Lollivan
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Candida
It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.
zkonedog
For the first 20-30 minutes, "Hondo" seems like it just might transcend the "typical Duke western" label. Some SPOILERS AHEAD: The title character (played by Wayne) wanders out of the dusty plains and into a homestead run by Angie (Geraldine Page) and son Johnny (Lee Aaker). After helping Angie with some work, Hondo quickly discovers that her husband has deserted her. Riding back to the U.S. Calvary regiment that he sometimes scouts for, Hondo gets into a barroom fistfight with a local scoundrel...a scoundrel who turns out to be Angie's "lost" husband!At this point in the film, I thought it had real potential to be a great western tale. A lot of interesting pieces were established that could have been built upon. Unfortunately, from that point onward it becomes stock cowboys vs. Indians fare. Director John Farrow tries to weave a subplot about the white men and the Indians co-existing with each other, but everything we see/feel on screen says otherwise.At the end of the film, after a group of Cavalry men have fought off a warring band of Indians, Hondo makes the following quote: "It is the end of a way of life. A good way." This after an entire movie of killing more Indians than anyone else on screen. Now, I realize that movies (and especially westerns like this one) were made for different reasons and even different audiences than today and should be partially judged as such. However, in today's Hollywood, that type of empty moralizing is inexcusable. History, then, is not kind to a film like "Hondo".Overall, "Hondo" is a decidedly average (or maybe even a bit below) western. I give it three stars because the Duke gives a good performance and the setup did hold my interest for a time. In the wide view, though, I think the only reason this movie gets as much "press" as it does is because it became quite rare before coming out on DVD. When history has its say, it doesn't really stand out in any way.
Jonathan Roberts
I've watched around fifty films starring John Wayne, but 'Hondo' was the first. It's a good starting point - a basic Western that depends almost entirely on its leading man. It'd be unfair to describe 'Hondo' as simply a beginner's guide to John Wayne, though. I believe that his fans who are acquainted with his other work will also enjoy this film, as they'll be able to pick out a handful of familiar faces: Ward Bond and Paul Fix are among the cast, as is the man who led 'Gunsmoke' for twenty years, James Arness. But the standout performance doesn't come from any of these men. The female leads of John Wayne films were sometimes great (e.g. Maureen O'Hara in 'The Quiet Man') and sometimes… not so great (e.g. Ann- Margret in 'The Train Robbers'). Although the family-friendly nature of this film doesn't really give the actors room to display the full extent of their talents, Geraldine Page's performance in 'Hondo' firmly belongs in the former camp. She makes the Apache threat seem somewhat more real, and her fear for both her life and her son's is conveyed very effectively. 'Hondo' is a simple film, and I don't think it deserves to be considered alongside some of the masterpieces led by John Wayne. The cast is small, the film is less than 90 minutes long, and John Farrow is no John Ford. Still, 'Hondo' holds a simple, endearing charm - one denied to many of the greatest Westerns. It isn't brooding like 'The Searchers' and 'Red River', but it handles its innocence well - more competently than most other family-friendly Westerns.
smatysia
John Wayne was in his prime in this era, and it shows. Although some of his later films are better, this is still classic Wayne. Geraldine Page seems to come in for a fair amount of criticism in this forum, but I thought her performance was just fine. Some of the scenes were a little bit awkward, but that's real life. There was a featurette on the DVD explaining some of the Apache ways of life and war, pointing out that their tactics were usually ambush battles, and that they would have been very unlikely to attack a wagon train in open country. On top of which, most Indians would not fight from horseback as it makes scoring hits from guns or arrows quite unlikely. They would dismount to fight. But that is less photogenic.
dougdoepke
No need to repeat the plot or echo consensus remarks. This is the film that reestablished Wayne's popularity coming off Hollywood's reverse blacklist. Wayne was one of those political righties who assisted in Hollywood's well-known purge of industry lefties. It's not generally known, but many actors who publicly denounced the lefties had their own trouble finding work afterward. Likely that's a main reason Wayne co-produced this indie film instead of waiting for a studio offer. Anyway, other informally listed righties included such notables as Ginger Rogers, Robert Taylor, and Walter Pigeon. The movie itself is generally an underrated Wayne western, perhaps because John Ford is not credited as director. After all, it's the Ford-Wayne cavalry trilogy that's treated as iconic by critics. Still, this feature blends human interest skillfully with battle scenes, including the last massed scene that's a real doozy. Page proves an excellent choice as a homesteader's abandoned wife. Her Mrs. Lowe is not only plain-faced (a real oddity for westerns), but sun- burned to boot. She's not exactly the standard feminine lead, if they could only leave off the lipstick. About Wayne's role, I have mixed feelings. His Hondo Lane is just a little too masterful and all-knowing to be believable, at least for me. The actor carries the self- assurance well, but still the constancy does get tiresome. Nonetheless, he and Page bring off their hesitant romantic scenes quite well.Perhaps the movie's most lasting feature is a refusal to dehumanize the Apaches. Instead, they're portrayed as worthy adversaries with their own customs and wisdom. This was one of the first A-westerns to break with the Hollywood tradition of treating Indians as little else than target practice savages. All in all, the movie's a first-rate oater, managing to combine poignant moments, personal honor, and grand-scale action into a highly entertaining package.
