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The movie "Billy Jack" has had a greater impact on who I am as a person
than any movie I have ever seen. In 1971, at the age of 12 I was dealing with
the divorce of my parents, the temptation of drugs and life in a violent and
spiritually bankrupt home. I saw a trailer for a movie called "Billy Jack."
The karate fight appealed to my budding sense of machismo, so I drug my
little stepbrother to a matinee. Seeds of a deeper devotion to my
Native-American ancestry (1/8 Cherokee), political activism, racial equality
and a desire to take up karate (I never did) were planted as Tom Laughlin's
independent blockbuster flashed across the screen. My stepbrother and I
practiced our newfound, cinematically-enhanced Karate skills on trees, fences
and mailboxes as we walked home, but inside, I was lost in thought. I've seen
the movie over 50 times. I'd like to persuade you to at least see it once.
"I'm gonna take my right foot and whop you on that side of your face..."
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Set in Arizona, the story revolves around The Freedom School run by Jean
Roberts (Delores Taylor, writer/director Laughlin's wife). Jean is a
pacifist, who's beliefs are put to the test severely in this film. She is a
sensual earth mother who has the gift to keep a level head amid the chaos
which comes her way. She is the mother figure to the kids and the spiritual
center of the movie. Jean's school is a haven to kids, troubled or not, who
have been rejected by their families or society in general. The only rules
are no drugs and each person must create something, preferably something
which makes them proud of their heritage. Even though the school is located
on an Indian reservation, it is open to kids of all races, creeds and colors.
Needless to say, the school receives a lot of heat from some of the local
patriots, most notably, old man Posner (Bert Freed). Posner is the big man in
the county. His word is law, and he enforces his mandate with ruthless zeal.
The only thing stopping Posner from having free reign in his quest for power
is Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin). Billy is a half-breed, Green Beret Vietnam vet
who returned to the reservation after the war and acts as the protector of
the school and the reservation. Tension between the townfolks and the school
comes to a head when Barbara (Julie Webb), the daughter of the town's deputy
sheriff, Mike (Kenneth Toby) comes to the school for refuge after a severe
beating by her father.
"I'm itching to kill someone, it might as well be you."
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The viewer discovers the magic of the school through the eyes of Barbara,
a lost young pregnant girl who compensates for the abuse she has endured with
a smart mouth and a cynical outlook on love of any kind, be it platonic or
spiritual. She finds herself the object of affection of an Indian youth named
Martin (Stan Shaw). Martin teaches her that she can be loved for more than
her ability to provide easy sex. Deputy Mike's desire to retrieve his
daughter is the plot device which stokes the fire of conflict between the
close-minded townfolks and the enlightened youth of the school. What really
makes this movie work is that Laughlin reveals that both sides of this
conflict (with a few exceptions) are both closed and open minded at the same
time.
As the tensions between the town and the school escalate, Laughlin
provides an ongoing dialogue about pacifism at any cost versus resorting to
violence in defense of good. This old-testament new-testament examination
takes place mainly through the interaction of Billy and Jean. The two
characters love each other deeply. Billy is a violent man who seeks after a
higher plane of existence through his devotion to his Native American
spiritual beliefs. Unfortunately he has been scarred by his past and resorts
to violence when cornered. There is an old cliche that parents use when they
spank their children: "This is going to hurt me a lot more than it will hurt
you." I believe this cliche applies each time Billy uses his Hapkido on the
rednecks who terrorize the school. The rednecks deserve everything that is
coming to them, but Billy is highly conflicted by what he does to them.
Leonard Maltin calls Billy Jack "Mr. peace through violence." I think that
Mr. Maltin misses the point of the movie. At one time Mr. Maltin gave the
movie 3 and 1/2 stars. He later revised his review to give the movie 1/2 of a
star. I don't know why his view of the movie changed.
"Billy becomes blood brother to the snake."
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Maltin's later review seems to paint Laughlin as a hypocrite who profits
from the very thing he condemns. I have always seen the movie as a
condemnation of violence, and an excellent portrayal of how hard it is to
change bad habits. I became a Christian at age 34 after many years of
self-indulgent promiscuity. Since the change in my life, I can say that old
habits die hard. Billy is a man who killed other human beings in Vietnam and
in civilian life (see "Born Losers," the 1967 biker movie which introduced
the character of Billy Jack) before the credits even rolled. I'm not such a
close-minded fan of the movie that I can't see Mr. Maltin's point as the
violence is the film is thrilling. The scene in which Billy takes his right
foot and whops Mr. Posner on the side of his face excites the viewer. The
karate is a definite selling point to this movie. However, those who condemn
the movie on that basis alone remind me of certain members of the religious
right who condemned "The Last Temptation of Christ" without even seeing it.
