The Master Gunfighter | |
---|---|
Directed by | Tom Laughlin |
Written by | Tom Laughlin |
Screenplay by | Harold Lapland |
Based on | Goyokin 1969 film by Hideo Gosha Kei Tasaka |
Produced by | Philip L. Parslow |
Starring | Tom Laughlin Ron O'Neal Barbara Carrera |
Narrated by | Burgess Meredith |
Cinematography | Jack A. Marta |
Edited by | Danford B. Greene William Reynolds |
Music by | Lalo Schifrin |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 121 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $3.5-3.8 million [1] |
Box office | $1.8 million [2] |
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.
In southern California near Santa Barbara shortly after California became part of the United States, American settlers and the U.S. government discriminate against the Mexican landowners and frequently take their land by force or legal skullduggery. Wealthy Latino ranchers whose land and wealth are at risk decide to misdirect a U.S. government ship carrying gold so that it will be wrecked and plundered. To prevent themselves from being caught, they plan to massacre the local Chumash Indians. The hero is the now-estranged adoptive son Finley (Tom Laughlin), a master swordsman and gunfighter, who tries to prevent this while still saving his family.
The director was Tom Laughlin, but officially the director credited was his son Frank (in 1975 he was 9).
Due to the success of Billy Jack and The Trial of Billy Jack , Laughlin anticipated The Master Gunfighter would also be a hit and the film was accompanied with a $3.5 million marketing budget coupled with a nationwide distribution to 1,000 theaters by Laughlin's distribution company, Taylor-Laughlin Distribution Co. [1] The film only stayed in theaters for 12 days and General Cinema Corporation withdrew exhibition for the film after Taylor-Laughlin demanded a $10,000 rental advance along with $500 per theater advertising commitment. [1] One of Laughlin's marketing stunts involved the rental of an electric sign in Times Square attacking film critics as failed writers who couldn't make it in the movie business. [1]
Film critic Roger Ebert was harsh in his criticism of the film, writing, "The movie opens with a long-winded narration, in a hapless attempt to orient us, but not long afterward the narrator has to break in again—we're lost already. It's all to little avail. I don't think there's any way an intelligent moviegoer could sit through this mess and accurately describe the plot afterward." [3] Richard Eder of The New York Times wrote, "It is long, stilted, self-conscious, badly acted and boring. Apart from that, there is little to recommend it." [4] Joseph McBride of Variety called it "[a] curious blend of amateurish plotting and slick production values," adding that "John Wayne never killed so many bad guys as Laughlin does in this film, and Errol Flynn at his most spectacular lacked the uncanny fighting skills Laughlin displays here. It's a throwback to an earlier age of swashbuckling, but the blend with contemporary bleeding heart attitudes makes the film seem hypocritical." [5] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 1 star out of 4 and wrote, "'The Master Gunfighter' reminds me of a made-for-television movie: The story is forever being interrupted by messages from the sponsor. In this case the sponsor is Billy Jack ... every so often the action grinds to a halt when Billy-as-Gunfighter delivers a sanctimonious lecture on fidelity, honor, or racial injustice. The speeches are outrageous, funny, embarrassing, and insulting by turns." [6] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Stunningly photographed by veteran Jack A. Marta, 'The Master Gunfighter,' a splendid period re-creation, is awash with striking imagery that finds beauty even in chaos—just as in a samurai movie. Sometimes young Laughlin's pacing verges on the static, but the action sequences are excitingly staged." [7] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote, "You know you're in for a long, slow evening when the picture begins with a preamble of several hundred words, recited by Burgess Meredith over shots of the sun coming up. The opening sequences set a pattern of confused, incoherent action and stilted acting that is adhered to with a kind of kamikaze devotion for the duration of the movie. By the time Laughlin rides into the sunset most of the audience will be in a coma or already back home, trying to laugh off a bad investment." [8]
Time Out magazine was also critical, writing, "The film could have worked but for an excess of formula ingredients and muddled preachings. Adapted from a Japanese film, the transposition dubiously retains much samurai sword fighting and semi-Oriental costumes. Meanwhile, the over-mannered camerawork pays its dues to the Italian Western. In the resulting cultural hash, the plot with its strong anti-religious theme is too often disregarded." [9]
Eugene Kal Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He is best known for co-hosting various movie review television series with colleague Roger Ebert.
