Hard Times could be a post-Noir color (albeit muted) addition to the Noir genre. Set in New Orleans (mainly) in the Depression this film evokes a somber, yet spirited picture of three men, a fighter, a con-man and a poet doing what needs to be done to stay alive during hard times. Charles Bronson as "Chaney" is pure Bronson (strong, silent, sensitive); exquisitely complimented by James Coburn  the appealingly sleazy gambler, "Speed", and Strother Martin as the dreamy but incisive opium addicted medic "Poe". All-around this is a visual rich, moody film, not contradictorily filled with action.