La brigade du Texas

On screen I find Kirk Douglas to be without peer, but I have come to admire him as much if not more for his real-life advocacy of some highly unorthodox, yet worthy projects.

If this movie doesn't rank among his very best, it is still remarkable for how unapologetically it goes against the grain and makes a very bold personal statement (one that was not so popular at the time but resonates to this day). All the while he is producing and directing himself in what proves to be a rather unflattering role. I can't think of anyone else who would have the real-life grit to do such a thing - Kirk Douglas has done so repeatedly with aplomb.

U.S Marshal Howard Nightingale is a man who has big political aspirations and to achieve this dream. He and his posse of deputies go after an out-law Jack Strawhorn. When Nightingale captures Strawhorn, just like his other captors or conquests he exploits it through the media for public support. Strawhorn would be Nightingale's ticket into the US senate, but Strawhorn thinks otherwise.

Can westerns be too low-key? 'Posse' felt so. Kirk Douglas directs and stars in this understated, but thoroughly ambitious under-the-radar western that had something cynical to say when it came to its closing credits. Quite heavy-handed and aware of its messages (money buys loyalty with the guys donning their badges being no better than the outlaws and representing an image (the people's?) to manipulative achieve a politically upper-hand), but the story's format is just so odd and subversive. The western conventions are there, but by the end William Roberts and Christopher Knopf's cleverly sharp (if sly) material basically turned it upside down with an ironic turn of events. It has that fragrance of the pioneer Hollywood westerns, but its punishing violence and sexual inclusions with a quiet, but powerful conclusion roots it in the 70s. The unusual theme to it and the effortlessly collected and cool-witted performances of Kirk Douglas and Bruce Dern (who shared a terrific chemistry) cover for how mechanical the film did look. Nothing totally skillful or stylish about it. Douglas' direction is raggedly rough and a little too plain. However some action shootouts and chase sequences were competently entertaining, but when the violence did hit, it wasn't presented in such a meaningless parade. It went hand-to-hand with the thoughtful nature of the script. Dick O'Neill's taut, but at times flashy photography is fluidly shot and Maurice Jarre's uncanny score is strongly delivered. Supporting Douglas and Dern (who's character's made great for sparing confrontations) is excellent performances by Bo Hopkins, James Stacy, Beth Brickell, Dick O'Neill and Alfonso Arau. A western that's too interesting to pass up because of the calculating tone lurking underneath.

Kirk Douglas had already directed the somewhat terrible Scalawag in 1973, but that previous flop did not deter him from having a second stab at the directing job a couple of years on. Fortunately, Posse is a much more accomplished film than Scalawag in every way: Douglas's own direction is more assured, the script by Christopher Knopf and William Roberts is very literate and clever, and Fred Koenekamp's cinematography has a good, professional look about it. By 1975, one would have thought that there would be little mileage left in the western genre. It seemed that nothing new could be done, but this one comes up with a fresh twist by having the "hero" gradually revealed as an unlikable and ambitious social climber.

Marshal Howard Nightingale (Douglas) publicly announces that he will bring in infamous railroad bandit Jack Strawhorn (Bruce Dern). Although Strawhorn is a criminal of considerable notoriety - and definitely a man who belongs behind bars - Nightingale has an ulterior motive for apprehending his man. For the good Marshal has decided to run for the Texan senate, and believes that if he can nail Strawhorn - painting himself as a hero into the bargain - he will win over plenty of voters. Gradually, more and more people begin to see through Nightingale's selfish and egotistical political plans. His own posse have their doubts about how they will figure in the Marshal's future schemes; a news editor named Hellman (James Stacy) expresses distrust over the Marshal's ludicrously self-important opinion of himself; even Strawhorn eventually realises what his sly adversary is up to. Ultimately, Nightingale loses his posse and his public favour, with a little clever intervention from Strawhorn, and sees his political dreams left in tatters.

The critical response to Posse was much more favourable than Douglas's previous directing attempt, and deservedly so. The western action in the film is good, solid stuff, not too violent (as was the trend in '75), but certainly tough enough to satisfy genre addicts. Douglas gives a strong performance as the absurdly self-obsessed marshal, and Dern is even better as the charismatic, even likable, bandit. The subversive nature of the plot (hero gradually turns out to be villain, villain gradually turns out to be hero) is intriguing and fairly fresh, and helps to add interest to the film. While Posse has occasional lulls, and a few noticeably amateurish performances lower down the cast list, it remains a fresh, interesting, and intriguing addition to a virtually exhausted genre.

Well, not 'the best', perhaps, but an interesting and stylish western starring Kirk Douglas, who also produced and directed it. Bruce Dern is great as Strawhorn, the bad guy who ends up stealing the show.

Howard Nightingale is running for a seat in the US Senate. He is a man of great complexity, and one trait very much to the fore in his personality is a ruthless desire to impress the voters. He has assembled a posse of rangers, his own personal uniformed army of crimebusters. Nightingale (played by Douglas) has calculated that he can win the election on a clear-the-territory-of-lowlifes ticket. He and his posse are hunting down Strawhorn, and have fitted out a crusade train for the purpose of capturing their prey. The plan is to grab Strawhorn and hang him just in time for the election.

Nightingale is in the pocket of the railroad owners. The local newspaper is the Tesota Sentinel, and one of the film's themes is the valuable role played by the press in speaking truth to those in power. One-armed, one-legged journalist Harold Hellman (played by James Stacy, who had recently lost both limbs on a motor cycle accident) is the equal of the photogenic wannabe Senator. Nightingale works the crowd with glib words, but his position is being eroded by a different formula of words - that used by The Sentinel.

One of the film's elegant touches is the photography motif. At various points in the story, the participants pose to have their picture taken, and the resulting stills form a freeze-frame chronicle of the action. A lot of post-production work went into dubbing extraneous voices onto the soundtrack, so that the crowd scenes are laced with apposite little remarks.

A violently-burning train provides terrific visuals, as well as offering acerbic comment on Nightingale's political aspirations. The film's concluding message, that by its nature a standing army is a threat to democracy, is well made - as is the point about the fickleness of public opinion.

Verdict - A clever, enjoyable little western.

Not a bad western, but not a real winner either. Most of the acting was good, but some of the performers need to go back to drama class and bone up a bit. Douglas and Dern kept the show going with their give and take, although I don't think the real lawmen and desperados actually carried on in this fashion. I think Strawhorn was more of a realist than a truly bad person; he saw the reality of life and became practical because of his vision. Dealing with 2 faced con men like Nightingale merely solidified his outlook on life.