Bullet Points: Bare Knuckles (1977)
My latest review, courtesy of the Bulletproof Action suggestion box, is a real throwback… as I go all the way back to 1977 and a movie that I never even knew existed. The movie is Bare Knuckles and not surprisingly it is available on Tubi, a streamer that seemingly specializes in long forgotten or never heard of movies.
- Bare Necessities: With the name Bare Knuckles, it is a reasonable expectation that the movie will feature some bare knuckle brawling and kicks things off with bounty hunter Zachary Kane (Robert Viharo) in a real knock-down drag-out with a wanted criminal. Kane is victorious and he takes his battered and beaten bounty to the police station where he gets some guff from the police captain, who claims Kane is really no different than the crud he brings in. Kane says there is one difference… the crud he brings in are behind bars, while he is a free man. Give it to ’em Kane! We then see a Kane training montage and find out that he plays the flute.
- Nobody Out Pizzas the Hut: The next evening in a Pizza Hut parking lot, Jennifer (Sherry Jackson) and her beau, Roger, are arguing in the front seat of Roger’s car. Jennifer storms out of the car, Roger gets out and the arguing begins to escalate… that’s when Zachary Kane strolls out of the Pizza Hut with his pizza and intervenes on behalf of Jennifer. Kane convinces Roger to be on his way, then he and Jennifer enjoy some pizza in the parking lot before the two end up back at Kane’s place… if you know what I mean!
- New in Town: The bus from El Paso has just rolled into Los Angeles, a woman leaves the bus station and starts wandering the streets of Los Angeles alone at night… well, she’s not completely alone… there is a shadowy figure following her! The mystery man grabs the woman and stabs her in an alley… the woman staggers back out to the street, where the mystery man finishes the job… two people in nearby apartments see the whole thing… one is a biker named Max, the other is a nightclub singer named Barbara Darrow (Gloria Hendry, Black Belt Jones)… Barbara double freaks out because not only did she just witness a murder, but the murderer saw that she saw him… and even worse she recognized the murderer as someone who has come see her perform! Barbara decides her best move is to get the hell out of her apartment and lay low for a while.
- Friends Forever: The murder is front page news the next day and Zachary Kane plans on catching the murderer before the cops do. We get a Kane gathering information montage before he goes to the scene of the crime to do some investigation. When he goes inside Barbara’s apartment, he eavesdrops as some detectives talk to Barbara’s roommate, so now Kane knows what the cops know. Kane also knows he is going to need some help on this one, so he turns to his old buddy, Black (John Daniels, Black Shampoo) and the Zack and Black Attack is back! Their first mission, find out what Max the biker knows… they follow him to a gay bar and no matter the type of bar it is, when an action hero enters the bar there is a 99.9% chance that he is going to get into a brawl. This scene really didn’t help the case… but the bar fight did provide some much needed action.
- Unhappy Ending: Meanwhile, the mysterious killer enters a massage parlor just before closing. The masseuse on duty tells him she is about to close up for the night and that he should come back tomorrow, but when he flashes her a $100 bill, she decides she could fit him in… and then she is brutally murdered… The next morning we meet our killer, Richard Devlin (Michael Heit). We learn that Devlin is from a well-to-do family and that he still lives with his socialite mother at their palatial home. We also learn that Devlin has some serious mommy issues and spent time in a mental institution… and when his mother mentions sending him back to get some help, he intimidates her. We also learn that Devlin is a martial artist and see him spar with his loyal man servant, Kido, before he goes out looking for another victim.
- Where’s Barbara?: Zack and Black track down Barbara in a less than desirable part of town, hanging with some less than desirable characters. Kane is put through the wringer by the men protecting Barbara and hoping to blackmail the Devlin family in exchange for Barbara’s silence. If not for Black, Kane may not have made it out of that apartment building. Two important developments come out of this… Black decides he’s done enough and Barbara tells Kane who the killer is… As luck would have it, the Devlins are throwing a party and guess who was invited? Kane’s new girlfriend, Jennifer Randall… Kane doesn’t want her going near Richard Devlin, but without her, he won’t be able to get into the party.
- Business Picks Up: Kane’s instincts that Jennifer shouldn’t be near Richard Devlin were spot on… unfortunately he finds that out too late. Bare Knuckles, up to this point, was a perfect example of a slow burn story… the movie took its time building up Devlin’s killer resume, sprinkled in some action here and there for Kane… but once Jennifer becomes a victim the movie goes full on action! There is a lengthy chase scene with Devlin on a motorcycle and Kane in his car that ends up in the Los Angeles river. From there the men play a game of cat and mouse in a nearby train yard, including a foot chase on top of the train cars before ultimately ending with a brawl on a bridge!
When I hit play on Bare Knuckles, I had zero expectation, since I had zero knowledge of the movie. I ended up with a delightful slice of 70s cinema, that I would recommend to any fans of the gritty, urban, no frills action movies of yesteryear. And if you don’t want to take my recommendation (since who the hell am I?!?), Bare Knuckles is also a favorite of Quentin Tarantino.
Knuckle up for these Bonus Bullet Points…
- What Say You?: I can’t decide if this is one of the best movie posters or one of the worst movie posters. Feel free to weigh in down in the comments.
- Double Duty: Bare Knuckles was written and directed by Don Edmonds. Edmonds would go on to direct 1980’s Terror on Tour (which looks like a total Chad Cruise movie), the pilot episode of one of my all-time favorite shows, Silk Stalkings, and a movie I am shocked Matt Spector has yet to cover for the site, 1991’s Tomcat Angels.
- What the Buck?!: Checking the cast on IMDb, I couldn’t help but notice George “Buck” Flower was among those credited… but for the life of me, I must have missed him. Guess it’s just another reason to rewatch Bare Knuckles.
