Captivating movie !

Absolutely the worst movie.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

There were Early Attempts in Post-War Hollywood to Revise the Portrayal of "Indians"(Native Americans) in Movies with a more "Sympathetic" or "Realistic" Account. "Broken Arrow" and "Devil's Doorway", both from 1950, are Two Outstanding Examples.This 1967 Film is one that Deserves some Credit for Continuing the Noble Trend. Director Martin Ritt (a well known Liberal) made this with Paul Newman in the Lead as a White Man Raised by the Apaches.The Film Opens with Newman, in full Native Garb, along with other Tribe Members, Symbolically Corralling a Herd of Wild Stallions Reflecting Their Own Doomed Future. Its Poetic and Beautifully Shot by James Wong Howe. "Hombre", the Newman Character is told that He has Inherited, from His White Father, a Boarding House and We are Taken in another Direction. With His Long Hair Cut and sporting White Man's Duds, He's off to the Other Side of the Tracks.What He finds there is not to His Liking and Things become a Clash of Cultures aboard a Stagecoach where Elmore Leonard's Story can Offer Up some Dialog that can "Cut It" like a Knife.As the Production Code was Cracking, there can be Found some Edgy Sexual Innuendos along with Banter about Racism and Respect. It has Now Become More than Your Standard John Ford Western. It's a Clash of Civilizations about what is Civilized and What is Not."If you're hungry enough, you'll eat a dog and fight for the bones." Says "Hombre" to a Female Passenger who shows Disgust at "Reservation Residents". The Scathing Exchanges continue the Philosophizing until the Predictable Conclusion.Diane Cilento is Extremely Effective, Charming and takes Acting Honors as a Worldly Woman. Richard Boone, Martin Balsam, Frederic March, and Frank Silvera also add Gravitas to the Proceedings. Newman, in a Thankfully Restrained Performance is Fine.But the Strength of the Film is the Script and Story that uses the Civil Rights Movement (blazing at the time) for a Window to Widen the Scope of Discussion and takes the High Road and Looks Down on the Injustices both Past and Present.

With a rentals gross of $6.5 million, "Hombre" came in at 14th position at U.S./Canadian ticket-windows. The movie did not attract nearly as much attention overseas. When I saw it on original release, I wasn't overly impressed. To me, it came across as a small-scale version of "Stagecoach". On the big screen, Newman's performance seemed lethargic, and March's by contrast over-ripe. Diane Cilento was wasted in one those bad-little-woman-but- conscience-of-society roles. Only Richard Boone played with the right swagger. True, Cameron Mitchell seemed appropriately glum as a dispossessed sheriff, while Frank Silvera had some handsome moments as a grandstanding bandit.Seen recently in CinemaScope format on pay-TV, the film — for me at least — improved out of sight. The dialogue seemed tersely dramatic, providing lines that all the players (with the exception of Barbara Rush, whose somewhat mannered efforts undermine her unusual role) could get their lips around, whilst the action moved both pacey and picturesque as it moved towards its forceful climax.Jimmy Wong Howe's superb location cinematography, underlined by David Rose's atmospheric score, lent additional color and excitement. And thanks to striking natural locations, even Martin Ritt's direction seemed both vigorous and invigorating.A typically violent but suspenseful script originating from the percussive pen of cult novelist Elmore Leonard (the man who hates using adverbs in his writing because they slow down the action) and evocative acting in minor roles (the two Wards, Canary, Hernandez and Isbell) round out the many pluses for this highly suspenseful western.

Released in 1967 and directed by Martin Ritt, "Hombre" is a Western starring Paul Newman as John Russell, a white man raised by Apaches on a reservation and thus disdained by the "respectable" stagecoach passengers traveling with him. Perhaps they'll respect him when he becomes their only hope for survival. The driver & passengers are played by Martin Balsam, Diane Cilento, Richard Boone, Fredric March, Barbara Rush, Peter Lazer and Margaret Blye."Hombre" is a gritty realistic mid-60s Western; a character study that stands the test of time. Seeing it today, it's hardly aged. Taken from Elmore Leonard's novel, the script effectively shows the illusion of high and low social standing: The proud are proud until uncontrollable events swiftly bring them to their faces; the decent are only decent until survival or lust can only be attained through indecency. This is a tale of survival and in the heat of life-or-death tribulation what's in one's heart comes to the fore.People complain that the climax leaves a sour taste, but it ends the way it must (see below).ADDITIONAL CAST: Skip Ward, Frank Silvera, David Canary, Val Avery and Larry Ward.The film runs 111 minutes and was shot mostly in Arizona, but also a couple scenes in Jean, Nevada and Bell Ranch, California.GRADE: A FURTHER COMMENTARY ***SPOILER ALERT*** (Don't read until watching the movie) John Russell tells the other passengers that they'll only survive their life or death situation by being very careful and shrewd. Ultimately, he decides to be UNcareful in order to save an unworthy uppity woman in response to Jessie's bold sympathy (at least she practiced what she preached). To survive, he relies on the inexperienced kid to take out the bandit while he shoots the main outlaw. Ironically, the kid's shot is blocked by the very woman Russell is trying to save.When the dust settles, the survivors are all revealed as seriously flawed one way or another, whether venal (Fredric March), arrogant (Barbara Rush) weak (Martin Balsam), green (the kid), morally dubious (Margaret Blye) or liberally naïve (Diane Cilento). The end leaves them speechless as unworthy sinners in the face of unmerited grace through Russell's bold sacrifice. They represent the viewer, you & me: We can take the grace offered us and live a life worthy of it or put it out of mind and continue in our folly. It is every person's plight.

SPOILER ALERT! Less a western & more of a morality play. A group of disparate types have their stagecoach robbed and they're left without horses. They soon find themselves being pursued by the same gang of thieves. Paul Newman is a white man raised by Apache & serves as the traveler's protector and he's not particularly convincing. The supporting cast is large and includes Richard Boone, Martin Balsam, Diane Cilento and Barbara Rush. Fredric March is a bull-headed professor who tangles a bit too much with Newman. Most of the acting is very good and Cilento is a standout as widow who's seen it all and has very little patience for the wild west's bigotry and heartlessness. Filmed in the Coronado National forest in Arizona by the great James Wong Howe. Frequent Ritt collaborators Irving Ravetch & Harriet Frank Jr. did the script based on a story by Elmore Leonard. Ritt & Newman made several great movies together (HUD, THE LONG HOT SUMMER), but this is not one of them. It's a bit too preachy for its own good and the miscasting of Newman is an obstacle it never really gets over.