At first I was intrigued by the title; then, when Thomasine (Vonetta McGee) makes her first appearance, I thought this was really going someplace with the concept of a female bounty hunter. This was the first time I ever ran across one after nearly five hundred Westerns, and the fact that she was black made it even more intriguing. However the film couldn't carry the momentum, and eventually settled into a standard genre flick, except the chases were done in early 1900 automobiles instead of on horses. Which begs the question, how did Bushrod (Max Julien) know how to drive a car? He and Thomasine hijack the president of the Tyler Bank following their robbery of same, and J.P. handled it like a pro, didn't even pop the clutch the first time. That was one of the first 'huh?' moments.
A couple more occurred when at least twice in the story, Marshal Bogardie's (George Murdock) chase vehicle closed distance within barely a hundred yards, and the outlaws still got away. But how did they do that? At least in most stories, you wind up with some idea how the bad guys reach safety, but not here. The picture simply transitions to another scene where Thomasine and Bushrod are doing something completely different oblivious of the law.
And then there's Mr. Jomo (Glynn Turman). Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the character, but a Jamaican cowboy? Speaking 'ya mon'? Next time provide a little context on how this could possibly be. But I sure was sorry to see Bogardie use the old rattlesnake torture on Jomo; that was a nasty piece of business.
Maybe the most surprising thing of all though, was when I pulled this title up on IMDb and found it came out in 1974. In some respects I think the cinematography got it better than the film it's often compared to. Any ardent film fan will pick up on the idea that the picture is setting us up for a 'Bonnie and Clyde' finale, and it almost gets there. And it also has some of 'The Quick and The Dead' to offer before the lights go out. Ultimately though, the film doesn't break any new ground in the genre, and is cautiously recommended primarily for Max Julien's take on black characters in the not so Old West.
A couple more occurred when at least twice in the story, Marshal Bogardie's (George Murdock) chase vehicle closed distance within barely a hundred yards, and the outlaws still got away. But how did they do that? At least in most stories, you wind up with some idea how the bad guys reach safety, but not here. The picture simply transitions to another scene where Thomasine and Bushrod are doing something completely different oblivious of the law.
And then there's Mr. Jomo (Glynn Turman). Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the character, but a Jamaican cowboy? Speaking 'ya mon'? Next time provide a little context on how this could possibly be. But I sure was sorry to see Bogardie use the old rattlesnake torture on Jomo; that was a nasty piece of business.
Maybe the most surprising thing of all though, was when I pulled this title up on IMDb and found it came out in 1974. In some respects I think the cinematography got it better than the film it's often compared to. Any ardent film fan will pick up on the idea that the picture is setting us up for a 'Bonnie and Clyde' finale, and it almost gets there. And it also has some of 'The Quick and The Dead' to offer before the lights go out. Ultimately though, the film doesn't break any new ground in the genre, and is cautiously recommended primarily for Max Julien's take on black characters in the not so Old West.