Hondo

Plot synopsis:
At a remote ranch in the desert of New Mexico, homesteader Angie Lowe (Angie Lowe) and her six year-old son Johnny (Lee Aaker) come upon a stranger (John Wayne) drinking water from their river, carrying only a saddle and a rifle. The man tells them only his last name, Lane, and that he is part Apache and was exploring Indian Territory as a US Army Cavalry scout. His horse was stolen a few days earlier, and offers US Army scrip in exchange for one of her horses. Angie tells Lane that her ranch hand had quit recently and hadn't had a chance to break one of her two horses for riding, so Lane offers to break the horse himself. He also asks where her husband is, and she says he is hunting in the mountains and should be back soon.Johnny watches with fascination as Lane takes one of the horses, and saddles and rides the bucking and untamed animal with ease. Lane also offers to do a few chores around the ranch, including sharpening an axe blade and chopping firewood. Lane deduces by the neglected work around the ranch that her husband has not been at the ranch for some time, a fact she is forced to admit. When night falls and the weather grows inclement, Angie offers to put Lane up in her home on a floor bed in the corner. Angie discovers that the butt of his rifle is inscribed to "Hondo" Lane, a name she knows to belong to a criminal, and she pulls a pistol on him and fires, but there is no cartridge in the first chamber. She had left it empty so that Johnny wouldn't shoot it accidentally.Hondo returns to his Cavalry post, leaving Angie and Johnny alone at the ranch, where he meets up with his scout sidekick Buffalo Baker (Ward Bond) and reports to his commanding officer that the Chiricauhua Apache lodges in the area are banding together and attacking settlers. At the ranch, Angie and Johnny are surrounded by menacing Apaches led by Chief Vittorio (Michael Pate) and his sub-chief, Silva (Rodolfo Acosta). Angie is not nervous as she has always let them water their horses at her ranch and they had never hurt her. On this occasion, they threaten and grab Angie. Johnny emerges from the house with the loaded pistol and shoots at Silva, hitting and breaking his weapon. Vittorio is impressed by Johnny's bravery, and makes him an Apache blood brother by cutting Johhny's thumb with a knife and giving him an Apache name. Vittorio wonders where Angie's husband is, and she tells him that he will return soon. Vittorio tells her that the boy needs a father to guide him, and unless her husband returns soon, she must take an Apache husband.A night or two later in a saloon, Hondo calls a friend from his poker game, but one of the poker party objects. He and Hondo get into a fight, and Hondo beats the man up badly, driving him out the door. Buffalo Baker tells Hondo the man called himself "Ed Lowe" (Leo Gordon), and Hondo suspects he might be Angie's missing husband. Feeling guilty, he leaves the fort to return Angie's horse back to her. Seeking revenge for the bar beating, Lowe and an accomplice follow Hondo through the desert as he makes his way back to Angie's ranch. Hondo camps near a river but leaves it when he detects three Indians stalking him nearby. Lowe enters the camp and he and his friend are attacked by two Indians. The friend is killed, but Hondo shoots and kills an Apache about to kill Lowe. Lowe is briefly grateful but turns his gun on Hondo in retaliation for the bar beating. Hondo defends himself, killing Lowe. Hondo finds a photo of Johnny alongside Lowe's body, confirming that Lowe is Johnny's father and Angie's husband.Continuing towards Lowe's ranch, Hondo runs into an Apache party, who pursue Hondo through the desert. He kills several but they eventually capture him. They take Hondo to the top of a nearby mesa when Vittorio appears. They stake him out and begin to torture and prepare to kill him because he is an Army scout. An Indian shows Vittorio the picture of Johnny from Hondo's saddlebag, and Vittoria thinks Hondo is Angie's husband. He orders the Indians to untie him and declares that he must fight Silva for honor, as he is one of Angie's potential suitors. Hondo and Silva fight using knives. Silva wounds Hondo in the shoulder, but Hondo pins Silva to the ground. Hondo puts his knife to Silva's throat, but Vittoria steps forward and Hondo spares Silva's life, temporarily buying his own life in return. Vittorio takes Hondo to Angie's ranch, and when Vittoria asks if Hondo is her husband, she lies, saving Hondo. The Chief warns Hondo to raise Johnny in the Apache way and leaves them.While Hondo recuperates from his wounds, he shows her the picture of Johnny that he tells her he took from Lowe's body. She asks if he died well, and Hondo pauses before saying that he had. Over the next few weeks, Hondo and Angie grow closer. Hondo and Angie express their growing love for each other. Hondo attempts to reveal the truth of her husband's death, but is interrupted by Vittorio's sudden appearance. Vittorio tells them that the pony soldiers will soon return. He asks