Hombre (1967)

John Russell, disdained by his "respectable" fellow stagecoach passengers because he was raised by Indians, becomes their only hope for survival when they are set upon by outlaws.

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Irving Ravetch (screenplay), Harriet Frank Jr. (screenplay)

Stars:

Paul Newman, Fredric March, Richard Boone

3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

stagecoach | outlaw | journey | apache | stagecoach robbery | 

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Taglines:

Hombre means MAN... Paul Newman is HOMBRE!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 March 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Man nannte ihn Hombre

Filming Locations:

Redington, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,860,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Hombre Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Newman, Richard Boone and Martin Balsam were all Jewish.

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Goofs

In the first scene in the stagecoach station Hombre (Newman) is sitting at a table drinking mescal with owner of the way station. Two of Hombre's Apache friends are standing at the middle of the bar drinking mescal when two cowboys come into the station and stand at the bar between the two Apaches and Hombre's table. The camera angle from the right of the two Apaches pointed to the two cowboys clearly shows Hombre's table empty. When the camera angle switches from Hombre's table toward the cowboys and Apaches at the bar Hombre's table is clearly occupied.

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Quotes

[Russell has just fatally shot the Mexican bandit]
Mexican Bandit: I would like at least to know his name.
Henry Mendez: He was called John Russell.

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Connections

Referenced in The Hateful Eight (2015)

User Reviews

"I got one question. How you gonna get down that hill?"

Superbly written and acted, Hombre is one of the two or three best end-of-the-West Westerns ever made.

Based on the Elmore Leonard novel and starring Paul Newman, Hombre is the story of John Russell, a white man raised by Apaches forced by circumstances to be responsible for the lives of a group of people who despise him.

Dr. Faver: You've learned something about white people. They stick together. John Russell: They better.

Newman is sterling as Russell, whose sense of honor puts him into a no-win situation, and whose tenacity will not allow him to back off. Richard Boone was rarely better than as Cicero Grimes, who matches Russell, steely-eyed glare for steely-eyed glare. His performance here is on par with his portrayal of gang-leader John Fain in Big Jake, just a few years later.

Grimes: Well, now. Now what do you suppose hell is gonna look like? Russell: We all die. It's just a question of when.

Also outstanding are Diane Cilento, Barbara Rush, and Martin Balsam. A strong performance by character actor Frank Silvera as an unnamed Mexican bandit is one of the film's many gems.

Russell: (after wounding the Bandit)I would have done better, but I think you moved. Bandit: You can be sure I moved!

The magnificently desolate northern Arizona desert becomes an additional character in the film.

If you are looking for the ultimate tough-guy film, you need look no further than Hombre.