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.
Review of Hombre
