Boss Nigger

I love the prototypic and legendary Blaxploitation classics, such as "Black Ceasar" or "Shaft" for example, as much as the next cult cinema fanatic, but I must admit I always had a slight preference for– what I call them – "Blaxploitation with a plus" movies. I refer to the Blaxploitation films that simultaneously also venture into a totally different genre, like horror ("Blackula", "Abby") or psychedelic ("Ganja and Hess") or even Western. "Black Bounty Hunter", which is the alternative title that I'm forced to use because the website doesn't allow the usage of the titular N-word, is one of the only existing Blaxploitation westerns ever made! That little trivia aspect alone makes the film worth tracking down, and then I haven't even mentioned the fact that it is written by and starring the almighty Fred Williamson and directed by B-monster movie veteran Jack Arnold ("Creature from the Black Lagoon", "It came from Outer Space"). The film is fundamentally a parody of the western genre, but with plenty enough violence and action to satisfy hard-boiled genre fanatics, and with stellar acting performances and a funky swinging soundtrack atop. Whilst on the tail of wild west villain Jed Clayton, Boss and his loyal right hand Amos ride through the insignificant and Sheriff-less little town of San Miguel. Without consulting the townsfolk, and much against the will of the cowardly mayor Griffin, Boss declares himself Sheriff and Amos his deputy. They upset the conservative locals with their new laws and freshly invented money penalties, while patiently waiting for Jed to cross their paths. The comedy doesn't always work, except for a few notable moments with D'Urville Martin at his best, but the western action is old-fashioned good! Terrific supportive roles for R.G. Armstrong as the sleazy mayor and the stunning Barbara Leigh as one of Boss' romantic interests.

Boss (Fred Williamson) and Amos (D'Urville Martin) are bounty hunters, riding into the city of San Miguel to collect a reward when they find there's no sheriff. Boss nominates himself the new sheriff, and the reluctant mayor (who is working with the local bandits) goes along with it. Now Boss and Amos must clean up crime, defend the poor and win some women's hearts.

What's really amusing about this film is that it received a PG rating. There's some borderline nudity, and they use the N-word something like 200 times. But they never really swear otherwise, the violence is minimal by western standards and there's no sex (though it's hinted). Having seen other blaxploitation films (such as "Sweet Sweetback") I was surprised by the tameness.

They play really heavily on the race issue, not surprisingly. They even institute "black rules" as the new police, which is awesome (including banning the n-word, despite its prevalent use in this film). But the film is not derogatory to whites or blacks, really. It offers an interesting view where white people must be protected by the black man, and things work out fairly well (much to the people's initial chagrin).

Reviewer Vincent Canby of The New York Times described the film as "a pleasant surprise if you stumble upon it without warning." Canby characterized Williamson's acting as "an immensely self-assured parody of the Man With No Name played by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's films." I agree with the first part, although I think the second part might be giving this film just a little bit too much credit. But, perhaps not.

Canby finished the review by pointing out what made the film notable among black Westerns: "Most black Westerns either ignore race or make it the fundamental point of the movie. (This movie) somehow manages to do both quite successfully." And on this we agree completely -- race was both the issue and yet completely removed from the real point of the film. Which is why it works; it plays on your insecurities while convincing you they don't exist.

If you can get your hands on this one (I don't know how easy that is), I give it a very high recommendation. My only concern is that someone really needs to get a good transfer with quality picture and sound. The quality I saw was a VHS transfer with grainy footage and mediocre sound. This did nothing to take away from the brilliance of the film, but a smart action film like this one deserves better. Give me digital remastering and a Fred Williamson audio commentary.

Fred Williamson and D'urville Martin are two black bounty hunters that stumble into a town that is sorely in need of a sheriff. So what do they do? Why make themselves the sheriff and deputy of course. Now we know the white folk won't take a liking to that, especially the local bandit (played by William Smith) and his gang a' crackers. Not particularly distinguished from the blaxploitation Western sub-sub genre and not nearly as wild as the name suggests, 'Boss N!gger' is still good fun with a lot of humor (supplied mostly by Martin) and well-directed action scenes.

"Boss" (Fred Williamson) and "Amos" (D'Urville Martin) are two bounty hunters out west who just happen to come across some thieves who are dividing their loot. A gunfight breaks out and all of the outlaws are killed with one of them having a bounty on his head. So after pocketing the loot they proceed to ride toward the nearest town when they suddenly discover a young black woman named "Clara Mae" (Carmen Hayward) about to be raped by three or four ruffians who belong to a gang headed by a particularly notorious outlaw named "Jed Clayton" (William Smith). Another gunfight breaks out and after killing all of them Boss and Amos take Clara Mae to a small Mexican village not far from the town they are heading to in order to get their reward money. However, when they get to the town they discover that there is no sheriff and the man who runs things is secretly in cahoots with Jed Clayton. Sensing a golden opportunity, both Boss and Amos decide to set themselves up as the sheriff and deputy respectively. That way they can keep an eye out for Jed Clayton and get paid for doing it at the same time. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this turned out to be an entertaining Blaxploitation-Western for the most part. Although I didn't care for the numerous racial epithets in the script, I must admit that the film contained a couple of surprises here and there which definitely kept things interesting. That said, if a person is in the mood for a relatively good Blaxploitation or Western film then this one might be worth checking out. Slightly above average.

I saw the trailer for this on you tube and I laughed for 10 minutes straight ! I decided then to purchase the DVD . I like Fred Williamson , but I have found his filmography to be hit and miss. This movie is quite enjoyable actually and delivers the goods with the action and comedy. Plus we get an awesome Shaft like theme song, while there are better westerns and black exploitation films . This is a solid b movie with a great supporting cast . D'Urville Martin is great as Boss 's sidekick. Not to mention William Smith and R.G. Armstrong are great villains . In less p.c times this was considered fun for the whole family . So round up the whole family and watch Fred Williamson stick it to the man!