Hombre (film)
Encyclopedia
Hombre is a 1967 revisionist western
film directed by Martin Ritt
, based on the novel of the same name
by Elmore Leonard
. It stars Paul Newman
, Richard Boone
, Martin Balsam
, Diane Cilento
and Fredric March
.
Newman's amount of dialogue in the film is minimal and much of the role is conveyed through mannerism and action. This was the sixth and final time Ritt directed Newman, they had previously worked together on The Long Hot Summer, Paris Blues
, Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man
, Hud
and The Outrage
.
-raised white man, John Russell, 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—which does not endear him to the boarders who live there or to the caretaker, Jessie—Russell ends up riding a stagecoach with Jessie and unhappily married boarders Doris and Billy Lee Blake leaving town.
Three others ride with them: Indian agent Professor Alexander Favor, his aristocratic wife Audra and the crude Cicero Grimes. Mrs. Favor eventually dislikes Russell enough (upon discovering that he is an Indian) to request that he ride up top with driver Henry Mendez.
The stagecoach is robbed by a gang led by Grimes, who knew that Dr. Favor had been carrying money that he stole from the very Apaches whom Russell grew up with. Grimes rides off, taking Mrs. Favor as a hostage.
Russell manages to shoot two of the outlaws—one of whom is Jessie's lover, sheriff-gone-bad Frank—who have the stolen money in their saddle bags. He insists that Dr. Favor give the recovered money back to him. The bigots he rode with now appeal to Russell to lead them to safety.
Russell's survivalist instincts clash with their naive and "civilized" attitudes toward others, especially when Grimes and his remaining gang offer to trade Mrs. Favor for the money. Their pity for Mrs. Favor's situation eventually outweighs Russell's personal dislike for her and the knowledge that Grimes is using her to bait a trap. Russell gives the money to Billy Lee, asking him to take it back to the Indians from whom it was stolen.
Russell descends from the group's hideout with saddle bags that he pretends are full of the money, while Billy Lee stays in the hideout and aims a rifle at one of the outlaws. Russell cuts Mrs Favor loose and she slowly makes her way up to the group, but by the time Russell throws the saddle bags to Grimes Mrs Favor has collapsed at a point where she is obscuring Billy Lee's target. In the ensuing firefight, although Russell is able to kill Grimes, Billy Lee is unable to prevent an outlaw shooting Russell dead.
in a different and more truthful way than what had previously been seen in westerns. The film shows the need for both Indian and non-Indian alike to cooperate with each other for mutual benefit. The subplot focuses on the hypocrisy and duality of respectable citizens.
. Film 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 Frank bears listening to. It's intelligent, and has a certain grace as well. Last year, Richard Brooks
' The Professionals was the best-directed film out of Hollywood, and this year it looks as if the honors may rest with Martin Ritt and Hombre." Ebert gave the film a rating of three and a half out of four possible stars in his review.
Hombre has a 100% rating on the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
, making it a very "fresh" film.
Revisionist Western
The Revisionist Western, Modern Western or Anti-Western traces to the mid 1960s and early 1970s as a sub-genre of the Western movie....
film directed by Martin Ritt
Martin Ritt
Martin Ritt was an American director, actor, and playwright who worked in both film and theater. He was born in New York City.-Early career and influences:...
, based on the novel of the same name
Hombre (novel)
Hombre is a novel by American author Elmore Leonard, published in 1961. It was adapted into a film in 1967. It tells the story of an Apache man, John Russell, who leads the passengers of an attacked stagecoach through the desert to safety....
by Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard
Elmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...
. It stars Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
, Richard Boone
Richard Boone
Richard Allen Boone was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns and for starring in the TV series Have Gun – Will Travel.-Early life:...
, Martin Balsam
Martin Balsam
Martin Henry Balsam was an American actor. He is known for his Oscar-winning role as "Arnold Burns" in A Thousand Clowns and his role as "Detective Milton Arbogast" in Psycho.- Early life :...
