SYNOPSICS
Hombre (1967) is a English movie. Martin Ritt has directed this movie. Paul Newman,Fredric March,Richard Boone,Diane Cilento are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1967. Hombre (1967) is considered one of the best Western movie in India and around the world.
John 'Hombre' Russell is a white man raised by the Apaches on an Indian reservation and later by a white man in town. As an adult he prefers to live on the reservation. He is informed that he has inherited a lodging-house in the town. He goes to the town and decides to trade the place for a herd. He has to go to another city. The only stagecoach is one being hired for a special trip paid by Faver and his wife Audra. As there are several seats others join the stagecoach making seven very different passengers in all. During the journey they are robbed. With the leadership of John Russell they escape with little water and the money that the bandits want. They are pursued by the bandits. As they try to evade the bandits they reveal their true nature in a life threatening situation.
Same Actors
Hombre (1967) Reviews
Late Classic Western.
"NOW I OWE YOU!.......YOU PUT TWO HOLES IN ME"! 20 Century Fox's HOMBRE is an excellent and engaging western! Although somewhat unappreciated when it was first released in 1967 it has since gained cult status and is now recognized as a splendid example of the genre. Like the brilliant "The Stalking Moon" made the following year HOMBRE initially suffered from the drop in appeal of westerns with the general public that occurred in the sixties. But now with the production of the western all but extinct and western fans yearning for it to make a meaningful return (sans inane revisionist remakes like the awful "3 Ten To Yuma") - Hollywood's past efforts at producing them in the forties, fifties and sixties have gained considerable popularity with a younger generation. This has resulted in the works of John Ford, Raoul Walsh, Anthony Mann, Delmer Daves, Budd Boetticher and Henry Hathaway becoming just about as popular today as they were all those years ago. From a fine novel by Elmore Leonard HOMBRE was brilliantly written for the screen by Irving Ravitch and Harriet Frank. Produced by Ravitch and Martin Ritt it was beautifully photographed in Panavision and Deluxe colour in the mountains of Arizona by veteran genius cinematographer James Wong Howe ("King's Row"/"Body & Soul") and was masterfully directed by the underrated Martin Ritt. Paul Newman is John Russell - a white man raised by the Apaches. He is a discriminated passenger on a Stagecoach occupied by an array of quirkish characters. Jesse (Diane Cilento) is on her way to Bisby to start a new life after her marriage proposal is turned down by (about to go bad) Sheriff Frank Braden (Cameron Mitchell) ("I don't want a wife Jesse...I want out!"). There's Dr. Favor (the always wonderful Fredric March) as the Indian Agent who has just embezzled the Indian funds from the reservation accompanied by his beautiful and pert wife (the lovely Barbara Rush). And Cicero Grimes (Richard Boone) who intends to hold up the Stage and with his waiting gang make off with the Indian funds. But after a series of events in which Russell kills some of the gang and retrieves the money it falls to him to lead the hapless passengers all the way back to town on foot. They take refuge in an abandoned mine-works fending off Grimes and his men until finally Russell confronts Grimes face to face and his Mexican gunman (Frank Silvero). "that Vaquero is more than a fair hand with a gun" Grimes warns Russell followed by what is a climactic but ultimately tragic fast draw shootout. Performances are quite exceptional from the entire cast! Newman is terrific in what is one of his best ever roles. It is certainly the best western part he played. Terrific too is veteran Fredric March in what would be his third and final film. The rarely seen Diane Cilento (Mrs. Sean Connery at one time) is superb in the female lead and never better is Martin Balsam as the Stage driver. But the acting honours has to go to Richard Boone as the baddie with the cracker of a name Cicero Grimes. His role not terribly unlike that which he played ten years previously in the Randolph Scott classic "The Tall T". And lest we forget the effective brooding score contributed by composer David Rose which lends a melancholy and reflective quality to this memorable and outstanding western. Classic line from HOMBRE....... When Grimes sees he has been duped by Russell with empty saddle bags he snarls quietly......."Well now....and what do you suppose hell is going to look like?".
Not many of the serious Westerns can match the mood and authenticity of Ritt's "Hombre."
