''Posse from Hell'' is a 1961 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by Herbert Coleman and starring

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor and songwriter. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He received every military combat award for valor available from t ...

and

John Saxon John Saxon (born Carmine Orrico; August 5, 1936 – July 25, 2020) was an American actor who worked on more than 200 film and television projects during a span of 60 years. He was known for his work in Western (genre), Westerns and horror film ...

Plot

In 1880 four escapees from

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...

, Crip, Leo, Chunk, and Hash ride into the town of Paradise and enter the Rosebud Saloon. Crip shoots the

town marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Isaac Webb and holds ten men hostage in the saloon, killing some to ensure the four are unmolested. The gang leaves town with $11,200 from the Bank of Paradise and hostage Helen Caldwell. Banner Cole rides into town, having received a request from Webb to join him as his deputy. Webb's last act before dying is to deputize Cole, telling him to do the right thing. Cole agrees, and heads out to hunt the outlaws alone, but town elder Benson convinces Cole to follow Webb's wishes and organize a posse. Cole's posse eventually consists of Captain Jeremiah Brown, a has-been ex-cavalry officer with delusions of grandeur; Jock Wiley, an overeager young trick-shooter; Uncle Billy, a drunk who insists on going after his niece Helen; Burt Hogan, who seems emotionally conflicted between jealousy of his dead brother, murdered by the four, and avenging him; Johnny Caddo, an American Indian who is apparently only allowed to live in Paradise because of his skills as a blacksmith; and Seymour Kern (

), a

tenderfoot Tenderfoot or The Tenderfoot may refer to: * Tenderfoot Scout, the second rank in Scouts BSA * A guest at a guest ranch, also known as a "dude" * "Tenderfoot", a song by Tom Morgan on the Lemonheads album '' Car Button Cloth'' * ''The Tenderfoot' ...

banker, just arrived on a special assignment from the New York parent office of the bank, and who is browbeaten into joining by the bank manager. The posse soon find Helen, who has been left behind. Cole tells Uncle Billy to return with her to town, but Capt. Brown's clumsy attempt to console her (the script tiptoes delicately around that the outlaws have raped her) only upsets her more and she tries to kill herself. Cole prevents that and Billy heads back, with Helen on a

travois A travois (; Canadian French, from French , a frame for restraining horses; also obsolete travoy or travoise) is a historical frame structure that was used by indigenous peoples, notably the Plains Aboriginals of North America, to drag loads ov ...

behind his horse. Capt. Brown continues to find it impossible to believe he's not in charge and demonstrates his incompetence by disobeying Cole's orders and opening fire on four men initially thought to be the outlaws. But it's four cowhands, who lost two men to the outlaws. Cole has to wound Brown to stop his shooting and orders him back to town with the cowhands. The posse heads for the ranch house where the cowhands encountered the outlaws and finds them still there. After a gun battle, three outlaws escape; the fourth kills Wiley but is then killed by Cole. Hogan begins shooting the corpse of the outlaw, claiming he wasn't dead and was the man who killed his brother. He then quits the posse. Cole tells the other two (Caddo and Kern) to join Hogan, but they refuse. They continue tracking the party but realise that the outlaws have doubled back. The outlaws attempt an ambush, killing Cole's horse. Cole shoots Leo as the outlaws flee. They find he's not dead, but he soon does die, after telling Cole the others are heading back to Paradise. A second ambush results in the death of Caddo and his horse. Cole and Kern track the remaining 2 outlaws to a ranch house near Paradise, the home of Helen and her Uncle Billy. Crip kills Uncle Billy. Kern wings Hash, who shoots back, killing Kern's horse, which falls on him, breaking his leg. Helen finishes Hash off with a six gun, then drives the buck board towards town. Cole goes after Crip and in the ensuing gunfight, Cole is shot in the side and Crip is killed. The wounded Cole carries the injured Kern back into town. When the townsfolk try and help he remarks with disdain. "Touch this man and I'll kill ya". Both men survive and are patched up. The townsfolk are divided on whether Cole should stay on as town marshal, but Cole remembers the echo of Marshall Webb's words that some people are good and to put down roots, and decides to stay on.

