The Civil War has just broken out, leaving the settlers in the wilds of Texas in a precarious situation.
The soldiers who protected them are heading off to war; the Comanche and Kiowa are almost certain to try to drive the whites out of the area.
Two men who consider themselves brothers — Christopher Reeve as Alan Johnson and Tony Todd as Britt Johnson, a former slave — opt to try to protect their homestead rather than seek refuge in the nearby fort.
It proves a costly mistake. The Indians attack while they are away; their wives and Britt’s son are taken captive.
In fact, the Indians take lots of women and children captive as they sweep through the area.
Britt decides he’s the only one who can negotiate a trade with the Kiowa, who view a black man with a sort of mysticism.
Now the same white settlers who shunned Britt for the color of his skin have to count on him to bring their loved ones safely back home.
Christopher Reeve as Alan Johnson, determined to free his wife from the Indians in Black Fox (1995)
Tony Todd as Britt Johnson, the former slave trying to free white captives from the Indians in Black Fox (1995)
Review:
The first and best of the three Black Fox films, so named because that’s the Indian name Britt Johnson is given by the Kiowa.
It’s beautifully filmed. It starts impressively. It, of course, has a heavy focus on racism.
Alan and Britt Johnson fled South Carolina to escape slavery. But they encounter racism aplenty in Texas as well.
Unfortunately, as the film progresses, it becomes more cliched and is filled with scenes that scream: made for TV melodrama.
And, given the precarious situation the settlers were in, just why did Alan and Britt and a neighbor ride off together to tend horses and leave their wives and children unprotected?
Alan’s wife Sarah is raped by an Indian brave while captive; another white woman named Delores decides to settle down with a handsome Indian brave (Running Dog) rather than return to the arms of an abusive, much older white husband (Ralph Holtz).
Those two plot threads became the premise for the sequel, Black Fox: Good Men and Bad.
Nancy Sorel as Sarah Johnson, Alan’s wife, spotting trouble on the horizon in Black Fox (1995)
Janet Bailey as Mary Johnson, Britt’s wife, one of the woman taken captive during an Indian raid in Black Fox (1995)
Directed by:
Steven Hilliard Stern
Cast:
Christopher Reeve … Alan Johnson
Raoul Trujillo … Running Dog
Tony Todd … Britt Johnson
Janet Bailey … Mary Johnson
Nancy Sorel … Sarah Johnson
Chris Wiggins … Ralph Holtz
Cynthia Preston … Delores Holtz
Leon Goodstriker … Little Buffalo
Byron Chief-Moon … Standing Bear
Denis Lacroix … Lone Wolf
Dale Wilson … Capt. Buck Barry
Also with: Chris Benson, Lawrence Dane, Morningstar Merrcredi, Joel Phage-Wright, Don S. Davis, Buffalo Child, Marty Chiefcalf, Lorette Clow, Pat Johnston, David LeReaney
Runtime: 95 min.
Raoul Trujillo as Running Dog with Delores Holtz (Cynthia Preston), the white captive who becomes his love in Black Fox (1995)
Rainbow Francks as Frank Johnson, son of Britt Johnson and his wife Mary in Black Fox (1995)
Memorable lines:
Alan Johnson: “I hope when the war’s over, I can buy you a drink.”
Union Col. McKenzie: “After the war, I hope I got no holes in me so I can hold a drink.”
Militia commander Buck Berry as Texas settlers prove reluctant to leave their homes and take refuge in the fort: “Mr. Johnson, I hate to say this in mixed company. But don’t come cryin’ to me when the Comanches get done amusin’ themselves with your women and carry off your children.”
Alan Johnson: “So, Britt, you still like Texas? Comanches and all?”
Former slave Britt Johnson: “It’s not worse than hell. But it’s a lot better than Carolina.”
Indian brave to Britt: “Tonight, you will feast with Lone Wolf and tell him how you will make the ponies appear if he decides to trade with you for the white-eyed bitches and their mongrel pups.”
Ralph Holtz, about the fact that Britt returned without his wife Delores: “I ain’t gonna forget this.”
Chris Wiggins as Ralph Holtz, the white settler who loses his wife in an Indian raid in Black Fox (1995)
Dale Wilson as Capt. Barry, determined to hold off an Indian attack in Black Fox (1995)
Janet Bailey as Mary Johnson and Nancy Sorel as Sarah Johnson, ready to protect their home in Black Fox (1995)
Tony Todd as Britt Johnson and Christopher Reeve as Alan Johnson, proposing a plan to bring back the captives in Black Fox (1995)
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