There has been no tougher or more formidable Western heavy than Richard Boone... He was a fine, respected actor and powerful presence, one of the screen's most efficient scene-stealer... In 'The Tall T,' Boone was Randolph Scott's intelligent, embittered adversary, smooth as a rattlesnake and twice as treacherous; in 'Man Without a Star,' he wrapped non-conforming farmers in barbed wire; in 'Way of a Gaucho,' he was a mean, sadistic Major who persecuted Rory Calhoun; and in 'Hombre' he gave Paul Newman a rough ride: 'Well, now, what do you suppose hell is gonna look like?' Not many of the serious Westerns of the late sixties can match the mood and authenticity of Martin Ritt's 'Hombre.' It is a suspenseful Western melodrama pointing up racial bias and hypocrisy, with a plot modeled on greed, nobility, prejudice and resignation... John Russell (Paul Newman) has no emotion (except anger) and little vitality; he's totally alienated from mankind and is 'alienating' as well Russell is a white man raised by the Indians, who call him "Hombre," and with whom he identifies Choosing to isolate himself from white society, which he despises, he lives on a reservation and looks and dresses like an Indian But he's persuaded to cut his hair and return to civilization to take over some property He winds up on a stagecoach with white passengers, who, learning his background, force him to ride with the driver Not quite an Indian, and banished by whites, he's the classic outcast in no man's land Ironically, Russell is the only one capable of rescuing the passengers from bandits and guiding them back to civilization The drama depends on whether he will accept responsibility for his fellow man "Hombre," which reunited Newman with the "Hud" team (director Ritt, writers Ravetch and Frank, cinematographer Howe), resembles John Ford's classic Western, "Stagecoach": several people, whose personal crises are outlined, are thrown together, and their interactions provide a social commentary on avarice, bigotry and responsibility But in Ford's film, those deemed worthless by society reveal their inherent nobility, and only one man, the absconding banker, is bad Here, the embezzler of Indian fundsFavor (Fredric March), is not much worse than the others Except for Jessie (Diane Cilento), an honest, earthy woman in the Patricia Neal-Hud vein, they're all helpless, coward1y or selfish In this context, Russell is an inversion of the John Wayne hero He's strong and silent in the traditional manner, but instead of being the expected virile defender of the weak, he helps the others only when his own survival is at stake He refuses to intercede when the malevolent bandit Grimes (Richard Boone) deprives a soldier of his seat; is willing to leave the helpless passengers stranded; indifferently sends Favor out into the desert without water; and declines to rescue Favor's Indian-hating wife (Barbara Rush), left by the bandits to bake in the sun Even though he acts out of a justifiable outrage, Russell is not meant to be a sympathetic character: the white man's mistreatment may have made him indifferently cruel, but cruel he is, nevertheless... Perhaps to soften our attitude, the filmmakers have him suddenly abandon his disengagement at the end, and perform the traditional act to rescue Favor's wife Newman's performance here is unlike any of his others His style has been stripped away to the bare essentials; to call it underplaying would be an understatement He imparts a sense of transcendent stillness; when he acts he does so suddenly, returning immediately thereafter to his relatively immobile state He speaks laconically, in clipped sentences, with a solemn, deliberately monotonous, almost lifeless voice In addition, his facial expression hard1y changes; at times it approaches an infinitesimal smile, but otherwise it is unsociable, severe, bitter, or inscrutably neutral At first glance, it seems that Newman is hard1y acting, and some critics called him wooden Russell's inscrutable expression is a mask to cover his ingrained hurt, and suggests a man in a constant state of meditation or deep reflection on the chaos around him Appropriately, the film opens and closes on close-ups of his face, and throughout, our attention is directed toward the blue eyes, which are constantly watching, thinking, judging, condemning Newman also frequently folds his arms as if protecting or insulating himself from the worlda natural defense mechanism of someone who's suffered a great deal of pain, and a physical equivalent of his psychological introversion This is Newman's most completely self-sufficient, isolated, and inhuman loner, and he gives a performance that bravely risks complete alienation of the audience And that's what happens; as in "Torn Curtain," the character is ultimately non-involving But it's an extremely interesting piece of disciplined acting Martin Ritt puts the whole picture together in a straight, precise layout of plots, accumulating action that holds interest up to the big scenes... Of all the sequences which stay in the mind, perhaps the most memorable is that in which the Mexican bandit (Frank Silvera) painfully congratulates Russell as a sharp shooter: 'Hey, Hombre! A compliment on your shooting. You put a hole in me.'
