Tubi Showcasing Classic Black Westerns This Month
Westerns are an important part of nostalgic culture. Not only are we nostalgic for the days of watching those westerns on television, but we may also feel the yearning for a simpler time. Westerns generally have a clear-cut premise. There is a good guy and a bad guy. The bad guy gets what he deserves in the end. It is comforting to watch earned karma play out on screen in a tidy hour or so. This month, the streaming service Tubi is celebrating Black Western films as they are experiencing a resurgence in popularity.
Tubi is showcasing these seven films for those interested in learning about the genre or experiencing these beloved movies once again. First, let’s go all the way back to 1939.
‘Harlem Rides the Range’ (1939)
Everett Collection
Herb Jeffries stars in this film about a cowboy and his sidekick as they try to help someone from being cheated out of their property. As always, there is a cowboy to save the day. It is also considered a musical and followed the 1937 Western musical film Harlem on the Prairie.
‘Adios Amigo’ (1975)
Atlas Films/via Movie StillsDB
Fred Williamson and Richard Pryor top the cast of the 1975 film that follows an amiable cowboy who gets blamed for the crimes of a conman and must clear his name. Pryor got the idea for the film after being rejected from appearing in Mel Brooks‘ Blazing Saddles. Williamson wrote the script and wanted it to be a comedy but not as silly as Blazing Saddles.
‘Joshua: The Black Rider’ (1976)
Everett Collection
If you’re looking for a drama, look no further than Joshua: The Black Rider. Starring Fred Williamson as Joshua, a Black soldier who returns from fighting in the Civil War to find out that his mother was murdered. He decides to hunt down the gang who killed her.
‘Black Fox: The Price of Peace’ (1995)
Cabin Fever Entertainment/Everett Collection
Tony Todd and the late Christopher Reeve star in this ’90s miniseries, set in 1860s Texas and based on a novel of the same name. The film called The Price of Peace follows a man whose wife gets kidnapped and refuses to return home. It is the sequel to Black Fox. The final film in the miniseries is called Black Fox: Good Men and Bad.
‘Gang of Roses’ (2003)
Everett Collection
If Beyoncé‘s new song “Texas Hold ‘Em” is on repeat, Gang of Roses should be on your watchlist. An all-Black female cast plays a gang of bank robbers who come out of retirement to help one of their own.
‘Gallowwalkers’ (2012)
Wrekin Hill Entertainment/Everett Collection
Wesley Snipes plays a cursed gunman who must fight back against zombies. If you need something a bit more exciting or unbelievable than the classics, this one is for you.
‘Cinnamon’ (2023)
Cinnamon is a newer, Tubi original film following two young lovers who get caught up in a tangle of threatening events after a robbery gone wrong. Pam Grier, best known for her role in Blaxploitation films, stars in the film.
Which one will you be watching or which Black Western is your all-time favorite? Let us know!
Wild West- Heroes & Villains
November 2022
Celebrates the unique sense of justice, compassion and adventure in the Old West as seen on TV and in the movies
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