Cole Justice

My review was written in January 1990 after watching the movie on Raedon video cassette.

The direct-to-video release of "Cole Justice" is a deeply felt homage to classic Westerns, styled as a modern revenge picture.

Filmmaker Carl Bartholomew also stars as Coleman Justice, an Oklahoma schoolteacher who trains his pupils in quoting dialog and absorbing the messages in Western films ranging from "The Ox-Bow Incident" right through to "Silverado". His favorites are "Shane" and "Once Upon a Time in the West", with film clips from both adding much to the narrative.

Some 35 years ago, Cole's girlfriend was raped and murdered on the way home fro seeing "Shane" at the local bijou. When Bartholomew sees some thugs terrorizing a bar waitress, the long-ago incident comes back to him and he becomes an avenger (dubbed "Killer Cowboy" by the local press).

Dressing in Western gear, including the long coats popularized by Sergio Leone, he goes after crack dealers and other heavies until his identity is discovered by his students.

Barholomew's pleasant screen persona and obvious love for the subject make "Cole Justice" watchable, but he stumbles by having too much sentimentality in the final reels.

While still in high school in 1953,Coleman Justice's girlfriend is gang raped and killed by a group of men after they'd gone out on a date to see an old western movie "Shane" at a theater.Shortly after her death the group of men are blown up by a car bomb and most believe Coleman is responsible.Charges are never brought against him and 35 years later Coleman is a university professor who teaches a class about western films since he has idolized the gunfighters of cinema since he was very young.He is in a bar when a group of men begin to gang rape a waitress.He goes to his car,puts on his cowboy outfit,arms himself with a bowie knife and Colt revolver and then proceeds to stab and shoot most of the woman's attackers.He then hunts down their leader,who got away as well as a drug dealer as the search for the "cowboy killer" makes newspaper headlines and his students begin to suspect he's the vigilante.Carl Bartholomew executive-produced,directed,co-scripted and starred in a 1988 vigilante movie called "Cole Justice" is the film whose popularity in the home video market got him an improbable gig as the grand marshal of a holiday parade in Florala,Alabama.Very enjoyable and entertaining vigilante flick with plenty of violence and some tasteful nods to western genre.8 out of 10.

Carl Bartholomew obviously had a dream to star in his own movie, and as it was pointed out in "Fitzcarraldo", "A man without dreams is nothing". "Cole Justice" is one man's dream brought to reality, and it is an entertaining journey into the realm of "spaghetti westerns" transposed into modern day small town Oaklahoma. It should be mentioned that the blending of genre's, western and vigilante justice is totally acceptable. The film is not dull, because it is a fresh idea that maintains interest. Sure it's low budget gets in the way, and the actors are amateurish, but Bartholomew's passion shows in every scene, and for that reason alone I liked it very much. - MERK

What do you do when it's the 1950's and a group of thugs rapes your girl as you go back into the empty movie theater to retrieve her necklace? Well, if you're Coleman Justice (Cole to his friends), you repress your emotions and hide behind your favorite western movies. In fact, you grow up to teach a class on the subject(?!). And whatever happened to that police officer that just watched the rape and then killed the thugs in a vendetta fashion? He's the security guard at the very college you work at! You become his best and only friend, even though the teenagers seem enthralled by every word from the geezer's mouth. I'd give this one credit for breaking the cliche of the beer guzzling, dope smoking college student, but these kids are so far from being realistic that they may have well been muppets. I can't believe the makers of this film were allowed to use footage from some of the most classic westerns of all time! Poor Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson. They each appear on screen enough times to warrant a paycheck! The world, especially in these trying times, sure could use a good hero. Too bad this "Killer Cowboy" is a worse idea for a vigilante then Estelle Getty in "Stop, Or My Mom Will Shoot!" What are the police up to in this town anyway?! They're worse then Cole's students, who don't put the pieces together until 2/3 of the way in. Some very silly dialogue and horrible acting will keep bad movie lovers happy, but only watch this one if you like to torture yourself. Stick 'em up!