You’ve probably heard it called the "Black Bonnie and Clyde," but that’s honestly a lazy way to describe a movie that was trying to do something much weirder and more radical. Released in 1974, Thomasine & Bushrod didn't just feature a cast of talented actors; it was a snapshot of a real-life romance, a political statement, and a weirdly stylish Western all rolled into one. If you look at the Thomasine & Bushrod cast, you aren't just looking at a list of names. You're looking at the heavy hitters of the Blaxploitation era trying to rewrite the rules of the American West.
The film was directed by Gordon Parks Jr., who had already set the world on fire with Superfly. But while Superfly was all about the urban hustle, this was about the frontier. Specifically, it was about J.P. Bushrod and Thomasine, a pair of outlaws in the early 1900s who robbed the rich to give to the "Mexicans, Indians, and poor whites."
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The Real Couple: Max Julien and Vonetta McGee
Basically, the heart of this movie was the off-screen relationship between the two leads. Max Julien played J.P. Bushrod. He didn't just act in it, though. He wrote the script and co-produced the thing. Julien was already a massive star because of The Mack, where he played Goldie, but Bushrod was a different beast. He was quieter, maybe a bit more stoic, which some critics at the time found "leaden," but he was playing the part of a man trying to survive a changing world.
Vonetta McGee, his real-life partner at the time, played Thomasine. Honestly? She steals the whole movie. She plays Thomasine as a bounty hunter who is arguably more competent and dangerous than Bushrod. While Bushrod is out seeking revenge against "Adolph the Butcher" for his sister’s death, Thomasine is the one planning the heists and keeping them alive.
They were a "it" couple in 1974. They even promoted the movie as contestants on the game show Tattletales. When you watch them on screen, that chemistry isn't faked. It’s raw. McGee later said the movie was basically about their own love affair, just dressed up in cowboy hats and period-correct (sorta) 1910s gear.
The Supporting Cast: More Than Just Background
The Thomasine & Bushrod cast was filled out by people who were either already legends or about to be.
- George Murdock as U.S. Marshal Bogardie: You might recognize Murdock from Star Trek V or Willie Dynamite. He plays the antagonist, a lawman who isn't just obsessed with catching the duo—he's got this weird, creepy fixation on Thomasine specifically. It adds a layer of tension that makes the chase feel much more personal and dangerous.
- Glynn Turman as Jomo J. Anderson: Turman is a legend (Cooley High, The Wire), but his role here is... interesting. He plays a Jamaican bandit who joins the duo late in the game. Some people think his performance is a bit "cartoonish," but he brings an energy that breaks up the tension of the film’s final act.
- Juanita Moore as Pecolia: Moore was an Oscar nominee for Imitation of Life. In this film, she plays a blind Comanche woman who befriends the couple. Having an actress of her caliber in a smaller role like this speaks to the respect the production had within the Black filmmaking community.
- Jackson D. Kane as Adolph Smith: He’s the villain Bushrod is hunting, nicknamed "The Butcher." He’s the catalyst for the whole violent spiral.
Why the Cast Selection Mattered in 1974
Most Westerns at the time—and honestly, for decades before—treated Black people as background noise or, worse, punchlines. Max Julien’s script flipped that. He cast his friends and his partner to show that Black people weren't just "present" in the West; they were active participants, outlaws, and heroes.
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The movie is set between 1911 and 1915, a time when cars were starting to replace horses. You see this in the film—the cast is often dealing with the encroaching "modernity" while still living by the code of the old frontier. It’s a transition period, and the casting of Max Julien and Vonetta McGee as these stylish, rebellious figures made it feel incredibly contemporary for 1974 audiences.
Even the costumes, designed by Andrea Lilly and McGee herself, were very "Seventies." They weren't trying to be perfectly historically accurate. They were trying to look cool. And they did.
Surprising Facts About the Thomasine & Bushrod Production
One thing people often miss is that this wasn't just some indie project. It was financed by Columbia Pictures. It was one of the very few times a major studio put real money behind a Western written, directed, and starring Black artists.
Unfortunately, the movie didn't get the same massive box office love that Superfly or The Mack did. Max Julien’s acting career actually hit a bit of a wall after this. He didn't appear in another feature film for twenty years. Vonetta McGee, on the other hand, kept working steadily, appearing in things like The Eiger Sanction with Clint Eastwood and the cult classic Repo Man.
The Legacy of the Cast
When you look back at the Thomasine & Bushrod cast, you see a group of people who were trying to carve out a space for themselves in a genre that usually excluded them. They weren't just "playing cowboys." They were asserting their right to be the leads in an American epic.
The movie has found a new life recently on streaming services and through the Criterion Channel’s "Black Westerns" collection. People are finally realizing that it’s more than just a "Black Bonnie and Clyde." It’s a movie about the weight of history, the difficulty of maintaining a relationship under pressure, and the sheer coolness of Vonetta McGee in a Stetson.
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How to Appreciate This Movie Today
If you're looking to dive deeper into the work of this cast, here are a few things you should do:
- Watch The Mack: To see Max Julien at the peak of his leading-man power. It’s a very different vibe from Bushrod, but you can see the charisma that made him a star.
- Look for Vonetta McGee in The Great Silence: This is a gritty Spaghetti Western she did before Thomasine & Bushrod. It proves she was a Western powerhouse long before she and Julien teamed up.
- Check out the soundtrack: The title song was done by the band Love (specifically Arthur Lee). It’s an essential part of the film's unique, slightly psychedelic Western atmosphere.
Thomasine & Bushrod is a piece of film history that deserves more than a footnote. It’s a reminder of a time when the rules of Hollywood were being challenged by the very people who were usually kept outside the gates.
Actionable Insights for Film Buffs:
To get the most out of your viewing, pay attention to the mid-film montage. It features real historical photographs of Black people in the Old West. Gordon Parks Jr. included these to prove that while the story of Thomasine and Bushrod is fictional, the presence of people who looked like them in that era was very, very real. Researching those historical figures provides a much deeper context for why this cast was so revolutionary for its time.