Take a Hard Ride is directed by Antonio Margheriti and written by Eric Bercovici and Jerrold L. Ludwig. It stars Jim Brown, Lee Van Cleef, Fred Williamson, Catherine Spaak and Jim Kelly. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Riccardo Pallottini.

Trail boss Pike (Brown) promises his dying employer Morgan (Dana Andrews) that he will travel across the dessert to deliver $86,000 in payroll money to a ranch in Sonora, Mexico. Forming an uneasy alliance with dandy gambler Tyree (Williamson),Pike quickly realises that many other people are aware of his task and want the money; including Bounty Hunter Kiefer (Cleef).

What do you get if you take a large pan and throw in some Spaghetti and Paella, add some Blacksploitation beef and season with Kung-Fu? The answer is Antonio Margheriti's Take a Hard Ride.

It's a fun movie, even unique in some ways, but it ultimately doesn't add up to much more than a series of action scenes, some good - some poor, glued together by a very ordinary and adventurous screenplay. Cast are hugely watchable, with the leads supported by Western pros Barry Sullivan and Harry Carey Junior, and the Canary Islands location is beautifully utilised. Bonus is the score from Goldsmith, who tinkers with traditional Spaghetti Western strains and adds in his own harmonious grace. Apparently Margheriti rearranged much of the score to suit his own editorial purpose, it's testament to Goldsmith's skills that even though the chronological flow of his piece has been defiled, what exists still marries up superbly with the vistas.

It flopped at the box office and it has over the years been the source of much rib poking, however, from an action stand point it often delivers the goods. Bodies pile up, stunt-men and horses (PETA would go nuts!) fly about everywhere, and explosions are not in short supply. Yes it's poorly written and directed without due care and attention, but you may find it hard to dislike on account of its machismo and oddity value. I mean, if you can't enjoy a Western that has Jim Kelly suddenly turning into Bruce Lee and laying Kung-Fu down on some outlaws? Then entertainment is dead... 6/10

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!!

Well, a lot of naysayers for this film in the reviews section. I have to be honest, this was a lot better than I expected it to be, especially after seeing Jim Brown's name above Lee Van Cleef in the opening credits. He earns it by virtue of a lot more screen time and a generally decent performance while balancing out Fred Williamson's take on the flashy gambler character Tyree. I thought Williamson put a little too much Seventies street vibe into his dialog, so that was a negative. Another one, if it hadn't been so entertaining, was Jim Kelly's portrayal of an 1870's Tarahumara Mexican/Indian with no tongue and a kung fu gimmick! All those high flying moves and spinning back kicks? - I don't think so, but like I say, it WAS entertaining.

But what I did like was the twist with Catherine Spaak's character, and all those crazy horse spills! When Pike (Brown) and Tyree maneuvered the chasing posse over that near ninety degree angle hillside, I just couldn't believe it. The stunt-men earned their pay on that escapade, and if you kept a close eye on the background when the camera shifted back to the heroes, you could see a horse continue to slide down the hill. There were a few more single instances of horse and rider going down, but I've never seen so many at a time in a maneuver like that. Simply incredible.

Then there was the sleight of hand with former New Orleans call girl Catherine. I have to admit, I didn't see that coming when she made off with the satchel leaving the big money behind. In fact, I don't recall any character making a sacrifice like that in any other Western, so chalk one up to the writer who created that scene.

So with all that, I wasn't too concerned about the eventual showdown between Pike and Tyree. It was hinted at more than a half dozen times between them so you knew it would have to happen. The kicker was Pike's neat hand-off to Chico to thwart everyone in on the chase for the picture's final twist. As if to acknowledge Pike's clever ruse, bounty hunter Kiefer (Lee Van Cleef) just laughed it off right then and there. Uncharacteristically so, he still had a shot at the money if he continued the chase, but I guess that's where the budget called for The End.

Two final thoughts - who came up with the idea of a character named Dumper (Harry Carey Jr.) actually taking a dump in the picture? And with Fred Williamson's early and frequent use of snakes to create a diversion, why didn't they use it in one of the final segments to outwit the bad guys? With a little more work, this could have been called "Snakes on a Plain".