The Legend of Nigger Charley

The Legend of Nigger Charley

Infobox Film
name = The Legend of Nigger Charley


director = Martin Goldman
producer = Larry Spangler
writer = James Warner Bellah (story),
Martin Goldman,
Larry Spangler
starring = Fred Williamson,
D'Urville Martin,
Don Pedro Colley,
Gertrude Jeanette,
Marcia McBroom,
Alan Gifford
music = John Bennings
cinematography = Peter Eco
editing = Howard Kuperman
distributor = Paramount Pictures
released = Mar 17, 1972
runtime = 98 min
country = flagicon|USA USA
language = English
followed_by = "The Soul of Nigger Charley"
amg_id = 1:99249
imdb_id = 0068838

"The Legend of Nigger Charley" is a 1972 blaxploitation western film directed by Martin Goldman. The story of a trio of escaped slaves, it was released during the heyday of blaxploitation films.

The film stars Fred Williamson as Nigger Charley. The film is rated PG in the United States. It was followed by one sequel, "The Soul of Nigger Charley."

The film was renamed "The Legend of Black Charley" for broadcast television. [cite web
last = Internet Movie Database
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = "The Legend of Nigger Charley"
work =
publisher = Internet Movie Database
date =
url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068838/
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-01-22]

Tagline

"Somebody warn the West. Nigger Charley ain't running no more."

Synopsis

Charley, after undergoing a beating by white men, escapes with two fellow slaves before being sold to a different plantation owner. He is put up for sale after his ailing plantation owner says he can no longer afford him.

The three fugitives are put down when they engage in everyday activities. For instance, when Charley asks a bartender for three beers, he is asked, "Don't you know your place, nigger?" In response, Charley beats a patron and forces the bartender to flee.

He then tells his friends, "I ain't never gonna be a slave again for no man ... I ain't taking no shit from no white man again. I'm a free man, and that's the way I'm gonna die."

The three seek their freedom in the Old West. But they are chased by a gang of white men on horseback, who vow not to let them go free. Throughout their journey, the escaped slaves meet villains and violence.

The film ends with Charley and his friend, Toby, surviving an intense shootout and riding off. Toby asks "Where shall we go now, Charley?" Charley responds "Don't matter. Wherever we go, there's trouble waiting for us."

Reception

"The Legend of Nigger Charley" was one of Paramount's highest-grossing movies of 1972. Leading up to its release, a banner in Times Square read, "Nigger Charley Is Coming." [cite book
last =Briggs
first = Joe Bob
authorlink = www.joebobbriggs.com
coauthors =
title = Profoundly Disturbing: Shocking Movies That Changed History
publisher = Universe Publishing
date = June 28, 2003
location =
pages = 129
url =
doi =
id = ]

However, the film has since fallen into obscurity, and is not available on DVD.

When it was released in 1972, critic Roger Ebert awarded the film two stars out of four, criticizing it for being repetitive and exploitative. However, Ebert also wrote that

"The Legend of Nigger Charley" is frustrating partly because of the high level of acting talent in the cast. When you see fine actors being thrown into exploitative scripts, you begin to get a little angry. If the current group of black-oriented movies has proven anything, it's that there's a large pool of skilled and interesting black actors in Hollywood. Whether it will forever be necessary for them to waste their talents in dumb screenplays is a question that must come to them sometimes late at night. [cite web
last = Ebert
first = Roger
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = "The Legend of Nigger Charley"
work =
publisher = Chicago Sun-Times
date = May 23, 1972
url = http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19720523/REVIEWS/205230301/1023
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-01-22]

New York Times film critic Howard Thompson also gave the film a luke-warm review, calling it "fair." He wrote that the film generally "rambles and dawdles, resolving tensions with conventional shootouts, like any standard Western." [cite web
last = Thompson
first = Howard
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = "The Legend of Nigger Charley"
work =
publisher = New York Times
date = May 18, 1972
url = http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?_r=2&title1=&title2=Legend%20of%20Nigger%20Charley%2C%20The%20%28Movie%29&reviewer=HOWARD%20THOMPSON.&pdate=19720518&oref=slogin&oref=login
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-01-22]

References

External links

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