Offbeat Western deals with tough and two-fisted African-American Pike (Jim Brown) must complete promises his upright wealthy employer Morgan (Dana Andrews) that he will venture across the desert to deliver $86,000 dollars in bankroll money . As Pike will have to ride across Mexican border to a ranch in Sonora, Mexico . Pike attracts a motley bunch of comrades for his trip , as he makes an uneasy alliance with smooth, yet suspicious card gambler Tyree (Fred Williamson) in order to execute successfully his risked assignment , meanwhile the dudes run afoul of bounty hunter Kiefer (Lee Van Cleef) . During their perilous trek Pike and Tyree pick up a couple of strays and desperate waifs , meet harassed whore Catherine (Catherine Spaak) and her loyal Kung-Fu fighting Indian companion Kashtok (Jim Brown) , while a vast army of pursuers chase after the loot . Along the way they face off ruthless bounty hunter Kiefer , a shifty marshal (Barry Sullivan) and numerous greedy chasers who give a dogged pursuit .This is a rather passable attempt to expand the Spaghetti/Paella Western blending the blaxploitation and Kung-Fu markets . Action Western in which a rugged trail boss as well as reformed criminal makes an uneasy alliance with an offbeat group of roles for his journey and to transport large payroll throughout Mexican border , being mercilessly pursued by a nasty bounty hunter who wants to take a heap of money . The film stands out the breezy chemistry between Jim Brown and Fred Williamson . Nice personalities wasted in a mediocre screenplay . The storyline is uneven but has its agreeable moments here and there . The picture takes part a little genre in which during the 1970s achieved splendor and mingled Spaghetti Western and martial arts with influence of David Carradine-Kung Fu series . Good stunts , including people falling from heights , slam into railings , throw themselves just in front of camera , bridge explosion and many other things . The notorious filmmaker , producer and stuntsman Hal Needham was brought in to coordinate stunts on the film , though he was promptly removed from the production . The support cast is pretty well , formed by a colorful team of characters full of bandits , sheriffs , deputies , desperadoes and outlaws such as ace martial artist half-breed Jim Brown , veteran Harry Carey Jr , Hollywood star Barry Sullivan , Robert Donner , and usual Spanish secondaries from Paella Western as Jorge Rigaud and Ricardo Palacios , both of whom worked with Lee van Cleef in Margheriti's previous Western : ¨Blood Money¨ or ¨Karate , colt and impostor¨ , being shot in Almeria , Spain . Adequate and sunny cinematography by Riccardo Pallottini , it is well set , in fact the town set from the opening scene has been become a sort of western theme park and , nowadays , everything is there exactly as it was in the movie , the main street houses and church . Filmed on location Canary Islands , Gran Canaria , Lanzarote , as surrounding area was used extensively, utilizing the black, volcanic sand of the island and also the dunes of Maspalomas on the southern coast . Fun and great musical score by maestro Jerry Goldsmith , he did one of his best for the genre . Jerry creates an absolutely fantastic score but was actually criticized for making a score superior to the film. This oddball motion picture was professionally directed by Antonio Margheriti who was born in 1930 , Rome, and died in 2002 . He was a director and writer , known for Yor (1983), Virus (1980) and Horror castle (1963) . Italian writer-director of horror and exploitation films, a former university engineering student who began in films in 1956 . He was also an expert in special optical effects and model-making . Often used the pseudonym 'Anthony M. Dawson'. He directed all kind of genres such as Wartime : The last hunter , Tornado , Code Name : Wild Geese , Commando Leopard , Der Commander ; Sci-Fi : War of planets , Planet on the prowl , Criminali Della Galassia ; Action : Operazione Goldman , Indio , The Squeeze , Cyberflic ; Terror : The Virgin of Nuremberg , Virus or Cannibal Apocalypse , Alien from the Deep , Flesh for Frankestein and Spaghetti : Joko , Dynamite Joe ,The Stranger and the Gunfighter , And God Said to Cain .

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".

