Screenwriter Jack Cowden came up with a great gimmick for this otherwise routine exploitation-action flick, which receives decent-enough direction from Ricou Browning, the man best known for playing the Creature from the Black Lagoon. It's full of consistently amusing stuff that makes it good entertainment for an hour and a half, including that classic cliche, the bar room brawl, and a scene where various thugs try to take out our title character and fail spectacularly.
Korean War veteran Ted Vollrath plays the role, and indeed, he was a paraplegic whose legs had to be amputated after he sustained serious wounds during the war. Fred / "Mr. No Legs" is the principal enforcer for a drug kingpin named D'Angelo (Lloyd Bochner, "The Lonely Lady"), and he has NOT let his disabilities get him down; rather, he's proficient at martial arts, and has a shotgun-equipped wheelchair, to boot. Two police detectives, played by Richard Jaeckel ("Grizzly") and wrestler Ron Slinker, in his only movie role, determine to take down D'Angelos' organization.
Other familiar faces such as Rance Howard ("Chinatown"), Luke Halpin ('Flipper'), and John Agar ("Tarantula") turn up in this agreeably silly and lively trash flick. The filmmaking is overall on the crude side, but Browning does know how to deliver a solid action climax as Jaeckel and Slinker and various incompetent cops pursue one of the antagonists. Due to the fact that we have a couple of familiar and reliable character actors in this thing, the acting is definitely a bit better than one might ordinarily have to tolerate. It's a hoot to see these guys here; Jaeckel and Slinker have a fairly good chemistry.
"Mr. No Legs" does get off to a great, hilarious start early on with a ridiculous fight scene playing out behind the opening credits. And it remains watchable throughout, with violence aplenty and some good laughs to be had.
Seven out of 10.
Korean War veteran Ted Vollrath plays the role, and indeed, he was a paraplegic whose legs had to be amputated after he sustained serious wounds during the war. Fred / "Mr. No Legs" is the principal enforcer for a drug kingpin named D'Angelo (Lloyd Bochner, "The Lonely Lady"), and he has NOT let his disabilities get him down; rather, he's proficient at martial arts, and has a shotgun-equipped wheelchair, to boot. Two police detectives, played by Richard Jaeckel ("Grizzly") and wrestler Ron Slinker, in his only movie role, determine to take down D'Angelos' organization.
Other familiar faces such as Rance Howard ("Chinatown"), Luke Halpin ('Flipper'), and John Agar ("Tarantula") turn up in this agreeably silly and lively trash flick. The filmmaking is overall on the crude side, but Browning does know how to deliver a solid action climax as Jaeckel and Slinker and various incompetent cops pursue one of the antagonists. Due to the fact that we have a couple of familiar and reliable character actors in this thing, the acting is definitely a bit better than one might ordinarily have to tolerate. It's a hoot to see these guys here; Jaeckel and Slinker have a fairly good chemistry.
"Mr. No Legs" does get off to a great, hilarious start early on with a ridiculous fight scene playing out behind the opening credits. And it remains watchable throughout, with violence aplenty and some good laughs to be had.
Seven out of 10.