Jump to content

Posse (1975 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Posse
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKirk Douglas
Screenplay byChristopher Knopf
William Roberts
Based onThe Train
1971 short story
by Larry Cohen
Robert Perham
Produced byKirk Douglas
Phil Feldman
StarringKirk Douglas
Bruce Dern
Bo Hopkins
James Stacy
Luke Askew
David Canary
CinematographyFred J. Koenekamp
Edited byJohn W. Wheeler
Music byMaurice Jarre
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • June 4, 1975 (1975-06-04)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Posse is a 1975 American revisionist Western film in Technicolor and Panavision. It was produced and directed by Kirk Douglas who also starred. The screenplay was written by Christopher Knopf and William Roberts. The plot centers on a U.S. marshal 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 at the 25th Berlin International Film Festival, where Douglas was nominated for the Golden Bear.[1]

Plot

[edit]

Howard Nightingale (Douglas), a U.S. marshal, leads an elite uniformed posse to track down and capture infamous train robber Jack Strawhorn (Bruce Dern). He is doing so to further his political career, as he is running to become a U. S. Senator. 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

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "IMDB.com: Awards for Posse". imdb.com. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
[edit]