Hondo not to join them and to keep the Indian's location a secret. Hondo promises to do the first but not the latter, and Vittoria shows respect for Hondo's truthfulness. Angie tells him she loves him, and they cement their relationship with a kiss.The Army arrives at the ranch, commanded by an ambitious, inexperienced young Lt. McKay (Tom Irish) and accompanied by scouts Baker and Lennie (James Arness). McKay is determined to take all the settlers in the area back to the Army post to protect them and defend the territory against Apache attacks. Lennie reveals that he discovered Lowe's body and matched the horse tracks to Hondo's horse. He wants Hondo's Winchester rifle in exchange for keeping quiet about how Hondo bushwhacked Lowe. Angie overhears Lennie's demands.Hondo prepares to leave, but before he goes, he tells her the truth about her husband's death. Hondo is also intent on telling Johnny, but she persuades him not to, telling Hondo she didn't love her husband any longer and had grown tired of his womanizing and gambling. She says it would be an unkind thing to tell the boy about the true nature of his father's death and that the secret won't follow them to Hondo's ranch in California. Hondo responds to her emotional plea with an Indian word that seals a squaw-seeking ceremony, "Varlabania", which he tells her means "forever". The Army leaves to move further on into Apache territory and as promised Hondo refuses to go with them but tells them where Vittorio and his party are.The Army returns after being ambushed by the Apaches, suffering heavy casualties including wounds to Lt. McKay. Vittorio had been killed, causing the Apaches to retreat so they can regroup and select a new chief. Hondo leads the Cavalry and settlers back towards the fort, taking Angie and Johnny with them. The group is attacked by the Apaches, now led by Silva, but the group circles their wagons. They escape the encirclement twice but the Apaches continue their pursuit. Hondo loses his mount and is attacked by Silva, but Honda kills him, retrieving Lt. McKay's uniform shirt from his body. The Indians retreat again to choose a replacement chief.Lt. McKay says the General Crook will be arriving in the territory with a large force to pursue the Apache. Hondo sadly notes the end of the Apache "way of life."

Tags: cult, murder, violence

Review:
The colors are rich and vibrant including the many Mexican blue sky shots.The story has a tired and horseless army scout Hondo Lane (John Wayne) coming upon an isolated ranch where he meets Mrs. Lowe (Geraldine Fitzgerald) and her young son Johnny (Lee Aaker).
Along the way they are attacked by the Apache and..................This was one of John Wayne's better westerns however one can't help but compare certain aspects of the story with that of "Shane" released the same year.
Wayne's pal Paul Fix appears briefly as Major Sherry.John Ford directed the final battle sequence when Director John Farrow had to leave to fulfill other contractual obligations.The DVD release has an excellent commentary by Leonard Maltin (who also serves as host for the variopus segments), film historian Frank Thompson and Lee Aaker.
With its distinctive peppermint-striped titles, the movie is one of John Wayne's best westerns and he happens upon a young woman at her isolated ranch and warns her of the threat of Indian uprisings.
It deals with Hondo Lane (John Wayne) , a scout for the US cavalry, he meets Angie Lowe (Geraldine Page)and falls in love with her , in this typical and entertaining western of the the 50's .
Hondo Lane becomes stubborn guard Angie Lowe (Geraldine Page in her first movie character) alarmed about the pending Indian uprising and then he turns into a figure father to her son named Johnny.
Today, it is a simple matter to view "Hondo" at any time, and appreciate it for the highly impressive Western that it is.In the film--based on the early Louis L'Amour short story "The Gift of Cochise"--Wayne plays a part-Apache cavalry scout named Hondo Lane.
When we first encounter him, in the year 1870, the footsore Hondo stumbles onto the New Mexico homestead of Mrs. Angie Lowe (Geraldine Page, the renowned NYC stage actress, here in her very first film) and her young son Johnny (appealingly played by child actor Lee Aaker).
Already half in love with the woman whose husband he has just shot down, Hondo returns to the Lowe homestead with a double mission: to tell the mother and son the news of what has just transpired, and to protect the pair from an uprising of (justifiably) angry Apaches, who have recently gone on a murderous warpath....Truth to tell, "Hondo" strikes this viewer as an unusual choice for Al Bundy's favorite John Wayne film, what with its emphasis on romance and courtship (indeed, for the first 25 minutes of the picture, Hondo and Mrs. Lowe do nothing but talk and grow close to each other), as well as father/son ties (then again, young Johnny is a lot more cute and loving than Bud Bundy could ever hope to be; perhaps Al saw in Johnny the son that he never had?).
