Hondo, l'homme du désert

Someone in an earlier comment said that John Wayne is, "always bad." I take great umbrage in that statement. He was always good and often marvelous and sometimes Magnificent.

His Hondo is a very different character from Ethan Edwards or Thomas Dunson. Here, he is a younger Wil Anderson or a more somber Quirt Evans.

I like Hondo. It's not a great film like Red River or The Searchers, but it does explore the lonely existence of a woman living in the back of beyond. It also explores the way in which a semi-tamed man becomes a father substitute and good husband, something Ethan Edwards would never become.

Geraldine Page shines like a new penny in this, her first film. She won an Academy Award nomination for her role in Hondo, and she deserved it.

Hondo is a man who is hardened by experience but still capable of understanding, compassion and love. He also works HARD. It's fun to see John Wayne with nails in his mouth, shoeing a horse!

John Farrow directs this western story that stars John Wayne as Hondo Lane, a dispatch rider for the cavalry who encounters a woman named Angie Lowe(played by Geraldine Page) and her son, whom he feels compelled to protect, since they are surrounded by Apache forces. Angie claims that, while her husband is away, they have a truce with the Apache chief, so don't feel threatened. Later on, Hondo is forced to kill a man in self defense who turns out to be Angie's husband! Before he can tell her, he is captured by the Apaches, but rescued by Angie, who informs the chief that Hondo is her missing husband. This of course puts Hondo in a quandary...

Exciting and beautifully photographed film has a good cast and story, which is not as much of a soap opera as my summary may indicate! (Though those elements are present.)

"Hondo" was originally filmed in the then popular 3-D process which explains the emphasis on foreground shots and a few "comin' at ya" 3-D process shots. By the time the film was released at the end of 1953, the 3-D craze was over and it was on to CinemaScope.

The film has been unavailable for viewing for about 15 years. For its DVD release it has been beautifully restored to its original brilliance. The colors are rich and vibrant including the many Mexican blue sky shots.

The story has a tired and horseless army scout Hondo Lane (John Wayne) coming upon an isolated ranch where he meets Mrs. Lowe (Geraldine Fitzgerald) and her young son Johnny (Lee Aaker). They have apparently been deserted by the husband and father, the brutish Ed Lowe (Leo Gordon).

Hondo befriends the pair and stays around helping with the long neglected chores. Naturally an attraction develops between him and Mrs. Lowe. Finally Hondo leaves for the army post. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Lowe and Johnny are visited by a warring Apache chief, Vittorio (Michael Pate) and his warriors. Vittorio is impressed with the bravery of young Johnny and makes him a blood brother.

Meanwhile back at the post, Hondo meets up with his old pal Buffalo Baker (Ward Bond). In the saloon they are confronted by Lowe and a brawl ensues. When Hondo leaves to return the horse he borrowed from Mrs. Lowe, he is followed by Lowe and his partner (Frank McGrath). Hondo and the two are ambushed by the Apaches. Following the confrontation, Hondo is forced to kill Lowe in self-defence.

As Hondo rides toward the Lowe ranch, he is captured by Vittorio and his warriors. When Vittorio discovers Lowe's picture of young Johnny on Hondo he spares his life. Vittorio's sadistic chief Silva (Rodolfo Acosta) objects and Hondo is forced into a knife fight with the Indian.

Hondo eventually arrives at the ranch where he continues to romance Mrs. Lowe. Vittorio believing that Hondo is Mrs. Lowe's husband, respects his bravery.

Later Buffalo and another scout Lennie (James Arness) arrive with a cavalry troop sent out to bring any settlers into the army post for their safety. We learn that Vittorio has been killed and that the Apaches are now being led by Silva. Without Vittorio's protection, Hondo and the Lowes are forced to leave with the troops. Along the way they are attacked by the Apache and..................

This was one of John Wayne's better westerns however one can't help but compare certain aspects of the story with that of "Shane" released the same year. Geraldine Page received an academy award nomination as best supporting actress for this her first starring role. Long time Wayne crony Bond delivers a colorful performance as the grizzled scout Buffalo. Lee Aaker is probably best remembered for his role as "Rusty" in the TV show "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin".

