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	...	Henry 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 | apache territory | 

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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)

Gross USA:

$12,400,000, 31 December 1967

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hombre Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many viewers felt it was far fetched that Grimes would have gone up the hill.

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Goofs

When John Russell is coming to Delgado to see Mendez, in the background are 3 or 4 farm vehicles working in the distance. The sun can be seen gleaming from one of them as it moves through a dust cloud it is making.

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Quotes

Jessie: [noticing Braden with Grimes' gang] Frank, what are you doin'?
Braden: Goin' bad, honey.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #22.69 (2005)

User Reviews

One of the best westerns ever made

Outstanding direction, writing, acting, and cinematography make this film perhaps the best western ever made, and certainly outstanding in it's genre. The good guys aren't all that good, and the bad guys are despicable. The dialogue is from Elmore Leonard, and is some of the best dialogue ever written, western or not. Example: Early in the film Diane Cilento has retreated to the privacy of a shack to remove her petticoat because of the heat. Paul Newman is in the room, and watches her silently as she bears her legs. Then he says, "You'd better stop right there lady, or I'm gonna know all there is to know about you." Ms Cilento's character Jessie (a hard frontier woman who runs a boarding house and sleeps with the town sheriff) retorts, "You might have cleared your throat." Newman says, "I couldn't, my heart was in it." The minor part cast is also outstanding: Martin Balsam, Richard Boone, Cameron Mitchell, David Canary. I also mention the cinematographer, often overlooked, because it was James Wong Howe (Molly McGuires, This Property is Condemned, Hud, Fantasia) who was one of the greatest cinematographers that has ever lived.