The Movies That Moved Me: Steve Carver’s LONE WOLF MCQUADE
Chuck Norris is 85 years old as of this week. To date, he carries well-over four decades of TV and film stardom to bumper his chops as a multi-faceted martial artist, having plied his trade aptly in memorable hits, namely (for this article, at least) director Steve Carver’s 1983 action adventure, Lone Wolf McQuade.
Written by H. Kaye Dyal and B.J. Nelson, Norris stars in the titular role – a rugged maverick Texas Ranger who goes toe-to-toe with an unwavering arms-smuggling outfit run by a renowed and undefeated martial arts expert named Hawkes, played by the ever-charismatic David Carradine. The feud ultimately escalates to where not only does Hawkes try to kill McQuade, but also thinks kidnapping his daughter was a good idea. Nope, big mistake!
The result is a grisled, gritty, tough as nails Western thriller carried with a roster of performances lead by Norris in bona fide tough guy fashion, with Barbara Carrera as the beautiful love interest wedged between McQuade and the antagonistic Hawkes. The film also sees major support from co-stars Leon Isaac Kennedy, and Robert Beltran who team up with our hero on his quest of honor and vengeance.
Featuring action sequences from co-producer/action director Aaron Norris, and a rousing score by Francesco De Masi, Lone Wolf McQuade promises a serviceable package of filmic grit, romance, violence and cheesy spaghetti western nuances that speak fervently to its target audiences. The movie did excellently at the box office as well, grossing $122M from a $5M budget, and it possibly would have made nicely as the first of a franchise if sequels went forward.
Late film critic Roger Ebert said as much in his own review, citing at least one delightful moment in the second half of the film, which – apart from the final fight between Norris and Carradine – is a fan favorite:
…Series characters always have one archetypal scene. With Eastwood, it was the time he killed three men with one bullet. Lone Wolf McQuade has a classic. He’s shot. They think he’s dead. They bury him in his supercharged, customized pickup truck. He comes to. Pours a beer over his head. Floors the accelerator, and drives that mother right out of the grave. You get the idea.
~Roger Ebert
Norris eventually carried over the role with some semblance in his successful “Walker, Texas Ranger” series, which fans love to this day apart from its most recent reboot which ran five seasons short of the original TV vehicle.
Will folks see a newer and genre-fitting take on the character that re-ups the classic bona fides of Norris’ performance? No one’s ever sure of these things, but the thought of it is pretty cool. As long as it comes with a soundtrack that truly elevates it the way De Masi does here.
Lead image: Orion Pictures