, Diane Cilento
Diane Cilento
Diane Cilento was an Australian theatre and film actress and author.-Biography:Cilento's parents, Sir Raphael Cilento and Lady Phyllis Cilento, were both distinguished medical practitioners....
and Fredric March
Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
.
Newman's amount of dialogue in the film is minimal and much of the role is conveyed through mannerism and action. This was the sixth and final time Ritt directed Newman, they had previously worked together on The Long Hot Summer, Paris Blues
Paris Blues
Paris Blues is an American feature film filmed on location in Paris, starring Sidney Poitier as expatriate jazz musician Eddie Cook, and Paul Newman as trombone-playing Ram Bowen. The two men romance two vacationing American tourists, Connie Lampson and Lillian Corning respectively...
, Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man
Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man
Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man is a 1962 drama film directed by Martin Ritt based on the Nick Adams stories by Ernest Hemingway, and featuring Richard Beymer as Adams.-Cast:*Richard Beymer as Nick Adams*Diane Baker as Carolyn...
, Hud
Hud (film)
Hud is a 1963 western film whose title character is an embittered and selfish modern-day cowboy. With screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, Jr., based on Larry McMurtry's 1961 novel Horseman, Pass By, it was directed by Martin Ritt and stars Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal and...
and The Outrage
The Outrage
The Outrage is a remake of the 1950 Japanese film Rashomon, reformulated as a Western. Like the original Akira Kurosawa film, four people give contradictory accounts of a rape and murder. Kurosawa is credited with the screenplay. It was directed by Martin Ritt and is based on stories by Ryūnosuke...
.
Plot
In late 19th-century Arizona, an ApacheApache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
-raised white man, John Russell, 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—which does not endear him to the boarders who live there or to the caretaker, Jessie—Russell ends up riding a stagecoach with Jessie and unhappily married boarders Doris and Billy Lee Blake leaving town.
Three others ride with them: Indian agent Professor Alexander Favor, his aristocratic wife Audra and the crude Cicero Grimes. Mrs. Favor eventually dislikes Russell enough (upon discovering that he is an Indian) to request that he ride up top with driver Henry Mendez.
The stagecoach is robbed by a gang led by Grimes, who knew that Dr. Favor had been carrying money that he stole from the very Apaches whom Russell grew up with. Grimes rides off, taking Mrs. Favor as a hostage.
Russell manages to shoot two of the outlaws—one of whom is Jessie's lover, sheriff-gone-bad Frank—who have the stolen money in their saddle bags. He insists that Dr. Favor give the recovered money back to him. The bigots he rode with now appeal to Russell to lead them to safety.
Russell's survivalist instincts clash with their naive and "civilized" attitudes toward others, especially when Grimes and his remaining gang offer to trade Mrs. Favor for the money. Their pity for Mrs. Favor's situation eventually outweighs Russell's personal dislike for her and the knowledge that Grimes is using her to bait a trap. Russell gives the money to Billy Lee, asking him to take it back to the Indians from whom it was stolen.
Russell descends from the group's hideout with saddle bags that he pretends are full of the money, while Billy Lee stays in the hideout and aims a rifle at one of the outlaws. Russell cuts Mrs Favor loose and she slowly makes her way up to the group, but by the time Russell throws the saddle bags to Grimes Mrs Favor has collapsed at a point where she is obscuring Billy Lee's target. In the ensuing firefight, although Russell is able to kill Grimes, Billy Lee is unable to prevent an outlaw shooting Russell dead.
