The Harder They Fall

These. People. Existed.

The Harder They Fall is the first film of its kind — a western with a star-studded, all-Black cast. What makes the story even more amazing is that the characters are all based on Black historical figures.

Nat Love, played by Jonathan Majors, was a Black cowboy who drove cattle on the treacherous Chisolm Trail. Love distinguished himself as a roper and shooter in an 1876 competition in Deadwood City, South Dakota. His victories there won him the nickname ‘Deadwood Dick.’ In 1907, he wrote his autobiography, The Life and Adventures of Nat Love.

Stagecoach Mary Fields, played by Zazie Beetz. In the movie, Mary Fields is depicted as a saloon-owner/showgirl who is young, light-skinned, and favors flashy women’s clothing. In real life, she was dark-skinned, preferred men’s clothing. Born into slavery, Fields was in her 60s when she made her mark on the West as the first African American woman to deliver mail. Carrying a rifle and a revolver, Stagecoach Mary fended off vicious bandits and ravenous wolves to deliver the post.

Rufus Buck, played by Idris Elba, was an outlaw. His violent crimes were directed against white colonizers. He hoped that his gang’s killing spree would expel the illegal white settlers and reclaim territory for native people. Buck did not succeed; he and his gang were hanged for their crimes on July 1, 1896.

Gertrude “Treacherous Trudy” Smith, played by Regina King, was a well-traveled pickpocket, gangster, thief, and killer from Barbary Coast in San Francisco. Little was known about her, but it’s been reported that the story her character in the film shares about her sister actually happened.

Cuffee, played by Danielle Deadwyler, is based on Cathay Williams, a woman who disguised herself as a man in order to enlist in the army. At 17-years-old, Cathay “Cuffe” Williams became the first documented woman to serve in the United States Army. When it was discovered she was a woman, she was discharged. She later joined the African American peacetime army regiment, the Buffalo Soldiers, becoming the only woman in their ranks. The details of her life were later recorded by a reporter who told her story in the St. Louis Daily Times on January 2, 1876. A statue of Williams in uniform is located at the the Richard Allen Cultural Center and Museum in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Cherokee Bill, played by LaKeith Stanfield, was the son of a Buffalo Soldier and a woman who was part Cherokee. Bill was 12-years-old when he killed for the first time. By the age of 18, he was running with a gang of other Black men with Indian blood. They peddled whiskey, stole horses, and went on a wild rampage of terror including robbery and murder. Cherokee Bill died by hanging at the age of 20.

Bass Reeves, played by Delroy Lindo, was a lawman renowned for his bravery and ability to bring down outlaws. Born into slavery in Arkansas, Bass was forced to fight for the Confederacy until he escaped to “Indian Territory,” where he learned the customs and languages of the Chickasaw, Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, and Seminole tribes. In 1865 Reeves became one of the first Black deputy US Marshals. With his keen eye, sharp mind, and skill for shooting Reeves’s is said to be the inspiration for the Western hero, the Lone Ranger. The Washington Post wrote that the legendary lawman was “a tall, burly man with a boisterous manner who reportedly handled a .44 Winchester rifle so ably he could kill a man from a quarter-mile away, [and] brought scores of outlaws to justice, many of them white.”

Bill Pickett, played by Edi Gathegi, was a rodeo star. Born in Texas on December 5, 1870, Pickett worked as a ranch hand, breaking horses and performing trick rides on weekends. In 1905 he was signed to the 101 Ranch Wild West Show. Due to racism, some rodeos refused to allow Blacks to perform, so Pickett, who was part Cherokee, would claim he was “full-blooded Indian” to gain admittance. Pickett made history by inventing the sport of bull-dogging — wrestling a steer to the ground by its horns. Pickett starred in the 1921 film The Bull-Dogger, and was posthumously inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1971. He was the first Black cowboy to be awarded that honor.

Jim Beckwourth, played by RJ Cyler, was a mountain man, explorer, and ladies man. He was born in Virginia to a Black mother and a white slave-owner in 1798. When he was around 12 years old his father released him from slavery. In his 20s, Beckwourth worked in fur trading and expeditions in the West, where he grew close to a Crow community, living among the tribe for six years. He also claimed to have married several indigenous women. According to Britannica, some of Beckwourth’s tall tales along with actual recollections, were made into the 1856 biography, The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth, Mountaineer, Scout, Pioneer and Chief of the Crow Nation of Indians. His death in the 1860s remains a mystery.

Black Cowboys Existed

This movie is not a history lesson. These people never met in real life—many of them weren’t even alive at the same time. Liberties have been taken to tell an entertaining story of an era that has been depicted in popular film as lacking diversity. In reality, at least one out of every four cowboys were Black.

https://thediscourse.ca/communities/black-cowboys-white-washed-out-of-wild-west-narrative

Behind the Scenes

First time writer and director, Jeymes Samuel, not only produced the film, but he also wrote the entire score. Samuel’s experience making music videos is apparent in many of his scenes. Look for some entertaining choreography during the train robbery scene as the bandit’s guns fan out behind Rufus Buck.

Also of note, the magnificent costumes created by designer Antoinette Messam in collaboration with Sir Ozwald Boateng. Her creations give us a color-rich Western, full of finely tailored suits, and regal attention to detail.

Check out Regina King in a black sheer blouse, custom-made denim and leather-paneled Victorian riding coat, and distressed-leather jodhpurs.

Jay-Z is credited as a producer and also contributed original songs to the soundtrack. Check out Jeymes Samuel’s epic, action-packed Western.

Gunning for revenge, outlaw Nat Love saddles up with his gang to take down enemy Rufus Buck, a ruthless crime boss who just got sprung from prison. The Harder They Fall is a spectacular and touching story, exploding with action and drama.