James Arness who was under contract to Wayne at the time would achieve lasting fame as Marshal Matt Dillon in TV's long running "Gunsmoke". Leo Gordon who was typecast as a villain went on to write several screenplays for Roger Corman in the 60s. Wayne's pal Paul Fix appears briefly as Major Sherry.

John Ford directed the final battle sequence when Director John Farrow had to leave to fulfill other contractual obligations.

The DVD release has an excellent commentary by Leonard Maltin (who also serves as host for the variopus segments), film historian Frank Thompson and Lee Aaker. There is a behind the scenes featurette and tributes to Ward Bond and Wayne screenwriter James Edward Grant are also included.

Great action.

This exciting and colorful 3D film was released 50 years ago this week and remains an enjoyable action adventure today. With its distinctive peppermint-striped titles, the movie is one of John Wayne's best westerns and he happens upon a young woman at her isolated ranch and warns her of the threat of Indian uprisings. There is tension between the dispatch rider and the woman at first but she also knows that her son enjoys the man's presence on their ranch. Ward Bond and James Arness are the best-known cast members, and Geraldine Page, in her first movie, received an Academy Award nomination for her work in this film. The battle scenes are exciting, a series of hit-and-run cavalry-Indian fighting under bright blue skies and thick, fluffy clouds. The sound effects during the battles, of bullets and arrows hitting home are realistic and superb. The movie was filmed in Camargo, Mexico, an arid desert country studded with isolated, cone-shaped mesas. The music score by Hugo Friedhofer is among his best work.

Most Westerns from the 1940s and earlier were what could be described as "B" Westerns, or Saturday afternoon matinée type films whose audience was mostly kids. Characters and stories were based largely on clichés and cultural stereotypes. Beginning in the late 1940s, a new kind of "adult" Western film emerged, one that we could label as "A" Western. In these films, the characters and stories were more complex; they had more thematic depth; and they tended to be a bit more realistic in their portrayal of the 19th century American frontier. "Hondo" is notable because it is an early cinematic "A" Western.

The film's title derives from the main character, Hondo Lane (John Wayne), a tough gunfighter and scout with a sense of ethics, a loner who does not like liars. One day, he happens onto the homestead of a lonely White woman, Angie Lowe (Geraldine Page). She and her young son Johnny (Lee Aaker) live peacefully on Apache lands.

A central plot point in the story is a broken treaty, which causes conflict between the Apaches, headed by Vittorio (Michael Pate), and the U.S. Cavalry. Vittorio has no real quarrel with Mrs. Lowe, however. Indeed, he keeps returning to her homestead, concerned that she and especially Johnny, who appears to be without a father, will not be able to survive in such a harsh land.

Based on a real-life Apache warrior, the Vittorio character conveys a more humanistic portrayal of Indians than what a viewer would see in "B" Westerns. And the multi-faceted Hondo, part White and part Apache, intervenes to help Mrs. Lowe, as she is caught between her desire to remain on Apache land, and the insistence of the Cavalry that she and her son flee the "hostile" Apaches.

The story has a very realistic look and feel, a result of attention to detail in costumes, production design, and outdoor locations. Originally shot in 3-D, mostly to convey a sense of spatial depth, there are very few 3-D gimmicks. Color cinematography is credible, and uses a good mix of close-ups and wide-angle long shots. Colors might be a tad overdone, with too many bright hues, but that's the way many outdoor films were shot in the 1950s. For many scenes in "Hondo", the camera is tilted slightly upward toward the sky, to give a sweeping, majestic look to the landscape.

Casting is fine, except for the odd choice of Geraldine Page who was at that time known mostly as a New York stage actress. Her performance here is fine, but is nowhere near the stellar level in later films. John Wayne is suitably cast, and does a nice job. Ward Bond, Michael Pate, and Lee Aaker all give credible performances in support roles.

Although there are more grandiose "A" grade cinematic Westerns, "Hondo" is a fine example of a story that is slightly more low-key, with an emphasis on complex characters. And the film's visuals are picturesque. I recommend this film for anyone interested in high quality Westerns.