''The Return of Billy Jack'' is an unfinished movie. The film starred
Tom Laughlin
Thomas Robert Laughlin Jr. (August 10, 1931 – December 12, 2013) was an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, educator, and activist.
Laughlin was best known for his series of ''Billy Jack'' films. He was married to actress De ...
(who also directed), reprising his role as Billy Jack, and co-starred
Rodney Harvey
Rodney Michael Harvey (July 31, 1967 – April 11, 1998) was an American actor, model, and dancer.
Career
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harvey was discovered by director Paul Morrissey in 1984. Morrissey cast Harvey in two of his fi ...
and
Delores Taylor
Delores Judith Taylor (September 27, 1932 – March 23, 2018) was an American film actor, screenwriter, and producer, known for her roles in the ''Billy Jack'' films of the 1970s.
Life and career
Taylor was born in 1932 in Winner, South Dakot ...
. The film was produced from December 1985 to early 1986 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
(with some scenes filmed in
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
), with additional scenes filmed in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
.
Plot
Billy Jack takes on child pornographers in New York City.
Production
During the course of its filming, Laughlin suffered a head injury when a
breakaway bottle malfunctioned while filming a scene in Toronto. By the time he recovered, funds to complete the film were depleted, and production never resumed. Laughlin originally planned to sell the film to a major studio, but plans either fell through or were never realized.
At the time production stopped, only approximately 15 minutes of the motion picture had been filmed.
In addition, while filming was taking place in New York City, Laughlin broke up a street fight on Manhattan's West Side and made a
citizen's arrest
A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a private citizen – that is, a person who is not acting as a sworn law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval England and the English common law, in which ...
of a man following an argument over Laughlin's driving.
Aftermath
Laughlin died on December 12, 2013.
References
External links
Laughlin's official Billy Jack website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Return Of Billy Jack, The
1980s unfinished films
Films shot in New York City
Films directed by Tom Laughlin
1980s English-language films