User reviews

A tough, sun bleached western from Martin Ritt, this is well served by fine performances and some tremendous cinematography from James Wong Howe.

John Russell (Newman) is a white man raised by the Apaches, who travels by stagecoach with a group of people whose lives aren't as simple as we first believe. Threatened by bandits, Russell unwillingly leads his fellow passengers towards safety. His moral code is sparse and unforgiving, but he is surrounded by others of a different persuasion, most notably Jessie, played by Diane Cilento. When the bandits hold a passengers wife hostage, Russell's moral code is challenged, and it's his unexpected attachment to Jessie that causes him to behave differently.

Newman and Cilento are excellent. Richard Boone is the perfect counter weight as Cicero Grimes, the principal bandit. Martin Balsam (stagecoach driver) and Frederic March (an Indian agent) make an impression too, as does Frank Silvera (Mexican bandit).

This is a vastly superior western. Superlative work from the stars and an intelligent script, added to the dusty Death Valley location work, create a tense, sparse western well worth watching.

This film made Paul Newman my favorite male actor for decades. It affected the way I have seen every one of his roles, even his salad dressing. The story line brings John Russell's (Newman) personal strength of character and survival into sharp contrast with many of the other characters' own sense of strength, and therefore the viewers' as well. There are villains all around and innocent (and not so innocent) victims for the taking. Personal values of all kinds (racial, greed, criminal) are set up for display and comparison against Russell's simple personal strength and integrity like a painting competition at a state fair.

My most remembered quote from this film is Russell's response to Dr. Favor(the embezzler)when Favor attempts to educate Russell that white (implying civilized) people stick together and help each other out and Russell responds, "They better".

Martin Ritt made a lot of good movies. This is one of his best. It deserves to be remembered and to live forever. Elmore Leonard wrote this wonderful western of a man who is no hero in the classical western-style. He is of white origin, brought up by Indians. He wants to live in peace with his fellow man, and faced with violence he withdraws, but when it comes to injustice or survival he turns out to be some sort of hero just the same. Paul Newman's leading role as Hombre is a performance as convincing as ever. And all other leading characters are played by wonderful actors too. Richard Boone's bullying criminal is almost to be smelled through the screen. Even in the smaller roles there are some real gems. See this movie again and again - and again!

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.

There are so many rave comments here about Hombre I won't repeat them. I'll just say this is my favorite Paul Newman movie of them all, and one of the best Western's ever made. Richard Boone is terrific as the villain. Newman's low-key performance is remarkably powerful and authoritative. Great cast, story, mood, with an almost Zen like quality in the unfolding and resolution. Hombre has stayed with me for 33 years.

Paul Newman sure could cut it in 1967. Not only did he give the performance of the year as Cool Hand Luke, but embodied the role of action antihero in this gritty, downbeat western as the laconic part-Apache John Russell, reluctant helper of assorted, sordid white people.

Russell has been living off the land with his Apache brethren when he is left a boarding house in a will. Russell sells the boarding house, which leaves its beautiful-but-weathered caretaker Jessie (Diane Cilento) on a long stage ride with Russell and a number of others with varied reasons for wanting to leave town. Unfortunately for everyone, one of them is a particularly ornery character named Cicero Grimes (Richard Boone).

"Hombre" is a coming-out party of sorts for writer Elmore Leonard; he had works adapted for screen before, most notably "3:10 To Yuma," but "Hombre" brings out the quotability and toughness we associate with Leonard today. Credit Newman and director Martin Ritt, as well as cinematographer James Wong Howe, for giving the film the space and terse energy it needs to deliver the action without underselling the human drama. Russell doesn't want to stick his neck out for people, and you don't blame him, yet you understand why he helps them in the end.

Screenwriters Harriet Frank and Irving Ravetch provide many memorable lines. A favorite, when a thief is being robbed at gunpoint: "It looks like you did good and we did better." But there's a tendency to overexposition, of people giving their life story at a drop of a hat. Everyone except Russell, who keeps it very cool throughout. Maybe it helps Newman look better.

"Takes a lot to light a fire under you, don't it?" Jessie asks him.

The story doesn't exactly hold together well upon reflection, and there are a number of what Hitchcock called "icebox scenes." One character walks around for days after being gutshot. Another is developed at length without having anything to do with the story except dying in it. But with "icebox scenes" you don't notice the incongruities until later. You are caught up with the energy and vitality, especially when things begin to happen in the second hour.

