Powderkeg (1971): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1971, Powderkeg is an action, adventure and western film directed by Douglas Hayes, running about 93 minutes. “Their gun and guts for hire... and a blank check is their price” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. A Mexican bandit is about to be executed in the United States, so his brother takes over a train and holds the passengers as hostages unless his brother is released. Now both the Americans and Mexicans are baffled as to what to do. One of the passengers — who wrote the letter for their captor — has a suggestion: call mercenaries Hank Brackett and Johnny Reech. They do, and as expected they do come up with a plan, but the president of the railroad is not sure if it will work.

Who’s in it. Powderkeg stars Rod Taylor as Hank Brackett, Dennis Cole as Johnny Reach, Fernando Lamas as Chucho Morales and John McIntire as Cyrus Davenport, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 8.0/10, Powderkeg sits among the best-reviewed titles in the catalogue.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on YouTube TV, ScreenPix Apple TV Channel, Best Westerns Ever Amazon Channel and ScreenPix Amazon Channel and rent or buy it from Amazon Video. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Powderkeg page.

If you liked it. Fans of Powderkeg tend to enjoy The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.