Final Justice
Encyclopedia
Final Justice is a 1984 film starring Joe Don Baker
and directed by Greydon Clark
. It follows the exploits of a Texas sheriff who overturns a Maltese city to find the mobster
who killed his partner. The film was lampooned in a 1999 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000
.
"lawman" Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III, a beefy sheriff and avid milk drinker. His partner, the former sheriff, is killed by an Italian mobster. He finds the criminal, a man named Joseph Palermo, and escorts him back to Europe, only to lose him in the capital city of Valletta
in Malta
. He then thumbs his nose at local law enforcement and uses all the tactics of Texas justice to pursue Palermo. A cat-and-mouse game follows, rife with car chases, gunfights, fistfights and boat chases.
, to which a few references were made in this episode. Including the end of the episode, when show host Mike falsely believes it is his turn to leave after viewing Final Justice. This is in reference to the show's previous host, Joel
, leaving the series at the end of viewing Mitchell
.
The version of the film used in the MST3K episode also contains a very prominent editing
mistake. Early in the film when the sheriff (played by director Greydon Clark) dies, there is a shot of the partner getting killed and collapsing to the ground. Moments later, the exact shot is repeated. This error only appears in a TV print. The original Vestron release does not contain this mistake. One host segment in the MST3K
episode makes reference to the editing mistake by having host Mike Nelson
trip over and over again.
Another reference to Final Justice is made in a host segment in the next episode, using Geronimo's catch phrase from the film: "You think you can take me? Go ahead on. It's your move."
Joe Don Baker
Joe Don Baker is an American film actor, perhaps best known for his roles as a Mafia hitman in Charley Varrick, deputy sheriff Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III in Final Justice, real-life Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser in Walking Tall, brute force with a badge detective Mitchell in Mitchell, James...
and directed by Greydon Clark
Greydon Clark
Greydon Clark is an American film writer, director, producer, and actor. His career spans several decades and genres, although the majority of his work has been low-budget productions in the action/horror genres...
. It follows the exploits of a Texas sheriff who overturns a Maltese city to find the mobster
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
who killed his partner. The film was lampooned in a 1999 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
.
Plot
Joe Don Baker plays TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
"lawman" Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III, a beefy sheriff and avid milk drinker. His partner, the former sheriff, is killed by an Italian mobster. He finds the criminal, a man named Joseph Palermo, and escorts him back to Europe, only to lose him in the capital city of Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. He then thumbs his nose at local law enforcement and uses all the tactics of Texas justice to pursue Palermo. A cat-and-mouse game follows, rife with car chases, gunfights, fistfights and boat chases.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
The film was featured in the eighth episode of MST3Ks tenth and final season. It is the second Joe Don Baker film to be riffed on MST3K, following MitchellMitchell (film)
Mitchell is a 1975 film starring Joe Don Baker as an abrasive, alcoholic police detective, released by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation in the USA on September 10, 1975....
, to which a few references were made in this episode. Including the end of the episode, when show host Mike falsely believes it is his turn to leave after viewing Final Justice. This is in reference to the show's previous host, Joel
Joel Robinson
Joel Robinson is a fictional character featured in the American science fiction comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000...
, leaving the series at the end of viewing Mitchell
Mitchell (film)
Mitchell is a 1975 film starring Joe Don Baker as an abrasive, alcoholic police detective, released by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation in the USA on September 10, 1975....
.
The version of the film used in the MST3K episode also contains a very prominent editing
Film editing
Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
mistake. Early in the film when the sheriff (played by director Greydon Clark) dies, there is a shot of the partner getting killed and collapsing to the ground. Moments later, the exact shot is repeated. This error only appears in a TV print. The original Vestron release does not contain this mistake. One host segment in the MST3K
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
episode makes reference to the editing mistake by having host Mike Nelson
Michael J. Nelson
Michael John Nelson is a U.S. comedian and writer, most famous for his work on the cult television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's 11-year run, and spent half of that time playing the on-air host, also named Mike Nelson...
trip over and over again.
Another reference to Final Justice is made in a host segment in the next episode, using Geronimo's catch phrase from the film: "You think you can take me? Go ahead on. It's your move."