the United States government Morgan looks like he'll be rewarded and get away with the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of American soldiers but Booker has other ideas. In the end Morgan doesn't make it to Washingtn D.C to get sworn in as secretary of state. He's given a long ride off a short pier out at Chesapeake Bay where he's never to be seen or heard from again; courtesy of his new and unexpected limo driver John T. Booker.