"Billy Jack" provokes discussion about hard subjects, just as Scorsese's film
did.
"Billy Jack" has a definite political and philosophical point of view,
but it does not paint one side as always right and the other as always wrong.
This point is illustrated perfectly in the best scene in the movie. In a last
ditch effort to stop the juggernaut of violence between the town and the
school, both parties agree to address their differences at a city council
meeting. Both sides have a strong belief in the democratic way. In this
scene, both sides are portrayed warts and all. They are both childish, they
are both wise, they are both stubborn, they are both yearning to connect, but
not sure how to do it. The movie works because of this scene and other
similar ones; Laughlin does not condemn the "everyman" characters who hold
political beliefs opposed to him. He nudges the viewer to examine their own
beliefs by taking this tact. This is not to say that the movie has no
villains. Both Posner and deputy Mike are villains who have chosen the dark
side through their own freewill.
 
Billy Jack posters
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"Billy Jack" took heat and gained credibility for the abovementioned
scene and others because Laughlin named names when placing blame for the
condition suffered by Native Americans in this country. Laughlin pointed his
finger at the Nixon administration and others well before Watergate had been
burglarized. Laughlin's courage in pointing fingers almost cost him this
movie. An executive at 20th Century Fox took exception to the slur upon Nixon
and seized the film. Laughlin's wife, Taylor thought fast and drove to the
studio and took the sound track. The Laughlin's threatened to send the studio
one reel a week of the sound track (erased!) if their film wasn't returned to
them. The studio called their bluff, but backed down after they received the
first erased reel from the Laughlin's. All indie filmmakers owe a debt of
gratitude to the Laughlin's for their devotion to their vision. Sylvester
Stallone's sacrifices to get "Rocky" made pale by comparison to what the
Laughlin's went through.
If I have a complaint with the movie, it is the way it deals with the
character Bernard Posner (David Roya). Bernard is the twentysomething
year-old son of Mr. Posner. He does not have the spine or stomach to be the
type of man that his father wants him to be (Evil). Bernard only wants to
gain his father's respect, but he must lose his soul to do so. Bernard
commits great evil in this movie. I was very disappointed that the view point
of Jean's character played less of a role in Billy's dealings with Bernard. I
really believe the movie pushes Jean's point of view as the answer to life's
difficulties, but the unstoppable force of Billy's personality overwhelms
Jean's at times. This fault is understandable because, as in real life,
good-intentioned people make mistakes. Billy makes mistakes and pays dearly
for doing so. The fact that Billy isn't perfect, nor does the film claim so,
is one of the movie's great strengths. There are no supermen or women. Only
imperfect people living as best they can. The movie asks the viewer to
examine their life and try to do better. This is a thought to keep in mind
when voting for President next week!
More Billy Jack posters
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This is a message movie. Don't let that stop you for seeing it though.
"Billy Jack" is well written, acted and photographed. There is tension,
suspense, pathos and humor. I do have problems with the third Billy Jack
movie, "The Trial of Billy Jack." I felt that the sequel tried to cover too
much ground at the expense of intimate development of the characters fans
came to know and love in the 1971 film. Nevertheless, it too is worth a look.
I have never seen the fourth and final Billy Jack movie, "Billy Jack goes to
Washington", a remake of Capra's classic with Laughlin in the Jimmy Stewart
role.
All photographs used to illustrate this review are courtesy of
"www.Billyjack.com." I recommend their website especially for it's chat-room.
You will never have a dull chat with a group of devoted "Billy Jack" fans. On
Monday nights, Tom Laughlin joins in the fray. Tom Laughlin has the IQ of
Einstein. He is an expert of Jungian philosophy, alternative cancer
treatments, guerrilla film-making and ran for president in the 1980s. Check
out their site, and check out the movie. If you don't I'll "just go berserk!"
*All movies stills courtesy of Celebrity Books
Rusty White
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