Hondo (1953)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

John Farrow

Writers:

Louis L'Amour (short story "The Gift of Cochise")
James Edward Grant (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 November 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

...They called him 'HONDO'

Plot:

Army despatch rider Hondo Lane discovers a woman and her son living in the midst of warring Apaches, and he becomes their protector.

Plot Keywords:

Apache | Cavalry | Swimming | Torture | 1870s

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

John Wayne	...	Hondo Lane
Geraldine Page	...	Angie Lowe
Ward Bond	...	Buffalo Baker
Michael Pate	...	Vittorio - Chiricahua Apache Chief
James Arness	...	Lennie - Army Indian Scout
Rodolfo Acosta	...	Silva
Leo Gordon	...	Ed Lowe
Tom Irish	...	Lieutenant McKay
Lee Aaker	...	Johnny Lowe
Paul Fix	...	Major Sherry
Rayford Barnes	...	Pete - Card Player in Saloon
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank McGrath	...	Lowe's Partner (uncredited)
Morry Ogden	...	Horse Rider - Opening Scene (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	...	Otawanga / Cavalry Sergeant Killed in Indian Attack (uncredited)

Directed by
John Farrow

Writing credits
Louis L'Amour		(short story "The Gift of Cochise")
James Edward Grant		(screenplay)

Produced by
Robert Fellows	....	producer
John Wayne	....	producer

Original Music by
Hugo Friedhofer

Cinematography by
Robert Burks
Archie Stout

Film Editing by
Ralph Dawson

Art Direction by
Alfred Ybarra

Makeup Department
Web Overlander	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Nate H. Edwards	....	production manager
Andrew V. McLaglen	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nathan Barrager	....	assistant director (as Nate R. Barragar)
John Ford	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
Joe LaBella	....	property master (as Joseph La Bella)

Sound Department
Nicolás de la Rosa	....	sound

Special Effects by
Al Gonzales	....	special effects

Stunts
Chuck Hayward	....	stunt double: John Wayne (uncredited)
Fred Kennedy	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Krone	....	stunts (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	....	stunts (uncredited)
Frank McGrath	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Rose	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bobby Somers	....	stunts (uncredited)
Terry Wilson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack N. Young	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Don Christie	....	still photographer
Leonard J. South	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Carl Walker	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Emil Newman	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Sam Freedle	....	script supervisor
Philip Kieffer	....	technical advisor (as Major Philip Kieffer)
'Chema' Hernandez	....	head wrangler: Mexico (uncredited)
Rudd Weatherwax	....	dog trainer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Wayne-Fellows Productions

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1953) (USA) (theatrical)
• Critics' Choice Video (2000) (USA) (video)
• MPI Home Video (2000) (USA) (video)
• Reserva Especial (2003) (Brazil) (video)
• Warner Bros. Films (1954) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1954) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1954) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1978) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Paramount Home Entertainment Finland (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2007) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

They Called Him Hondo (USA) (pre-release title)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Athapascan languages

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Norway:16 | Australia:M | West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #16575) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Camargo, Chihuahua, Mexico

Company:

Wayne-Fellows Productions

Trivia:

Film debut of Geraldine Page.

Goofs:

Continuity: The Apaches throw Hondo down in the mud when they return him to Mrs. Lowe's ranch. Mrs. Lowe takes Hondo inside and seats him in a chair. The back of the chair is already wet and mud-stained before Hondo sits down in it.

Quotes:

Hondo Lane: Before I go, I wanna explain somethin'.
Angie Lowe: Yes?
Hondo Lane: It didn't happen in the low way you heard it. I didn't bushwack him
Angie Lowe: I never for a moment thought you did, but you've killed him.
Hondo Lane: I didn't have any choice. He cut loose at me.
Angie Lowe: I should have known that. I should have known you were lying to make me think well of you. Poor Ed. I guess he wasn't the sort of man to die well. Sorry now I hated him so much. I guess he couldn't help being weak and selfish.
Hondo Lane: I just didn't have any choice.
Angie Lowe: I know that.
Hondo Lane: Are you going to feel differently about me?
Angie Lowe: No one has any control over the way they feel. I'm never going to change the way I feel about you. But, well what about him?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Married with Children: Assault and Batteries (#8.24)" (1994)

Loner Wayne, Great Cast, in Rewarding Western...

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' film moves 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!"). Many of Wayne's 'Stock Company' (Ward Bond, Paul Fix, James Arness, Leo Gordon, 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 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 (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 a standout debut).

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!