LONG WOLF MCQUADE. Some might prefer CODE OF SILENCE, made just after LONE WOLF, and indeed CODE comes a close second. (CODE was originally written for Clint Eastwood, but for some reason he passed.) But LONE WOLF is an early 80's action masterpiece, from the Morricone styled musical riffs to "McQuade's" super-charged truck and Barbara Carrera's incredible, umm, acting. And what a supporting cast... L.Q. Jones, Robert Beltran, Dana Kimmell (from FRIDAY THE 13th Part 3), R.G. Armstrong and of course David Carradine as the evil "Rawley."
Not to digress, but the one section of ENTER THE DRAGON that always left me feeling less than fulfilled was the closing battle between Bruce Lee and the old guy with the replaceable hand. Even with the tiger claw and iron fist gadgets, the old guy wasn't even in Bruce's universe, let alone ball-park. But Carradine actually had some martial arts chops, so the final fisticuffs in Lone Wolf are actually respectable.
Best scene: the bad guys beat the crap outta McQuade then bury him alive, but inside his truck (!). McQuade finds a stray beer, has a gulp, then fires up his truck's supercharger and roars up out of his grave with enough force to run over a bad guy in the process. Sweet.
3 comments:
Agree 100%.
Of course, the sweater that Carradine is wearing in the climax kinda undercuts his menace factor.
Carradine's Mr. Rogers style sweater is just another inspired touch... you can just see some costume guy trying to get him into something black or at least vaguely menacing, and Carradine going, "nah. I like this."
I just read today, in fact, that David Carradine sued the producers for breach of contract. Allegedly, in the contract for the movie, David was not to lose to Norris or die onscreen. The lawsuit failed when it was decided Norris spent more time on the ground than Carradine, and Carradine’s character was blown up offscreen, the film showing only the explosion.
You ever hear this?
Post a Comment