Leofwine_draca
What I liked most about HONDO is the film's simplicity. It's this simple story set in a big, sprawling and rugged landscape in which the vistas are almost characters in themselves. The story is classically simple, about a woman and her boy trying to survive in a hostile landscape which is constantly under threat of Apache attack. Into this world comes the larger-than-life John Wayne, complete with his lovable dog companion, and he makes everything right again.HONDO is as simple as that and the end result is pure cinema. As a western, this is a great success, full of quality action scenes that build to a wildly impressive climax. Geraldine Page is fine as the put-upon mother and the kid actor isn't annoying for a change, but really this is Wayne's film and he knows it. He has it all here: the drawl, the swagger, and the endless and natural charisma. Ward Bond and James Arness play in support.
cricket crockett
. . . which emphatically nullifies the entire feature flick. HONDO screenwriter James Edward Grant obviously did not attempt to learn the First Thing about Real Life Apache Native Americans, Then or Now. Clearly, this sort of stubbornly willful ignorance is what made Grant John Wayne's kind of guy. Since no "Indian" actor with a brain in his head would consider portraying Hondo's lead Native American, Real Life Apache guerrilla warfare operative Vittorio, White dude Michael Pate wore the Western version of "Blackface" for HONDO's ludicrous attempt at Character Assassination. In the 1800s, APACHE teaches us, these Indigenous Peoples were organized as Matriarchal Societies. Women planned where and when to launch survival raids against a U.S. Cavalry with orders to starve them all to death (violating the U.N. Charter against Genocide). In Real Life, Vittorio was actually killed in Mexico because 1)His wife was ill that day, and 2)The marathon-running Tarahumara Indians were conniving against the Apache with the Mexican Army. Apache Women ALWAYS had their men attack from AMBUSH--NEVER OUT IN THE OPEN AGAINST CIRCLED WAGONS (like in HONDO)! But as the current TV show HIGH CASTLE proves, the lies of War Criminal "Winners" are usually mislabeled as "History." Just because what passed for the American Government in the 1800s stupidly negotiated "treaties" with the Worker Bee Class instead of the Apache Hive Queens was no excuse for Mr. Wayne and Mr. Grant to get virtually EVERYTHING dead wrong about the Apache a full century later!
vincentlynch-moonoi
I've always had a few favorite John Wayne movies -- "Rio Bravo" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence" (for example). But, like many in a whole generation of Americans, in the Vietnam era and afterward, many of us began to dismiss the overall career of John Wayne. Lately, I've been watching a number of John Wayne movies, some -- like this one -- that I had never seen before. And I have to admit that after several films I am reconsidering John Wayne -- at least in terms of acting -- and mostly for the positive.I wouldn't class this film as one of John Wayne's top tier of films, but it is very good. It held my attention, and frankly, few Westerns can do that anymore.There are specific things to criticize here. For example, Wayne being surrounded and chased by Indians when it was perfectly clear the would not be able to escape. Or several shots throughout the film when it was absolutely clear that the stunt man was not Wayne. Personally I felt the way the final battle scene was rather confusing.A highlight of the film is the first credited Hollywood role for Geraldine Page. I always thought of Page as being a rather eccentric actress, although here that eccentricity hadn't yet developed. She's quite good here, and I think it was wise that they chose a lead actress who was not young and nubile; it just wouldn't have made sense.Wayne's performance is pure Wayne, and that's usually pretty good. Wayne was always just a little awkward in the love scenes, and he is here, but then again, a lot of real men are awkward at such moments.Wayne and Page fit well together here. The rest of the actors are mere supporting roles, and they do their jobs well. Indians actually look like Indians (although I realize they all weren't). Of course, Ward Bond is here, although his role and the role of all the other supporting actors are quite small. Watch for a small role for James Arness.One of Wayne's best? No. But still quite good.
fung0
I recently watched Hondo for about the fifth time, and was struck again by its many wonderful qualities. And also by the one notable flaw that keeps it from being one of the best westerns of all time.The best part is the beginning. Hondo Lane is one of the most interesting characters ever played by John Wayne. Not just the stereotypical hero, but a man with a particular code of self-reliance. And with a sympathy for the Native American viewpoint that must have been well ahead of its time for 1953. Hondo's character puts him in a uniquely challenging moral dilemma later on.Geraldine Page is the perfect leading lady. Far from a classic beauty, she seems like someone you might actually have found on a remote ranch in the 1800s.Sparking all this is some really excellent dialog, and some great little emotional exchanges between Wayne and Page, or, later on, between Wayne and Page's son. I wish the film had spent another hour delving into the three main characters, but it proceeds to some very solid action segments, involving the equally likable Indian chief, Vittorio.Visually, the film is impressive. It hasn't quite got the painterly flair of The Searchers, but again, for its time, it's pretty spectacular. A few shots overtly composed for 3D are distracting, but don't spoil the overall feel of the film.The one subtle flaw in Hondo (** mild spoiler **) is that the end of the dramatic arc comes 10 or 15 minutes before the end of the film. The result is that the final action sequence - excellent in itself - has much less dramatic impact than it should have, and feels almost tacked-on. Most viewers won't notice this odd bit of pacing as such, but they will come away feeling just a shade less emotionally satisfied than they might have done. It's a shame, because the action scenes and the dramatic ones could easily have been swapped.This structural flaw stops me from rating Hondo as a full-fledged cinematic classic. Nonetheless, the film's many virtues make it one of the most likable westerns of the 1950s, and a must-see for John Wayne fans.
AD
