Bullet Points: Code of Silence

In this installment of Bullet Points, I’m going to take a look at one of my favorite Chuck Norris movies of the 1980’s, Code of Silence.

Code of Silence doesn’t get talked about as much as some of Chuck’s other 80’s fare, like Invasion U.S.A. or the Missing in Action series, but I believe it is actually one of his better movies.

• The Premise: Chuck Norris plays Chicago cop, Eddie Cusack. He’s got enemies both internally and externally. Internally he has an issue with one of his fellow cops, 30 year veteran Detective Cragie (who you probably recognize as a guy who wishes people a Merry Christmas and then calls them filthy animals). And externally he finds himself in the middle of a gang war between two mob families, the Camachos and the Lunas. This includes protecting Diana Luna, daughter of the head of the Luna Family, that has distanced herself from their nefarious doings, but finds herself dragged into the gang war too.

• The Action: There’s a great blend of Chuck’s martial arts skills, like when he takes on the entire Camacho clan at a pool hall after his fellow cops turn his back against him when he testifies against Detective Cragie and his ability to continue being a cop on the streets. Then at the end of the film when Chuck once again has to be a one man army against the Camacho’s and to quote the late, great Gorilla Monsoon he has to bring out the heavy artillery including The Prowler!

• The Villain: Henry Silva plays Luis Camacho, while there’s a lot of unsavory characters in the film, Silva is without question the main baddie. You’d have to be a pretty bad dude to get in Eddie Cusack’s face and tell him he’d look good in a Colombian Necktie. For those of you not in the know, a Colombian Necktie is where someone slits your throat and then pulls your tongue out through the slit.  One interesting thing about Silva’s character Luis Camacho, unlike most mob bosses who will order a hit and then stay safely in their compound, distancing themselves from the dirty deed, Luis orders it and then watches from a distance. Does he not trust his crew to get the job done? Or is he just sadistic?

I would recommend Code of Silence to all action fans and definitely to all Chuck Norris fans. So order yourself a deep dish pizza and have a great night of Chicago style action! And before I go, here are a few more Code of Silence Bullet Points…

• Rubik’s Cube: If you are like me, you never could figure out the Rubik’s Cube and you resorted to taking the stickers off and cheating. I always felt bad about that, but I feel less bad knowing that Chuck Norris couldn’t solve it either.
• My Kind of Town: The movie takes advantage of its Chicago location and we get some action inside and on top of the El Train!
• Familiar Faces: Chuck Norris is surrounded by a strong cast of supporting characters, many with their share of action movie experience. Bert Remsen plays Commander Kates, I’ll always remember Bert as the priest in the fantastic Eye of the Tiger starring Gary Busey. John Mahoney plays the guy who introduces The Prowler to the Chicago PD, he would later star with Bruce Willis in Striking Distance. There’s Ron Dean, who was a detective in Code of Silence and who you may remember as a detective in movies like The Fugitive and Above the Law. And last but certainly not least is the late Dennis Farina of Midnight Run fame, who played one of the few friends Chuck Norris’ character had in the film.

• Stupid Human Tricks: Fans of the John Candy classic Uncle Buck may recognize actor Dennis Cockrum and his toothpick trick while watching Code of Silence.  Cockrum plays one of the hoods who tries to rob the wrong bar in Chicago. Code of Silence was actually his acting debut, but he’s kept busy ever since. His most recent work has been as Terry Milkovich on the hit Showtime series, Shameless.