One of my all time favorites.

Admirable film.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Released in 1975, "Posse" is a Western starring Kirk Douglas and Bruce Dern. Douglas plays, Nightingale, a marshal campaigning for the Senate in West Texas while Dern plays Strawhorn, a notorious outlaw leader whom Nightingale wants to bring in to increase his chances of winning the election. Bo Hopkins is on hand as one of the marshal's deputies while James Stacy plays a newspaper editor who opposes the marshal's campaign.The movie debuted a year after Nixon resignation due to the Watergate scandal and "Posse" takes advantage of the public's loss of trust in politicians. Nightingale (Douglas) and his deputies are subtly juxtaposed with Strawhorn (Dern) and his losers. There's no overt message, however, until the last 20 minutes. Speaking of which, the twist of the climax initially turned me off and filled me with disgust. But, after reflecting on it, I saw what the movie was getting across and respected it. It's just that the way the message is conveyed is awkwardly implemented. It could've been done more smoothly.Some critics mistake the film's message as comparing a (supposedly) corrupt politician with a (supposedly) honest lawbreaker, but this is inaccurate. For one thing, "honest lawbreaker" is an oxymoron, particularly where Strawhorn is concerned. Right out of the gate the movie plainly shows him to be a murderous thug and, while a smooth-talker, he's never made out to be the good guy. He's a scumbag criminal worthy of hanging, impure and simple. Nor is Nightingale shown to be wickedly corrupt. He's a commanding marshal of the territory, which is a good thing; he has political aspirations and ties to the railroad, so what? Even when tempted by the blond hottie Mrs. Ross (Beth Brickell) he charmingly turns her down on the grounds that it wouldn't be advantageous to his political goals. Isn't that what wisdom is—having the scruples to recognize and deny foolish, immoral or destructive desires/behaviors? For more insights on the message of the movie remember that the film's called "Posse." See below for details.Beyond the movie's message, "Posse" is a competent, entertaining Western with interesting characters, a quality cast and quite a bit of action.The film runs 92 minutes and was shot in Sabino Canyon, Florence, Sonoita, Aravaipa Canyon and Old Tucson, Arizona.GRADE: B+ ***SPOILER ALERT*** (Don't read further if you haven't seen the movie) I didn't find the deputies' sudden shift to the life of outlawry to be believable. True, they would each have $6000, which would've taken three years for them to make doing honest work, but it wasn't like this was enough moolah to radically change their lives, not to mention they'd lose the prestige that came with being deputies; and the possibility of becoming marshals or sheriffs one day. No matter how you slice it this was an awkwardly implemented twist.That said, there were signs that the 'posse' were already bad (with the exception of one deputy who refused to betray Nightingale and turn to crime). For instance, at least three of them are shown secretly bedding some babes from the town in a conveniently available boxcar. These nubile ladies were obviously attracted to the "bad boys," which just so happen to be 'upstanding deputies,' members of the brave posse. What else is new? So what's the movie saying? The line between respectable profession and outlawry can be very thin. People can be in an honest occupation and be corrupt; they're essentially just masquerading. It happens everywhere all the time. One critic lambasted the film for it's "tortuous confusion of good and evil." Actually, the movie just sheds light on the existence of evil in places where people naively pull the wool over the eyes not to see it. Look no further than HiLIARy. What about Nightingale? Was he shady or just his men? I personally don't think he was. He struck me as an ambitious justice-seeking marshal with political aspirations and he refused to even consider an illicit sexual liaison. But it's not a good reflection on his character that the majority of his men were corrupt, so maybe he was too, at least a little; and it would overtly manifest down the line in office.Any movie that can spur such questions is a good one.

