One Down, Two to Go is a 1982 American blaxploitation action drama film written and directed by Fred Williamson and starring Williamson, Jim Brown, Richard Roundtree and Jim Kelly.[3] This is the third film to star Williamson, Brown, and Kelly, following Three the Hard Way and Take a Hard Ride. Williamson, Brown, and Roundtree would reunite nearly fifteen years later in Original Gangstas.
| One Down, Two to Go | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Fred Williamson |
| Written by | Fred Williamson |
| Starring | Fred Williamson Jim Brown Richard Roundtree Jim Kelly |
| Music by | Herb Hetzer Joe Trunzo |
Production company | Po' Boy Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 84 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4 million[1] |
| Box office | $1 million[2] |
Synopsis
editChuck Wells (Jim Kelly) and his partner Ralph Dart (Richard Roundtree) are the owners of the International Martial Arts dojo which is located in Los Angeles. A martial arts tournament is taking place with a prize of $400,000. Chuck and Ralph have their best student enter the event. The organizer of the event Frank Rossi. Rossi is in alliance with mobster Gabe Mario who has put up half of the prize money. Rossi tries to fix the tournament so that the outcome will be the way he wants it. Chuck becomes aware of this and Rossi learns that he is in the know. He sends his henchmen out who shoot Chuck in the chest. However the shooting isn't lethal. The efforts of the organizers to rig the tournament aren't successful and the student from the International Martial Arts dojo wins the tournament. The prize money is promised to Ralph the next morning but Mario goes back on his word. In amongst this, Chuck manages to get to an alley behind a tavern where his girlfriend Teri works. He tells her and her co-worker to let Ralph know about the shooting and to contact his two associates in California, Cal and J.[4][5] Cal (Fred Williamson) and J (Jim Brown) are a couple of tough cops who go after the mob that jinxed the martial arts tournament[6][7] Peter Dane plays Rossi and Victoria Hale plays his wife Maria. Mario is played by Tom Signorelli.[8][5]
Production
editIn order to make the fights look more authentic during the fictitious martial arts tournament in the opening of the film they are in fact real and not staged, the winner of each fight got paid $500 and the loser $100.[citation needed]
Cast
edit- Fred Williamson as Cal
- Jim Brown as "J"
- Jim Kelly as Chuck
- Richard Roundtree as Ralph
- Paula Sills as Teri
- Laura Loftus as Sally
- Joe Spinell as Joe Spangler
- Tom Signorelli as Mario
- John Gruitz as Bob
- Richard Noyce as Hank
- Peter Dane as Ross
- Victoria Hale as Mrs. Rossi
- Warrington Winters as Sheriff Lucas
- Louis Neglia as Armando
- Aaron Banks as The Announcer
Reception
editThe film opened November 11, 1982 at the Woods Theatre in Chicago. It had grossed over $1 million in its first month.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c One Down, Two to Go at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- ^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 301. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
- ^ Robert Firsching (2016). "One Down, Two To Go". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
- ^ American Film Institute - One Down, Two to Go (1983), Synopsis
- ^ a b American Film Institute - One Down, Two to Go (1983), CAST
- ^ Black Enterprise, Sep 1982 - Page 38 ONE MORE FOR THE PO' BOYS
- '^ 80s Action Movies on the Cheap: 284 Low Budget, High Impact Pictures, By Daniel R. Budnik - Page 34 One Down Two to Go
- ^ TV Guide - One Down Two To Go, Cast
- ^ Imdb - One Down, Two to go (1982), Cast