Hondo

Starring: John Wayne, Geraldine Page, Ward Bond, Michael Pate, James Arness, Leo Gordon, Lee Aaker
Directed by: John Farrow
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Western, Action, Drama
1953

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A half-Indian, half-white gunfighter (John Wayne) befriends a mother (Geraldine Page) and her son, who face the warring Apache tribe.

Review:

Tim: I really like John Wayne, and I'm always impressed with how many good movies he's made over his very long Hollywood career. Rio Bravo might be my favorite Western of all time. Hondo, on the other hand, is a film that is decent, but certainly not one of my favorites. I felt like the film was a weaker effort- not a bad movie at all, but just not nearly as effective as it needed to be. The story is one that felt redundant, like it's been told several times before. This is a decent Western, but just a little too forgettable for my taste.

One of the biggest problems I had with this film is that everything just felt a little too convenient. Most of the action centers around the homestead where Geraldine Page is trying to raise her son by herself. That's where John Wayne's character arrives to start the movie. It also happens to be the place where the Apache come to water their horses, and where the US Army comes as well. It just all felt a little too Hollywood for my taste. The script felt a bit rushed and lazy. It shocks me that this film was actually nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (it was later discovered that it was actually based on a short story, and thus, ineligible for the award). Still, I just don't feel like the script was especially strong.

John Wayne is decent in the lead role of Hondo Lane. This certainly isn't his best performance, but he is extremely comfortable in the role, and that shows up on screen. At this point, Wayne has played this type of role for decades, and that experience allows him to be enjoyable in the lead role. I didn't love his character, but it's pretty much the honorable gunfighter we've come to expect from Wayne.

I actually didn't love Geraldine Page here. I thought she was decent, and while her performance embodies the strong-willed frontier woman, I'm actually surprised she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. I didn't think she was all that good in the film. I had no major problems with her performance, I just felt like she was too forgettable in the role.

This film's plot felt a bit too plodding to me. I was never overly engaged in the characters or the story. So many of the events just felt too forced. For example, Wayne's character is kidnapped and should be killed- the way he manages to avoid death is just too Hollywood-ish for me. Likewise, Page and her son should both have been killed by the Apaches, and yet, they inexplicably live. The script just handled these moments awkwardly and ham-handedly.

Hondo is a decent film, but it just didn't feel like it could compare to the better Wayne Westerns. The story is average, the performances are average, and the music was a bit disappointing as well. There's certainly several strong sequences throughout, but as a whole, this movie could have been better.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Rio Bravo, The Searchers, The Quiet Man