Source: Courtesy / Tubi
Howdy, film buffs! This week’s ‘What To Watch’ film list is inspired by Beyoncé’s forthcoming project Act II: Cowboy Carter headed to streaming this Friday, March 29. Streaming platforms like Tubi offer classic and culturally relevant Black Western films for you and your partners to binge. Check out our special Cowboy Carter inspired watch list inside.
Fueled in part by Beyoncé’s recent foray into Country music and its roots in Southern culture, classic Black Western films are experiencing a resurgence in pop culture. These films play an essential role in enriching pop culture by challenging traditional narratives of the Wild West. By centering Black characters and their stories, Black Westerns not only offer a more diverse and nuanced portrayal of the American frontier, but also empower audiences and inspire creators to explore fresh perspectives in storytelling, pushing the boundaries of the genre itself.
Like Beyoncé’s recent statements surrounding Cowboy Carter’s release not being a country album, but a “Beyoncé album;” these films aren’t “Black Westerns,” they’re Westerns.
In anticipation of the release Mar. 29, Tubi offers a list of 7 essential Black Westerns that celebrate the Black Cowboy experience. From Harlem Rides the Range to Gang of Roses, each film sets out on its own adventure. The list includes films that were released from 1939 to 2023.
One of our favorites that made the list is a recent film titled Cinnamon, which stars Hailey Kilgore, David Iacono and iconic talents like Damon Wayans and Pam Grier. The film follows Jodi Jackson(*Kilgore), a gas station attendant, who struggles and aspires to become a singer, but things start to get complicated when a robbery occurs at her job.
Get in the Cowboy Carter mood and take a ride to the Wild, Wild, West with our special watch list this week. These titles will surely be a fun and action packed experience for the entire family.
Dust off your cowboy boots and get into these 7 key Black Westerns on Tubi below:
1. Cinnamon (2023)
Source:YouTube
Cinnamon is a music-driven thriller, following a young couple who, after falling hopelessly in love and looking for escape, risk it all on one big robbery that goes terribly wrong.
2. Adios Amigo (1975)
Source:YouTube
Hold your horses and hang on to your hat. Richard Pryor and Fred Williamson are riding into town! Pryor and Williamson are riding into town in the funniest, wildest western this side of the Rio Grande. They’re the coolest, shrewdest dudes who ever swindled a sheriff or tangled in a bar room brawl. Staying one step ahead of the law, these crazy cowboys ride the reins of the Wild West looking for a good time and a fast buck, and boy do they find it! From their cheap whiskey to their slutty women to their stolen bags of cash, they’re the most outrageous and the most wanted men in the west.
3. Harlem Rides the Range (1939)
Source:YouTube
Tall and true in the saddle, Bob Blake and his comic sidekick, Dusty, ride into trouble when the owner of a radium mine is murdered and evidence points to Blake! When the real killer reveals himself and threatens to kill the miner’s beautiful daughter, Blake must bust out of jail to set things straight.
4. Gang of Roses (2003)
Source:YouTube
A gang of gold-hunting outlaws, headed by the ruthless Left Eye Watkins (Bobby Brown), takes over the peaceful town of Flatridge, tearing the sleepy outpost to shreds as they search for riches. They murder a can-can girl, who is the sister of Rachel (Monica Calhoun), the onetime leader of a notorious all-girl gang. Rachel then rounds up her four old associates, and they seek revenge for her sister. Using teamwork and a sassy attitude, Rachel’s gang goes up against Watkins’ tough crew.
5. Black Fox: The Price of Peace (1995)
Source:YouTube
The second in a series of three movies that tell the story of two “blood” brothers, Alan and Britt Johnson–one a former plantation owner, the other his childhood friend whom he freed from slavery. With their families, they leave Carolina to settle in Texas in the 1860’s.
6. Gallowwalkers (2012)
Source:YouTube
A mysterious gunman, Aman, is the son of a nun who breaks her covenant with God to ensure his survival. This act brings a curse upon Aman – all those that die by his gun will return. Soon, he is hunted by a gang of his undead former victims, led by the vicious Kansa. Aman enlists Fabulos, a new young warrior, to fight by his side.
7. Joshua: The Black Rider (1975)
Source:YouTube
A black soldier returns from fighting for the Union in the Civil War only to find out that his mother has been murdered by a gang of white thugs.
