Hondo

I love John Wayne, great movie.

After a time—in my case, sixty-plus years—of watching them, most westerns blur together. "Hondo" stands out.That's nearly a pun, because Warner Bros. shot the film in 3-D. This proved to be a royal pain in the gluteus for the company, with New Mexico's sandstorms gumming up not one but two cameras and throwing production way over schedule. To top it off, all that money was wasted, since most of the film's release in 1953 was in regular presentation.But back to the show: John Farrow and an uncredited John Ford (who, as a favor to the star, directed the movie's climax) do a fine job of staging the action, which is well edited. The actors, including old-standbys (Ward Bond, Paul Fix), newcomers (Geraldine Page, Michael Pate), and a very young James Arness, turn in convincing performances. Cinematography, chiefly by old pro Robert Burks, is exceptional: really to appreciate this movie it should be seen on the widest screen available. One warning: in high-definition, even with the camera pulled back, it's very easy to tell that a stand-in for the star is doing the real brawling and bronco-busting.For me, the movie just misses five-star status. In part that's because screenwriter James Edward Grant overloaded Louis L'Amour's story, "The Gift of Cochise," with too many subplots lacking satisfying resolutions. The plots of most classic westerns have a straight through-line; I can't find one in "Hondo," which is more a series of episodes stitched together. Another problem is the movie's almost complete lack of humor. The best westerns—"Red River," "The Searchers," "Rio Bravo," "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"—leaven the drama with some breathing space to get to know the characters' quirks. And the throwaway line at the film's end—that the Apache way of life was a good one, soon to be exterminated—is painful to hear seventy years later.Still, this movie has a lot going for it. Unlike most cavalry-versus-natives epics, there's complexity in this one. The white men are a mix of good and bad, and so are the natives. From the start it's made clear that the Apaches have no word for "lie," and the U.S. government has repeatedly broken the treaties. Hondo is himself part-Indian and spends portions of the movie explaining to each side the other's point of view. A six-year old white settler faces down an Apache sub-chief, whose superior makes of the child his blood-brother. In 1952 the western is maturing.Of course, this is a John Wayne movie, and it rides on his broad shoulders, which are more than a little bruised. In this film the hero's wrist is tortured by scalding and he's stabbed in the chest, northeast of the heart. Beyond being tough as rawhide, the character of Hondo has considerable complexity, and Wayne is more than equal to it. He always claimed, as did other stars of that era (Spencer Tracy, James Stewart) that he wasn't an actor but a re-actor: the key to honest performance was listening to and watching what others were saying and doing, then responding with honesty, sometimes with the eyes only. "Hondo" is a fine example of Wayne's re-acting. He never shows off. He plays it straight and calm. When aggressive, there's good reason for his agitation.A near-classic western, "Hondo" remains well worth 84 minutes of your time. Why the producers thought a movie so short needed an Intermission mystifies me. Maybe they thought people would need a break from all those paper-and-plastic 3-D eyewear that nobody ended up wearing.

Take a trip to the frontier. It was ghastly it was rough and it was beautiful. Well performed and enjoyable.

Male chauvinist John Wayne rides again as Hondo-- part Apache, part white man. Sure it's a bit comical but come on it is John Wayne of "True Grit" fame. He can do whatever he wants. In "Hondo," Wayne plays Hondo Lane, a former gun play expert who has killed before. Yikes! He is trying to "save" a single mom and young son left alone on the range, infested by Apaches! Double Yikes!!!! Things could not be worse. A range war takes place but Wayne outfoxes all and the war is called off for bad timing. The END!!!

At first glance, John Wayne's 1953 western, "Hondo", bears a remarkable similarity to another 1953 release, George Stevens' classic, "Shane". Both films open with an iconic stranger appearing out of the wilderness, spotted first by a young, impressionable boy. Both title characters arrive at homesteads in need of an 'extra pair of hands', and form unspoken bonds with the women of the households. Both Hondo and Shane have survival skills the families desperately need, even as the families fill a void in their own lives. But while Stevens' filmmoves at a slow, deliberate pace, meticulously creating a near-mythic vision, "Hondo" director John Farrow, working from a script by longtime Wayne scribe James Edward Grant (from Louis L'Amour story), cuts the exposition down to basics, giving the film a much leaner 'look', with a climax (actually directed by John Ford, as Farrow had scheduling problems with another film) that is so fast-paced that it can leave a viewer in 'midair', expecting more. As a result, "Hondo" isn't held in as high esteem as "Shane", but is certainly a rewarding, entertaining experience, with one of Wayne's best pre-"Searchers" performances, and Geraldine Page earning an Oscar nomination in her film debut.Filmed in the broiling summer heat of Mexico, utilizing massive,cumbersome dual cameras to create 3-D (which both Wayne and Warner studio head Jack Warner felt was the wave of the future, but would be passé by the film's release), the production was grueling, yet formed lasting friendships. Australian Michael Pate, playing the key role of historic Chiricahua Apache Chief, Vittorio, was stunned to find Wayne, during a dangerous riding sequence, running along, off-camera, to protect him if he fell (Wayne, impressed by the actor, would cast him, ten years later, as another Indian chief in "McLintock!"). Several of Wayne's 'Stock Company' (Ward Bond, Paul Fix, James Arness, and Chuck Roberson) have roles (Bond's bearded, crusty 'Buffalo Baker' is a standout). John Ford, between films, vacationed in Mexico to visit Wayne and Bond, and was recruited (unbilled), to help direct.The only discordant note on the set was stage actress Page. Wayne had hoped to get Katharine Hepburn for the role of Angie Lowe, but the liberal actress wasn't comfortable working with the politically conservative Wayne at that time (during the "Witch Hunt" for suspected Communists in the film industry), and passed on the project (as would her long-time love, Spencer Tracy, in "The High and the Mighty", Wayne's next production).It would be 22 years before Hepburn and Wayne would finally team up together (in "Rooster Cogburn"). Geraldine Page, picked by Farrow for her fresh, 'natural' look, carried her stage training and 'attitude' into the filming, which did little to endear her to the cast, and Wayne felt little chemistry between them (although her performance would be the most honored, by the film industry).With colorful characterizations, a chaste romance, plenty of action, and little of the obvious '3-D' gimmicks (only noticeable in the titles sequence, and two Indian fight scenes), "Hondo" was a HUGE hit when released, and has endured as one of John Wayne's most popular westerns.Best of the Special Edition DVD 'extras' is a wonderful "Making of" documentary, with comments by Pate and the film's juvenile lead, Lee Aaker; brief bios of writer Grant, and Ward Bond; and a revealing, VERY balanced Apache overview of both the film and the REAL Chiricahua Chief Vittorio.With nearly pristine image and sound quality, the "Special Edition" certainly lives up to expectations!

