Posse is a 1993 American Western film directed by and starring Mario Van Peebles. Featuring a large ensemble cast, the film tells the story of a posse of African-American soldiers and one ostracized white soldier, who are all betrayed by a corrupt colonel. The story starts with the group escaping with a cache of gold, and continues with their leader Jesse Lee (Mario Van Peebles) taking revenge on the men who killed his preacher father. The story is presented as a flashback told by an unnamed old man (Woody Strode). The title of the film refers to a group of people who are summoned to help law enforcement officers. This film was the first to be released by Gramercy Pictures.
Melvin Van Peebles, the father of director Mario Van Peebles, recorded a new song, "Cruel Jim Crow", for the film. This marked his first music recording in 20 years, after his 1974 album What the....You Mean I Can't Sing?! It led to the production of a new album, Ghetto Gothic, released in 1995. They make their way to Freemanville, a town founded by King David and composed entirely of African-Americans. Jesse is reunited with several old acquaintances, including his good friend Carver (Blair Underwood), who is now the sheriff of Freemanville. Carver's deputy goes to Cutterstown, not wanting to tip anyone off that Carver is working with Cutterstown's sheriff, Bates (Richard Jordan). He informs Bates that Jesse has returned to Freemanville. The "posse" enjoys the hospitality of Freemanville until Bates tells Carver that the town will burn unless Jesse is turned over to him and his deputies. Bates and a few of his deputies attack Freemanville that same night looking for Jesse. One of the deputies beats Weezie in order to get answers. Watching in disgust, Little J fights back in defense of Weezie. Outnumbered, Little J is kicked and beaten to death by Bates and his men, and Obobo and Jesse's former mentor Papa Joe (Melvin Van Peebles) are taken to Cutterstown as prisoners. Jesse and Father Time soon rescue them by posing as Ku Klux Klan members and storming into the Cutterstown jail. Jesse kills one of the deputies, who was another one of King David's murderers. When Bates arrive at the jail, he shoots and kills the mayor. Colonel Graham arrives right after and aligns himself with the Sheriff as a fellow "friend" of Jesse.
When Jesse returns, he convinces a handful of townspeople (but not Carver) to fight Sheriff Bates by telling them the Sheriff wants the land for himself to sell to the railroad when it comes through. The citizens of Freemanville fight Bates the next day when he rides in, with Jesse Lee stating that if Freemanville burns, so would Cutterstown before motioning to set off a stick of dynamite. As they begin to gain the upper hand, Colonel Graham arrives with his cavalry and a Gatling gun which he uses to cut the people down. Jesse charges the gun with a stick of dynamite, destroying the gun and killing some of Graham's troops while Weezie and Father Time arrive onto the scene.
Meanwhile, Carver plans to flee with the deeds to all of the property in Freemanville—all of which are in his name—but is stopped by Papa Joe's daughter Lana (Salli Richardson). Father Time shows up just in time to stop Carver from harming Lana. Time kills one of Carver's deputies, but is killed by Carver. Before Carver can flee, he is stopped by Bates who reveals that they had a deal to split the proceeds from the land 50-50. Jesse arrives just in time to hear about the deal, and watches as Carver is betrayed and murdered by Bates. Jesse kills Bates in a showdown, finally putting his past demons to rest. Colonel Graham captures Lana and orders Jesse into the saloon, where they have a climactic fight resulting in Graham's death and the destruction of the saloon (which Graham had set ablaze). Jesse, Obobo, Weezie and Lana watch as the townspeople fight the fire.
The story ends almost a century later with an old man (Woody Strode) being interviewed by reporters (Reginald Hudlin, Warrington Hudlin) about the black cowboys of the Old West. The man, who was a young boy when he met Jesse in Freemanville, gives the reporters a small book that Jesse had given him.
In the end, a caption goes on to tell that there had been over 8,000 black cowboys in the Old West whose stories had never been told due to omission by Hollywood and others alike.
Cast
Release
Posse was the first film to be released by Gramercy Pictures, which would eventually become Focus Features. It grossed $18.2 million in the U.S. and Canada and $20 million worldwide.
Janet Maslin of The New York Times stated: "On the one hand, this obviously talented film maker celebrates all the aggrandizing features of the genre: the laconic tough talk, the manly camaraderie, the proud posturing, the power of walking tall past the awestruck citizenry of a prairie town. On the other hand, "Posse" does its best to reject and avenge what it regards as the flagrant distortions of the past."
Roger Ebert described it as "an overdirected, overphotographed, overdone movie that is so distracted by its hectic, relentless style that the story line is rendered almost incoherent."
Entertainment Weekly gave it a C+ and said it was "a glossy, kinetic pastiche of Western conventions."