Yes, there is a ridiculously obsequious black character. And a tacked-on ending. But I think the characters in this film, including the white ones, are intentional stereotypes intended to suggest the character of the westward-expanding American people. In that light, the tragic (and almost unnoticed) demise of the black character is a criticism both of his obsequiousness and the white characters who take his loyalty for granted. And in the same light, the hero's sudden appearance at the end (which also takes place in 1930, the year the movie was made) suggests a hope that the unruly American energy that claimed the West is now being channeled, noticed or not, into the betterment of modern civilization.
That being said, this movie is slow by modern standards, and much of the dialog either wasn't recorded well, or didn't completely survive the transfer to video. Still, there are some memorable scenes: the Oklahoma land rush (literally a race with a starting line) and Yancey the frontiersman/preacher/reporter giving a sermon in a saloon, two guns drawn, leveled at the crowd (at hip level) as he intones "God bless this community."
That being said, this movie is slow by modern standards, and much of the dialog either wasn't recorded well, or didn't completely survive the transfer to video. Still, there are some memorable scenes: the Oklahoma land rush (literally a race with a starting line) and Yancey the frontiersman/preacher/reporter giving a sermon in a saloon, two guns drawn, leveled at the crowd (at hip level) as he intones "God bless this community."