Despite this movie's really, really bad reviews, I spent my $5 on this one because I'm a Charles Hutchison fan. "Hutch" is one of my heroes, and I just couldn't believe that his handling of this "Black King" entry could be all that rotten. I was right. I've no doubt previous reviewers suffered through a really poor print of this. Seeing the movie in 2011's 8/10 copy (which is underestimating the DVD's quality, as the movie was no doubt shot in haste by Robert Doran and never achieved the heights of a Burnett Guffey), it comes across as a reasonably exciting little "B".
Admittedly, one can still find fault. On the negative side, my main complaint is that the film ends somewhat abruptly. The plot is wound up quick smart and lacks the big action climax I was expecting. Nonetheless, plenty of good action material has gone before, including an ingeniously exciting race between Black King and a rival which comes to a most novel finish.
Other negatives include Fred Toones (although here he's not quite as stereotypically racist as usual), young Charlene Barry (now she is dreadful – really dreadful! – but her role is small), and even the lovely June Marlowe who is no great shakes as an actress and further undermines her attractiveness by making a hesitant attempt at a song.
Given the speed of shooting, Julian Rivero could be excused for not being entirely sure on occasions as to exactly which part he's playing: a straight Mexican villain or a Mexican villain laying on the south-of-the-border accent and pretending to be a good guy. Sometimes he gets these roles hopelessly confused – and that makes the ingenious plot just a little difficult to follow at times.
Now for the positives. Some of them I've already mentioned. First and foremost is the engaging story with its great action and crowd sequences – and I don't know where people get the idea that Black King is an ugly horse. He seemed quite presentable to me.
If we count Black King as a plus, third of the positives is Richard Cramer. Although he figures right down the official cast list, Cramer is actually the star of this movie. His role is not only the largest and the most important, but it's a difficult characterization which he plays with both charisma and conviction.
So, all in all, I count my $5 as well spent.
