''Posse'' is a 1975 American

Revisionist Western The revisionist Western (also called the anti-Western, sometimes revisionist antiwestern) is a sub-genre of the Western film. Designated a post-classical variation of the traditional Western, the revisionist subverts the myth and romance of the ...

film in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

and

Panavision Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company founded in 1953 specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during ...

. It was produced and directed by

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Do ...

who also starred. The screenplay was written by Christopher Knopf and William Roberts. The plot centers on a

U.S. marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...

with political ambitions leading an elite posse in pursuit of a notorious train robber to further his political career. The film premiered in New York City on June 4, 1975, and in June the same year in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

at the

25th Berlin International Film Festival The 25th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 27 June – 8 July 1975. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Hungarian film ''Adoption'' directed by Márta Mészáros. The retrospective dedicated to Greta Garbo was shown at the f ...

, where Douglas was nominated for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...

Plot

Howard Nightingale (Douglas), a U.S. marshal, leads an elite uniformed

posse Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates. Posse may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Posse'' (1975 ...

to track down and capture infamous train robber Jack Strawhorn (

Bruce Dern Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He has often played supporting villainous characters of unstable natures. He has received several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver B ...

). He is doing so to further his political career, as he is running to become a U. S.

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. When Nightingale captures Strawhorn, his election seems inevitable, but Strawhorn disrupts everything when he escapes, kidnapping Nightingale in the process. He demands a ransom of $40,000 from the posse for Nightingale's safe return—the same amount of money the posse burned when it first tracked Strawhorn down and killed the members of his gang. To raise the money, Nightingale's posse has to rob the town, thus turning the public against Nightingale. The posse members, since they first captured Strawhorn, had been given reason to doubt that their loyalty to Nightingale is reciprocated. It sets up a final confrontation where they have to reassess on whose side they are.

Cast

as Marshal Howard Nightingale *

as Jack Strawhorn *

Bo Hopkins William Mauldin "Bo" Hopkins (February 2, 1938 – May 28, 2022) Issucover/ref> was an American actor. He was known for playing supporting roles in a number of major studio films between 1969 and 1979, and appeared in many television shows and ...

as Wesley *

James Stacy Maurice William Elias (December 23, 1936September 9, 2016), known professionally as James Stacy, was an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for starring in the late 1960s TV western ''Lancer''. In 1973, Stacy was hit by ...

as Hellman *

Luke Askew Francis Luke Askew (March 26, 1932 – March 29, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in many westerns, and had a lead role in the spaghetti Western ''Night of the Serpent'' (''La notte dei serpenti''; 1969). He also had a small part in the ...

as Krag *

David Canary David Hoyt Canary (August 25, 1938 – November 16, 2015) was an American actor. Canary is best known for his role as ranch foreman Candy Canaday in the NBC Western drama ''Bonanza'', and as Adam Chandler in the television soap opera ''All My Ch ...

as Pensteman *

Alfonso Arau Alfonso Arau Incháustegui (born 11 January 1932) is a Mexican filmmaker, actor, and singer. He worked as an actor and director in both Mexican and Hollywood productions for over 40 years, before his international breakthrough with the 1992 fil ...

as Peppe * Katherine Woodville as Mrs. Cooper * Mark Roberts as Mr. Cooper * Beth Brickell as Mrs. Ross *

Dick O'Neill Richard Francis O'Neill (August 29, 1928 – November 17, 1998) was an American stage, film and television character actor best known for playing Irish cops, fathers, judges and army generals. He began his acting career as an original company me ...

as Wiley * Bill Burton as McCanless * Louie Elias as Rains * Gus Greymountain as Reynolds * Allan Warnick as The Telegrapher * Roger Behrstock as Buwalda * Jess Riggle as Hunsinger * Stephanie Steele as Amy *

Melody Thomas Melody Thomas Scott (born Melody Ann Thomas, April 18, 1956) is an American actress best known for playing Nikki Newman on the soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. Early life and acting career Scott was born Melody Ann Thomas in Los Ange ...

as Laurie * Dick Armstrong as Shanty Principal * Larry Finley as Shanty Principal * Pat Tobin as Shanty Principal

References

External links

* * * *
Sample frames of Posse from one of the cinematographers
{{Bryna Productions 1975 films 1975 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Films directed by Kirk Douglas Paramount Pictures films Bryna Productions films United States Marshals Service in fiction Films with screenplays by William Roberts (screenwriter) 1970s English-language films 1970s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links