When I talk about overlooked Black history in Western cinema, one title I always bring up is Black Tigress — originally released in Italy as Lola Colt — starring the unforgettable Lola Falana.
Released in 1967 at the height of the Italian “spaghetti western” boom, this film stands as one of the rare moments in 1960s Western cinema where a Black woman wasn’t just present — she was the lead.
And that matters.
The Birth of Lola Colt
The film was directed by Siro Marcellini and produced in Italy during the explosive popularity of
European Westerns inspired by the success of A Fistful of Dollars.
Originally titled Lola Colt, the movie was later retitled Black Tigress for English-speaking audiences. Like many European Westerns of the era, it was shot in Italy, standing in for the American frontier, and marketed internationally with different titles to suit different audiences.
But what truly set this film apart wasn’t the setting.
It was Lola.
A Black Woman at the Center of the West
In the film, Falana plays Lola Gate, a traveling saloon dancer who arrives in a troubled Western town dominated by an outlaw called El Diablo. The railroad is coming. Greed is rising. Violence follows.
At first glance, Lola seems like an entertainer passing through.
But as events unfold, she becomes something more — a figure of resistance.
She inspires the townspeople to stand up. She helps confront tyranny. And unlike most Western women of the era, she isn’t just a love interest or background decoration. She participates in the action.
What strikes me most is this:
The film never makes her race a plot point.
She simply exists in the story as the hero.
In 1967, that was quietly radical.
Lola Falana Before the Vegas Lights
Before she became known as “The Black Venus” and lit up Las Vegas stages in the 1970s, Lola Falana was already proving she could command international screens.
Black Tigress showcases her full range — singing, dancing, and stepping into a genre dominated by white male gunslingers. This wasn’t blaxploitation. It predated that wave. It wasn’t satire. It wasn’t parody.
It was a straight Western.
And she led it.
Why This Film Still Matters
Is Black Tigress a flawless classic? No. Like many spaghetti westerns of the 1960s, it carries the stylistic quirks and uneven pacing of its era.
But historically?
It’s significant.
Long before Hollywood began revisiting the myth of the Black cowboy in modern films, Lola Falana was already riding into frontier storytelling — not as a side character, but as the face on the poster.
For me, that’s what Ebony Frontiers is about.
Digging up the names.
Dusting off the reels.
Reminding people that we were always there — even in places the genre tried to pretend we weren’t.
And sometimes, we weren’t just there.
We were leading.