Romance of a Horse Thief

Blacklisted director Polonsky (best known for 1949's John Garfield boxing classic Force of Evil) made a comeback in the early '70s with Robert Redford's liberal Western Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here and this now rarely seen Yugoslavian-shot offering. In turn-of-the-century Poland, Jewish horse traders try to best Cossack soldiers seeking to commandeer their animals for the Russo-Japanese war, a scenario (by David Opatoshu) to which Polonsky brings both humour and equine action.