Hondo (1953)

Director:

John Farrow

Writers:

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

Release Date:

5 April 1954 (UK)

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
Emil Newman

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:

John Wayne was originally to be only the producer for his Batjac company, and wanted Glenn Ford for the title role. But Ford had such an unpleasant working experience with director John Farrow on their previous collaboration, Plunder of the Sun (1953), that he turned down the offer. Wayne then took on the role himself.

Goofs:

Continuity: (At 25:00) When the Apache first appear (when Mrs. Lowe meets Vittorio for the first time), Johnny comes out to defend his mother. Silva goes to confront the boy and Johnny first tries to shoot Silva and then troughs the pistol at him. The pistol lands to the right on the ground by the pole (porch post), but then after a short scuffle, when Vittorio tells Silva to bring the boy, the pistol is laying on the porch next to where Johnny was.

Quotes:

Hondo Lane: Everybody gets dead. It was his turn.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Married with Children: All in the Family (#2.22)" (1988)

John Doe Wayne Is Hondo Lane

The Duke was 44 years old when he made "Hondo", the film in which he, as a producer, hit on the formula which he would successfully employ for the entire second half of his long career. Like many good ideas, the formula is very simple. A strong human-interest story is played out against a backdrop of majestic scenery, and includes plenty of beat-'em-up and shoot-'em-up sequences, with the masculine values of the western genre very much to the fore - independence of spirit, standing up for what is right, self-reliance and loyalty to friends.

Hondo Lane is a free man. Indian blood runs in his veins, and he loves to roam the western wilderness which he shares with a few settlers and the Mescalero Apaches. Angie Lowe (Geraldine Page) lives the life of a lonely homesteader, bringing up her little boy Johnny on her own in an isolated log cabin. When Hondo swaggers onto her spread, seeming like an emanation of the desert itself, the sexual sparks begin to fly.

Vittorio, the chief of the Mescaleros, is an upright and proud man, a great leader who has finally lost patience with the treacherous white man. He and his braves have donned the war paint and are prowling the region, baying for blood. In the coming clash, Hondo will have to decide where his loyalties lie.

Processed in Warners' own 'Warnercolor', the film has an attractive tempera look. It was originally shot in 3-D format, which explains the sudden knife-thrusts towards the camera and the front-on spear lunges. There is some fine horsemanship on display in this movie, with small, elegant horses being ridden in a well-forward saddle style. Hondo's descent of the butte to escape his indian pursuers is particularly good.

When Hondo walks out of the wilderness, his horse having died several days previously, how come he is clean-shaven? In the knife-fight with Silva (Rodolfo Acosta), the continuity is poor, some shots having been filmed in bright sunlight, others under an overcast sky. However, though they are worth pointing out, these small snags do not mar an enjoyable film.

The sexual manoeuvring between Hondo and Angie is measured to perfection. Their propriety is impeccable, but there can be no doubting the intensity of their mutual desire or its earthiness ("I can smell you when I'm downwind of you"). Angie puts on her lilac dress for no conceivable reason other than mating display.

When Hondo talks of his dead squaw, the script soars. The half-indian's deeply poetic feel for the beautiful Apache language merges with his romantic reverie, forming a lament for both his lost love and the doomed indian way of life. This passage is symbolic of the whole film, which is largely about the interpenetration of indian and anglo-saxon cultures. Vittorio adopts the blonde Johnny (Lee Aaker) as a blood relation, and returns frequently to the Lowes' place to watch over the boy. Hondo, of course, bestrides the two civilisations, both of which are his birthright. On the broader canvas, the film is an elegy to the Mescaleros who share this land with the white settlers, but who are now in terminal decline.

Hondo is the living embodiment of Manifest Destiny. Because he is stronger and abler (and dare one say, whiter) than the Apaches, he will supersede them. And the passing of the Mescalero civilisation does not bother him unduly. "End of a way of life," he observes, having just slaughtered several dozen indians. "Too bad. It was a good way." And without another thought, he cheerfully gets on with conquering the West.