Hombre (1967)

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Elmore Leonard (novel)
Irving Ravetch (writer) ...

Release Date:

21 March 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Western

Tagline:

Hombre means MAN... Paul Newman is HOMBRE!

Plot:

John Russell, disdained by his "respectable" fellow stagecoach passengers because he was raised by Indians, becomes their only hope for survival when they are set upon by outlaws.

Plot Keywords:

Shot In The Stomach | Betrayal | Double Cross | Embezzlement | Indian Agent

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	John Russell
Fredric March	...	Dr. Alex Favor
Richard Boone	...	Cicero Grimes
Diane Cilento	...	Jessie
Cameron Mitchell	...	Frank Braden
Barbara Rush	...	Audra Favor
Peter Lazer	...	Billy Lee Blake
Margaret Blye	...	Doris Blake
Martin Balsam	...	Henry Mendez
Skip Ward	...	Steve Early
Frank Silvera	...	Mexican bandit
David Canary	...	Lamar Dean
Val Avery	...	Delgado
Larry Ward	...	Soldier

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Bell Ranch, Santa Susana, California, USA

Company:

Hombre Productions

Trivia:

Filming on "Hombre" coincided with that year's Academy Awards. Co-star Martin Balsam was a Best Supporting Actor nominee for A Thousand Clowns (1965), and not having received permission to leave the set, Balsam sneaked off to attend the ceremony. He won the Oscar.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In one scene, the sheriff bemoans the risks of his job, saying that he's a target for some "punk" looking to make a reputation for himself; the term, meaning a young hoodlum, did not come into use until 1917, long after the time period of the film.

Quotes:

Mexican Bandit: [Russell and Mendez have ambushed Grimes' gang] Hey, hombre! A compliment on your shooting! You put a hole in me! Whew. I never had a bellyache like this since I'm a little boy. Hey amigo! Friend! I am going to give you back this bullet.

One of the best westerns ever made

Outstanding direction, writing, acting, and cinematography make this film perhaps the best western ever made, and certainly outstanding in it's genre. The good guys aren't all that good, and the bad guys are despicable. The dialogue is from Elmore Leonard, and is some of the best dialogue ever written, western or not. Example: Early in the film Diane Cilento has retreated to the privacy of a shack to remove her petticoat because of the heat. Paul Newman is in the room, and watches her silently as she bears her legs. Then he says, "You'd better stop right there lady, or I'm gonna know all there is to know about you." Ms Cilento's character Jessie (a hard frontier woman who runs a boarding house and sleeps with the town sheriff) retorts, "You might have cleared your throat." Newman says, "I couldn't, my heart was in it." The minor part cast is also outstanding: Martin Balsam, Richard Boone, Cameron Mitchell, David Canary. I also mention the cinematographer, often overlooked, because it was James Wong Howe (Molly McGuires, This Property is Condemned, Hud, Fantasia) who was one of the greatest cinematographers that has ever lived.