Page deservedly garnered an Oscar nomination (her first of eight) for her work here, ultimately losing the Best Supporting Actress statuette for that year to Donna Reed, for her fine work in "From Here to Eternity." Kudos must also be given to Australian actor Michael Pate, who would go on, 14 years later, to reprise his role as the Apache chief Vittoro in the short-lived ABC TV program "Hondo," starring Ralph Taeger (I know, I know...who?) in the title role, as well as young Aaker for his winning performance.
Likewise, the great character actors Ward Bond, Leo Gordon and James Arness (two years pre-"Gunsmoke") all manage to make the most of their small but crucial roles."Hondo" also features fine work behind the camera.
That entrance of him walking up to Geraldine Page's small ranch must have put his large frame practically in the laps of the theater audience.Wayne plays Hondo Lane an army scout who is part Indian himself.
A bond also forms between Lee Aaker and the Duke.For one of John Wayne's major films, Hondo has a remarkably short running time as compared to some of the epic westerns he did for John Ford.
In the less than 90 minute running time for Hondo, it deals with Page's no good husband Leo Gordon and the trouble the Apaches are giving the local settlers.Playing the head of the Apaches, Chief Vittorio, is Australian actor Michael Pate.
But while Stevens' film moves at a slow, deliberate pace, meticulously creating a near mythic vision, "Hondo" director John Farrow, working from a script by longtime Wayne scribe James Edward Grant (from Louis L'Amour story), cuts the exposition down to basics, giving the film a much leaner 'look', with a climax (actually directed by John Ford, as Farrow had scheduling problems with another film) that is so fast-paced that it can leave a viewer in 'midair', expecting more.
As a result, "Hondo" isn't held in as high esteem as "Shane", but is certainly a rewarding, entertaining experience, with one of Wayne's best pre-"Searchers" performances, and Geraldine Page earning an Oscar nomination in her film debut.Filmed in the broiling summer heat of Mexico, utilizing massive, cumbersome dual cameras to create 3-D (which both Wayne and Warner studio head Jack Warner felt was the wave of the future, but would be passé by the film's release), the production was grueling, yet formed lasting friendships.
Australian Michael Pate, playing the key role of historic Chiricahua Apache Chief, Vittorio, was stunned to find Wayne, during a dangerous riding sequence, running along, off-camera, to protect him if he fell (Wayne, impressed by the actor, would cast him, ten years later, as another Indian chief in "McLintock!").
Geraldine Page, picked by Farrow for her fresh, 'natural' look, carried her stage training and 'attitude' into the filming, which did little to endear her to the cast, and Wayne felt little chemistry between them (although her performance would be a standout debut).With colorful characterizations, a chaste romance, plenty of action, and little of the obvious '3-D' gimmicks (only noticeable in the titles sequence, and two Indian fight scenes), "Hondo" was a HUGE hit when released, and has endured as one of John Wayne's most popular westerns!.
In Hondo, he is the title character, a white who was raised by Indians and discriminated against by them because he's not indian, but distrusted by the whites also because of his Indian sympathies.This was the only John Wayne movie filmed in 3D; it's been shown several times on network TV that way.
John Farrow directs this western story that stars John Wayne as Hondo Lane, a dispatch rider for the cavalry who encounters a woman named Angie Lowe(played by Geraldine Page) and her son, whom he feels compelled to protect, since they are surrounded by Apache forces.
this John western may not be considered a classic like The Searchers,but i sure liked it,for a number of reasons.John Wayne was good,as he usually is,though i have yet to see a movie where he puts in a bad performance.Lee Aaker,who plays the kid,puts in a pretty good performance.but i really do have to single two people out here in the acting department.Michael Pate,who plays Vittorio,the Chiricahua Apache Chief,is outstanding,as is Geraldine Page(making her film debut)as Angie Lowe.as for the the story,it's typical of most westerns,but it is action packed,and the dialogue is well written.i haven't enjoyed a western this much for quite awhile.for me,Hondo is an 8/10.
"Hondo" is notable because it is an early cinematic "A" Western.The film's title derives from the main character, Hondo Lane (John Wayne), a tough gunfighter and scout with a sense of ethics, a loner who does not like liars.
