Hell on the Border (2019)

David Gyasi is Bass Reeves, a black man who proves his worth as an assistant to Marshal Franks.

But when Judge Issac Parker considers pinning a deputy marshal’s badge on Reeves, the idea is met with scorn, forcing the judge to back down.

Then outlaw Bob Dozier (Frank Grillo) sends the judge a package — the severed head of the last marshal to pursue him into his lair in Indian Territory.

When the judge asks for volunteers to go after Dozier, the only man who steps forward is Reeves — with the condition that he get a badge should he complete the mission.

After all, Reeves has a wife and six children to provide for.

And when the judge asks for men to ride along with Reeves on his dangerous quest, the only volunteer is Charlie Storm (Ron Perlman), an aging outlaw eager for a pardon.

Review:

A well-intentioned, but uneven film.

Gyasi makes for a stoic hero. Grillo makes for a suitably snarling villain. And Perlman provides a touch of comic relief as Reeves’ sidekick, an old-timer fond of booze and hearing himself talk.

But we’re left with a film that has big-budget aspirations, but too often looks like a low-budget effort.

Detours — like an encounter with Belle Starr and the James boys — don’t help.

Nor do cardboard characters like the marshal and Sen. Smith, the two men most determined to nix the idea of a black lawman.

Directed by:
Wes Miller

Cast:
David Gyasi … Bass Reeves
Ron Perlman … Charlie Storm
Frank Grillo … Bob Dozier
Chris Mullinix … Marshal Franks
Jaqueline Fleming … Nellie
Rudy Youngblood … Rufus Buck / John Whittington
Nick Loren … Capt. George Reeves
Marshall R. Teague … Senator Smith
Gianna Capaldi … Tom Pinkerton
Zahn McClarnon … Sam Sixkiller
Manu Intiraymi … Judge Issac Parker
Ashley Atwood … Jessie Winston

Runtime: 106 min.

Songs:
“Run for a Long Time”
“Running Home”
“Gonna Make a Change” by Savannah Lathem

Memorable lines:

Bass Reeves: “My master taught me to shoot, but he refused to teach me to read. Said that would make me too dangerous.”

Judge, after Reeves agrees to track down Dozier: “Who will ride with him?”
Marshal Franks: “Ain’t nobody goin’ back to chase that man. We kinda attached to havin’ our heads attached to our torsos.”

Marshal Franks: “We got a negro and a senile old man to bring in the most notorious outlaw in the territory. God save this country.”

Chris Mullinix as the bigoted Marshal Franks, out to arrest Reeves in Hell on the Border (2019)

Marshall R. Teague as Senator Smith, a politician resistant to change in Hell on the Border (2019)

Ashley Atwood as Jessie Winston, standing up for Reeves again in Hell on the Border (2019)

Rudy Youngblood as Rufus Buck, an outlaw looking for revenge in Hell on the Border (2019)