Newman is working Eastwood/McQueen territory here, and working it quite well. An important conflict in the film pits him against Dr. Favor (Fredric March), a self-righteous Indian agent who looks down on Russell for his American Indian roots despite the fact Favor has done well off the Apaches. When Favor's jaded wife (Barbara Rush) scoffs at the Apaches for eating dogs, Russell tells her if she was as hungry as they were, "you'd eat it. You'd fight for the bones, too." Newman doesn't raise his voice, doesn't even lean forward, but his burning blues make his anger palpable.

Rush's character is especially interesting, a reflection perhaps on the classic Leonard opportunistic female, or maybe even worse. I'm still not sure what she was playing at, but I enjoyed her character enormously. With Cilento, March, and especially Boone as well, you have performances that would provide engaging centers for other films, yet Newman towers over them without resorting to histrionics or even much in the way of humor (his wisecracks are few, however well-placed.)

"Hombre" is a near-classic Western that doesn't play by classic rules. But it makes its points well, keeps you involved, and allows you to relish one of Paul Newman's most indelible roles.

Paul Newman did a whole bunch of films with Director Martin Ritt and Hombre, one lean and mean western ranks as one of the best.

Newman is John Russell, the ultimate in the Stockholm Syndrome in the western film. He's a man who was kidnapped by the Apaches as a child, raised among them, and then when he was rescued from the Apaches, turned his back on his rescuers and went back to live among them. The opening of the film has some closeup shots of Newman as an Apache and he does look like a figure of interest with those baby blue eyes of his. The viewer is already involved, this is a person of interest, there's a story here, let's find out about him.

Circumstance has put him on a coach with several other passengers, including the Indian agent at the San Carlos Reservation, Fredric March and his wife Barbara Rush. Unbeknownst to everyone else, March has embezzled a whole stash of money from the tribe and is on the run, like Berton Churchill in Stagecoach. Of course Churchill is not taking his young pretty wife along with him.

The outlaws led by Richard Boone know about the loot and they ambush the coach, but the holdup is unsuccessful. Nevertheless the passengers are left afoot with the loot, but limited water on the Arizona desert.

It falls to Newman to lead them to safety, a guy they had previously snubbed. Hombre gets deliciously ironic that way.

Next to Newman, I'd say the best performance in the film is easily that of Diane Cilento, the very wise and earthy boarding house keeper. She's one experienced with life woman who if everyone heeded it would have been better all around.

Why are they with Newman, cause he can cut it. And as a film, Hombre definitely cuts it.

The movie is set in Arizona , circa 1880 . John Russell (Paul Newman) is a tough Indian-raised man , he's disdained by his respectable stagecoach passengers : Dr Favor (Fredric March) and wife (Barbara Rush) , among others (Diane Cilento , Martin Balsam , Margaret Blye) . He's enticed into helping when some bandits (Richard Boone , Frank Sivera , David Canary's film debut) attack the stagecoach . Russell becomes involved and results to be the only hope for survival when they are assaulted by cutthroats , facing off dangerous outlaws across the treacherous country .

Exciting Western plenty of thought-provoking drama , shootouts , action and being quite entertaining . Various character-studios furnish the basis for this Western-drama . Terrific Paul Newman in an enjoyable performance , though using the Stanislawski method , as he plays a disdained person that's why he was raised by Indians , but he becomes the saviour and only hope for survival when they are set upon by outlaws . Richard Boone gives a superb acting as a cruel baddie . Colorful cinematography by James Wong Howe , he's a classic cameraman who won two Oscars (Hud and Rose tattoo) , working from silent cinema . Interesting screenplay dealing with racism theme by Elmore Leonard , he's a noir film (Jackie Brown , Get shorty , 52 pick-up) and Western expert (3.10 Yuma , Tall T , Valdez is coming , Joe Kidd), and , nowadays , working too . The motion picture was well produced and directed by Martin Ritt , who worked with Paul Newman in ¨Hud¨ and ¨Outrage¨. The film will appeal to Western enthusiastic and Paul Newman fans . Rating : Above average, well worth watching.

Martin Ritt first directed Paul Newman in "The Long, Hot Summer" in 1958. They continued working together over the next decade, notably on 1963's "Hud". Their final collaboration was 1967's revisionist western "Hombre". Newman plays a white man raised by the Apaches and forced into unenviable circumstances.