Ward Bond, Michael Pate, and Lee Aaker all give credible performances in support roles.Although there are more grandiose "A" grade cinematic Westerns, "Hondo" is a fine example of a story that is slightly more low-key, with an emphasis on complex characters.
Army scout Hondo Lane (John Wayne) and his trusty dog Sam protect a woman (Geraldine Page) and her son from Apaches.
When Hondo came out, 3-D was at the end of a very short life, so they had to show the film without it.Hondo is one of the best of John Waynes' westerns, and among the film's great qualities I would point: a)the story by Louis L'Amour.
John Wayne creates a memorably laconic character, although in retrospect, he and Geraldine Page make a most unlikely romantic pairing but the latter, who was then only known for her stage work and whose first true appearance in film this was, acquitted herself extremely well in the role of the lonely but determined homesteader woman living alone on her farm with her young kid (Lee Aaker) on Apache territory and, indeed, most surprisingly for a film of its type, walked away with a Best Supporting Actress nod at that year's Academy Awards!
The film also gives notable roles to Ward Bond (as a boorish Cavalry scout), Michael Pate (as the respectful Indian Chief who takes a liking to Page's son) and James Arness as a less reliable Cavalry scout.John Farrow handles James Edward Grant's rather talky script - whose central relationship between Wayne-Page-Aaker brings forth the inevitable SHANE comparisons which, interestingly, was released earlier that year - quite admirably and, although John Ford himself had a hand in it as a second unit director, there is a terrific battle sequence which concludes the film.
That seems to be one of his most famous movie poses of all time.The film itself is a little rough during the opening and closing titles, yet by and large, looks pretty clean considering it's age and the big, clumsy 3-D camera they used to film this thing with.One of the first Louis L'Amour novels to hit the screen, this one involves Army scout Hondo Lane protects woman (Geraldine Page) and her son (Lee Aaker) from marauding Apaches led by Vittorio (Michael Pate) who wants her to marry one of his braves and become his squaw.
The cast in addition to Wayne who is very good and the interesting and intelligent Page, included Australian Michael Pate and Rodolfo Acosta, Ward Bond, James Arness, Lee Aaaker as Mrs. Lowell's son, Tom Irish, Leo Gordon, Paul Fix, Rayford Barnes and Frank McGrath.
I think countryway_48864 is on the money: John Wayne's Hondo is a different kind of character, not a Thomas Dunson or Ethan Edwards.I also always have wished that Fellows and Wayne and James Edward Grant, the screenwriter, had included some of the little, authentic touches from the novel that filled out the character of Hondo: his wearing Apache moccasins, for example (see the scene of Paul Newman lacing them up in "Hombre," if you want to know what real Apache mocs looked like), and teaching Johnny to know whether the man he is trailing is white or Indian, just by his footwear and the way he walks.
This entry in the John Wayne marathon is based on a Louis L'Amour short story and earned an Oscar nomination for Geraldine Page.This was your typical western movie with the lying white man and the rampaging apaches and the upset settlers and, of course, the calvary to the rescue.Lots of battles and and an interesting story as Page kept saying her husband would return any minute and even the apaches, who watered their horses and left them alone, didn't believe her and were trying to force her to take a brave to raise her son.Great action and a great L'Amour story..
In spite of a hackneyed script,John Farrow managed to make a very interesting film ,transcending all the clichés and telling us an absorbing story.The keyword of his work is "fatherhood" : the "small warrior" is in need of a father.Both Vittorio and Hondo feel it and they both try to make him a man in their own way:the Indian wants her mother(Page) to become one of his brothers' squaw while Hondo (Wayne)dreams of a true home but knows that he is like his dog (who is nor really his anyway)whose place in this world is nowhere.Best scene: Page's house surrounded by Indians and "Small Warrior" singlehandedly "taming 'em (he is only six but he does tame them!).Farrow renews the subject of the "husband no longer at home" : we will know which kind of man he is in the last minutes of the film.One can regret the final battle but it does not spoil your pleasure ."Hondo" is really an enjoyable western where the Indians are not demeaned in the wake of "Broken arrow"..
Wayne plays a Shane-like character who befriends and protects a woman and young son who are living alone in the middle of Apache country during the Western wars.
While a John Wayne picture first and foremost, "Hondo" does represent the film debut of celebrated stage actress Geraldine Page, here playing a "handsome woman" living out West in the 1870's with her young son; they are caught in the middle of an Apache uprising, and though she has earned the respect of the Indian tribe, their ongoing strife with the white man leaves her vulnerable.