"I got one question. How you gonna get down that hill?"
Superbly written and acted, Hombre is one of the two or three best end-of-the-West Westerns ever made. Based on the Elmore Leonard novel and starring Paul Newman, Hombre is the story of John Russell, a white man raised by Apaches forced by circumstances to be responsible for the lives of a group of people who despise him. Dr. Faver: You've learned something about white people. They stick together. John Russell: They better. Newman is sterling as Russell, whose sense of honor puts him into a no-win situation, and whose tenacity will not allow him to back off. Richard Boone was rarely better than as Cicero Grimes, who matches Russell, steely-eyed glare for steely-eyed glare. His performance here is on par with his portrayal of gang-leader John Fain in Big Jake, just a few years later. Grimes: Well, now. Now what do you suppose hell is gonna look like? Russell: We all die. It's just a question of when. Also outstanding are Diane Cilento, Barbara Rush, and Martin Balsam. A strong performance by character actor Frank Silvera as an unnamed Mexican bandit is one of the film's many gems. Russell: (after wounding the Bandit)I would have done better, but I think you moved. Bandit: You can be sure I moved! The magnificently desolate northern Arizona desert becomes an additional character in the film. If you are looking for the ultimate tough-guy film, you need look no further than Hombre.
"Hombre" is a Great Western With Excellent Performances All Around
This brutal western is easily one of Paul Newman's best performances, hearkening back to "HUD" in its power and forthright honesty. Newman plays a white man raised by Apaches on the reservation in Arizona who grew up to become a member of the Indian police. His real father has died and he cuts his long hair and goes down to the town to claim his inheritance, a boarding house which he intends to sell "for a herd of horses down in Contention." The residents of the building, including the attractive female manager, are thus made to leave and he accompanies them on their stage coach journey down to Bisbee. They are joined by the Indian agent, skillfully played by Frederic March, his snooty, sheltered wife, and a sinister stranger, wonderfully acted by Richard Boone at his most gritty and threatening. The characters in this movie, regardless of their importance, are fleshed out convincingly. The writing is spare and fraught with meaning, in fact, it is almost too perfect. No words are wasted and no act appears frivolous. Newman plays the quintessential stoic, an Indian mystic who rises above the circumstances of his harsh existence out of sheer detachment. He accepts the brutality of the world at face value and harbors absolutely no illusions. He doesn't stick his neck out like some damn fool in order to impress anybody and he survives because he deals with what comes his way, yet refuses to be affected by it, no matter how tough things get. Just to watch his very convincing interpretation of this sort of person is rewarding enough, but that is only one of the roles so well evoked in this excellent drama. Richard Boone has some of the great lines, such as, "Mr., you've got some mighty hard bark on you coming down here like this," followed by, "Well now, what do you suppose HELL is gonna look like?" Frederic March hands in a good performance as the crooked Indian agent, a role quite unlike his great offerings in earlier films such as "Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" or "The Best Years of Our Lives." "Hombre" is first-rate movie fare, an entertaining, action-filled story brimming with conflict. As art, it is right up there with the best films ever made, a philosophical masterpiece.
Hombre- redux
I first saw the movie when I was a mere teenager (4:30 movie ABC) and before Elmore Leonard was a bestselling author. I saw half the movie again last nite on AMC with commercial interruption. I'm struck with how much Frank Silvera reminds me of Eli Wallach (bandit in the Magnificent Seven). The character of John Russell reminds me of Jake Holman (Steve McQueen/Sand Pebbles). Morally he always has the high ground yet he is destined to get into trouble and is prepared ultimately to sacrifice his life for others. I have thought about why Russell sacrifices himself for Mrs Favor. I think ultimately it's because he knows that the only way the stolen money will get returned to "his" tribe is if he acts. He realizes this when Diane Cilento's character (not in the book) is about to sacrifice herself to free Mrs. Favor. Leonard has not gotten enough credit for this tale. Granted the movie has some differences from the book. The opening introduction of Russell as mustanger does not appear in Leonard's novel/ There is so much more here in the movie than meets the eye; perhaps a thesis in comparing the two characters and films. I need to see this wonderful film again, but uncut. Eh, Hombre? So I went out and bought the DVD. Now how about some mescal at Delgado's?