The Legend of Nigger Charley (1972)

Director: Martin Goldman

Starring: Fred Williamson, D'Urville Martin, Don Pedro Colley, Thomas Anderson, Jerry Gatlin, Alan Gifford, Will Hussing, Gertrude Jeannette

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Somebody warn the West. Nigger Charley ain't running no more.

Plot: Set in the pre-Civil War South, this western adventure follows three escaped Virginia slaves on their journey into the West. The already arduous journey is made worse by the dogged bounty hunter who pursues them. Along the way the fugitive trio add others to their group, doing good wherever they go.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? Yeah, but only if a good, widescreen print surfaces.

#33 on 42nd Street Forever Vol. 1 (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT)

This has never been released on any video format other than VHS and I'm guess it won't be for a very long time. It's too bad because it's actually pretty good and one of the better Fred Williamson performances I've seen. It's nice not seeing him as the forever grinning and hamming it up hotshot. Here he's just a regular guy who does what a man in his position needs to do and that's right the wrongs. I'm pretty sure a clean widescreen print would improve this picture considerably but it does have its flaws. The music is very much modern and it feels out of place. The story is fine but I would have liked to have seen more character development. It would have been nice for Charley (Williamson) to have had a moment or two soaking up his newly found freedom once the dust settled. I really dug his unflinching manner in which he dispenses of the final bad guy. That was cool.


There's a fantastic scene where Charley and his two pals are in a saloon, waiting for the bounty hunter and his posse. The sheriff calmly walks in, has a nice discussion with them about how their being there is putting the townspeople in danger and asks them to leave. Race never figures into the conversation. Charley's skeptical at first but realizes he's just doing his job and he's right to do it but that doesn't change Charley's mind. He's got to make a stand. I was really surprised by that and it showed some maturity on behalf of the script. It's nice when you get scenes like this.




There is a sequel, THE SOUL OF NIGGER CHARLEY that came out the following year. I'll have to check that one out. I suppose a reason why these two films haven't been released on DVD is the titles have the word, nigger, in them. It's a shame that rather than take the opportunity to educate, the powers that be feel the need to suppress and censor. BOSS NIGGER (1975) was released a few short years ago on DVD but the title was changed to simply BOSS. That's one bonehead move.