THE BLACK RIDER is a ridiculously-plotted and mildly entertaining B-movie about a young reporter on the track of the sinister local legend of the 'Black Rider', who haunts the marshes and scares drunks. What he uncovers goes way beyond the boundaries of believability, involving a sinister secret in the dungeon of a local castle. It's straight out of the pages of an Enid Blyton book.
The film is unashamedly racist, preying on viewers' Cold War fears, and features Lionel Jeffries miscast in a highly atypical role. Jimmy Hanley, as the supposedly youthful reporter protagonist, is old and camp, and the many scenes involving his motorbike gang have a whiff of naffness about them.
It's all very predictable and genteel, without one iota of genuine tension, but there's something distinctly nostalgic about watching such fare from this era. Watch out for Kenneth Connor's hilarious cameo as the town drunk.
The film is unashamedly racist, preying on viewers' Cold War fears, and features Lionel Jeffries miscast in a highly atypical role. Jimmy Hanley, as the supposedly youthful reporter protagonist, is old and camp, and the many scenes involving his motorbike gang have a whiff of naffness about them.
It's all very predictable and genteel, without one iota of genuine tension, but there's something distinctly nostalgic about watching such fare from this era. Watch out for Kenneth Connor's hilarious cameo as the town drunk.