The Born Losers (1967)

i must have seen a different film!!

As Good As It Gets

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

In "The Born Losers," Laughlin's character had no name. He was referred to as "Indian." After "Billy Jack" was released and was stupidly successful, "The Born Losers" was re-released with the names "Billy Jack," and "Mr. Jack" edited in.The lead characters of both movies had a lot in common. They dressed the same, wore the same hat, and drove the same sort of vehicle. It was easy enough to capitalize on the "Billy Jack" popularity and make a few more bucks off "The Born Losers."The bosses say that my submission doesn't have enough lines of text. There really isn't a lot more to say about this movie. It was cheaply made, and destined for release at drive-ins. If it were made today, it would go straight to DVD.

This film is something that Tarentino ought to remake, not updated but a simulacrum of the original. Make a nice follow-up to DEATH PROOF. (Where is Tom McLaughlin now?) The "martial arts" in this flick are pretty feeble, consisting of a few judo chops--the action on BILLY JACK was much more intense. That Billy ends up shooting the gang leader between the eyes (he DID warn him, though) is so anti-heroic that it rather spoils the film in some ways.Some of the camera work in BORN LOSERS borders on amateurish, the FAR side of amateurish that is. The sound quality is at times atrocious, and the Beachhouse/clubhouse is absurd- I've hung out with bikers, and believe me that place was ridiculously clean--the hardwood floors actually shine! The Deputy (who pokes Danny in the gut) seems like he SHOULD have been more heroic, but like all of the lesser roles he is completely undeveloped.Note that Elizabeth James has a co-writing credit on this!But for all of that, it still ranks among my favorite biker films.I find it patently absurd to see the subcategories listed as NIPPLE, PUBIC HAIR, NUDITY and so on, since there is very little actual nudity.BTW: I had a bit part (hippie kid #4) in BILLY JACK since they filmed parts of it at the new Buffalo Free School where I was in attendance. To anyone who keeps an eye open, you might also see that the swimming hole (where Jean was raped) is the very same pool as in EASY RIDER. I think I received about $140 for my three days on set.

Given its low budget, this is not a bad movie. A motorcycle gang, led by the scruffy Jeremy Slate, terrorizes a small California town, and in the process rapes several college girls. There's lots of tough talk, motorcycle noise, and violence, as you would expect for a biker film.Of course, to balance out all the villainous mayhem, you gotta have a hero on the scene. And for the era in which the film was made, there was no better hero than the charismatic loner, half-breed Billy Jack, played with serene gusto by Tom Laughlin. He's a one-man show of moral and physical strength, as he outwits and outfights the biker roughnecks. The film makes the point that bad parenting and ineptness in traditional law enforcement foster an environment conducive to delinquency.Interestingly, although this is the first Billy Jack film, Laughlin played a similar role ten years earlier, in a movie called "The Delinquents" (1957). His character was Scotty, a good guy teenager who gets mixed up with a bunch of high school hoodlums. Whereas in "The Delinquents" all the villains are kids who drive around in jalopies, in "The Born Losers", the kids have grown into adults who ride motorcycles.In "The Born Losers" the characters tend to be stereotypes. In a time period that immediately preceded the women's lib movement, the film's female characters are very, very subservient. The film's plot does depend on contrivances to some extent. Dialogue lacks subtext. Production design is ... colorful. And the costumes reek of late 60's garish "hip" (love those pink walls and pink clothes), all perfectly in sync with the Age of Aquarius. Tom Laughlin's direction is excellent. Color cinematography is very good. The outdoor scenery is wonderful, as is the music in the opening title sequence.I've seen a number of biker films. "The Born Losers" is one of the best. It was highly successful at the box office, and led to later Billy Jack films. It has a cinematic style that is almost iconoclastic; not insignificantly, it preceded "Easy Rider" by a couple of years. Such was the impact of "The Born Losers".

The Born Losers (1967): Tom Laughlin, Elizabeth James, Jane Russell, Jeremy Slate, Robert Tessier, Paul Prokop, Jeff Cooper, William Wellman Jr, Jack Starrett, Robert Cleaves, Paul Bruce, Anne Bellamy, Stuart Lancaster, Janice Miller, Gordon Hoban, Susan Foster, Julie Cahn,Paul Napier, Art Eisner, Edwin Cook, Susan Bauman, Robin Corum, James Smith, Robert Apollo, Clegg Hoyt, Mike LeSage...Director Tom Laughlin, Screenplay Elizabeth James.From 1967, Director Tom Laughlin's "Born Losers" was evidently made for a target audience in the late 1960's, a young adult audience who was probably more than familiar with the Hell's Angels, with California and with pop culture of the time. The motorcycle gangs that were sprouting everywhere in the US in the 60's, later organized as the Hell's Angels, were fueling the imaginations of writers and film makers alike. They were to cause the "end" of the flower-power 60's when during a Rolling Stones concert in Altamont, they were hired for bodyguard protection but what resulted was death and mayhem. This film does not take itself seriously nor does it attempt to present itself as reality. This is one of several films made at the time that dealt with motorcycle gangs terrorizing small northern California towns outside San Francisco, lawless rebels on wheels turning people's worlds upside down. These films were popular after wild rumors and myths concerning the Hell's Angels after incidents like the one in Monterey, California in which reports of various girls being raped by the motorcycle gang came to public attention. The exploits of these motorcycle gangs is the subject of this intense, shocking film.Actor and Director Tom Laughlin stars as Billy Jack, a half-white, half-Indian hero who saves the day at the end of the film. In a sedate north California town, a motorcycle group stirs up trouble when a series of rapes occur and violence ensues. The police and authorities do nothing to stop them, out of fear and due to one of the members' connections with the authorities. When innocent but brazen Vicky (Elizabeth James) flirts with the gang leader Danny (Jeremy Slate) even trying to become a "mamma" that is a gang member's girl, she does not realize what she is getting herself into. When she learns that her "initiation" involves being raped by all the members, she tries to escape them but is not able to and is consequently another rape victim. When the evil deeds of the gang go to far, it's up to Billy Jack to come to the rescue, when no one else would. The film is inappropriate for younger audiences as it contains some violence, foul language and some nudity. This film was made for "shock" appeal, being a sort of early exploitation film, many of which would become numerous and popular in the '70's. The showdown between Billy Jack and the gang is straight out of a Western, except this time it's set in late 60's California. The screenplay, written by actress Elizabeth James (a female screenwriter in those days was rare) is excellent, full of 60's slang, sarcasm, humor and dark edginess. The film is a combination of dark humor and serious drama. Jane Russell, a veteran Hollywood actress, makes a surprising cameo appearance as one of the victim's mothers. Her scenes are over-the-top but she is still a terrific actress even at her older age. For a dark film, the music by Mike Curb and Davie Allan is beautiful, nostalgic of old Western dramas and melancholy. The cinematography by Gregory Sandor and production design by Richard Beck-Meyer as well as the costumes by Katherine Free are very "pop" 60's in style. Everything has the photogenic quality of a 60's magazine and evokes a "dirty" dime novel full of violence and catering to men's revenge fantasies. This film is for men, though it's interestingly written by a woman, obviously friends with Director Tom Laughlin who stars as Billy Jack. This is one of many films they'd make, but this one did very well at the box-office, primarily because of its bold new content. While I don't much care for the story, it's a film that has some value due to that very content itself, a look at the attitudes of the wild late 60's.