''One Down, Two to Go'' is a 1982 American

blaxploitation In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...

action drama film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as ...

written and directed by

Fred Williamson Frederick Robert Williamson (born March 5, 1938), nicknamed "the Hammer", is an American actor, filmmaker, and former American football player, a defensive back who played mainly in the American Football League (AFL) during the 1960s. He was a ...

and starring Williamson,

Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (February 17, 1936 – May 18, 2023) was an American professional American football, football player, civil rights activist, and actor. He played as a Fullback (gridiron football), fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the ...

Richard Roundtree Richard Arnold Roundtree (July 9, 1942 – October 24, 2023) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film '' Shaft'' and four of its sequels, '' Shaft's Big Score!'' (1972), '' Shaft ...

and

Jim Kelly James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers o ...

. This is the third film to star Williamson, Brown, and Kelly, following '' Three the Hard Way'' and ''

Take a Hard Ride ''Take a Hard Ride'' is a 1975 Italian-American Spaghetti Western film directed by Anthony Dawson and starring Jim Brown, Lee Van Cleef, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly. This was the second of three films Brown, Williamson, and Kelly would star in, ...

''. Williamson, Brown, and Roundtree would reunite nearly fifteen years later in ''

Original Gangstas ''Original Gangstas'' is a 1996 action-gangster film filmed and set in urban Gary, Indiana starring Blaxploitation film stars such as Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Jim Brown, Richard Roundtree, and Ron O'Neal. It is the final film directed by Lar ...

''.

Synopsis

Chuck Wells (

) and his partner Ralph Dart (

) are the owners of the International Martial Arts dojo which is located in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of 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.American Film Institute
One Down, Two to Go (1983), CAST
/ref> Cal (

) and J (

) are a couple of tough cops who go after the mob that jinxed the martial arts tournament

Peter Dane Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

plays Rossi and Victoria Hale plays his wife Maria. Mario is played by

Tom Signorelli Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

Production

In 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.

Cast

as Cal *

as "J" *

as Chuck *

as Ralph * Paula Sills as Teri * Laura Loftus as Sally *

Joe Spinell Joe Spinell (born Joseph Spagnuolo; October 28, 1936 – January 13, 1989) was an American character actor who appeared in films in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as various stage productions on and off Broadway. He played supporting roles in film ...

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 Imdb
One Down, Two to go (1982), Cast
/ref>

Reception

The film opened November 11, 1982 at the

Woods Theatre The Woods Theatre was a movie palace at the corner of Randolph and Dearborn Streets in the Chicago Loop. It opened in 1918 and was a popular entertainment destination for decades. Originally a venue for live theater, it was later converted to show ...

in Chicago. It had grossed over $1 million in its first month.

References

External links

* * * {{Fred Williamson 1982 films Blaxploitation films 1982 action films Films directed by Fred Williamson American action films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language action films