Posse (1975 film) - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia

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Posse is a 1975 American Western film, produced by, directed by and starring Kirk Douglas. 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 bank 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 also was nominated for the Golden Bear.

Plot

Howard Nightingale (Kirk Douglas), a U.S. marshal, leads an elite uniformed posse to track down and capture the infamous bank robber Jack Strawhorn (Bruce Dern), in an effort to further his political career when running for United States Senator. Strawhorn disrupts his plans when he kidnaps Nightingale. He demands a ransom of $40,000 from the posse for Nightingale's safe return—the same amount of money that the posse burned when tracking Strawhorn down and killing his gang. In order to raise the money, Nightingale's posse have to rob the town, thus turning the public against Nightingale.