China O'Brien
Encyclopedia
China O'Brien is a martial arts film
starring actress and martial artist Cynthia Rothrock
.
) is a good cop who teaches martial arts class to her fellow officers. After an altercation with a gang that leads to the accidental death of a young boy, China resigns from the force, and returns to her hometown of Beaver Creek, Utah. Her father, John O'Brien (David Blackwell
), is the sheriff and is very pleased to see her. China discovers that John is gradually losing control of the town to local crime boss Edwin Sommers (Steven Kerby), who controls corrupt deputy Marty Lickner (Patrick Adamson
) and corrupt local judge Harry Godar (Will Hazlett). When John and honest deputy Ross Tyler (Chad Walker) are killed by car bombs that were planted by Sommers's henchmen, there is an emergency election to elect a new sheriff.
After seeing that nothing is being done to find her father and friends killer, China runs for sheriff against Lickner to see who take John's place while, at the same time, she starts cleaning up the town with the help of her former high school sweetheart Matt Conroy (Richard Norton). They get extra help from a Native American biker named Dakota (Keith Cooke
), whose mother (Judy Kotok) was murdered by Sommers. China wins the election, and then Maria (Gae Cowley), who had been her father's housekeeper up until his death, is murdered by Sommers's men in a drive-by shooting during the victory celebration.
Having won the election, China ends up having to force Godar to swear her in as the new sheriff. China deputizes Matt and Dakota, and they set out to free Beaver Creek from Sommers's stranglehold.
The China O'Brien films have a limited cult film
status but have gained notoriety in the late 1990s because a then-unheard of singer/songwriter Tori Amos
(then going by her birth name Ellen Amos) recorded a song, "Distant Storm," which can only be heard by viewing the original film. Amos is billed in the credits as "Ellen" but the song is attributed to a band called "Tess Makes Good", with "additional vocals by Ellen Amos."
Martial arts film
Martial arts film is a film genre. A sub-genre of the action film, martial arts films contain numerous fights between characters, usually as the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often as a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently...
starring actress and martial artist Cynthia Rothrock
Cynthia Rothrock
Cynthia Rothrock is an American martial artist and actress specializing in martial arts films. -Martial arts achievements:Rothrock is five-time World Karate Champion in forms and weapons between 1981 and 1985...
.
Plot summaries
Police Officer China O'Brien (Cynthia RothrockCynthia Rothrock
Cynthia Rothrock is an American martial artist and actress specializing in martial arts films. -Martial arts achievements:Rothrock is five-time World Karate Champion in forms and weapons between 1981 and 1985...
) is a good cop who teaches martial arts class to her fellow officers. After an altercation with a gang that leads to the accidental death of a young boy, China resigns from the force, and returns to her hometown of Beaver Creek, Utah. Her father, John O'Brien (David Blackwell
David Blackwell
-Honors and awards:*President, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, 1956*National Academy of Sciences, 1965*American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1968*Honorary Fellow, Royal Statistical Society, 1976*Vice President, American Statistical Association, 1978...
), is the sheriff and is very pleased to see her. China discovers that John is gradually losing control of the town to local crime boss Edwin Sommers (Steven Kerby), who controls corrupt deputy Marty Lickner (Patrick Adamson
Patrick Adamson
Patrick Adamson , Scottish divine, Archbishop of St Andrews, was born at Perth, Scotland, where his father, Patrick Adamson, was Dean of the Merchant Guildry. He studied Philosophy, and took the degree of M.A...
) and corrupt local judge Harry Godar (Will Hazlett). When John and honest deputy Ross Tyler (Chad Walker) are killed by car bombs that were planted by Sommers's henchmen, there is an emergency election to elect a new sheriff.
After seeing that nothing is being done to find her father and friends killer, China runs for sheriff against Lickner to see who take John's place while, at the same time, she starts cleaning up the town with the help of her former high school sweetheart Matt Conroy (Richard Norton). They get extra help from a Native American biker named Dakota (Keith Cooke
Keith Cooke
Keith Hirabayashi Cooke is an American martial artist, actor and an occasional stuntman.-Biography:...
), whose mother (Judy Kotok) was murdered by Sommers. China wins the election, and then Maria (Gae Cowley), who had been her father's housekeeper up until his death, is murdered by Sommers's men in a drive-by shooting during the victory celebration.
Having won the election, China ends up having to force Godar to swear her in as the new sheriff. China deputizes Matt and Dakota, and they set out to free Beaver Creek from Sommers's stranglehold.
The China O'Brien films have a limited cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
status but have gained notoriety in the late 1990s because a then-unheard of singer/songwriter Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
(then going by her birth name Ellen Amos) recorded a song, "Distant Storm," which can only be heard by viewing the original film. Amos is billed in the credits as "Ellen" but the song is attributed to a band called "Tess Makes Good", with "additional vocals by Ellen Amos."