Cast

as Banner Cole *

as Seymour Kern *

Zohra Lampert Zohra Lampert is an American actress, who has had roles on stage, film and television. She performed under her then-married name of Zohra Alton early in her career. Among her performances were as the title character in the 1971 cult horror film ...

as Helen Caldwell *

Vic Morrow Victor Morrow (born Victor Morozoff; February 14, 1929 – July 23, 1982) was an American actor. He came to prominence as one of the leads of the ABC drama series ''Combat!'' (1962–1967), which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstandin ...

as Crip * Robert Keith as Capt. Jeremiah Brown *

Rodolfo Acosta Rodolfo Pérez Acosta (July 29, 1920 – November 7, 1974) was a Mexican-American character actor who became known for his roles as Mexican outlaws or American Indians in Hollywood western films. He was sometimes credited as Rudolfo Acosta ...

as Johnny Caddo (as Rudolph Acosta) *

Royal Dano Royal Edward Dano Sr. (November 16, 1922 - May 15, 1994) was an American actor. In a career spanning 46 years, he was perhaps best known for playing cowboys, villains, and Abraham Lincoln. Dano also provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronic L ...

as "Uncle" Billy Caldwell *

Frank Overton Frank Emmons Overton (March 12, 1918April 24, 1967) was an American actor. He was best known for the roles of Maj. Harvey Stovall in ''Twelve O'Clock High'' (1964-1967), Sheriff Heck Tate in ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962) and General Bogan in ' ...

as Burt Hogan * James Bell as Mr. Benson * Paul Carr as Jock Wiley * Ward Ramsey as Marshal Isaac Webb *

Lee Van Cleef Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, partic ...

as Leo *

Ray Teal Ray Elgin Teal (January 12, 1902 – April 2, 1976) was an American actor.The book ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'' gives Teal's birth date as January 12, 1908. His most famous role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on the televis ...

as the bank manager *

Forrest Lewis Raymond Forrest Lewis (November 5, 1899 – June 2, 1977) was an American actor of the theater, radio, motion pictures and television. Early years Lewis was born in Knightstown, Indiana, the son of Joseph Saint Lewis and Myla Leota Lewi ...

as Dr. Welles *

Charles Horvath Károly "Charles" Horváth was a soccer player who played in the National Professional Soccer League, International Soccer League, and German-American Soccer League. Born in Hungary, he earned one cap for the United States national team. Cl ...

as Hash *

Harry Lauter Herman Arthur "Harry" Lauter (June 19, 1914 – October 30, 1990) was an American character actor. Early years Lauter was born in White Plains, New York. He worked as a model for a professional photographer and was a rodeo rider before m ...

as Russell * Henry Wills as Chunk * Stuart Randall as Luke Gorman *

Allan Lane Allan "Rocky" Lane (born Harry Leonard Albershardt; September 22, 1909 – October 27, 1973) was an American studio leading man and the star of many cowboy B-movies in the 1940s and 1950s. He appeared in more than 125 films and TV show ...

as Burl Hogan

Production

Making his directoral debut, Herbert Coleman was a highly experienced

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...

and

associate producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

with a long string of credits including working with

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

. Coleman later directed Audie Murphy in an episode of his ''

Whispering Smith ''Whispering Smith'' is a 1948 American Western film directed by Leslie Fenton and starring Alan Ladd as a railroad detective assigned to stop a gang of train robbers. The supporting cast includes Robert Preston, Brenda Marshall and Donald C ...

'' TV series and the feature ''

Battle at Bloody Beach ''Battle at Bloody Beach'', (aka ''Battle on the Beach'' in the UK and Australia), is a 1961 drama directed by Herbert Coleman and starring Audie Murphy who had previously worked together in ''Posse from Hell''. The film also features Gary Cros ...

''. Coleman filmed at

Lone Pine, California Lone Pine is a census-designated place (CDP) in Inyo County, California, United States. Lone Pine is located south-southeast of Independence, at an elevation of . The population was 2,035 at the 2010 census, up from 1,655 at the 2000 census. T ...

with one location being the aptly named Rattlesnake Hill where thirty rattlesnakes were removed before filming could commence. Coleman surrounded Murphy with a variety of up and coming young stars as well as experienced professionals. Zohra Lampert was a New York method actress whose adlibbing frequently confused Murphy, but the two worked out their scenes together. It was one of several Westerns John Saxon appeared in during the 1960s. Huffaker's screenplay deviated from his novel by having Murphy's character as an outsider gunfighter rather than the Marshal's established deputy. His script emphasises the similarity between Cole's voluntary exclusion from society with Helen's sudden involuntary exclusion with her rape. Helen attempts suicide then later talks about becoming a prostitute. She is talked out of both by Cole with the two eventually finding a place in society together. Huffaker stated that when writing a screenplay for the Medal of Honor awardee Audie Murphy, he had to put Murphy's character in "a situation where he has to do something bigger than life. So it really kind of fit him in a way". Through his viewing the actions of Caddo, Kern and Helen more than make up for the negative traits in the townspeople, Cole ends the film saying "There is always someone or something worthwhile. We just have to look hard enough".p.32 Loy, R. Phillip ''Westerns in a Changing America 1955-2000'' 2004 McFarland

References

*Gossett, Sue, ''The Films and Career of Audie Murphy, America's Real Hero'', Empire Publishing, 1996, pp. 119–122.

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1961 films 1961 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Films based on American novels Films based on Western (genre) novels Audie Murphy Films set in 1880 Universal Pictures films 1961 directorial debut films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films