Rousing old school western(..not a spaghetti western, as you'd might be led to believe, but more closer to the Hollywood classics) which has two charismatic black stars(..former football players Jim Brown and Fred 'The Hammer' Williamson) as the heroes, from prolific Italian director Antonio Margheriti. Brown is a reformed criminal named Pike who is asked by his dying employer to take their hard-earned cattle money to his home town of Sonora. Carrying $86,000 in loot obviously makes you a marked man, but Pike gains an ally in flashy gambler Tyree(Williamson)who is eyeballing the cash, agreeing to help him get most of the way to Sonora..but Tyree vows to battle for the loot once they come to the half-way point. Meanwhile, a pipe-smoking, quick-drawing bounty hunter, Kiefer(Lee Van Cleef, wearing longer hair than usual)remembers Pike's past and plans to arrest him, also quite interested in attaining his money. Understanding Pike's skills as a gunfighter, when he has to be, and knowing the talents of Tyree, Kiefer will enlist the aid of cutthroats and other hired guns in order to complete his mission. But, no matter the number of hired goons he adds to his entourage, Kiefer knows that his target will not be easy to retrieve. Along the way, Pike picks up a New Orleans whore, Catherine(Catherine Spaak)whose kind husband was butchered by a mob of nasty cowboys and a high-kicking Negro(..raised by Indians), Kashtok(Jim Kelly, whose martial arts skills are well utilized in the film as he often subdues his foes by dropping them before they can even draw their weapons)who doesn't ride a horse, opting to travel on foot instead.Lots of shootouts and stunning action set pieces, well photographed by Riccardo Pallottini using the location of Spain's Canary Islands to great effect. Terrific suspense sequence as our heroes must cross a bridge before others catch up to them. Brown and Williamson make an entertaining duo, their being African-American adding a unique spin to what is otherwise a familiar formula western..the idea of getting cash to another place avoiding gunfighters who wish to steal it is nothing new(..hell, Peckinpah's RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY is an example). Brown has never been as humane and considerate an on screen character, checking his ego at the door, allowing Williamson the opportunity to show off his pearly whites, playing the flamboyant, sharply dressed swindler who always has us questioning whether or not he can be trusted. Williamson lays on the charm and steals his scenes with Brown willing to be the straight man of the team. Lee Van Cleef doesn't stretch his persona..he's still a highly skilled sharpshooter with expertise and knowledge in the field of bounty hunting. When others do not heed his warning, they wind up dead. While he's a man of principle, he's not above aligning himself with nefarious characters if the odds are not in his favor. Dana Andrews appears in a cameo as Brown's boss who dies before he can enjoy the fruits of his labor, a welcome presence who earns our respect and admiration in minutes compared to many who fail to do so in a movie length's time. Classy Jerry Goldsmith score, and well orchestrated gun battles, shot with an epic scope and grandeur. I think director Antonio Margheriti is able to rise above the so-so material thanks to his cast and smooth style(..his trademark zooms which close in on the faces of his actors are on display). This was a big role for Jim Brown with Williamson complimenting him nicely. Throw in Lee Van Cleef, who has such a fascinating face, and you have a western worthy of pursuit.

Everything gets taken for a ride in director Antonio Margheriti's action-packed but tedious horse opera "Take a Hard Ride." No, this isn't one of Margheriti's memorable efforts. The movie opens with cattle owner Morgan (Dana Andrews of "The Ox-Bow Incident") and his trail boss Pike (Jim Brown of "El Condor") selling their herd of steers for a whopping $86-thousand dollars. Morgan tells Pike about all of that prosperity that this money is going to bring to their ranch in Sonora. Unfortunately, Morgan dies from a heart attack before he can hit the trail. Before he dies, however, he has to good sense to entrust the loot to Pike. Once word gets out that a lone African-American is lugging around that bundle of money, every thief and cutthroat tries to separate our hero from his dough. The chief villain is a harmonica-playing bounty hunter Kiefer (Lee Van Cleef of "For A Few Dollars More") who goes after Brown with a small army, including a crazy gunman named Halsey (Ronald Howard of the 1950s "Sherlock Holmes" TV series) who has a Gatling gun mounted in the bed of a covered wagon. Just as Kiefer has his horde of hardcases, Pike picks up a snake-handling gambler, Tyree (Fred Williamson of "Hell up in Harlem"), a half-breed Indian Kashtok (Jim Kelly of "Enter the Dragon"), and an attractive pioneer woman (Catharine Spaak of "Downhill Racer") whose allegiance lie more with her own interests than our heroes."Hell in the Pacific" scenarist Eric Bercovici and TV writer Jerrold L. Ludwig of 'Three the Hard Way" have contrived a meandering saga that wears out its welcome early on during its action There are a couple of amusing moments that only die-hard western fans will recognize. First, the long-time character actor Harry Carey, Jr., who starred in a number of John Ford westerns, has a scene that would make the legendary helmer spin in his grave. The unsavory villain Dumper (Harry Carey, Jr. of "Rio Grande") sings the title song to Ford's classic Henry Fonda oater "My Darling Clementine" as he voids his bowels. Second, "Take a Hard Ride" lacks drama. Neither Pike nor Kiefer get around to shooting it out with each other. Along the way, just about everybody else does. For example, Halsey and his gunmen fall prey to Pike and company. Eventually, Pike and Tyree wind up at an abandoned mine where they stand off an army of bandits lead by Calvera (Ricardo Palacios of "Bad Man's River") who agree to do Kiefer's dirty work for a hundred dollars each. By the time that Calvera catches up to Pike and Tyree, our African-Americans heroes have found a cache of dynamite in the mine and make mincemeat of Calvera and company. Just before the fight breaks out, Pike hands the loot to a small Mexican boy and gives him the directions to the Morgan Ranch."Take a Hard Ride" was lensed on location--not in Spain--but in the Canary Islands. You would never guess that a western could be staged in such surroundings, but the rugged, craggy, inhospitable scenery substitutes well for the old West. The photography is good in the way that it thrusts us into the action. A line-up of western veterans comprises the cast. Aside from Brown and Van Cleef, we get to see Barry Sullivan, Dana Andrews, and Ronald Howard slap leather. The action and the stunt work is superb, thanks largely to Hal Needham during his second-unit directing days before "Smokey and the Bandit" made him famous in his own right as a director. Jerry Goldsmith contributes a flavorful score rather like his theme to the James Stewart & Dean Martin oater "Bandolero." The problem with "Take a Hard Ride" is that the characters aren't very interesting and the dramatic situations kindle little intensity. The scene where Robert Donnor and Carey try to kill Van Cleef is wrong-headed and gratituous Antonio Margheriti does the best that he could with the substandard script has more giddy-yap than giddy-up.