The Desperados 1969

Parson Josiah Galt, Jack Palance, is a ruthless preacher who leads a brutal band of Southern marauders during the Civil War. His piety has curdled into a vengeful, sadistic zeal after the death of his wife, Emily Galt, Sheila Burrell. The group includes his ambitious sons—David Galt, Vince Edwards; Adam Galt, Christian Roberts; and Jacob Galt, George Maharis—and together they ride the countryside, raiding towns, looting, and leaving fear in their wake as the war rages on.

David can no longer stomach the brutality his family brings down on innocent communities. When his brother Adam attempts to rape a girl in a Kansas town they have just raided, David tries to walk away from the path of violence. He is captured, accused of ‘treason’ by his own father, and sentenced to hang.

Escaping the noose, David returns to his wife Laura and their young son Pauly and heads to Texas under a false name. For six years they live a quiet, fragile peace, even as the war ends and the nation breathes a sigh of relief.

Yet the Galts reappear in Texas, continuing robberies and killings. A conscience-stricken David goes to Sheriff Kirkpatrick, Neville Brand, and reveals who they are and who he has become. In a confrontation, David kills his brother Adam.

Parson Galt and Jacob take Laura and Pauly captive, and in the process they murder David’s wife. To win back his son, David spies a train robbery his father has planned, thwarts the plan, and kills Jacob.

In a final, brutal showdown, Josiah and David clash and both meet their deaths.