What an obscure Chuck Norris film can teach California about governance and corruption
Chuck Norris is interviewed in San Francisco during the promotional tour for the movie “The Delta Force” in 1986. Norris passed away in March at age 86.
In 1979, my parents, both foreign correspondents, took me to movie night at the new U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The film was “Breaker! Breaker!” about California truckers, starring Chuck Norris.
I was 6 and so loved “Breaker! Breaker!” — the trucker humor, Norris’ hand-to-hand combat — that I declared it the best movie ever made. Today, I still hold to that verdict.
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Mine is not a mainstream view. When Norris died last month at age 86, obituaries focused on his world karate championships and his roles in TV’s “Walker, Texas Ranger” and the “Delta Force” movies. When “Breaker! Breaker!” did come up, writers noted its terrible reviews. “A shoddy amalgam” with “wooden direction,” declared the 1977 New York Times review.
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After Norris’ death, I revisited its 85 minutes of low-budget genius — and marveled at how “Breaker! Breaker!” feels more urgent with every viewing.
“Breaker! Breaker!” — made in just 11 days — piggybacked on the 1970s citizens band radio craze. The title is CB user shorthand to announce you’re “breaking into” radio conversations.
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But “Breaker!........
