AllMovie

Jack Arnold directed a handful of smart, snappy and memorable genre pictures in the 1950's, including The Incredible Shrinking Man, It Came From Outer Space, High School Confidential and No Name On The Bullet, showing he knew how to make something fun and memorable out of ordinary material. But by 1975, Arnold was making a living knocking out episodes of The Brady Bunch and Love American Style, and there wasn't a lot of inspiration to be found in his work for hire. That's the biggest problem with Boss Nigger, a blaxploitation western Arnold cranked out in 1975 for producer, screenwriter, star and all-around badass Fred Williamson; Arnold's direction is professional, no more and no less, and keeps the story moving forward but never kicks this picture into third gear, creeping along without gaining momentum and giving the material about as much visual excitement as one of his episodes of Nanny and the Professor. As is so often the case in a grade-B western, it's up to the cast to bring some personality to this story, and they almost save the day. R.G. Armstrong and William Smith don't exactly break new ground as the city's corrupt sheriff and a sadistic outlaw, but they bring the sort of juice that made them fan favorites for folks who dig genre cinema, and there's something entertainingly surreal about seeing D'urville Martin bringing his sub-Dolemite comic relief to the Old West. But the star of this picture is Fred Williamson, and as usual the Hammer delivers the goods; he's not much on the subtle stuff, but when it comes time to show some swagger, take on the bad guys and kick some serious butt, Williamson can come to the rescue without forsaking his anti-hero status, and he takes this role just seriously enough to be commanding while displaying just enough tongue-in-cheek humor to let the fans know he's having fun playing cowboy. Boss Nigger lacks the iconic status of Williamson's earlier period effort The Legend of Nigger Charley, and not without reason -- for the most part, this is a standard-issue formula western dressed up with some blaxploitation gingerbread. But Williamson and his supporting cast give the picture more energy than it would likely have had with another cast, and fans of the Hammer will find it to be good, undemanding fun.