Cast
- Paul NewmanPaul NewmanPaul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
as John Russell - Fredric MarchFredric MarchFredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
as Dr. Alex Favor - Richard BooneRichard BooneRichard Allen Boone was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns and for starring in the TV series Have Gun – Will Travel.-Early life:...
as Cicero Grimes - Diane CilentoDiane CilentoDiane Cilento was an Australian theatre and film actress and author.-Biography:Cilento's parents, Sir Raphael Cilento and Lady Phyllis Cilento, were both distinguished medical practitioners....
as Jessie - Cameron MitchellCameron Mitchell (actor)Cameron Mitchell was an American film, television and Broadway actor with close ties to one of Canada's most successful families, and considered, by Lee Strasberg, to be one of the founding members of The Actor's Studio in New York City.-Early life and career:Born Cameron MacDowell Mitzel in...
as Frank Braden - Barbara RushBarbara RushBarbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.-Career:A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures...
as Audra Favor - Peter Lazer as Billy Lee Blake
- Margaret Blye as Doris Blake
- Martin BalsamMartin BalsamMartin Henry Balsam was an American actor. He is known for his Oscar-winning role as "Arnold Burns" in A Thousand Clowns and his role as "Detective Milton Arbogast" in Psycho.- Early life :...
as Henry Mendez - Skip Ward as Steve Early
- Frank SilveraFrank SilveraFrank Alvin Silvera was an American actor and theatrical director.-Career:Silvera was born in Kingston, Jamaica to a Spanish Jewish father and Jamaican mother. His family later emigrated to the United States, settling in Boston where Silvera attended English High School and Northeastern Law School...
as Mexican bandit - David CanaryDavid CanaryDavid Hoyt Canary is an American actor, who starred in both soap operas and prime time television. He is best known for his roles as the ranch foreman, Candy Canaday on Bonanza and identical twins Adam Chandler from 1983 to 2010 and Stuart Chandler from 1984 to 2009 on the daytime serial, All My...
as Lamar Dean - Val AveryVal AveryVal Avery was an American character actor who appeared in hundreds of movies and television shows since the 1950s. In a career that spanned 50 years, Avery appeared in over 100 films and had appearances in over 300 television series.-Early life:Avery was born in Philadelphia...
as Delgado - Larry WardLarry WardLarry Ward may refer to:* Larry Ward , American voice actor who provided the voices of Greedo in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Jabba the Hutt in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
as Soldier
Background
Hombre is one of several films in the 1960s portraying the situation of the Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
in a different and more truthful way than what had previously been seen in westerns. The film shows the need for both Indian and non-Indian alike to cooperate with each other for mutual benefit. The subplot focuses on the hypocrisy and duality of respectable citizens.
Critical reaction
Most reviews of the film are positive. Critics praise the performance of Newman and the writing of Elmore LeonardElmore Leonard
Elmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...
. Film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, in a 1967 review, notes, "The performances are uniformly excellent. Three particularly pleasing ones, however, were from Diane Cilento
Diane Cilento
Diane Cilento was an Australian theatre and film actress and author.-Biography:Cilento's parents, Sir Raphael Cilento and Lady Phyllis Cilento, were both distinguished medical practitioners....
, the boarding house operator who talks Hombre into his ethical heroics; Richard Boone
Richard Boone
Richard Allen Boone was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns and for starring in the TV series Have Gun – Will Travel.-Early life:...
as the villainous Cicero Grimes, and Martin Balsam
Martin Balsam
Martin Henry Balsam was an American actor. He is known for his Oscar-winning role as "Arnold Burns" in A Thousand Clowns and his role as "Detective Milton Arbogast" in Psycho.- Early life :...
, as the good Mexican. Ritt directs with a steady hand, and the dialog by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank bears listening to. It's intelligent, and has a certain grace as well. Last year, Richard Brooks
Richard Brooks
Richard Brooks was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and occasional film producer.-Early life and career:...
' The Professionals was the best-directed film out of Hollywood, and this year it looks as if the honors may rest with Martin Ritt and Hombre." Ebert gave the film a rating of three and a half out of four possible stars in his review.
Hombre has a 100% rating on the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, making it a very "fresh" film.
External links
- Hombre film review at the New York Times by Bosley CrowtherBosley CrowtherBosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...