RIP: Tom Laughlin (Billy Jack)

I suppose I should also mention Peter O'Toole passed away over the weekend.

He was nominated for an Academy Award 8 times but never won. A record for defeats.

But, shamefully, I never saw one of his films.

RIP to both. Loved Peter O'Toole in Club Paradise.

Saw many Peter O'Toole movies. Never saw "Billy Jack" & never wanted to.

Billy Jack kicked ass. Literally.

@Moto-MacBeth, Witches, and Billy Jack. I missed out on a good one, compadre.

I enjoyed Billy Jack. The movie may not have made a lot of sense or featured any great acting, but somehow it made a great impression on a lot of people at the time. I think the heart of the movie was in the right place.

But how could Billy Jack have come out in 1971??? I was a young man then, and now I'm an old man.

What was that line? "I'm gunna take my right foot and smack your right cheek"

Jack,

You are so right. The movie doesn't really make a lot of sense and a lot of modern day martial arts fans view it as cult status. I'm not even a fan of martial arts films but for whatever reason, its one of the most memorable movies of my youth.

The scene in the diner where they throw flour onto the face of the Indian girl because "they only serve whites" really left an impression.

Billy Jack spoke to the young people of the time. Hippies, the civil rights movement, and the anti-Vietnam war movement all were attacked by some very bad and bigoted people. Young people identified with the pacifist school and saw the sheriff and the townspeople as the same people that were condemning them.

The movie is, of course, too one-sided. The hippie pacifists are all good and pure, and the sheriff and the town folk are completely evil. The Billy Jack character lets us enjoy seeing the evil bullies getting their ass kicked.

I was in college when the movie came out, and I was also taking karate lessons. But I never became the super hero karate dude that Billy Jack was.

"Billy Jack" was the second movie to feature the Billy Jack character. The first one was called "Born Losers." It's about a biker gang terrorizing a beach town and Billy Jack gets involved, blah blah.

Anyway, my only real point is that it features one those movie images that will forever be burned into my memory as a horn dog and movie geek: this incredibly cute brunette with a pixie haircut (basically the female lead / damsel-in-distress) riding around on a motorcycle wearing a white bikini and white go go boots. Sigh, I need to rewatch that movie...

It's the only unintentionally funny martial arts movie that can hold a candle to the best Hong Kong had to offer in that genre.

I,too, was in college when "Billy Jack" was released. If you were not an adult at that time the movie would probably not make much sense. It and "Easy Rider" were symbolic of the late 60's American scene. The song from "Billy Jack" was "One Tin Soldier" and it became an anthem of sorts for many students, me included. I am vaguely familiar with "Born Losers" but did not realize the connection with BJ. Thanks for that bit of trivia.

"Billy Jack" and "Easy Rider", please! Billy Jack is a poorly done Hippie/Karate/Native American exploitation film. Easy Riders has well done, fleshed out characters. There's good 60s exploitation and there's bad 60s exploitation. Yes "One Tin Soldier" is a good tune, but a good tune don't make a good movie.

*** motorhead please see PM. Thank you very much.

I don't see one ^^

BTW, my name IRL is OK Coralis.