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.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam war veteran | commando | rescue | rescue mission | military | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was part of a cycle of 1970s conspiracy movies. These included: Executive Action (1973), Klute (1971), Chinatown (1974), Cutter's Way (1981), Telefon (1977), Winter Kills (1979), The Conversation (1974), The Parallax View (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), The Domino Principle (1977), Good Guys Wear Black (1978), Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977), Hangar 18 (1980), Capricorn One (1977), and All the President's Men (1976). Blow Out (1981) would follow in the early 1980s.

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Goofs

After Mike is shot on the ski slope, Booker rides the snowmobile down to chase the shooter. In the shot showing his view, everything is clear ahead of him. In the next shot, showing him from a bystander's viewpoint, Mike's yellow clad body is in full view.

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Quotes

Booker: Everything went wrong by the numbers. And that takes planning.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)

User Reviews

The Golden Days of Chuck Norris

The story of Good Guys Wear Black(1979) interestingly enough resembles the plot lines of Steven Seagal's early films of Above the Law(1988), Hard to Kill(1990), and Marked for Death(1991). The direction by Ted Post is very good. Good Guys Wear Black(1979) and the Dirty Harry picture, Magnum Force(1973) are the two best films for this average director. Chuck Norris stars in what is one of his better films before he would give up the cinema for television. Anne Archer is good in an early film role before she was a respectable actress. James Franciscus is terrific as the cold blooded and ruthless Politican Conrad Morgan. Has what is probably the best stunt of Chuck Norris's career with the scene where he leaps through the front window of a car and into an assassin for a martial arts kick.

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)

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