Ken Metcalfe Movies

Director Cirio Santiago plays a cameo in his own Fast Gun. Contrary to expectations, the film is not a western but an espionager. An ex-CIA "spook" -- a man assigned to infiltrate enemy strongholds -- becomes unhinged when the department lets him go. Arming himself to the teeth, he takes over a small town. Only one man is willing to stand up to the former spy, and that man has a history of his own.Kaz Garas is the most recognizable name among the cast members of Fast Gun. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sgt. Duncan (Eb Lottimer) and his special squad of soldiers are sent off into the jungles of Vietnam in a last-ditch effort to find stranded strategy-expert Major Wilson (Jim Moss). In a race against time, Duncan must stage his rescue before the enemy is able to capture Wilson and extract vital military secrets from him. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

A beautiful French cop, fighting crime in Honolulu, stops at nothing to save her kidnapped partner. ~ Rovi

Vietnam veteran Colonel Braddock had believed his Asian wife to be dead since the war, but he hears from a missionary that she is not only alive, but has a son. Soon, he returns to Vietnam to rescue them and others from a prison camp. This is the third Missing in Action film starring the well-known martial artist, Chuck Norris, as lethal hero Braddock. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

Though the anti-war sentiments of Hamburger Hill come through loud and clear, the film is squarely on the side of those courageous, much-maligned Americans who fought and died in Vietnam. Based on a true incident, the story takes place in 1969, as the 101st Airborne Division confronts the Vietcong in a bloody battle over Hill 937 (aka "Hamburger Hill") in the A Shau Valley. During the next ten days, both sides incur heavy losses, but the Cong refuse to surrender the hill. The ultimate American "victory" turns out to be a hollow one indeed. Scripted by Vietnam War vet Jim Carabatsos, Hamburger Hill not only underlines the futility of the war but also the pressures brought to bear upon the troops by an insensitive, often hostile media. By utilizing a cast of unknowns, director John Irvin deftly avoids the Hollywoodized slickness of such bigger-budgeted efforts as Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This is a very macho action film in which the good guys are just that "guys". Col. Cooper (David Carridine) has been captured by the North Vietnamese and wheels and deals his way out of this predicament with the sleazy Vietnamese commandant, Capt. Vinh (Mako). Vinh agrees to let Cooper and the other P.O.W.s leave if Cooper will take Vinh and his ill-gotten gains back with them to the United States. Cooper agrees, and then has to struggle with the ever-frustrating Sparks (Charles R. Floyd), who thinks he knows better than anyone else about how to escape from the camp. The motley crew set off into the jungle, encountering the enemy and a very uncooperative Mother Nature along the way. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In American Ninja, Michael Dudikoff plays American "GI Joe" who, based in the Philippines, gets hip to a crooked arms racket involving none other than the military itself. There's no end to the rib-cracking opportunities Dudikoff encounters as he knee-knocks his way through a host of bad guys, rescues a lady in distress, and ventures to thwart the thieving arms vendors. ~ Rovi

The Philippines have some surprises in store for Joe Hale (John Saxon) when he lands in Manila to help get an advertising firm back in order after a bit of mismanagement by an old friend of his, Phil Seaver (Ken Metcalf). Although Joe enjoys the company of women, he has had his marital fiascoes as well (two divorces) and is not exactly eager for romance, though not against it either. This attitude opens him up to the advances of two different women, neither of whom are likely to be holding him to a permanent relationship. But the third possible liaison suddenly takes on aspects that Joe could not have anticipated. Before this growing attraction is acted upon, the young woman in question discovers that Joe might be her father -- a shock that precipitates an investigation into the past for the truth about the young woman's parentage, and her mother's previous relationship with Joe. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This heartwarming tale of courage and devotion is set during the Vietnam war and centers upon a young medic who makes extra money on the side dealing drugs. His life is forever changed when he meets an Army doctor who persuades him to help her save a group of war orphans. First she appeals to his sense of guilt; then she blackmails him into assisting. The children are cared for by a few Vietnamese nuns. The doctor and the medic bring them badly needed food and supplies. To do this, the brave duo must face enemy bombs and the resistance of the US government. This is based on a true story and though wrenching, it is not syrupy or sentimental. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Low-budget action specialist Cirio H. Santiago directed this Philippine-set martial arts film, which bears more than a passing resemblance to his earlier T.N.T. Jackson and his later Angelfist. Jillian Kessner stars as Susanne Carter, a karate expert whose sister is murdered by mobsters. Genre regulars Ken Metcalfe and Vic Diaz co-star, and Kessner has a nude karate scene. Like most of the prolific Santiago's actioners of the period, this was released by exploitation specialist Roger Corman's New World Pictures, with ads touting Kessner as champion of the 1981 Black Belt Olympics. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

The real name of the title character is Johnson Yap, previously the star of the Philippine actioner The Bionic Boy. Young Mr. Yap is, not surprisingly, part machine; fortunately his bionic mechanisms are in his legs, enabling him to outrun the battalions of villains he confronts throughout the film. The main heavy is a disenfranchised Nazi who plans to--all together now--RULE THE WORLD. To do this, he creates a device that paralyzes one's mind (perhaps he'd already used it on the screenwriters). A battle with a fire-breathing dragon is but one of the highlights of Dynamite Johnson, which also travelled under such titles as The New Adventures of the Bionic Boy and The 12 Million Dollar Boy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Cowritten by director Sidney J. Furie, The Boys in Company C charts the fortunes of five young Marine recruits. Led by Stan Shaw, the quintet is shipped off to Vietnam. The film makes no bones about the demoralizing effect the war has on its participants, nor the pigheadedness of the military higher-ups who think only in terms of body counts and photo ops. Of the five recruits, the most memorable are Michael Lembeck as Vinnie Fazio, the resident wiseguy (the same type of role played by Lembeck's dad Harvey in 1950s war films) and Andrew Stevens as Billy Ray Pike, a straight-arrow type who succumbs to the lure of drugs; the others are played by Craig Wasson, James Canning, and Scott Hylands. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi