The Master Gunfighter

Let me say that I love Westerns and sword-play movies. Then along comes The Master Gunfighter. I'm sure there is a plot in there somewhere. But you owe it to yourself to see one of the worst movies ever. It was not made-for-TV, but a real, live in the theatre experience. People might have actually spent real cash to see this. Sad. The LeMat (pistol) actually existed as a .22 cal,with a .410 shotgun barrel, but was not introduced until the Civil War. A great many men carried Bowie knives at the time that this took place, but I imagine getting an actual Samurai katana would have been very difficult.

What makes this an unfortunate effort is the waste of a pretty good cast. There are good performances, which are made more remarkable given the context. Tom Laughlin was in complete control of this film, so, like it or hate it, he gets the credit or blame. Beautiful scenery. Decent production values. However, Laughlin's performance as Finley, the Master Gunfighter, will remind viewers of Billy Jack, for those familiar with the self- rightious character Laughlin portrayed in the movie of the same name. Billy Jack's unquestioned acceptance and popularity may have, at least in part, been bolstered by the country's emerging sympathies for society's downtrodden. Civil rights and anti-war protesters were making daily news, and, for some, "dogooder" Billy Jack may have been a cinematic (though melodramatic) symbol of the times. A similar Gunfighter theme opened years later with the country a bit less emotional and perhaps skeptical of the more simplistic notions, "make love not war", "give peace a chance", and "he's my brother" of a few years earlier. Not that everyone or even most shared these ideas, but they did dominate the news of the day. Gunfighter was greeted by a culture where many competing views gained traction regarding complex social issues. Left to stand on its own merits, Gunfighter appeared cliché, redundant, and shallow, not adding much to the ever more complicated social conversation.

Educated in the Orient, peaceful pistol-packing Tom Laughlin (as Finley) is also a samurai swordsman. He shoots and slashes people who want to take land away from Native Americans and Mexicans. They've just stolen California from them. A US government shipment of two million dollars in gold is involved. "One Week Later," birds peck at what could be a carcass. Many shots of "The Birds" amount to what could be homage to director Alfred Hitchcock. An entire family is missing. Twitching the flesh around his left eye expertly, best friend or enemy Ron O'Neal (as Paulo) and others are led to believe Mr. Laughlin stole the gold. He's clearly full of himself. Helping pass many dull stretches is beautiful Barbara Carrera (as Eula).

*** The Master Gunfighter (10/3/75) Tom Laughlin ~ Tom Laughlin, Ron O'Neal, Barbara Carrera, Lincoln Kilpatrick

Tom "Billy Jack" Laughlin spends most of his movie speaking in a monotone, wearing silly-looking floppy hats, and either shooting people or hacking them up with a Samurai sword. The exterior scenes (filmed mostly along the Pacific Coast) are often strikingly photographed, but the dialog and acting are stiff and ridiculous. Like the BILLY JACK movies, Laughlin has a lot to say about man's inhumanity toward his fellow man. But, after about 10 minutes of listening to his preaching, you won't care anymore. With just a few changes to the screenplay, and an update to the 20th century, this could have been another BILLY JACK movie. At least the BILLY JACK movies were somewhat entertaining.

A terrible film set against the natural beauty of the California coast (my guess is the creators knew what a dog they had). Mexicans with samurai swords and training? A gun that looks like a six-shooter but holds 12 shots (is this a LeMat)? TOM LAUGHLIN? He should credit himself as "Laugh (as in "funny")-lin". The best scene occurs when Laugh-lin (astride his horse) faces off against a bad dude about to commit rape. As in "Billy Jack," Laugh-lin woodenly tells the dude "I don't want to kill you. I'll just ride away." The dude can't deal with the karma emanating from Billy - oops, I mean Finley, and Billy - sorry, Finley - kills him. The dude doesn't know that when Billy - er, Finley - takes off his hat and rubs his hand on his head and face and speaks in a weary tone, that's it! Yikes!

A better title may be "Billy Jack - Sorry, Finley - Kicks Ass on the Monterey Peninsula." Punctuated by really boring gun and sword battles (other viewers will anxiously wonder - as I did - who's going to win). This should be a "0."