Hombre (1967)

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Irving Ravetch (screenplay) and
Harriet Frank Jr. (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

21 March 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Western

Tagline:

Hombre means MAN... Paul Newman is HOMBRE!

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Stagecoach | Apache | Lodging House | Beautiful Woman | Abandoned Mine

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	John Russell
Fredric March	...	Dr. Alex Favor
Richard Boone	...	Cicero Grimes
Diane Cilento	...	Jessie
Cameron Mitchell	...	Frank Braden
Barbara Rush	...	Audra Favor
Peter Lazer	...	Billy Lee Blake
Margaret Blye	...	Doris Blake
Martin Balsam	...	Henry Mendez
Skip Ward	...	Steve Early
Frank Silvera	...	Mexican bandit
David Canary	...	Cowboy in Bar
Val Avery	...	Delgado
Larry Ward	...	Soldier
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Linda Cordova	...	Mrs. Delgado (uncredited)
Pete Hernandez	...	Apache (uncredited)
Merrill C. Isbell	...	Apache (uncredited)

Directed by
Martin Ritt

Writing credits
Irving Ravetch		(screenplay) and
Harriet Frank Jr.		(screenplay)
Elmore Leonard		(novel)

Produced by
Irving Ravetch	....	producer
Martin Ritt	....	producer

Original Music by
David Rose

Cinematography by
James Wong Howe		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Frank Bracht

Art Direction by
Jack Martin Smith
Robert Emmet Smith		(as Robert E. Smith)

Set Decoration by
Raphael Bretton		(set decorations)
Walter M. Scott

Costume Design by
Donfeld		(costumes designed by)

Makeup Department
Margaret Donovan	....	hair styles
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Harry Caplan	....	unit production manager (as Harry A. Caplan)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William McGarry	....	assistant director
Christopher Seitz	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
John R. Carter	....	sound
David Dockendorf	....	sound

Stunts
Terry Leonard	....	stunts (uncredited)
Danny Sands	....	stunts (uncredited)
George P. Wilbur	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
James Mitchell	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Jack Hayes	....	orchestration
David Rose	....	conductor
Leo Shuken	....	orchestration

Other crew
Tim Burstall	....	attachment
Meta Rebner	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
• Hombre Productions (uncredited)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1967) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1970) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Centfox (1967) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (19??) (USA) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (19??) (USA) (laserdisc)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (tv rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | USA:Approved (certificate #21250) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Bell Ranch, Santa Susana, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The photo in the closing credits of the film was taken in 1886 by Camillus Fly, the famous Tombstone (AZ) photographer. The white boy in the photo is Jimmy (Santiago) McKinn, captured by the Apaches in 1885. Like the Paul Newman character in the film, McKinn was totally assimilated in the tribe and was rescued against his will when Geronimo surrendered in 1886.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The horse the bandito is riding has a snap to connect the throatlatch. None of the bridles of that day would have used snaps as they had not been invented at that time.

Quotes:

John Russell:You better put down that gun. You got two ways to go, put it down or use it. Even if you tie me, you're gonna be dead.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: Episode #22.69" (2005)

"Hombre" is a Great Western With Excellent Performances All Around

This brutal western is easily one of Paul Newman's best performances, hearkening back to "HUD" in its power and forthright honesty. Newman plays a white man raised by Apaches on the reservation in Arizona who grew up to become a member of the Indian police. His real father has died and he cuts his long hair and goes down to the town to claim his inheritance, a boarding house which he intends to sell "for a herd of horses down in Contention." The residents of the building, including the attractive female manager, are thus made to leave and he accompanies them on their stage coach journey down to Bisbee. They are joined by the Indian agent, skillfully played by Frederic March, his snooty, sheltered wife, and a sinister stranger, wonderfully acted by Richard Boone at his most gritty and threatening.

The characters in this movie, regardless of their importance, are fleshed out convincingly. The writing is spare and fraught with meaning, in fact, it is almost too perfect. No words are wasted and no act appears frivolous. Newman plays the quintessential stoic, an Indian mystic who rises above the circumstances of his harsh existence out of sheer detachment. He accepts the brutality of the world at face value and harbors absolutely no illusions. He doesn't stick his neck out like some damn fool in order to impress anybody and he survives because he deals with what comes his way, yet refuses to be affected by it, no matter how tough things get. Just to watch his very convincing interpretation of this sort of person is rewarding enough, but that is only one of the roles so well evoked in this excellent drama. Richard Boone has some of the great lines, such as, "Mr., you've got some mighty hard bark on you coming down here like this," followed by, "Well now, what do you suppose HELL is gonna look like?" Frederic March hands in a good performance as the crooked Indian agent, a role quite unlike his great offerings in earlier films such as "Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" or "The Best Years of Our Lives." "Hombre" is first-rate movie fare, an entertaining, action-filled story brimming with conflict. As art, it is right up there with the best films ever made, a philosophical masterpiece.