Jackie Chan's Action-Packed Western Couldn't Have Existed Without One Major Box Office Hit

It's very strange that it took so long for Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan to break out in North America. He was a massive star in Hong Kong throughout the 1970s, and his films are exciting and fun. For some reason, though, that success didn't translate very well to American audiences, despite a few tries by major American studios.

In 1980, for instance, Warner Bros. and Golden Harvest teamed up to make "The Big Brawl," a.k.a. "Battle Creek Brawl," an American production that was meant to bring Jackie Chan stateside. "The Big Brawl" starred Chan, playing a gentle restaurateur in 1930s Chicago, who runs afoul of the mob. It co-starred Kristine DeBell, José Ferrer, Mako, Rosalind Chao, and wrestler Hard-Boiled Haggerty. The film was actually a hit, but Warner Bros. was disappointed that it wasn't as big as the recent Bruce Lee film "Enter the Dragon." Chan was only able to stay in the American consciousness through cameos in films like "The Cannonball Run." The remake never happened. 

Chan also didn't like the way American directors filmed fight scenes. He was used to having a giant team of fighters and stunt performers who would rehearse extensively to make sure a scene was right. In America, it was just Chan, and the directors wanted to move on after two or three takes. It wouldn't be until "Rumble in the Bronx" that Chan could make a film in his own idiom, but still with an American audience in mind. It was a hit.

After that, studios took a chance on Chan. He was in "Rush Hour" in 1998, playing one half of a mismatched buddy-cop duo opposite Chris Tucker, and he exploded in popularity. "Rush Hour" made $244 million on a $30 million budget and spawned a whole franchise. It also proved Chan to be a bankable American star, and led directly into his work on "Shanghai Noon," a comedy/action/Western he starred in with Owen Wilson. That, too, was a massive hit. Chan talked about his path to an American Western in a vintage interview with WFAA ABC News. 

Chan, it seems, had wanted to make a Western for many, many years. Chan has always been a huge fan of Hollywood movies, and has even said in past interviews that his sprightly on-screen physicality was deeply inspired by the likes of Buster Keaton. He loves Westerns and had aimed to make one of his own since at least 1980. Indeed, his experience on "The Big Brawl" led directly to his writing of an early draft of "Shanghai Noon," which Chan was forced to keep in a drawer for decades. As he put it: 

"20 years ago, I was going to make a film in Texas and Arizona. And I'd see a lot of cowboys [...] And suddenly, my idea! Wow! That's a good idea; an 1800s film, a Chinese man who goes to the West from back East. I write the script. [...] When I look at a cowboy [he mimes silently] it's all this. It becomes a comedy. But the studio won't listen to me, they don't want to take a risk. So I stopped the project. But I kept script. Then, after 'Rush Hour,' I just presented my script to [producer] Roger Birnbaum. Then I can speak English! Then Owen Wilson is a train robber! Then they changed a little bit ... but I like it."

Chan wasn't able to get his Western made back in 1980 because, as American producers told him at the time, he didn't speak enough English. Hence, he was relieved to be told he would be allowed to speak English for "Shanghai Noon." The film was redeveloped as a script by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar; Chan is not credited as a screenwriter or producer, but he maintains that making a Western was his idea. 

"Shanghai Noon" was a modest success, making almost $100 million on a $50 million budget. It inspired a sequel called "Shanghai Knights."