This film begins in 1911 with a female bounty hunter by the name of "Thomasine" (Vonetta McGee) bringing a wanted criminal into the office of a small-town law enforcement official in Texas by the name of "Marshal Bogardie" (George Murdock) and requesting the posted bounty. While there she notices a poster of another wanted criminal named "J. P. Bushrod" (Max Julien) and after a few questions decides to search for him as well. Not long afterward, she meets up with Bushrod and it is then revealed that, not only did they know each other, but that they were once lovers as well. To that effect, they soon rekindle their feelings for one another and embark on a crime spree by robbing several banks in several of the small towns they come across. Unfortunately, they soon discover that Marshal Bogardie has now decided to become involved with their apprehension and he will not rest until they are either captured or dead. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a rather strange film that incorporated elements of the blaxploitation subgenre into a Western setting where automobiles were becoming more common. That is not to say, of course, that this was a brand-new concept as there had been other Black-Westerns made before--and several others have followed afterward. But what really stood out, in my opinion, was the introduction of the character named "Jomo J. Anderson" (Glenn Turman) who seemed more suitable for a pirate movie than a film of this type. But that's just my opinion and others may disagree. Regardless, while I don't consider this to be a bad film by any means, there were some scenes that could have been improved upon and for that reason I have rated this movie accordingly. Average.
Review of Thomasine & Bushrod
