Hud
HUD (15)
D: Martin Ritt
Paramount (Martin Ritt & Irving Ravetsh)
US 1963
112 mins
Western/Drama
W: Irving Ravetsch & Harriet Frank,
Jr. [based on the novel "Horseman Pass" by Larry McMurtry]
DP: James Wong Howe
Ed: Frank Bracht
Mus: Elmer Bernstein
PD: Hal Pereira & Tambi Larsen
Cos: Edith Head
Paul Newman (Hud Bannon), Patricia
Neal (Alma Brown), Melvyn Douglas (Homer Bannon), Brandon de Wilde (Lon Bannon), Whit Bissell (Burris), John Ashley (Hermy)
Paul Newman delivers one of his best ever screen
performances as a rather unlikeable character in this modern western.
The story follows life on a failing Texan ranch, the owner
of which isn't helped out much by his arrogant son (Newman), a bad apple who imposes a negative influence on the entire family.
Newman lost out on the Best Actor Oscar to Sidney Poitier,
but lead actress Patricia Neal and supporting actor Melvyn Douglas both took home well-deserved statuettes.
Not your conventional western, but should be appreciated
by fans of the genre, not just for its solid performances, but also for its incisive, cutting character study.
8/10