This is probably my favorite John Wayne movie. That’s because it starts off so much unlike a typical Wayne film as he comes across Geraldine Page who is living with her son in a settlement threatened by Apaches and wins her over. It’s also not a traditional Western because Page forms a friendship with the Apaches. That’s the start of portraying the Native Peoples as humans a true rarity for the period. Yeah it does end with Wayne saying the Apache way of life would eventually be snuffed out by the American military but it still showed them as real people for most of it.

Hondo was the first John Wayne I have not seen. I like to so much I bought it very good storyline. Classic John Wayne.

A film shot in 1953 with JW playing the title role opposite love interest Geraldine Paige. Hondo is a scout/despatch rider for the cavalry. He comes upon Angie Lowes ranch where she lives with her son, her husband has not returned since he left to herd cattle. It's a typical Wayne western and probably the genre he was most comfortable with. There's a love tension between him and Paige in the film - he has a fight with her husband whilst on a visit to the fort and has a further altercation with him a little later on.It's a good Sunday afternoon watch and if you're making a day of it, would be a good film to watch with others of his- Rather than buying a JW boxset where you'll end up with some duffers, this is one of those JW westerns that you would want to have.

1953 was the year the latest techniques in 3-D were tried out, Hondo being one of the guinea-pigs. You`d hardly know it, since the facility is used sparingly, and the film is already vivid and beautifully photographed, mostly by Robert Burks, until John Ford took over for the final scenes when main director John Farrow had to honour another contract.I've never seen Wayne quite so tender or so restrained as here. Those who still maintain he wasn't much of an actor should watch this, Red River and Rio Bravo, then get back to the rest of us who know he was one of the finest film actors who ever drew breath or a gun.He plays a cavalry rider in the South-West named Hondo Lane, who is first seen exhaustedly walking towards us out of the plains, his eccentric dog in tow, into the life and solitary shack of Angie Lowe, mother of son Johnny, and lonely wife to a ne'er-do-well who hasn't been seen for days.She's played, in her feature debut, by Geraldine Page - later almost an American institution renowned for her intense stage roles - and she makes a change from the usual 'Wayne-bait', being both quietly tough and genteely dignified. It's a good match, and is surely one of the reasons why this was in fact Wayne's favourite among his own films.Johnny is acted well by Lee Aaker, while the errant husband is played by Leo Gordon, with the young James Arness as a cavalry officer.They are both caught between the cavalry and the Apaches, who are portrayed and treated more sensitively here than in most westerns of the period. The Apache chief is played brilliantly, and with some subtlety, by Australian actor Michael Pate.That ornery old stalwart Ward Bond plays to the hilt a rugged, rowdy old pal of Hondo's, whose reply when asked if he's ready is: "I was born ready!"The screenplay is by Wayne's writer of choice, the pithy James Edward Grant, and Farrow (and Ford too) direct with a masterly eye for landscape and composition. Some shots, and entire scenes, take your breath away.It's an unusually thoughtful western, with a slightly abrupt denouement, though that simply leaves you wanting more, as well as wondering how they're all going to fare, as they ride off...The extra features are exceptional for an old 80-minute western: a 'Making of' featurette, a short affectionate profile of Ward Bond, and a fascinating one of writer Grant, plus a commentary and a short but welcome outline of the history of the Apache tribe. There are interviews with the grown-up Aaker, remembering fondly being chucked into a river by Wayne in the 'unorthodox swimming-teaching' scene, as well as the likable Pate recalling his role as the Apache chief."A man oughta do what he thinks is right" says Hondo/Wayne some way into the film, and I`m very glad he thought it right to make this beautiful yet strangely modest film. It`s one of the highlights of his saddle-sore career.Highly recommended.

Brilliant DVD!📀👍Recieved with thanks

Filmed in 3D Warnercolor, the script alone presents a story of an inter-racial relationship. However, I didn't believe John Wayne as a half-Indian who looks the same and talks the same as any other movie he's in. He plays the part well, but he's just not believable as a half-Indian. It's an example of how a good script can be turned into a mediocre movie.

good western adventure with Wayne as a US Army scout ,aided by wild dog, fights American Indians and brings them to a peace treaty.John Wayne does what he always does best, and the Bluray colour and definition of the locations all adds to the tale, with evidence of the films 3D origins (which I saw as a child)