Hud (1963)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Larry McMurtry (novel)
Irving Ravetch (writer) ...

Release Date:

29 May 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Tagline:

The man with the barbed wire soul!

Plot:

Hud Bannon is a ruthless young man who tarnishes everything and everyone he touches. Hud represents the perfect embodiment of alienated youth...

Plot Keywords:

Bus Stop | Second Generation | Kiwanis | Alcoholism | Small Town Life

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Hud Bannon
Melvyn Douglas	...	Homer Bannon
Patricia Neal	...	Alma Brown
Brandon De Wilde	...	Lon 'Lonnie' Bannon (as Brandon de Wilde)
Whit Bissell	...	Mr. Burris
Crahan Denton	...	Jesse
John Ashley	...	Hermy
Val Avery	...	Jose
George Petrie	...	Joe Scanlon
Curt Conway	...	Truman Peters
Sheldon Allman	...	Mr. Thompson
Pitt Herbert	...	Mr. Larker
Carl Low	...	Mr. Kirby
Robert Hinkle	...	Rodeo Announcer Frank
Don Kennedy	...	Charlie Tucker

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:12 (1998) (uncut) | UK:A (1963) (cut) | USA:Approved (certificate #20308) | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | West Germany:16 | Finland:K-15 (new rating: 2001) | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:M | Australia:PG (alternate rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16

Filming Locations:

Camp Waldemar - 1005 Ranch Road 1340, Hunt, Texas, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The novel "Exodus" is briefly but clearly visible on the paperback rack in the pharmacy scene. Paul Newman had starred in the film of the novel (Exodus (1960)) three years earlier.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: As Lon exits diner in opening scene, radio announcer says time is "6:26" a.m.--but lack of long shadows clearly identifies time as near noon.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lonnie Bannon: OK, thanks for the lift.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Beyond the Sea (2004)

Soundtrack:

The Great Titanic (It Was Sad When That Great Ship Went Down)

Man running head into wall

In another review of Hud, someone says that he or she saw all the story needed from the first fifteen minutes, but that is the great art of this film. No one changes; there is no moment when Hud is struck down like Saul, on his way to town, and shown the error of his ways. He and Homer continue to butt their heads against the proverbial wall. Homer doesn't magically revive as he lays by the side of the road, and there is no phony deathbed reconciliation. One shudders to think of the mess that would be made out of this story today. Inspirational music would pour from the speakers; Hud would promise to do well by his father and on returning home from the funeral, he would find Patricia Neal had returned, while deWilde and he agreed to work the ranch together. Sometimes I wonder if director Ritt chose black and white so he would not be tempted to close the story on a more upbeat note.

It is a debatable question whether Hud, or McMurtry's other masterpiece, Last Picture Show, could be made today. Studios don't like 'downers;' they don't fill the multiplexes and bring in the 50M gross weekends.

The casting is inspired; Newman and deWilde do look like the offspring of Douglas. Maybe it's the cowboy hats that do it, but there is a flintiness to their eyes that binds them. Neal is simply beautiful in a way that many will never understand. Watch the performances, and note how each person makes room for the others. There is only four of them, so it is not an ensemble, but Newman is especially good at avoiding the scenery chewing that so many posters here confuse with good acting.

This rates a true 10.