Posse from Hell

• Directed by Herbert Coleman
• March 1, 1961
• Based on the 1958 novel Posse from Hell by Clair Huffaker

A deputy forms a posse to go after a quartet of escapees that killed the local sheriff and kidnapped a woman.

Posse from Hell sounds like it should be a Western horror movie. The title certainly lends itself to that but it is a much more traditional Western though it delves into things like rape and deep topics of personal motivation and self-worth.

I am continually amazed as I watch Western after Audie Murphy Western and find him paired with now notable talent. Not all are known today but they had their moments in the sun. John Saxon is bank employee Seymour Kern, Vic Morrow is escapee Crip, Royal Dano is local drunk Billy Caldwell, Frank ‘several bits of classic TV’ Overton is the angry Burt Hogan, and Lee Van Cleef is escapee Leo. The man had a great career at the minimum in those he was paired with.

With music and lettering imposed against a small fire in the backdrop Posse from Hell opening credits feel a touch on the salacious side like you’re going to get something that’s attempting to be tawdry from the early 60s. It never does though. For a film classified as a B-Western it never aims for the lowest common denominator as Banner Cole (Audie Murphy) hunts down escaped outlaws while leading a barely held together group of mean with him.

Posse from Hell is not descriptive of events, but descriptive of the group that Cole is leading. It’s a mixture of glory hounds, the vengeful, and inexperienced who make things worse because of their petty reasons for joining. Capt. Jeremiah Brown (Robert Keith) is perhaps the most destabilizing in the beginning. As a former Union soldier he thinks he is well suited to advise/lead when his rusty skills (or lack thereof) causes problems and make him a liability.

Saxon starts out against type as the meek Seymour Kern. I’m used to seeing him as a tough guy or the one with the hard edge. Here he’s introduced as a bank employee and appears ineffective while first in the group pursuing the criminals. As the movie goes along the character experiences personal growth which Saxon communicates well. He just looks very awkward in his initial clothing and maybe that was the point. That bowler hat was too small.

Kern, like the other members of the posse, have reasons for coming along that go beyond bringing the men that terrorized the town of Paradise to justice. Posse from Hell is a very masculine film. I don’t mean that it is filled with action and larger-than-life men doing the right thing because it is the right thing. It is ‘masculine’ in that it gets to what drives these men to do what they do. There are moments that reveal it in discussion or in action as they peel off after accomplishing their own personal goal. Some are in it for petty revenge while others are seeking to save a family member. A few have something to prove to themselves or to show the world. As much as it is about saving a woman it is also about what drove these men to go out.

Kern is not consciously seeking much of anything. He’s just doing his job but realizes he needs to take things seriously. Not because he represents the bank but because doing so is a sign of character. Before he was just going through the motions. 

Billy Caldwell is a barely functional alcoholic that joins just to save his niece Helen (Zohra Lampert) who was taken as a hostage and for other reasons by the bad guys. They get as close as they can to saying she was gang raped but being the time they can’t quite say it. Doing it this way makes the experience more horrific for all with the appearance of being unable to admit what was done.

It’s a rather nuanced and sophisticated portrayal of an individual’s thinking and her feelings about rape and her reactions to it for the time. Unlike what might be expected she’s not given a peptalk and sent on home. She’s bitter and enraged and seeks vengeance.

The journey and experiences are used to reveal the truth of each character. It either breaks or hardens them with the remaining ones being pulled closer together. Slowly the cast peels off until a trio is left driven by things that are more than doing justice. There is growth for the characters along the way. Kern moves from a milquetoast banker that never felt whole to a strong individual.

Banner Cole starts with a bit of a cynical view akin to Ethan Edwards in The Searchers though without the racism or dubious moral character. He ends Posse from Hell more positive towards humanity. It is a quiet transformation the character fights every step of the way until he no longer can. He even tries to bring others to his view.

Murphy was no Academy award winning actor but one that could often do the material justice. His character’s background is decidedly vague and his presence is there to introduce the themes that permeate this deeper than one would expect B-Western. He’s not a tougher-than-tough man nor the best of the best but he’s good at what he does. He’s dedicated to the task at hand and Audie Murphy communicates that without making him seem like some kind of caricature.

The three that might be looked upon as least in society for an assortment of reasons-Kern, Helen, and Native American blacksmith Johnny Caddo (Rodolfo Acosta) who is allowed in Paradise only because of his skills-turn out to be the best this smidge of humanity has to offer based on the substantive things of character. Each demonstrates solid or strong character despite flaws or in spite of who they are perceived to be.

Sometimes the characters get dangerously close to being the very thing they hate. Is it worth crossing that line and maybe never coming back? This is crystalized in a scene involving the dying Leo where Kern and Cole are deciding to let him die or get him aid. That element of moral philosophy gets no depth since Leo goes and croaks before they settle on anything. DO NOT GIVE AN OFFRAMP IN THOSE CASES!

By the end the baddies are defeated and the survivors return to town. The citizens are angry with Cole because he doesn’t return with the money. What Cole points out is they are truly angry with themselves for being too afraid to stand up to the gang when they were in town but also for not being brave enough to go and hunt them down. They waited for someone else to do what they should’ve done. 

If I had any complaints about this movie, it’s that Helen bounces back before the credits from being gang raped a little too easily. What she’s going through with the town and some of them rejecting her because of something that she didn’t do but was done to her is a nice touch. She’s just a little too together. Lampert should not have smiled ever! Not saying she must be an emotional wreck, but maybe a little less bounce in the actress’s performance.

Posse from Hell is a better than one would expect B-Western. It explores deeper concepts but never shoves your face in them. It’s exciting and generally enjoyable. Highly recommend it to fans of classic Westerns.