Hombre (film)
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| Hombre | |
|---|---|
 original film poster |
|
| Directed by | Martin Ritt |
| Produced by | Irving Ravetch Martin Ritt |
| Written by | Elmore Leonard (novel) Irving Ravetch Harriet Frank Jr. |
| Starring | Paul Newman Fredric March Richard Boone |
| Music by | David Rose |
| Cinematography | James Wong Howe |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation |
| Release date(s) | March 21, 1967 U.S. release |
| Running time | 111 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Hombre is a 1967 western film starring Paul Newman.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Set in late 19th-century Arizona, the film stars Paul Newman as an Apache-raised white man, John Russell, who faces prejudice in the white world after he returns for his inheritance (a gold watch and a boarding house) upon his father's death. Deciding to sell the house in order to buy a herd of horses elsewhere--which does not endear him to the boarders who live there or to the caretaker, Jessie (Diane Cilento)--Russell ends up riding a stagecoach with a few of the boarders. Three others ride with them: Indian agent Professor Alexander Favor (Frederic March), Dr. Favor's aristocratic wife Audra (Barbara Rush), and the crude Cicero Grimes (Richard Boone). Eventually Mrs. Favor dislikes Russell enough to request that he ride up top with driver Henry Mendez (Martin Balsam). The stagecoach is soon robbed by a gang that is led by Grimes, who knew that Dr. Favor had been carrying money that he stole from the very Apaches Newman grew up with. After shooting two of the gang members (one of whom was Jessie's boyfriend and sheriff-gone-bad Frank (Cameron Mitchell)), and insisting that Dr. Favor give the recovered money back to him, Russell finds that the very bigots he rode with now rely on him to lead them to safety. However, his survivalist and perhaps "primitive" instincts often clash with their naive and "civilized" attitudes towards others, especially when Grimes and his remaining gang (who have Mrs. Favor as a hostage) find them and offer to trade Mrs. Favor for the money.
[edit] Critical reaction
Most reviews of the film are positive. Critics praise the performance of Newman and the writing of Elmore Leonard. Movie critic Roger Ebert, in a 1967 review, notes "The performances are uniformly excellent. Three particularly pleasing ones, however, were from Diane Cilento, the boarding house operator who talks Hombre into his ethical heroics; Richard Boone as the villainous Cicero Grimes, and Martin Balsam, as the good Mexican. Ritt directs with a steady hand, and the dialog by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Flank bears listening to. It's intelligent, and has a certain grace as well." [1]
[edit] Trivia
- The film has some similar plot elements and incidents in common with another Leonard-written film, The Tall T, which also featured Richard Boone as the villain.
[edit] Featured cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Paul Newman | John Russell |
| Fredric March | Dr. Alex Favor |
| Richard Boone | Cicero Grimes |
| Diane Cilento | Jessie |
| Cameron Mitchell | Frank Braden |
| Barbara Rush | Audra Favor |
