Hondo (1953)

Directed by John Farrow. Starring John Wayne, Geraldine Page, Michael Pate, Ward Bond, James Arness, Leo Gordon, Rodolfo Acosta, Lee Aaker, Paul Fix.

Waylaid cavalry scout Wayne and his not-so-friendly dog Sam (played by Pal, the first in a long line of screen Lassie’s) make the acquaintance of homesteader Page and son Aaker, help them fend off an Apache uprising. Respectable Western rarely clangs out of tune and is refreshingly ambiguous at times, but the ambling story never finds its focus, and its message that a boy needs a father to become a real man is dated and unconvincing. Grizzled Bond provides a few colorful minutes as a fellow scout. After director Farrow had to leave the production due to a contractual obligation to another picture, John Ford came in and filmed most of the climactic battle scenes. First credited screen role for stage actress Page (it would be almost another decade before she made another one, and then she worked steadily in the industry for the rest of her life).

62/100