Everyone is agog about the death of Peter O'Toole right now, and that's cool. He was a fine actor. But the world of drive-in cinema lost one of its own around the same time. I'm talking about Tom Laughlin. Or, as he was known as to a generation, Billy Jack.
If Billy Jack is remembered at all today, he is probably looked upon as a joke. An affection one perhaps, but a joke nonetheless.
People of my generation will remember how huge a hit Billy Jack was. This was the early 70's, and the hippie era was still in full swing. Hippies were still cool then, if you can believe it. Billy Jack was an ex Green Beret, half breed Native American-Causasion. Despite all that, he lived his life as a peaceful man. Until it was time to kick ass, which he accomplished efficiently.
The character was created in the movie, Born Losers. It is a biker picture, in which an outlaw gang terrorizes a community. Billy Jack comes along and takes matters into hand. Tom Laughlin himself directed it, as he did subsequent Billy Jack pictures.
However, the idea for a movie about a hero fighting for Amerian Indian rights had been brewing in Laughlin's head for some time. Born Losers was an exploitation quickie, and he followed it with the movie most remember the character by: BILLY JACK.
Billy Jack was Laughlin's dream picture, and this time he not only directed, but co-wrote it (with hs wife). It was more philosophical than Born Losers, and the action was minimized.
Tom Laughlin, wanting complete control of his movie, attempted to distribute Billy Jack himself, but it wasn't a hit then. Oh, the movie didn't exactly tank. It was produced in 1971 on an $800,000 budget, and under Laughlin's distribution it brought in over 3 1/2 million dollars in revenue. But later, in 1973 when he allowed a professional distributor to take over, Billy Jack hit pay dirt. Sources vary, but the movie earned somewhere between sixty and seventy million dollars domestically. And we are talking about an economy of forty years ago.
American International, who had handled Born Losers, financed the production on Billy Jack, but pulled out during the shooting of the movie. 20th Century Fox helped complete it, but refused to distribute Billy Jack. Warner is the company that did act as distributor, and the rest is history.
Every kid I knew was talking about Billy Jack. Some had even seen it. Me, I was dying to, but it was years later before I actually did. It was legendary, and you can't tell me that the hit show, Kung Fu, wasn't at least partially influenced by Billy Jack.
The song from Billy Jack, One Tin Soldier, was a hit, and it was the first record I ever bought. I listened to the 45 over and over again.
Inevitably there were more sequels, but they became sillier and preachier. By the time Billy jack Goes To Washington was released, the furor was over. I'm a little surprised that it never ended up on Mystery Science Theater.
Tom Laughlin did other movies in his career (including a role as "Lover Boy", in Gidget), but he was always tied to the Billy Jack character. I can think of a lot worse legacies for a man.
I always loved Joe Bob Briggs' mini-review of Billy Jack (forgive me, I am paraphrasing): "A bigoted small town gets some peace and love kicked into it in Billy Jack". I think that sums it up perfectly.
Actor, writer, director, producer, activist, presidential candidate (!), Tom Laughlin died on Thursday, December 19th. He was 82 years old.
If Billy Jack is remembered at all today, he is probably looked upon as a joke. An affection one perhaps, but a joke nonetheless.People of my generation will remember how huge a hit Billy Jack was. This was the early 70's, and the hippie era was still in full swing. Hippies were still cool then, if you can believe it. Billy Jack was an ex Green Beret, half breed Native American-Causasion. Despite all that, he lived his life as a peaceful man. Until it was time to kick ass, which he accomplished efficiently.
The character was created in the movie, Born Losers. It is a biker picture, in which an outlaw gang terrorizes a community. Billy Jack comes along and takes matters into hand. Tom Laughlin himself directed it, as he did subsequent Billy Jack pictures.
However, the idea for a movie about a hero fighting for Amerian Indian rights had been brewing in Laughlin's head for some time. Born Losers was an exploitation quickie, and he followed it with the movie most remember the character by: BILLY JACK.
Billy Jack was Laughlin's dream picture, and this time he not only directed, but co-wrote it (with hs wife). It was more philosophical than Born Losers, and the action was minimized.
Tom Laughlin, wanting complete control of his movie, attempted to distribute Billy Jack himself, but it wasn't a hit then. Oh, the movie didn't exactly tank. It was produced in 1971 on an $800,000 budget, and under Laughlin's distribution it brought in over 3 1/2 million dollars in revenue. But later, in 1973 when he allowed a professional distributor to take over, Billy Jack hit pay dirt. Sources vary, but the movie earned somewhere between sixty and seventy million dollars domestically. And we are talking about an economy of forty years ago.
American International, who had handled Born Losers, financed the production on Billy Jack, but pulled out during the shooting of the movie. 20th Century Fox helped complete it, but refused to distribute Billy Jack. Warner is the company that did act as distributor, and the rest is history.
Every kid I knew was talking about Billy Jack. Some had even seen it. Me, I was dying to, but it was years later before I actually did. It was legendary, and you can't tell me that the hit show, Kung Fu, wasn't at least partially influenced by Billy Jack.
The song from Billy Jack, One Tin Soldier, was a hit, and it was the first record I ever bought. I listened to the 45 over and over again.
Inevitably there were more sequels, but they became sillier and preachier. By the time Billy jack Goes To Washington was released, the furor was over. I'm a little surprised that it never ended up on Mystery Science Theater.
Tom Laughlin did other movies in his career (including a role as "Lover Boy", in Gidget), but he was always tied to the Billy Jack character. I can think of a lot worse legacies for a man.
I always loved Joe Bob Briggs' mini-review of Billy Jack (forgive me, I am paraphrasing): "A bigoted small town gets some peace and love kicked into it in Billy Jack". I think that sums it up perfectly.
Actor, writer, director, producer, activist, presidential candidate (!), Tom Laughlin died on Thursday, December 19th. He was 82 years old.
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