Unlike Arthur Penn's "Little Big Man", which was straightforward about its position with regards to a white man raised by the indigenous people,* "Hombre" presents the whole situation as a moral dilemma faced by the protagonist. All of it with some of the cleverest dialogue that I've ever heard in a movie. Newman has outstanding support from Fredric March, Richard Boone, Barbara Rush and Martin Balsam, and there's some great shots of the Arizona desert. I recommend it.

*Mind you, I do recommend "Little Big Man".

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.

This grim, dusty western looks at the injustices and indignities visited on Apaches from the viewpoint of a half-breed white man who was raised by them. The story's plot is one of stagecoach travelers being held up by gunmen who want the money an Indian agent stole from his agency. Paul Newman, as the laconic but heroic loner, is an outsider and held at arm's length by the passengers because of his Indian upbringing. He knows his way in the wilderness and leads the group through desert and mountain on a survival trek to escape the pursuing outlaws. The film has several hard-hitting exchanges between Newman and Diane Cilento, who tries to light a flame of humanity under Newman. Richard Boone also weighs in with great work as a surly, bullying outlaw who has some memorable lines of his own. The picture stands more on social consciousness and racism than gun play but in many ways is still a rewarding film. James Wong Howe's beautiful camera-work is like a painter's canvas and the spare music score is in keeping with the film's measured pace.

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.

Are you interested in human nature? Great films like "Hombre" work by putting a bunch of people together in a dramatic situation that needs resolving. The unfolding of the story grips your attention because you can relate to the emotions involved and you can understand the games being played by the characters. You can see into human nature.

"Hombre" works at the highest levels. Flawlessly acted by an ensemble cast, it never misses a beat in its understated style as it explores Good, Evil and everything in between. Would you risk your life for a bunch of strangers? What sort of person does, and why?

"Hombre" tells the story.

This was a great production, with a fantastic cast, unforgettable script and an excellent director and cinematographer. My hat goes off to Paul Newman for taking a role that goes against his normally expected "cutesy" performances and portraying a character we all wish we could be more like. I will also applaud the performances of Diane Cilento, Frederick March, and Richard Boone. You all "can cut it".

When "Hombre" was released, it received mixed reviews especially in the foreign markets. I really have a hard time believing this considering it's competition. I love a good western and I have always had a problem with foreign made "spahgetti westerns" and never understood the popularity of "Fistful of Dollars" or "The Good, Bad and the Ugly". Not taking anything away from Clint Eastwood (because his presence was the only thing that saved those films), but there was no credible dialog or memorable cliché's to ever make me want to watch them more than once.

In my mind this has to be one of the top five westerns ever made and ranks up there with "High Noon" or "Stagecoach". It always amazes me that people can criticize the performance of Paul Newman. I have a hard time envisioning anyone else that could have delivered as good a performance. (Possibly Gary Cooper} Newman has made many great films and just because he is so handsome, we have a hard time relating to him as the cold, unpretentious, supporter of the weak as was John Russell.

Elmore Leonard's book about stagecoach passengers left stranded in the Arizona desert by a gunslinger-crook in their midst, and the outcast half-Indian who takes the thief's posse on, comes to the screen with beautiful visual composition and a commendable attention to character and dialogue. However, director Martin Ritt nearly gets himself sidelined early on by an apparent need to stretch artistic muscles, and his prologue with the wild horses 'communicating' is arty and pretentious in the worst sense. Once Ritt gets down to business, pitting Richard Boone's jowly, vulgar bully against Paul Newman's steely-eyed half-caste (white, but raised by Apaches), the film delivers a good Old West stand-off. Ritt certainly takes his time in the final stages, deliberately elongating the unsettling scenario for what amounts to a downbeat conclusion, yet in this instance the strong performances come to the fore, resulting in a very fine genre effort. **1/2 from ****

Paul Newman plays a half breed Apache caught in a tight spot, and one who shows his mettle when the chips are down. Trapped on a stage that is robbed by a gang of thieves, he is forced into a situation where he must defend people he doesn't respect, and fight people he has no quarrel with. In typical Elmore Leonard fashion, the lone quiet man is far more than he seems to be, and honor and simple dedication to truth are the shining jewels of human existence. (See also "Valdez is Coming".) Elmore Leonard's westerns are the very best of the genre, as long as you include "The Searchers" and "The Wild Bunch" and "Monte Walsh". Paul Newman's performance is all fierce inner fire and incredible fury at injustice, never losing control even when he is lashing out with devastating effect. The special highlight here is Richard Boone, always a great performer, but in this movie he is just fabulous. The scene where he verbally bullies the last spot on the stage away from an Army officer just drips with a finely tuned malevolence that you can feel in the air. Brilliant movie, one you shouldn't miss.

