An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become historically important, and even gain a cult following.
Thomas Robert Laughlin Jr. was an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, educator, and activist.
The Exterminator is a 1980 American vigilante action film written and directed by James Glickenhaus. It stars Robert Ginty as Vietnam War veteran John Eastland, also known as "The Exterminator". When a group of thugs paralyze his friend, Eastland becomes a vigilante, embarking on a mission to cleanse New York of organized crime. The film also stars Samantha Eggar, Christopher George and Steve James. It has gained a cult following since its release.
"One Tin Soldier" is a 1960s counterculture era anti-war song written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. Canadian pop group The Original Caste first recorded it in 1969 for both the TA label and its parent Bell label.
Missing in Action is a 1984 American action film directed by Joseph Zito and starring Chuck Norris. It is set in the context of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue. Colonel Braddock, who escaped a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp ten years earlier, returns to Vietnam to find American soldiers listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War. The film was followed by a prequel, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985), and a sequel, Braddock: Missing in Action III (1988). The first two Missing in Action installments had been filmed back-to-back with the intent to have the first film involve the POW years of Braddock be the first film. However, it was determined that the commercial prospects were stronger with the film directed by Zito involving the POW rescue. As such, Hool's film was turned into Missing in Action 2 and labeled as a prequel that detailed events before those in Missing in Action.
Han Bong-soo, also known as Bong-soo Han, was a Korean martial artist, author, and the founder of the International Hapkido Federation. He was one of the foremost and recognized practitioners of hapkido through his participation in books, magazine articles, and popular films featuring the martial art. He is often referred to as the "Father of Hapkido" in America.
The Master Gunfighter is a Western film released in 1975 in Panavision, written and produced by Tom Laughlin, who also played the lead as Finley. The Master Gunfighter is mainly a remake of the 1969 Japanese film Goyokin, although the story revolves around a true incident in the early 1800s involving massacred Indians that occurred in the vicinity of Goleta, California.
Angela Mao Ying is a Taiwanese actress and martial artist who is best known for appearing in martial arts films in the 1970s. Born in Taiwan, she studied at a Peking Opera school, the Fu Sheng Opera School, from the age of six to fourteen. In addition to training in stagecraft, Mao took lessons in martial arts and this led both to her discovery in the late 1960s by director Huang Feng and a contract with the famous Golden Harvest company. Following the wuxia pian swordplay picture The Angry River (1971), Mao was teamed in 1972 with Carter Wong and Sammo Hung in Hapkido, after which she became known as "Lady Kung Fu." She acquired another nickname after the 1972 revenge flick, Lady Whirlwind.
Coven was an American rock band formed in Chicago in the late 1960s. They had a top 40 hit in 1971 with the song "One Tin Soldier", the theme song of the movie Billy Jack.
The Born Losers is a 1967 American outlaw biker film. The film introduced Tom Laughlin as the half-Indigenous American Green Beret Vietnam veteran Billy Jack. Since 1954, Laughlin had been trying to produce his Billy Jack script about discrimination toward Indigenous Americans. In the 1960s, he decided to introduce the character of Billy Jack in a quickly written script designed to capitalize on the then-popular trend in motorcycle gang movies. The story was based on a real incident from 1964 where members of the Hells Angels were arrested for raping two teenage girls in Monterey, California. The movie was followed by Billy Jack (1971), which saw AIP pull out of production midway through before others stepped in.
Thou Shalt Not Kill ... Except, also known as Stryker's War, is a 1985 American action horror film directed by Josh Becker and starring Robert Rickman, John Manfredi, Tim Quill, Cheryl Hausen, Perry Mallette and Sam Raimi. It was written by Becker and Scott Spiegel from a story by Becker, actor Bruce Campbell, and Sheldon Lettich.
Motorpsycho or Motor Psycho is a 1965 film by Russ Meyer. Produced just before Meyer's better-known Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965), the film explores similar themes of sex and violence but focuses on a male motorcycle gang rather than the female gang of go-go dancers featured in the later film. Motorpsycho also contains one of the first portrayals of a disturbed Vietnam veteran character in film.
Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker is a 1981 American exploitation horror film directed by William Asher, and starring Susan Tyrrell, Jimmy McNichol, Julia Duffy, and Bo Svenson. Framed as a contemporary Oedipus tale, the plot focuses on a teenager who, raised by his neurotic aunt, finds himself at the center of a murder investigation after she stabs a man to death in their house. The boy's sexually repressed aunt secretly harbors incestuous feelings for him, while a detective investigating the crime irrationally believes the murder to be a result of a homosexual love triangle.
Vigilante Force is a 1976 American action film directed by George Armitage and starring Kris Kristofferson and Jan-Michael Vincent. The plot concerns a Vietnam War veteran and his buddies, who are hired by his brother and others in a small California town for protection from rowdy oil-field workers.
Billy Jack Goes to Washington is a 1977 American political drama film starring Tom Laughlin, the fourth film in the Billy Jack series, and although the earlier films saw enormous success, this film did not. The film only had limited screenings upon its release and never saw a general theatrical release, but has since become widely available on DVD. The film is a loose remake of the 1939 Frank Capra film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and is directed by Laughlin under the on-screen pseudonym "T.C. Frank".
The Trial of Billy Jack is a 1974 American Western action film starring Delores Taylor and Tom Laughlin. It is the sequel to the 1971 film Billy Jack and the third film overall in the series.
Delores Judith Taylor was an American film actor, screenwriter, and producer, known for her roles in the Billy Jack films of the 1970s.
Don't Answer the Phone! is a 1980 American psychological horror film co-written and directed by Robert Hammer. While not prosecuted for obscenity, the film was seized and confiscated in the UK under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 during the video nasty panic.
The No Mercy Man is a 1973 action film with elements of a modern-day Western starring Steve Sandor, Rockne Tarkington, Sid Haig, Ron Thompson, Mike Lane, and Richard X. Slattery. The film was co-written and directed by Daniel Vance in his first and last feature film. The film was shot in Todd-AO by Dean Cundey in his first feature film with Buddy Joe Hooker arranging the stunt work and acting as second unit director. Master Jerry Druckerman acted as the film's martial arts technical advisor.
The Farmer is a 1977 American crime action film directed by David Berlatsky and starring Gary Conway, Angel Tompkins, Michael Dante, and George Memmoli. The film was released by Columbia Pictures on March 9, 1977. The revenge thriller is probably best remembered for its lack of a home media release, as the film never had a release on VHS, Beta, Laserdisc, DVD, or any other release outside of theaters for years until a limited edition Blu-ray was released by Scorpion Releasing in early 2022. The websites Letterboxd and The Grindhouse Database list this movie as belonging to the vetsploitation subgenre.
