Posse (1975)

A tough marshal with political ambitions leads an elite posse to capture a notorious criminal. He succeeds, but instead of cheering him, the public turns against him.

Director:

Kirk Douglas

Writers:

Christopher Knopf, William Roberts

Stars:

Kirk Douglas, Bruce Dern, Bo Hopkins

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kirk Douglas	...	Howard Nightingale
Bruce Dern	...	Jack Strawhorn
Bo Hopkins	...	Wesley
James Stacy	...	Harold Hellman
Luke Askew	...	Krag
David Canary	...	Pensteman
Alfonso Arau	...	Pepe
Katherine Woodville	...	Mrs. Cooper
Mark Roberts	...	Mr. Cooper
Beth Brickell	...	Carla Ross
Dick O'Neill	...	Wiley
William H. Burton	...	McCanless
Louie Elias	...	Rains
Gus Greymountain	...	Reyno
Allan Warnick	...	Telegrapher

Storyline

A tough marshal with political ambitions leads an elite posse to capture a notorious criminal. He succeeds, but instead of cheering him, the public turns against him.

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Plot Keywords:

posse | ambition | marshal | prisoner | directed by star | 

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Taglines:

"Posse" begins like most Westerns. It ends like none of them. It will knock you off your horse.

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 August 1975 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

La brigade du Texas

Filming Locations:

Old Tucson - 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryna Productions, Zeeuwse Maatschappij N.V.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.77 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pepe says to Strawhorn "What'd you expect -Joaquin Murrieta?". Thus is a reference to Joaquin Carrillo Murrieta, an infamous bandit during the California Gold Rush in the 1850s.

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Goofs

US Senators were not directly elected at the time of the film's setting. They were appointed by State Legislatures until the 17th Amendment in 1913.

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Quotes

Jack Strawhorn: Every day above ground is a good day.

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Soundtracks

"I've Been Working on the Railroad"
(uncredited)
Traditional
The first line is sung during Nightingale's speech

User Reviews

"You Are About To See The Best!"

Well, not 'the best', perhaps, but an interesting and stylish western starring Kirk Douglas, who also produced and directed it. Bruce Dern is great as Strawhorn, the bad guy who ends up stealing the show.

Howard Nightingale is running for a seat in the US Senate. He is a man of great complexity, and one trait very much to the fore in his personality is a ruthless desire to impress the voters. He has assembled a posse of rangers, his own personal uniformed army of crimebusters. Nightingale (played by Douglas) has calculated that he can win the election on a clear-the-territory-of-lowlifes ticket. He and his posse are hunting down Strawhorn, and have fitted out a crusade train for the purpose of capturing their prey. The plan is to grab Strawhorn and hang him just in time for the election.

Nightingale is in the pocket of the railroad owners. The local newspaper is the Tesota Sentinel, and one of the film's themes is the valuable role played by the press in speaking truth to those in power. One-armed, one-legged journalist Harold Hellman (played by James Stacy, who had recently lost both limbs on a motor cycle accident) is the equal of the photogenic wannabe Senator. Nightingale works the crowd with glib words, but his position is being eroded by a different formula of words - that used by The Sentinel.

One of the film's elegant touches is the photography motif. At various points in the story, the participants pose to have their picture taken, and the resulting stills form a freeze-frame chronicle of the action. A lot of post-production work went into dubbing extraneous voices onto the soundtrack, so that the crowd scenes are laced with apposite little remarks.

A violently-burning train provides terrific visuals, as well as offering acerbic comment on Nightingale's political aspirations. The film's concluding message, that by its nature a standing army is a threat to democracy, is well made - as is the point about the fickleness of public opinion.

Verdict - A clever, enjoyable little western.