Posse from Hell

In 1880, Crip, Leo, Chunk, and Hash ride into Paradise and barge into the Rosebud Saloon. Crip shoots the town marshal Isaac Webb and takes ten men hostage, using killings to ensure no one interferes. The four escapees depart town with $11,200 from the Bank of Paradise and Helen Caldwell as a hostage.

Banner Cole rides into town after Webb's death, with Webb's last act being to deputize him. He is asked to join as deputy, but Cole ends up organizing a proper posse after town elder Benson urges him to follow Webb's wishes. The decision sets the stage for a town-wide pursuit of the outlaws.

Cole begins assembling a posse including Captain Jeremiah Brown, Jock Wiley, Uncle Billy, Burt Hogan, Johnny Caddo, and Seymour Kern. They represent different backgrounds, from a discouraged ex-cavalry officer to a bold youth, a drunk, a conflicted relative of the dead, a Native American blacksmith, and a timid banker. The group prepares to pursue the outlaws across the countryside.

The posse finds Helen Caldwell, who has been left behind by the outlaws. Cole sends Uncle Billy to escort her back to town, but Captain Brown's clumsy attempt to comfort her distresses her and she attempts suicide. Cole intervenes, preventing her harm, and Billy heads back toward Paradise with Helen on a travois.

Captain Brown ignores Cole's orders and fires on four men he mistakes for outlaws, who are actually two cowhands. Cole wounds Brown to stop the assault and orders him back to town with the cowhands. The incident exposes Brown's incompetence and weak leadership.

The posse tracks the outlaws to a ranch house where a gun battle leaves three outlaws alive and the fourth killed by Cole. Hogan shoots the corpse of the outlaw and claims he is alive, then quits the posse. The rift within the group widens as the pursuit continues.

Cole tells Caddo and Kern to join Hogan, but they refuse. They press on with the pursuit and realize the outlaws have doubled back. The outlaws launch an ambush, killing Cole's horse and forcing the pursuers to adjust.

Cole shoots Leo as the outlaws flee. Leo is not dead at first but dies shortly after, revealing that the others are heading back to Paradise. The news heightens the drive to reach town before they can regroup.

A second ambush results in the death of Caddo and the loss of his horse. Kern is left with a broken leg after Hash shoots his horse, and the pursuit leads them to a ranch house near Paradise, the home of Helen and Uncle Billy. The confrontation tightens the noose around the last outlaws.

Crip kills Uncle Billy at the ranch house, and Hash shoots Kern, breaking his leg and killing his horse. Helen finishes Hash off with a six gun and drives the buckboard toward town, marking a turning point as Cole closes in on Crip.

Cole catches up with Crip in a tense gunfight and is shot in the side. He ultimately defeats Crip, killing him and ending the immediate threat to Paradise. The duel tests Cole's resolve and marks the film's climactic moment.

Wounded but alive, Cole carries the injured Kern back into Paradise. The townsfolk attempt to help, and the two men are patched up, illustrating the price of the pursuit and the fragile unity of the town.

The townspeople are divided on whether Cole should stay on as town marshal, but Cole recalls Webb's words about good people and putting down roots. He decides to stay in Paradise, embracing the role Webb envisioned and becoming a lasting presence in the town.