Take a Hard Ride

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.

A western, shot in Spain, with a twist: Jim Brown and Fred Williamson, folks not normally associated with Euro-made westerns, take it upon themselves to deliver a large payroll to a ranch in Sonora, Mexico, after the ranch owner (Dana Andrews) dies while on the road. Everybody who hears of this -- and I mean everybody -- goes after them. This includes the local sheriff (Barry Sullivan), an army of drifters and gunhands, and bounty hunter Lee Van Cleef, who recognizes Brown as a wanted man from years before. Brown is given minimal dialog, which is a good thing as he is not exactly an actor. Williamson fares better as a breezy card sharp in fancy duds, who carries most of the dialog for the two of them. Not bad. The music, clearly derived from THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, is better than the movie.

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)

Rugged western with a comedy side order. Several groups of toughs go after an innocent man who is holding a large amount of cash. Of course each group is intent on out gunning, linking forces, or back stabbing the other guy for a shot at the bucks. This led to loads of spaghetti style gunplay and many bodies biting the dust. Had to wonder how many black half breeds there were in the old west who could do spinning heel kicks and a flying double front kick. Only fair.

Coming near the end of the spaghetti western cycle, this one should have worked out better. While some of the action scenes are good, others fail with a thud, and none of the solid stars are given any material to distinguish themselves.

Overall, Jim Brown fared a bit better in westerns than Williamson, who made a few more; this was Kelly's sole venture into the genre. And with Van Cleef around, one wishes that one of the better directors (Leone, Sollima) who guided his top efforts was on hand to spark this one. A disappointment; couldn't be a total loss with that cast, but they deserve better.