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Purely Occidental. Not any actor, but a star in his own films. In the mid-fifties, a hopeful Tom and Body arrived in Hollywood. Recalls Joshua Logan, who gave Tom small roles in South Pacific and Tall Story, "Tom had tremendous personal ambition, strength and drive." It was not until 1969, however, that Tom got financing for his Billy Jack, a tale of a noble halfbreed who protects the flower children of the Freedom School. Warner Bros, released it on the B circuit. Furious, Tom stole the master soundtrack and threatened to destroy it unless he was given distribution rights. The studio capitulated and helped Tom blitz the country with the movie. Teen-agers soon made it a cult film and Billy Jack made more than $40 million. Tom was a hero among Hollywood producers—he had subdued a major studio.
Trial, in which the Freedom School is pitted against the Establishment, was launched last fall. Critics catcalled, but the movie lapped up $21 million in three weeks. Dissatisfied, however, Tom pulled Trial. He re-released it last spring. Trial turned out to be too long (4 hours) for fans to see again; it flopped.
Now Tom is banking on his new movie, Master Gunfighter, to restore his deflated popularity. In preparation, the anticritics campaign has been spruced up ("Who is Pauline Kael? Robert Altman's imagination?"). The film is about the exploitation of the California Indians in 1836. Laughlin plays Indian-loving Finley McCord. The archvillain is Paulo (Ron O'Neal), a suave sophisticate who has traveled the Orient and returned with the martial skills of Kung Fu and some fancy weaponry. Finley is obliged to duel to the death with Paulo, using samurai swords. The end, however, is purely Occidental. McCord and his wife (Paulo's sister) ride off together into the sunset. Fadeout.