'Killer's Trench', also released as Battle Creek Brawl) is a 1980 martial arts action comedy film which marked Jackie Chan's first attempt to break into the American movie Hollywood market.
The film is set primarily in Chicago, Illinois in the 1930s (although it was shot in Texas) and follows Chan's character, a Chinese American martial artist, as he single-handedly takes on the Mafia, leading to a no-holds-barred street fighting tournament that culminates in a battle royale survival brawl.
The film's disappointing performance in North America, however, led to Chan being advised to try supporting roles such as the Chinese racing car driver in The Cannonball Run.
He answers back by taking them on and eventually catches the eye of the mob for his unique fighting skills, learned from his eccentric chiropractor uncle Herbert.
After a failed rescue attempt, Uncle Herbert trains Jerry, concentrating on speed and agility as he must fight much larger and stronger opponents.
Golden Harvest mogul Raymond Chow hoped to replicate the success of Bruce Lee, whom Chan was often compared to early on, in Enter the Dragon.
To that end, he hired much of the same crew as Enter the Dragon, including director Robert Clouse, producer Fred Weintraub, musical composer Lalo Schifrin, and editor Peter Cheung.
In his early US films, The Big Brawl and The Protector (1985), Chan had to perform the typical American fight sequences involving punches, kicks and doing few takes, all the way to the end of the action scene.
It was not until Rumble in the Bronx (1995) that Chan was allowed to use more of his preferred action style in a North American setting, in which he works together with his stunt team and co-stars.
In terms of box office admissions, the film sold a combined 5,902,070 tickets in the United States, Taiwan, Seoul, France, Germany, and Spain.
[31] Variety magazine gave it a generally favorable review at the time, calling it "an amusing chopsocky actioner whose appeal is not limited to the usual audience for this genre.