Hondo (1953) *** (out of 4) Classic Western has John Wayne playing Army dispatcher rider Hondo Lane who comes across a small farm being ran by a widow (Geraldine Page) and her young son.
Quintessential John Wayne western, the Duke plays tough but principled cavalry scout Hondo Lane who ends up sparking the widow (Geraldine Page) of a blackguard whom he was forced to shoot.
The rest of the cast are fine, Australian actor Michael Pate plays Vittoro (presumably a proxy for the actual Apache chief Victorio (1825-1880)) and Wayne's buddies Ward Bond and James Arness are along for the ride as a couple of colourful cavalry scouts.
While not exactly known as THE John Wayne movie, Hondo Lane is (along with Rooster Cogburn) one of the quintessential Wayne characters, a character I cannot help but look at (at least in my dreamworld), as some kind of macho response to Alan Ladd in Shane!While Ladd plays the morally upright Shane, who rides onto the ranch of a couple of dignified settlers, becoming the idol of worship for their young son, Wayne swaggers onto the spread of the conspicuously absent Leo Gordon (who's off gambling) and plain-faced Geraldine Page, where he proceeds to act like a bit of a smart-ass, making passes at the woman and helping toughen up the boy (who gets more attention from the local wild Apaches than his own father) by pushing him into a few semi-dangerous situations.
Average Cowboy versus Indian action/drama which was shot with good 3-D Cinematography.Wayne looks great here but the movie was sloppily and hastily put together.It needed better script,screenplay and editing.The story was standard fare.Only for fans of the genre and big fans of the lead actors......
After encountering rampaging Apache Indians, John Wayne (as Hondo Lane) and his dog lick their wounds at Geraldine Page (as Angie Lowe)'s ranch.
Gordon co-starred in "Gun fury" with Rock Hudson, which was released the same year and is arguably the better film.What's most interesting about "Hondo" is the significant role the Apaches play in the story and the amount of screen time Vittorio and his subordinate have.
Army despatch rider Hondo Lane (John Wayne) discovers a woman (Geraldine Page) and her son (Lee Aaker) living in the midst of warring Apaches, and he becomes their protector.Some of this is your standard Western fare, with the white settlers at odds with the Apache warriors.
Nicely directed by John Farrow the picture has become well established over the years as one of John Wayne's better westerns.From a novel by Louis L'Amour it had a fine screenplay devised by James Edward Grant and was glowingly photographed in Warnercolor by Robert Burks and Archie Stout.John Wayne is Hondo Lane a dispatch rider for the U.S. cavalry in 1874 who, after having his horse shot from under him by Indians stumbles across an isolated ranch occupied by a deserted woman (Geraldine Page) and her young son (Lee Aaker).
"Hondo" opens on some of the aspects of George Stevens' "Shane," with the arrival of a lone figure, a U.S. cavalry dispatch rider, Hondo Lane (John Wayne) and his dog (Sam) to an isolated ranch in Apache Territory...Lane is received by a young courageous frontier woman Angie Lowe (Geraldine Page) and her 6-years old son Johnny (Lee Aaker).
Angie tries to convince Hondo that she is not alone, that she lives with a husband, and that she is not worried about apache uprisings, because there is a peace treaty, and the apaches will not "bother" her at all...During his 24 hours stay, Lane knows that Annie is an abandoned woman, and after kissing her, he learned much more...Lane leaves the place, but after finding out that the Indians are killing and destroying all around the land, decides to return for the young woman and her boy...Under the lead of a stylistic director, "Hondo" may be very likely the finest Wayne psychological Western not directed by John Ford...
With long tracking shots and interesting camera angles, "Hondo" is far better in the way of capturing the abrasive solitary man manifested in "Red River." There is nothing really surprising about Wayne's part, but I think it does stress something that's a real Wayne attribute, and that is his honesty and straight forwardnessWith a kind of short, curly, blonde hair, Geraldine Page is excellent in her Oscar-Nominated debut, specially in the scene of her confession to Lane about her late husband: 'He was a liar, a thief, a coward and a drunker...
The film's main relationship develops between Hondo and Angie Lowe (Geraldine Page), the woman who was abandoned and left in Indian country by her drunkard husband.
Wayne's co-star Geraldine Page earned her first Oscar nomination (Supporting) and L'Amour his only (Best Writing, Motion Picture Story).This slightly above average Western also features Ward Bond and James Arness as Army Indian Scouts, and Michael Pate (among others), as well as an uncredited wonder dog (like Lassie).