SOUL OF NIGGER CHARLEY 1973
Fred Williamson (Nigger Charley), D'Urville Martin (Toby), Denise Nicholas (Elena), Pedro Armendariz Jr. (Sandoval), Kevin Hagen (Colonel Blanchard), Kirk Calloway (Marcellus), George Allen (Ode), Bob Minor (Fred)
Directed by Larry G. Spangler
The Short Version: An even bigger sequel to the controversial Fred Williamson western. The 'R' rating allows for bloodier shootouts, but this sequel is less offensive with the slant towards racial bigotry downplayed in favor of a more sprawling storyline. Williamson plays Nigger Charley as larger than life here, but does introduce pathos towards the end.
***NOTE: Brighter images taken from the movie trailer***
Charley and Toby happen upon a town massacre by the cruel Colonel Blanchard, a Southern madman attempting to jump start a reformation of the Confederacy. Charley amasses a small army of freed slaves living in a small village with Quakers in a bid to stop Blanchard from obtaining $100,000 in gold from a train to be split with his partner, General Marcus Hook. Charley plans to get to the train first to use the gold to buy back the slaves from Hook, but the General has no intentions of bartering with Nigger Charley.
Spangler took over the directing reigns for this more ambitious sequel in addition to encoring on scriptwriting and producing duties. The film is slightly less offensive than the previous one, but definitely more violent as provided by the 'R' rating. The sequel is also a far more cohesive affair at 110 minutes in length. The makers have essentially doubled the number of characters in this movie that has a noticeably bigger budget. The stunts are more prominent and the sets more expansive. No doubt Paramount was more generous with the funds considering the success of the first movie. The bigger scope allows for an increased sense of adventure than before.
Another aspect of this film that becomes strikingly apparent is that it veers more towards a traditional western than one of the blaxploitation variety. The soundtrack this time is more of a mainstream score, but fluctuates from time to time with a cue bearing those funky 70's beats. The character of Charley is glorified as something of a larger than life hero reinforcing the comic book nature of the Nigger Charley persona. Clearly Williamson is having a ball playing this near invincible protagonist who makes a mockery of the bad guys and acts as a magnetic sex object to any woman in his vicinity.
The villains aren't quite as comic book as before, nor are they particularly as fiersome. Colonel Blanchard is first seen as this vicious force to be reckoned with, but by the 30 minute mark he's cunningly outsmarted by Nigger Charley and continues to be ten steps behind the bulk of the film. But once the mission to free the slaves from General Hook's fortress is implemented, the film takes a somber turn akin to the violent opening massacre.
Williamson furthers the Nigger Charley character in this sequel elevating him to a much higher stature, but was far more natural the first time around. It's always a pleasure to see D'Urville Martin, a very good actor, by the way. Here, he encores as Toby, Charley's wise ass partner and friend. Pedro Armendariz Jr. probably puts in the best performance as Sandoval, the Mexican gunman who aids Charley in taking down Blanchard and the mysterious General Hook, whom we hear a lot about, but never really get to see.
The finale is well done even if Charley's band and the Mexican banditos run roughshod all over Hook and his army with little in the way of opposition. The theme used here is a rousing spaghetti cue that carries 'El Grande Battaglia' off in style. That doesn't stop the picture from ending on a sad note, though. The only major flaw is that you never seen General Hook save for a brief, but obscured glimpse of him during an ambush. He's not billed in the credits, either.
This big and loud western strives to work outside the blaxploitation parameters and is successful much of the time. The film is still hurt from weak villains (a nasty albino character is dispatched early on), but is a better constructed production from the previous picture. Blaxploitation fans may be indifferent towards it since it doesn't necessarily follow the guidelines popularly associated with the genre, but it's noteworthy for its scope and well done action scenes.
The DVD-R can be bought here at TRASH PALACE
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