Hombre (Paul Newman) is a white Apache wrangling wild horses for stagecoaches, but they're soon shutting down with the approaching railroad. He has many names. One of them is John Russell. Old man Russell had rescued him as an Apache boy in Army prison but he returned back to the Apache life. Mendez (Martin Balsam) comes to him with news of the old man's death and that he has inherited a boarding house. Jessie manages the home. Couple Billy Lee and Doris are boarders as well as Mendez. John Russell trades the house for a herd of horses leaving everybody without a home. The group joins the stagecoach hired by Indian agent Faver and his wife Audra out of town. John Russell is dressed as a white man. When his heritage comes out, he's forced to ride on top. They are robbed by bandits led by Cicero Grimes and it turns out that Faver had stolen money out of the government leaving his Indian charges short of food.

Based on the Elmore Leonard novel, this has a cast of intriguing characters. There are a couple of instances where it struck me wrong. Hombre is facing a wounded bandit in one scene where he should have killed him. It seems wrong that Hombre would let him go. The man is out in the open and wounded right in front of him. Another scene in the last act has Billy Lee worried about shooting a bandit in the back. It's pushing the point too hard. I would certainly love to see an even harsher remake. The acting is great. It's a special western despite a couple of awkward scenes.

A unique, thought-provoking story about the unheralded qualities of a brooding, social outcast. Well-written, well-directed, well-cast production without pretense. Paul Newman is excellent and low-keyed like his character (few words, no-nonsense, non-idealistic); his presence gives the other actors room to perform. Newman's character is a self-controlled savage but with a legitimate grievance as a half-breed Apache. Richard Boone is outstanding as the outlaw lead who won't take no for an answer. His character is mean and overbearing but he meets his match in Newman's - although Boone's character is slow to recognize that fact. Cameron Mitchell is also excellent as the burnt out lawman who 'goes bad' and joins Boone's gang. Diane Cilento is a delight as the housekeeper who slowly takes an interest in Newman's callous character. Martin Balsam plays the Mexican friend of Newman's; another very good, low-key performance.

Fredric March plays a bitter, aging, two-faced reservation agent whose greed creates the circumstances that forces Newman's character to 'defend bigots against bandits'. The stand 'Hombre' takes requires the courage to deal with the harshness in unhesitatingly brutal fashion while ignoring the fact that the odds are increasingly stacked against you. The irony in the final scene is a pretty good metaphor for the cruel unfairness in life that too many of us suffer.

Paul Newman seems totally miscast as a passive White Man sympathetic to the Indians who raised him. Where was Charles Bronson when you needed him badly. Newman is so low key throughout the film, he is completely swamped by the other actors, especially Richard Boone. Cameron Mitchell, although in the movie, has a very minor part. The three females dominate many scenes with "woman chatter", and really nothing much happens. For a good part of the running time of 111 minutes it's just talk, with little action. Compared to "Spaghetti Westerns of the same era, "Hombre" seems dated and tired. Westerns generally mean action, not overly prolonged character development. This was a disappointment. MERK

A slow first half and a lack of interesting (with the exception of scene-stealing Richard Boone) or likable characters keep Hombre from rising above mediocrity, though I must admit there isn't a lack of nuance to them or the story itself.

Paul Newman is cool, calm, and collected as John Russell, a white man raised by Apaches. He's discriminated against by fellow passengers on a stagecoach but when it's robbed and they're all put in a dangerous situation, the passengers look squarely on him for help.

Newman's cold performance and sparse dialog keeps the viewer from getting inside his head and finding out what makes him tick and in the end I really didn't warm up to him. That being said, he was the most likable person in the movie! Everyone else was scum!

One thing I found puzzling was Cameron Mitchell's character appeared to be set up to play a larger part in the desert drama but he was written out early leaving Boone with a few cardboard cutout bandits as backup. Those turn of events didn't make much sense to me.

I've heard others say that Mitchell's scenes were cut so the combined power of the two heavies wouldn't threaten to outshine the laid back performance by Newman. That sounds plausible to me!

The one thing I really enjoyed about Hombre was the climax at the old mine. That alone made the film worth viewing