That Man Bolt is a 1973 American action film directed by David Lowell Rich and Henry Levin. It stars Fred Williamson in the title role of a courier and Byron Webster.[1] The film combined several genres: blaxploitation, the martial arts film, and James Bond superspy films (with some posters featuring the tagline "He's Bonded"[2]). It was filmed in Hong Kong, Macau and the United States and featured several martial arts experts in action: Mike Stone, World Professional Light Heavyweight Karate Champion,[3] Kenji Kazama Japan Kickboxing Champion, Emil Farkas, European Black Belt Karate Champion,[4] and David Chow,[5] Former California State Judo Champion.[6] It was titled Operation Hong Kong outside the United States. Peter Crowcroft wrote the novelization of the screenplay.
| That Man Bolt | |
|---|---|
 Original film poster | |
| Directed by | David Lowell Rich Henry Levin |
| Screenplay by | Ranald MacDougall Charles Eric Johnson |
| Story by | Charles Eric Johnson |
| Produced by | Bernard Schwartz |
| Starring | Fred Williamson |
| Cinematography | Gerald Perry Finnerman |
| Edited by | Carl Pingitore Robert F. Shugrue |
| Music by | Charles Bernstein |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
editCourier Jefferson Bolt is asked to take a briefcase from Hong Kong to Mexico City, but he is not told what is in it or the identity of the man who asks him, a man named Griffiths. Convinced he will get good pay and see a few good places, Bolt takes on the job, while looking out for anything suspicious. Soon he does find exotic places, beautiful women, and ruthless gunmen interested in the briefcase.
Production
editFred Williamson recalled that Universal Pictures signed him for three films featuring the Bolt character as a black James Bond, but avoiding the urban locations of blaxploitation films. One director was replaced to make the film look more like a globetrotting secret agent film rather than a made for television movie. Williamson felt that Universal was not prepared to launch a film series featuring a black star. Though no other Bolt films were made, Williamson was paid for two films.[7]
Cast
edit- Fred Williamson as Jefferson Bolt
- Byron Webster as Griffiths
- Miko Mayama as Dominique Kuan
- Teresa Graves as Samantha Nightingale
- Masatoshi Nakamura as Kumada
- John Orchard as Carter
- Jack Ging as Connie Mellis
- Ken Kazama as "Spider"
- Vassili Lambrinos as Raoul De Vargas
- Paul Mantee as Mickey
Filming locations
edit- Hong Kong, UK (today China)
- Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
- Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Macau, Portugal (today China)[8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "That Man Bolt (1973) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast". AllMovie. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
- ^ "Media History Digitial Library". Retrieved June 23, 2023.
- ^ "Grandmaster Mike Stone". Karatekidzonline.com. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
- ^ "Emil Farkas, "Sensei To The Stars" And A Lot More". TheMartialArtsReporter.com. January 28, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
- ^ "Master David Chow". Usadojo.com. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
- ^ "That Man Bolt : Taglines". IMDb.com. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
- ^ p. 286 Paul, Louis Fred Williamson Interview in Tales from the Cult Film Trenches: Interviews with 36 Actors from Horror, Science Fiction and Exploitation Cinema McFarland, 6 Sep 2007
- ^ "That Man Bolt : Locations". IMDb.com. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
External links
edit- That Man Bolt at IMDb
- That Man Bolt at the TCM Movie Database
- That Man Bolt at Letterboxd