Memorergi good film but with many flaws

XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

MartinHafer 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!!

Ruth Voboril Thank God blacks have gotten past this stage of films. How completely undignified.Moreover, this was for me, a painful film to watch. Such a wonderful talent as Ronald Howard, playing the crooked preacher, in this, his last film, which turned out to be complete crap. The cameramen didn't even have the grace to give him one lousy decent shot. Every time it looks as though he might get a little bit of exposure, the camera returns to that damned Lee Van Cleef. It is clear to see how this led him to finally abandon acting entirely. What a waste of talent. Very sad indeed.

gridoon This predictable and formulaic Western will not blow you away with its brilliance, but it IS fun, carried along almost entirely by the strong presences of its top stars. Only Jim Kelly and his karate moves feel out of place. And it also must be mentioned that the big moment that you all (?) have been waiting for, a fight between Jim Brown and Fred Williamson, does arrive in this film....but the scene is terribly unrealistic-looking. (**1/2)

Wizard-8 One of the last spaghetti westerns (though really, there was a good amount of American talent in front of and behind the camera), it does definitely have some novelty value - the cast, some good Canary Island scenery, a quick pace, and some good action sequences (best being the gunfight in the canyon). Still, there was clearly a bunch of potential wasted. Brown is good, Williamson does okay, but the rest of the cast isn't actually given that much to do. Kelly's character could easily be written out, and Van Cleef's bad guy character isn't fully developed (for one thing, the movie doesn't seem to know what to do with him at the end.) And the script really isn't that much - it more or less consists of either the protagonists riding through the desert, or engaged in action.Die-hard western fans (especially those who like spaghetti westerns) will probably find enough to enjoy about it, but this certainly won't convert anyone who normally avoids this genre.