My ignorance about Director Herbert Coleman is infamous, given the fact that he worked as assistant director to Alfred Hitchcock in some of the latter's greatest work, notably NORTH BY NORTHWEST, VERTIGO.
POSSE FROM HELL has no vestiges of any Hitchcockian influence. It is shot mostly at eye level, without any psychological or specifically meaningful angles, and cinematography is strictly competent and no more than that.
The screenplay by Hufffaker contains good lines, spoken mainly by Murphy, Saxon and Morrow, the baddie with a great opening hand, shooting dead the sheriff of the town of Paradise, a few local citizens, and basically placing the town at his mercy... until Murphy turns up and whips together a seven-man posse to chase Morrow and his three henchmen.
Saxon is a particularly interesting character as a banker hailing from New York who had hardly ever ridden a horse and as a result has blistures on his bum caused by the saddle.
Still, the MVP is Murphy with a quiet, measured leadership of a bunch of misfits either biting at the bit to chase the outlaws or to jump out of the posse. Murphy delivers one of his finest performances, the high point being when he has to shoot one of the posse's men - Robert Keith, wearing military uniform, intent on implementing military tactics unsuitable to the situation at hand - and he does it because it is inevitable, and the most appropriate move under the circumstances. He shows no pity and yet he conveys unspoken sorrow over it. You can tell it is a situation he may have experienced in combat in WWII, when he became the USA's most decorated soldier ever.
To conclude, POSSE FROM HELL posts nothing groundbreaking but it is well done and it had me riveted to the end.
Definitely worth watching!
POSSE FROM HELL has no vestiges of any Hitchcockian influence. It is shot mostly at eye level, without any psychological or specifically meaningful angles, and cinematography is strictly competent and no more than that.
The screenplay by Hufffaker contains good lines, spoken mainly by Murphy, Saxon and Morrow, the baddie with a great opening hand, shooting dead the sheriff of the town of Paradise, a few local citizens, and basically placing the town at his mercy... until Murphy turns up and whips together a seven-man posse to chase Morrow and his three henchmen.
Saxon is a particularly interesting character as a banker hailing from New York who had hardly ever ridden a horse and as a result has blistures on his bum caused by the saddle.
Still, the MVP is Murphy with a quiet, measured leadership of a bunch of misfits either biting at the bit to chase the outlaws or to jump out of the posse. Murphy delivers one of his finest performances, the high point being when he has to shoot one of the posse's men - Robert Keith, wearing military uniform, intent on implementing military tactics unsuitable to the situation at hand - and he does it because it is inevitable, and the most appropriate move under the circumstances. He shows no pity and yet he conveys unspoken sorrow over it. You can tell it is a situation he may have experienced in combat in WWII, when he became the USA's most decorated soldier ever.
To conclude, POSSE FROM HELL posts nothing groundbreaking but it is well done and it had me riveted to the end.
Definitely worth watching!