In 1967 motion pictures had yet to portray the American
Indian in a positive light. That would take place within a few years. For the
most part they were still represented as wildly screaming savages intent on
killing John Wayne or Jimmy Stewart in the latest western. All that began to
change in the late sixties and HOMBRE was one of the first films of this sort.
Paul Newman stars as John Russell, a white man captured by
the Indians long ago and raised by them. Having been exposed to both of their
lifestyles he finds more honor and respect among the Apaches. Word reaches
Russell that his last white relative has passed away and he has inherited a
boarding house. With no use for the house he intends to sell it and use the money
to purchase a herd for the Apache, returning with them. He closes the boarding
house ousting the Jessie the woman who has run it for several years.
To sell the property and buy the herd, Russell must board
the only stagecoach that is still running from town, a coach on its last run.
On board the coach are Mr. Favor (Frederick March), his wife Audra (Barbara
Rush), a newlywed couple, Jessie and a dangerous looking man named Grimes
(Richard Boone).
As Russell proceeds to board the stage the others aren’t
favorable with his riding with them, looking down upon him for having lived
with “savages” all his life. He joins the coach driver Mendez (Martin Balsam)
up top and off they go.
It isn’t long before we discover what Grimes was really up
to. Along the way his men meet up to the stage with the intent of robbing
everyone on board, in particular Mr. Favor. It appears that while working for
the Department of Indian Affairs Favor has embezzled a large sum of money that
was intended for the Indians and Grimes has his eye on that money.
But things don’t work out as planned and soon the robbers
are left with nothing and the stagecoach passengers are left with little water
and no stage or horses. They travel back a ways to an abandoned mine where they
hole up waiting for the bad guys to return along with Mrs. Favor who was taken
hostage. With things looking to be their worst the passengers suddenly find
that Russell is someone they must depend on if they are to survive. Rather than
treat them the way he was treated, he does his best to insure they make it out
alive.
The movie offers and interesting look at the prejudices that
people have and how those can change at the drop of a hat when those they hate
suddenly have value to them. While the passengers all look down their noses at
Russell when their trip begins it is Russell who is their sole salvation if
they want to remain alive. Through it all Russell acts unperturbed by the
people around him, rising above their way of thinking and knowing full well
that when it comes to life and death their concerns are minor in the long run.
Newman plays the character as the strong and silent type.
There are no need for words and when there are he chooses them wisely. The same
holds true for his actions as is witnessed in a scene early on when Grimes
forces a young soldier to relinquish his seat and no one stand up to him. The
rest turn to Russell thinking he is the only one capable but he does nothing.
In return rather than look to themselves for their response they look down on
him instead. It’s a subtle enough display of the difference between Russell and
the rest offering a look at who and how they truly are and it works.
As with all Twilight Time blu-ray releases the picture
quality here is fantastic making this movie that’s nearly 50 years old look
brand new. Extras include an isolated score track, a commentary track by film
historians Lee Pfeiffer and Paul Scrabo and the theatrical trailer. While these
extras are small compared too many releases I find that they give more than
enough of what we need rather than pad out extras in an attempt to make you buy
for that reason alone. Twilight Time offers limited quantities on their
releases so if you intend to buy this one I’d do so before they sell out.
Click here to order.
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