The outlaw Jack Strawhorn (Bruce Dern) is betrayed by one of his men, Pensteman (David Canary), after robbing US$ 40,000.00 from a train. During the night, his gang is ambushed in a barn by Marshal Howard Nightingale (Kirk Douglas) and his posse that set fire on the place, burning the criminals and the money, but Strawhorn escapes from the attack. He heads to Tesota, Texas, where he kills Pensteman and the local sheriff. Meanwhile, the ambitious Marshal Nightingale that is running for the senate is traveling by train with his posse to Tesota, expecting to capture Strawhorn to help him to win the elections. Nightingale succeeds in his manhunt and poses of hero, but while Strawhorn is in the jail, he poisons the posse asking what will happen with them after the election of their boss. During the transportation of Strawhorn for judgment by train, the outlaw reverts the situation and captures Nightingale. Now he demands the same amount he lost in the fire to release Nightingale and the posse force the locals to give the money to rescue the marshal. "Posse" is a western with a cynical and amoral tale of leadership, disloyalty and greedy. The twist in the very end is totally unexpected and all the characters are despicable and disloyal with no exception. Marshal Howard Nightingale is probably the worst, with all the characteristics that politicians usually have. James Stacy lost his left arm and left leg when he was riding a motorcycle with his girlfriend and they were struck by a drunk driver that also killed his girlfriend. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Ambição Acima da Lei" ("Ambition above the Law")

Kirk Douglas proves that his first choice for a career--in front of the camera--was a good one, directing Posse, a weak and silly "message" western about a politically ambitious US Marshall on the hunt for a notorious outlaw and the promotion that will result from his capture.It is interesting seeing Douglas run his PR spin machine in the Old West, and Bruce Dern, as the outlaw, is both cunning and charming (and not the psycho we all grew to love and hate). There is so much character-actor star-power in Posse, that I remember liking it despite its wheezy moralizing and Watergate-era world-view.Yet, if you've got nothing better to do than watch a late entry into the genre, with a strong cast more comfortable than good and a story more parody than satire, I'd just about recommend Posse.Just tie your standards to the hitchin' post.

Finally, after watching literally hundreds of westerns, score one for the bad guy! Bruce Dern's character is Jack Strawhorn, a savvy train robber with enough sense in the early going to know that his gang was second best to Marshal Howard Nightingale's (Kirk Douglas) lawmen. Savvy enough also to allow himself to be captured than to foolishly throw down with Nightingale when he had the upper hand. Strawhorn's capture virtually assures Nightingale of an election win for a U.S. Senate seat, a position he's angling for with a lot more ambition on his mind than simply serving the people.As the story plays out though, things get a whole lot murkier, so much so that the finale winds up totally at odds with any sense of credibility. Granted, Nightingale's men spend a fair amount of time worrying about what will happen to them should he pack up for Washington, D.C. Here's what bothers me though - who's payroll were they actually on to begin with? They were uniformed officers and all wore stars; Nightingale's title was that of a Marshal. So why wouldn't they have remained no worse off than their present circumstances? I can understand them shaking down the town to save the life of their boss, but then to turn around and split up the money just because Strawhorn suggested it just doesn't make sense to me.Other than the ending that proved a letdown for this viewer, the film does have some fine points to offer. The cinematography is more than adequate, and the hijacked train on fire was an exciting touch. There are also two outstanding scenes where horses go above and beyond the call of duty. The first involves a mount going over a cliff and into the water at the Mexican camp, and later when Strawhorn attempts his getaway from the train on horseback. How does one get a horse to take those crazy spills?Pay attention to the scene when Strawhorn plans his breakout on the train. He rigs a garrote from a piece of wire taken apart from a broom and lashes Wesley (Bo Hopkins) tightly by the neck to the bars of the cell. Later when Wesley answers Strawhorn's call to come to his room where Nightingale is kept hostage, there isn't even the slightest hint of redness or abrasion on his neck from the event.One other comment bears mentioning that came across unintentionally funny. The train bearing Nightingale's posse is clearly marked as the Texas and Arizona Rail Road. While stationed at the town of Tesota, three of Nightingale's randy men entertain women folk of the town in secluded quarters. Interestingly, there's a shot of one of the train cars with the abbreviated name - 'T.& A. R.R.' For Wesley and the boys, it certainly was.