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.
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.