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| Classy credits, critical praise, a stylish, gritty comics-styled graphic and star Paul Newman's physique and name adorn this poster for Martin Ritt's Hud |
Hud is a womanizing drunkard, who lives on his father's Texas ranch along with his nephew, father and a housekeeper, while a possible cattle disease is investigated, and Hud's enmity with his old man escalates.
Hud is written by co-writer/co-producer Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. (Home from the Hill (1960), both), adapting the novel Horseman, Pass By (1961) by Larry McMurtry (Leaving Cheyenne (1963)), and directed by New-Yorker master filmmaker, co-producer/director Martin Ritt (Edge of the City (1957)), whose 9th feature it was.
Of the poison-laden, conflict-filled high-profile American grown-up dramas of its time (such as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and others), Hud is the best. Still today it is an electric experience; intense, sexy, brave, stirring and strong. The dialog doesn't just ignite sparks, - it starts wildfires in several directions, and it is a study in suggestion and double meanings.
Elmer Bernstein (Puppies for Sale (1998, short)) is responsible for the subtle score, and James Wong Howe's (Tess of the Storm Country (1960)) phenomenal cinematography is an evocative, super-sharp B/W ride to treasure.
The cast is uniformly outstanding: Paul Newman (Exodus (1960)) is eternally on edge as the 'devil-may-care' amoral title character. Incredibly enough he gets the counterweight necessary from Melvyn Douglas' (The Americanization of Emily (1964)) performance as his straight-edged father. The complex and realistic drama extends to Patricia Neal's (Glitter (1984, TV-series)) housekeeper, SPOILER who herself flirts in the period leading up to the culmination, an attempted rape. She and the personality exploring, beautiful nephew (Brandon De Wilde (In Harm's Way (1965))) are also excellent.
Hud is directed without a false tone in it by Ritt. Ultimately it is a 'Death-of-the-West' type of generational crisis tragedy that points forward to Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show (1971), (also a McMurtry adaptation.) The eminent ending of the film, both untraditional and brilliant, made me think that Hud might after these events develop into a man not dissimilar to the bitter magnate egotist we see in Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood (2007).
Related post:
Martin Ritt: Edge of the City (1957) - Poitier gleams in Ritt's idealistic debut
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: Reportedly 1.6 mil. $
Box office: Reportedly 10 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertain but likely a mega-hit (projected return of 9.37 times its cost)
[Hud was released 24 May (North America) and runs 112 minutes. Shooting took place from July - September 1962 in Texas and California. The-numbers.com allege, without giving any source, that the film cost 2.5 mil. $ to produce, whereas 1.6 mil. $ is listed elsewhere, (and seems more likely in my opinion.) They also list the 10 mil. $ domestic gross. With a projected world gross of 15 mil. $, the film ranks as a mega-hit. It was nominated for 7 Oscars, winning 3; Best Actress (Neal), Supporting Actor (Douglas) and Cinematography - Black-and-White. It lost Best Actor to Sidney Poitier for Lilies of the Field, Art Decoration-Set Decoration - Black-and-White to America America, Director to Tony Richardson for Tom Jones, and Adapted Screenplay to John Osborne for Tom Jones. It also won 1/3 BAFTA nominations, was nominated for 5 Golden Globes and won 3 National Board of Review awards, among other honors. Ritt returned with The Outrage (1964). Newman returned in A New Kind of Love (1963). Hud is fresh at 84 % with a 7.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Hud?
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