Hard Times

Director: Walter Hill Walter Hill

Overview

A street-fighter looking for a better way of life takes a chance in this made-for-television movie. Charles Bronson stars as Chaney, a Depression-era bare-knuckles fighter who teams up with a slick promoter named Speed (James Coburn) to make it in the big-time world of New Orleans prize-fighting.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/03/2013
UPC:	0043396433960
Original Release:	1975
Rating:	PG
Source:	SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMT
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Sales rank:	45,096

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Charles Bronson	Chaney
James Coburn	Spencer "Speed" Weed
Jill Ireland	Luby Simpson
Strother Martin	Poe
Maggie Blye	Gayleen Schoonover
Michael McGuire	Gandil
Robert Tessier	Jim Henry
Nick Dimitri	Street
Felice Orlandi	Le Beau
Bruce Glover	Doty
Edward Walsh	Pettibon
Frank McRae	Hammerman
Maurice Kowalewski	Caesare
Naomi Stevens	Madam
Robert Castleberry	Counterman
Becky Allen	Poe's Date
Joan Kleven	Carol,Poolplayer
Anne Welsch	Secretary
Lyla Kay Owen	Diner waitress
Lyla Hay Owen	Diner Waitress
Jim Nickerson	Barge Fighter
John Creamer	Apartment Manager
Fred Lerner	Caesare's Hitter
Chuck Hicks	Speed's Hitter
Walter Scott	Poolplayer
Valerian Smith	Handler
Bob Minor	Zack
Larry Martindale	Driver
Charles W. Schaeffer Jr.	Card Player
Leslie Bonano	Card Player
Ronnie Phillips	Cajun Fighter

Technical Credits

Walter Hill

Bryan Gindoff

Bruce Henstell

Walter Hill	Director,Screenwriter
Bryan Gindoff	Screenwriter
Bruce Henstell	Screenwriter
Lawrence Gordon	Producer
Max Kleven	Stunts
Paul Maslansky	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

Walter Hill's first outing in the director's chair is also arguably his best, in this near-mythic tale of a bare-knuckle boxer trying to survive during the Depression. Charles Bronson, in what is also his best role, plays the aging fighter who arrives in New Orleans looking as though he's already absorbed a few thousand punches. Possibly the only film in which Bronson has a good backstory to explain that remarkable face, it's the perfect marriage of a timelessly archetypal character with the condensed history of a desperate time. Bronson, who was 54 when he did the film, plays a fighter who uses his age to sucker unwitting gamblers into betting against him. Something of a Zen warrior, he keeps talk to a minimum, wanting only to fight and get paid. The film's deliberate pace allows one to appreciate the small details of his bone-crunching life, as well as the marvelously atmospheric city of New Orleans, which is a more important character than anyone but the protagonist. Cinematographer Philip Lathrop, who had previously shot the city in The Cincinnati Kid (1966), uses minimal lighting to give the film a subdued, slightly sinister feel. While as good as usual, James Coburn and Strother Martin are less characters here than elements of the local color.