Boss Nigger

"They roll into a White Mans town....with Black Mans law"

An intense blaxploitation film with a spaghetti western outline, this film is teeming with racial tension and plenty of squibs. This film is a pretty decent non-violent violent movie. Fred Williamson plays Boss (Nigger, but don't let him hear you say that), a bounty hunter with a comical sidekick who are hunting down a man named Jed Clayton, a thief and womanizer who is their ticket to a high life.

They stumble upon a town that is sheriffless. Taking lead, Boss fills the role and brings a young woman and gives her a job in a bar. They quickly take reigns of this town, spreading black mans law, placing fines on anyone who uses the word "Nigger" or disrespects them. Along the way, Boss seduces a schoolteacher, and kills a lot of angry white men.

This film is surprisingly directed by Jack Arnold, Best known for Creature From The Black Lagoon, Tarantula, and many other science fiction classics. Fred Williamson wrote this film with his own production company in mind. He made this film to parody his many over-the-top violent films. Much like a plethora of Fred Williamson works, you won't find much on them. All cover art normally belongs to an entirely different film. See: Black Cobra, Warriors of the Wasteland, and G.I. Bro.



The design of the small town is near flawless. The town has its own slums littered with spanish mothers and other stereotypes. D'urville Martin is hilarious in his role as Amos. He is a fast talking uppity negro with a penchant for fat women. He has many quotable lines and a fast talking lip. A more noticeable role of his is Willie Green in fellow blaxploitation film Dolemite. He is also the director of that instant classic.

What didn't work for the film is some of the camera angles and the opening. They decided to cut the opening title card and original song. Cutting it from "He's Boss Nigger" to "He's Boss..." and changed the title to Boss, while still keeping all the "Niggers" in the film intact. In many scenes, the camera would swerve around characters attempting to catch the action, but the camera always felt blocked. It did work for the feel of a shoot-out though.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this film is its soundtrack. Blending old school funk with mellow beats that mix so perfectly with everyone's motion. Clearly a soundtrack with the film in mind. Boss Nigger is a perfect addition to the Blaxploitation genre as well as Spaghetti westerns.

-Maq