Jakester Two classic films based on the writing of Larry McMurtry have immortalized a certain Texas small town state-of-mind, "Hud" and "The Last Picture Show." McMurtry has been fantastically lucky with Hollywood, artistically and financially, as lucky as any American writer ever - see also the wonderful "Lonesome Dove" and his beautiful co-scripting of "Brokeback Mountain." "Hud" is superb. The acting, the photography, the epic three-generational family conflict - all excellent. (I can't think off-hand of many pictures that delve into the complexities of three generations of a family; "The Godfather" trilogy kind of explores that territory, although the third generation has no actual contact with the first.)This film caps off the first great phase of Paul Newman's career. He did some of his best work from 1956 to '63 including "Somebody Up There Likes Me," "Sweet Bird of Youth," "The Long, Hot Summer," "The Left-Handed Gun" (a really interesting portrayal of Billy the Kid), and "The Hustler." After "Hud" he had a three-year rough patch that included "The Outrage," "Lady L." and "Torn Curtain" before storming back into superstardom with "Harper" and "Cool Hand Luke" in 1966 and '67 and "Butch Cassidy" in '69. Patricia Neal is perfect here: tough, sweet, and funny, a poker-playing mama with a lot of passion bubbling under the surface. Her role in "Hud" is quite small really (most of her screen time is in the first hour) but we feel her presence, and are thinking about her, from her first appearance. (Neal had difficult and tragic first half of the '60s - one of her children died of measles (1962), another was seriously injured by a New York taxicab (1960), and, in 1965, post-"Hud," she herself suffered a serious stroke. Neal apparently told Newman about the measles death early in the filming of "Hud"; he was so deep into his character he just said "Tough" and ambled away.) The director and screenwriters of "Hud" deserve a shout-out and I am happy to supply it here: Martin Ritt (director) and the writing team of Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, husband-and-wife. Those three folks had previously worked with Newman on "The Long, Hot Summer" (based on William Faulkner's "The Hamlet"). Some of my favorite lines and images: "Far as I can get on a bus ticket" delivered with a cool go-to-hell glance. The beautiful moment when Homer belts out "My Darling Clementine" in the movie theater (by the way, that's basically the same theater as in "The Last Picture Show"). The endless skies. The sound of the wind. "We dosey-doed and chased a lot of girlish butt around that summer." "I was sitting way on the other side of the room and I got a little encouraged." The Cadillac bouncing on those country roads and railroad tracks - suspensions were none too robust in those days. The way Alma says "Somebody in this car has been wearing Chanel Number Fiiiiiive...." Her zapping with a towel of a horsefly (the moment was unscripted). The use of music (guitars, a jukebox, a transistor radio, a car radio - spare and totally right). The twisting contest. The lemonade scene. "I'll stay home. I don't like pigs." The depiction of the prairie and the sky as an Impressionist painting by Ritt and cinematographer James Wong Howe (Howe considered his work here the best of his long career, which dated to the silent era). The paperback book rack in the drugstore and the pointed commentary from the proprietor about a sex scene in "From Here to Eternity." (The paperback book rack in the corner drugstore was a significant part of American culture for decades, in a thousand cities and towns; it's gone now and mostly forgotten.)My favorite Melvyn Douglas moment in the film is when he's taking a last look at his longhorns. It's a small miracle of acting - the camera is a good 25 feet away but we feel every bit of Homer's grief. Speaking of James Wong Howe - there's a long audio interview with him on YouTube and there's an excellent book about him titled "James Wong Howe: The Camera Eye."One of the interesting themes of the film is its earthiness about sex. Not just Hud's supercharged/decadent sex life but Alma's casualness about Lonnie's girlie magazine, Homer's frank appraisal of the growing boy, the provocative let's-party look delivered to Lonnie in the diner, the twist contest where very young kids get on out there - totally unembarrassed - and shake their booties under the fond gaze of half the town, the "From Here to Eternity" moment in the store.I have a quibble with an aspect of the script. Homer's a good man and Hud's a bad man, quite obviously, but the fact is, Hud makes a valid and defensible point about the family's future. Those fields probably hold a lot of oil and Hud knows it and wants it. Homer's prejudice against getting rich is not adequately explained. What we need is a scene where Homer and Lonnie have an encounter with some nouveau-riche oil-crazy goofballs who are drinking and partying too gosh-darn hard (with Hud amongst them); Homer sees the corruption that wealth can bring and makes sure Lonnie sees it too.

