Hombre (1967)

Information from IMDb

Plot Summary
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.
Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Bill G. Walsall England

Full Cast
Paul Newman ... John Russell
Fredric March ... Favor
Richard Boone ... Grimes
Diane Cilento ... Jessie
Cameron Mitchell ... Braden
Barbara Rush ... Audra Favor
Peter Lazer ... Billy Lee
Margaret Blye ... Doris
Martin Balsam ... Mendez
Skip Ward ... Steve Early
Frank Silvera ... Mexican Bandit
David Canary ... Lamar Dean
Val Avery ... Delgado
Larry Ward ... Soldier
Linda Cordova ... Mrs. Delgado (uncredited)
Pete Hernandez ... Apache (uncredited)
Merrill C. Isbell ... Apache (uncredited)

Writing Credits
Irving Ravetch (screenplay) and
Harriet Frank Jr. (screenplay)
Elmore Leonard (novel)

Original Music
David Rose

Cinematography
James Wong Howe

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,
and not having received permission to leave the set, Balsam sneaked off to attend the ceremony. He won the Oscar.

The photo in the closing credits of the film was taken in 1886 by Camillus Fly, the famous Tombstone (AZ) photographer.
The white boy in the photo is Jimmy (Santiago) McKinn, captured by the Apaches in 1885.
Like the Paul Newman character in the film, McKinn was totally assimilated in the tribe and
was rescued against his will when Geronimo surrendered in 1886.

David Canary's TV debut.

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.

John Russell's sidearm during the film is a Colt Single Action Army revolver with a 7" barrel.
However, in the final scene where Russell is on the ground exchanging shots with the vaquero
the revolver has changed to a modern (and not yet invented) large frame double action revolver.

The shotgun shells Mendez carries are a modern red plastic case. Period shells were brass cased.

The horse the bandito is riding has a snap to connect the throatlatch.
None of the bridles of that day would have used snaps as they had not been invented at that time.

Revealing mistakes
When John Russell is coming to Delgado to see Mendez, in the background
are 3 or 4 farm vehicles working in the distance.
The sun can be see gleaming from one of them as it moves through a dust cloud it is making.

Memorable Quotes

Filming Locations
Bell Ranch, Santa Susana, California, USA
Coronado National Forest, Arizona, USA
Helvetia Mine, Pima County, Arizona, USA
Old Tucson - 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Hombre is a 1967 revisionist western film directed by Martin Ritt,
based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard and starring
Paul Newman, Fredric March, Richard Boone, Martin Balsam, and Diane Cilento.

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.

User Review

Quote

More than a "great Western"
28 March 2000 | by teddles-4 (Melbourne, Australia)

Are you interested in human nature? Great films like "Hombre" work by putting a bunch of people together
in a dramatic situation that needs resolving. The unfolding of the story grips your attention because
you can relate to the emotions involved and you can understand the games being played by the characters.
You can see into human nature.

"Hombre" works at the highest levels. Flawlessly acted by an ensemble cast, it never misses a beat
in its understated style as it explores Good, Evil and everything in between.
Would you risk your life for a bunch of strangers? What sort of person does, and why?

"Hombre" tells the story.

Display More