Funny Lady is a 1975 American biographical musical comedy-drama film and the sequel to the 1968 film Funny Girl. The film stars Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall and Ben Vereen.
Billy Jack is a 1971 American action drama independent film, the second of four films centering on a character of the same name which began with the movie The Born Losers (1967), played by Tom Laughlin, who directed and co-wrote the script. Filming began in Prescott, Arizona, in the fall of 1969, but the movie was not completed until 1971. American International Pictures pulled out, halting filming. 20th Century Fox came forward and filming eventually resumed but when that studio refused to distribute the film, Warner Bros. stepped forward.
Thomas Robert Laughlin Jr. was an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, educator, and activist.
Rabbit Test is a 1978 American comedy film about the world's first pregnant man, directed and co-written by Joan Rivers and starring Billy Crystal in his film debut.
The Apple Dumpling Gang is a 1975 American comedy-Western film directed by Norman Tokar. The plot is about a slick gambler named Russell Donovan who is duped into taking care of a group of orphans who eventually strike gold. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions.
Sheba, Baby is a 1975 American blaxploitation action film directed by William Girdler and starring Pam Grier and Austin Stoker.
Sneak Previews was an American film review show that ran for over two decades on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It was created by WTTW, a PBS member station in Chicago, Illinois. It premiered on November 26, 1975 as a monthly local-only show called Opening Soon...at a Theater Near You and was renamed in 1977 to Sneak Previews and it became a biweekly show in 1978 airing nationally on PBS. It grew to prominence with a review-conversation-banter format between opinionated film critics, notably for a time, Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. By 1980, it was a weekly series airing on over 180 stations, and it was the highest rated weekly entertainment series in the history of public broadcasting. The show's final broadcast was on October 4, 1996.
The Born Losers is a 1967 American outlaw biker film. The film introduced Tom Laughlin as the half-Indian Green Beret Vietnam veteran Billy Jack. Since 1954, Laughlin had been trying to produce his Billy Jack script about discrimination toward American Indians. 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.
Scream Blacula Scream is a 1973 American blaxploitation vampire horror film. It is a sequel to the 1972 film Blacula. The film was produced by American International Pictures (AIP) and Power Productions. This was the acting debut of Richard Lawson.
H.G. Wells' The Food of the Gods, also billed as just The Food of the Gods, is a 1976 science fiction thriller film released by American International Pictures and was written, produced and directed by Bert I. Gordon.
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 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.
The Ritz is a 1976 British-American comedy farce film directed by Richard Lester based on the 1975 play of the same name by Terrence McNally. Actress Rita Moreno – who had won a Tony Award for her performance as Googie Gomez in the Broadway production – and many others from the 1975 original cast, such as Jack Weston, Jerry Stiller, and F. Murray Abraham, reprised their stage roles in the film version. Also in the cast were Kaye Ballard and Treat Williams. The film, Jack Weston, and Rita Moreno all received Golden Globe nominations in the comedy category. It opened to mixed reviews.
Escape to Witch Mountain is a 1975 American fantasy science-fiction film, based on Alexander H. Key's 1968 novel of the same name and directed by John Hough. It was released on March 21, 1975 by Walt Disney Productions and Buena Vista Distribution Company. It is the first film of the Witch Mountain series.
Delores Judith Taylor was an American film actor, screenwriter, and producer, known for her roles in the Billy Jack films of the 1970s.
Streamers is a 1983 film adapted by David Rabe from his play of the same name. The film was directed by Robert Altman and produced by Robert Michael Geisler and John Roberdeau, who later produced The Thin Red Line. The cast includes David Alan Grier as Roger, Mitchell Lichtenstein as Richie, Matthew Modine as Billy, Michael Wright as Carlyle, George Dzundza as Cokes, and Guy Boyd as Rooney.
Bluebeard is a 1972 mystery comedy drama film written and directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Richard Burton, Raquel Welch, Joey Heatherton, and Sybil Danning.
I Will, I Will... for Now is a 1976 American romantic-comedy film directed by Norman Panama. It stars Elliott Gould and Diane Keaton.
The Loves and Times of Scaramouche is a 1976 comedy film directed by Enzo G. Castellari.