.....when Bronson died a year and a half or so ago, no one seemed to bother mentioning this in his obits. Sure you heard about Death Wish or the Dirty Dozen or whatever, but this one--just gets filed under the 'routine Bronson vehicle' tag ala 'Breakout'. Which is a shame.

Rarely was he this good in anything--focused, believable, solid. You can half-ways even buy his beating Robert Tessier in a fight despite Tessier's obvious looming over Bronson by half a foot or so.

Scenery, setting, casting-Coburn, Strother, etc-all top notch. I also am always happy to see Tessier show up, be it in this or the Longest Yard or whatever, he was a pretty effective villain.

Check this out if you like Bronson or fight flix. Very well done.

***1/2 outta ****

A desperate hobo boxes to make some extra money in the Depression. No love story, no cute little kids, no happy ending, no redemption. Just a hard man doing what he has to in order to survive. But on his terms.

To understand why HARD TIMES is a masterpiece, compare it to other films from around this time.

BONNIE AND CLYDE, THE STING, and PAPER MOON were all massive box office hits, set in the Depression. All three movies "strain" for a sense of desperate characters in a dog-eat-dog world, but every one of them cops out with Hollywood glitz and glamor. Here's giggly Warren Beatty pretending he knows what it's like to be poor. And here's Faye Dunaway, the dead-end girl, wearing scrumptious couture while she robs banks. Here's Robert Redford, the ultimate preppy blonde pretty boy, delicately hobnobbing with down-to-earth "Negroes" and glowing with his own virtue. Here's Ryan O'Neil, tough as nails and a real fighter, but hey, it's okay -- he's got a cute little girl along for the ride! One close up of Charles Bronson's face takes you to a place no other Depression picture dares to go. The ugly violence and the hopelessness in this film are so real that they actually build up the character even more than Bronson's natural authority and physical presence. It's the perfect vehicle for the perfect star.

Bronson is enough -- but there's so much more. James Coburn as the manager Speed, so dishonest yet completely likable and in his own way a real hero. Maggie Blye and Jill Ireland, both sexy and authentic as Depression women -- Jill too sickened by failure to ever love again, Maggie too aware of how short life is to ever let a minute go by without a laugh. Either one of them could wipe the floor with "Bonnie" from Bonnie and Clyde. Strother Martin as Poe, the dope addict cut man who adds his own humor, sadness and resignation to a movie utterly packed to the brim with memorable characters.

This is the most powerful and honest movie ever made about hard times.

It's more than just a cellular to communicate for gloveless fighter Charles Bronson in this depression era drama that has him taking over in scenes by barely saying a word with James Coburn and "Cool Hand Luke's" Strother Martin. Coburn is his more bombastic representative and Martin, delightfully slimy, is dress like a mobster and talks like a bootlegger as he tends to Bronson's wounds. This slice of life drama is more atmosphere than story, but a well-written script and good performances makes it very memorable.

A great New Orleans setting really adds to the atmosphere, and in some of the photography, there are some terrific angles that show Bronson and Coburn sitting and talking as a New Orleans Street dominates the visual. 1975 was not a big year for blockbuster films and Martin certainly could have been considered for supporting actor for his performance here. Bronson is excellent but it's difficult to pick out a scene to represent as terrific acting when they are not really talking all that much.

Jill Ireland and Margaret Blye are the women in Bronson and Coburn's life respectively, and there's a few nice subtle moments between the real life married Bronson and Ireland. Naomi Stevens has an amusing small role as a flashy madame. The fight scenes get to be pretty brutal and it's clear that Martin's character has some ties with the local criminal element, led by Bruce Glover.

You don't really get to know about Bronson outside of his flying fists, but his character is so quiet that you wouldn't expect him to reveal much anyway. In spite of a shell of a plot other than Bronson's desperation to survive in a tough world, this ends up being quite memorable because even though there's not a strong story, the atmosphere draws the audience in and makes them feel like they've gone back to the Great Depression where survival was key.