The idea of a Western film with Black leading characters is a great idea. After all, in reality about a third of the cowboys were Black and you might have noticed that up until this picture debuted, there had been almost no Black men or women in most films of this genre. The few that had been in mainstream Westerns up until TAKE A HARD RIDE were mostly comic relief--with the horrible antics of Steppin Fetchit or Mammy types playing the only roles. Of course, there were a few anomalies, such as HARLEM ON THE PRAIRIE, but this and subsequent films starring Herb Jeffries in the 1930s were made on a shoestring budget for Black movie houses only--plus they were pretty lousy films. Black heroes or even normal supporting characters for wide audiences just didn't exist and TAKE A HARD RIDE could have done a lot to correct this omission. Sadly, however, this film isn't well made and is so anachronistic that it just doesn't do much to dispel the myth of the "White only West". Instead, it looks much like a Blaxploitation film out West, as one of the characters (played by Fred Williamson) looked much like he was starring in his films BLACK CAESAR or HAMMER--which were set in the 1970s with a "bad" leading man who fights "the man". Because of this, the film is in many ways a great opportunity lost.
Now this doesn't mean there aren't some things to like. After all, Jim Brown plays a great character--a truly honest and decent Black man who does the right thing and is rather believable (despite his shooting ability that would be the envy of any Olympic marksman). And having the always scary Lee Van Cleef on hand to play, what else, a scary bounty hunter is great (for more of this, see FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY or any of the Sabata films). The problem is that a routine script (complete with many clichés and totally indestructible characters) and Williamson's character do so much to sink this film into obscurity that you can't help but get tired of the film and just want it to end. Seeing Fred fall about 500 feet and survive at the end was just too much. Even John Wayne or Clint Eastwood weren't THAT tough in movies!!
Now this doesn't mean there aren't some things to like. After all, Jim Brown plays a great character--a truly honest and decent Black man who does the right thing and is rather believable (despite his shooting ability that would be the envy of any Olympic marksman). And having the always scary Lee Van Cleef on hand to play, what else, a scary bounty hunter is great (for more of this, see FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY or any of the Sabata films). The problem is that a routine script (complete with many clichés and totally indestructible characters) and Williamson's character do so much to sink this film into obscurity that you can't help but get tired of the film and just want it to end. Seeing Fred fall about 500 feet and survive at the end was just too much. Even John Wayne or Clint Eastwood weren't THAT tough in movies!!