GeoPierpont After watching Melvyn, Paul, Brandon, Patricia and co. in a few films I could not for the life of me differentiate any new approach to character development. If this were a silent film I would be enthralled, the visuals are inspiring, poignant, and magnificent! However, the dialogue is non-stop slick, too cool for school, with good liking evil and evil spitting back.Film is unclear of thematic exposition. Having to trade off oil wells for dead cattle and two gorgeous longhorns? Hating a living child and revering a deceased one? Methods of entertainment in small Texas farming community? Hoof and Mouth disease is a conspiracy theory? Government officials are not to be trusted? Or, yet another vehicle to pronounce Newman sexiest man alive...again? Lest I sound ungrateful for this conundrum, it did educate somewhat of how to perceive films of this genre and the attempt to appreciate the unsung hero. Despite the prolonged ending, education was King for the moment and we all left the farm content.Recommend for Newman fans, de Wilde at 17 (gorgeous), Texas Longhorns and one fine seXy scene with Neal.

jc-osms Rare to see Paul Newman play such an anti-hero and it's clear he relishes it. Counterpointed by strong performances from veteran Melvyn Douglas as his long- suffering father, Patricia Neal as their worldly housemaid and the young newcomer Brandon De Wilde as the impressionable youth whose loyalties are tried, tested and ultimately destroyed by Uncle Hud's selfishness and boorishness.These four actors and their characters' inter-relationships are pretty much the movie in a story that feels at times theatrical but in fact was adapted from a novel. I'd describe the plot as like "Shane" reflected through Tennessee Williams, so that the perhaps mis-directed hero-worship of a young man is this time thwarted by an idol with feet of clay.Throughout the film, Hud does nothing admirable or selfless and sort of tolerates the young acolyte trailing in his wake before a drunken attempted rape of Neal breaks the spell. I didn't however like Neal's acceptance of her ordeal, especially when she says she would have eventually let him have her in the future, betraying an unacceptable streak of chauvinism in the writing. Better to watch are the tensions and conflicts between grandfather-patriarch Douglas, errant, number two son Hud (we're made aware that Hud is responsible for the premature death of the elder son, De Wilde's father) and De Wilde himself, torn between his admiration of the former and misplaced envy of the latter's hedonism.Newman's on record as saying this is one of his favourite of his own movies and it's easy to see why. He's hardly every off the screen and he's excellent in his cast-against-type lead role. A contemporary Western shot in beautifully-lit black and white by James Wong Howe and sensitively directed by Martin Ritt, this was a gripping and involving family saga featuring a great star turn by one of the best actors of the 60's.

AaronCapenBanner Paul Newman stars as Hud Bannon, a selfish man who lives with his father Homer, (played by Melvyn Douglas)on his Texas cattle ranch. Homer is a stern but principled man who hates his son's character, but has been unable to change. Lonnie Bannon(played by Brandon De Wilde) looks up to Hud, who brings him along on his various dates and occasional bar fights. Homer, who is in ill health, is very concerned by how his ruthless son will carry on the ranch after he dies, especially when a contagious disease spreads among his livestock, threatening to wipe him out. Lonnie eventually becomes disenchanted with Hud, leading to a stark finale...Excellent character study of generational disconnect and the consequences of ones actions, even if Hud doesn't concern himself about it. Fine performances by all, and solid direction by Martin Ritt make this bleak but incisive character study a winner.