462. HOMBRE (1967)

Running Time: 111 minutes
Directed By: Martin Ritt
Written By: Irving Ravetch, Elmore Leonard, Harriet Frank Jr., from the novel by Elmore Leonard
Main Cast: Paul Newman, Fredric March, Richard Boone, Diane Cilento, Peter Lazer

NEWMANIA!: PART III

The third film in the "NEWMANIA!" week festivities, is also the one that I had been dreading the most. However, it actually wound up being the best of the three that I've watched, thus far.

This time around, Paul Newman is John Russell, a white man who was kidnapped by the Apache Indian tribe when he was a child and raised up as one of their own. When his biological father passes away, a messenger is sent to John to tell him that he has inherited a boarding house and that it could be a big opportunity for him to get back into the good graces of the white man. However, John doesn't seek the good graces of the white man and despite putting out the caretaker of his newly inherited property, Jessie (Cilento), he decides to sell the property, in order to buy a herd of horses. Once the decision is made, Russell makes it his first priority to head out of town and along with Jessie and an unhappily married couple, Doris and Billy Lee Blake (Lazer), who live at the boarding house, he does just that. They are joined by highfalutin couple, Dr. Alex Favor (March), agent for the Apache tribe and his wife Audra. The final passenger to board the coach out of town with the eclectic group is Cicero Grimes (Boone), who strong arms his way onto the ride, by taking a ticket from a would be passenger. Now our story is set into motion, as seven passengers and a driver take off on an out of town trip. But, actually this is only the beginning, because the coach is about to get high-jacked by a group of bandits.

The picture that I posted on this blog the other day, of Newman with long hair, wearing a red bandanna and looking very much like a white man dressed as an Indian, just seemed really silly to me. However, there were two elements that made this film for me. The first came when the beginning credits were rolling and the line, "based on the novel by Elmore Leonard" came up. Back in the day when I was just as much a reader, as I was a watcher, I read a lot of Elmore Leonard books and while I never read any of his Westerns, I knew that I was in for a treat. The other element that made this film for me was the inclusion of Richard Boone as Cicero Grimes. In my opinion, he was the star of this picture. Newman did a fine job, in reality, barely saying a word and playing his character very cold and intense, but for my money, Boone was the highlight of the picture. The scene that really grabbed me and turned this film from an average western to a great western is the scene where Grimes first appears and steals the ticket away from the soldier. Boone's dialogue may have been written down on paper for him, but he delivered it spot on, forcing you to love every minute of your hatred for him. Great stuff and even his name is menacing: Cicero Grimes!

Now, back to Newman - I loved the fact that his dialogue was kept to a minimum and how John Russell only spoke when he had something intelligent or important to say. It was a device that made for a really bad-ass character and off-set the obnoxious Grimes really nicely. Add in the other characters, like Dr. Favor played brilliantly by Fredric March and you've got a recipe for greatness. Martin Balsam was even convincing, handing in his jury foreman gear to play a Mexican and playing it well, I might add. I've been waiting for a REALLY GOOD Western to come along and make me take notice of an entire genre and while I'm sure there's better out there, this was a fabulous Western and one that will only do positive things in making me appreciate the entire genre.

RATING: 8/10 I should really go into every film dreading it, because it's always the ones I dread that turn out being the best. Next up for Newman: "Cool Hand Luke".

MOVIES WATCHED: 327
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 674

August 19, 2011 2:28pm