Fred Williamson plays Joshua, a former Union soldier riding west and looking forward to a joyous reunion with his mother Martha.
But when he reaches the ranch where she works, he finds her dead, her boss Sam wounded.
Seems the day before, five strangers rode up. Invited into Sam’s home, they turned on him, then raped and kidnapped his pretty young wife.
Despite a sheriff’s warning that he’ll be outnumbered, Joshua heads out to track them down.
The gang, led by a man named Jeb (Calvin Bartlett), knows someone is on their trail. He might be a bounty hunter. They’re sure he’s not the law because he’s black.
But it isn’t long before they realize he’s quite deadly.
So they head to a town where they’re pretty certain no black man would dare follow.
Guess what? Joshua follows.
Fred Williamson as Joshua, explaining he’s not an outlaw in Joshua (1976)
Calvin Bartlett as Jed, learning Joshua is still on his trail in Joshua (1976)
Review:
Z grade production means this, at times, looks more like a home movie than a feature film. Oh, well, world-class cinematography and the missing eight minutes (most sites place the real runtime at 90) probably wouldn’t do much to help this turkey.
Among the groan-worthy scenes:
In the opening, Martha reads a letter in which Joshua says he’ll be a half-day’s ride away when the note arrives. Because we all know it was easy to predict when mail would arrive out West in 1865.
Then rancher Sam sits grinning like a silly sap while five strangers sit around his dinner table making suggestive comments to and leering at his young wife. His reaction; Yep, he says, he’s proud to have sent east for such a pretty gal.
Finally, Joshua’s on the trail, stalking the first of the five kidnappers / rapists. He could easily shoot him from the saddle. Nope, he stumbles across a rattler instead. Then decides to capture the rattler with his bare hands. Then decides to drop said rattler over the side of a cliff onto the kidnapper / rapist, just certain the snake will strike with a deadly bite.
If you watch beyond that point, you have only yourself to blame when the credits roll 60 minutes later at the end of a film that never gets any better.
Isela Vega as the Mexican woman who helps Joshua in Joshua (1976)
Brenda Venus as Sam’s wife, the kidnap and rape victim in Joshua (1976)
Directed by:
Larry G. Spangler
Cast:
Fred Williamson … Joshua
Calvin Bartlett … Jed
Brenda Venus … Sam’s Wife
Isela Vega … Mexican Woman
Bud Stout … Rex
Henry Kendrick … Sam
Ralph Willingham … Weasle
Kathryn Jackson … Martha
Stonewall Jackson … Pete
Neil Summers … Sheriff
Stacey Newton … Other gang member
Runtime: 82 min.
aka:
Joshua: The Black Rider
The Black Rider
Henry Kendrick as Sam, explaining what happened at his ranch in Joshua (1976)
Kathryn Jackson as Martha, wary of approaching strangers in Joshua (1976)
Memorable lines:
Joshua, mounting up: “Whereabouts did you lose them, sheriff?”
Sheriff: “About 10 miles east in the hills. But there’s five of them.”
Joshua: “I just finished fightin’ me a war, sheriff. And I killed twice that many.”
Weasle, glancing at Sam’s wife: “I’d sure like to have a big helping of you.”
Pete: “Jed, there’s someone trackin’ us.”
Rex: “Maybe it’s a lawman.”
Jed: “It’s a black man. There ain’t no black lawmen.”
Townsman: “All I have to do is raise my hand, and you’re a dead man.”
Joshua: “If you do, it’ll be the last time you raise it.”
Ralph Willingham as Weasel, one of the men Joshua is after in Joshua (1976)
Fred Williamson as Joshua, recovering after being wounded in Joshua (1976)
){kind=link}