Joshua (1976)

User Rating:

4.2/10   

Director:

Larry G. Spangler

Writer:

Fred Williamson (writer)

Release Date:

1 March 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Plot:

A black soldier returns from fighting for the Union in the Civil War only to find out that his mother has been murdered by a gang of white thugs. He becomes a bounty hunter, determined to track down and kill the men who killed his mother. |

Plot Keywords:

Shot In The Arm | Hide In Snow | Mail Order Bride | Rape | Blizzard

Cast

Fred Williamson	...	Joshua
Cal Bartlett	...	Jed (as Calvin Bartlett)
Brenda Venus	...	Sam's Wife
Isela Vega	...	Mexican Woman
Bud Stout	...	Rex (as Budd Stout)
Henry Hendrick	...	Sam
Ralph Willingham	...	Weasle
Kathryn Jackson	...	Martha, Josh's Mom

Also Known As:

Black Rider
Joshua the Black Rider
Revenge (Australia) (video title)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG (re-rating) (1977) | USA:R (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Monument Valley, Utah, USA

Company:

Po' Boy Productions

Quotes:

Rex' Woman: Must get lonely riding out there all alone.
Joshua: I got my horse.

a journey worth the troubles of the 'wild west'

I don't usually like westerns, but I enjoyed this immensely.

Twice!

I didn't find the music irritating, as some found it. I thought it developed the drama all the more with each drumbeat & rhythm, as if embracing the beat of hooves on the mostly primitive landscapes encountered! I enjoyed the adventure from the comfortable distance of a lounge room setting, far removed from rattle-snakes & even more vicious & treacherous humans, who were shown generosity of spirit & heart, that they attempted to cruelly & aggressively turn on their hosts.

Such remains mostly unresolved, but I liked the coolness of the loner, quietly righting wrongs along the way, mostly against the odds, but with effortless precision & skillfulness if not mastery as he goes about his unfolding journey. You can't help but think this guy would have been a hero, probably much unappreciated, in his earlier journeys! Hence, "the black rider"! Probably relentless & skillful & talented beyond what he has cause to display in each interaction!

Personally, I was mindful of the concept of 'vengeance is mine says the Lord!' I could well imagine God inspiring such a man in pursuit of love for his beloved, mother or wife or other aspects of love, as variously reflected here in the powerless but generous farmer, & the quiet ways of the returned war hero on a new mission, who seemed to be threatened more than he spoke! But in his own way, he was a VERY believable "007" in a real world setting of immense hardship & injustice we are not much removed from, but we should be grateful much of the world has moved on from much of what is found here!

"The Wild West" was not a place we'd want to return to mostly! Yet its somehow all around us in each advertising break & news bulletin & insights into worlds we are free to observe but not interact with or help, secure we think, but always being observed. Even from the comfort of a lounge chair, where the viewer is free to journey into frontier land for a gripping journey like this, mostly of hardship & heartbreak & enduring suffering, but of much merit, courage, relentlessness into bravery & towards justice & love against the odds!

And take with you, as with me, the drum & simple rhythmic beat the repetitive music masterfully captured. As a man of good heart marches on to his inner beat of heart & spirit & soul! Whatever those around him make of him & his love & his quietly honoured concept of justice, integrity & love!!!