Hondo

An Army dispatch rider (John Wayne) protects a frontier woman and her son from warring Apaches.

Hondo is a solid, but perhaps slightly overrated, John Wayne western. After being virtually unseen for decades, Hondo developed an almost mythical quality that somewhat overshadows the actual film.

That’s not to say the film is bad. Despite not having made a western in three years, John Wayne is great as the titular hero. Strutting around with his signature gait and easy cool, his performance shows he’s still more than comfortable in the genre.

Supporting him, there’s Wayne-mainstay Ward Bond, who’s great as a grizzled scout, and a young James Arness. You half expect to see Walter Brennan pop up at any moment.

But Hondo isn’t perfect. While most of Wayne’s supporting cast is fine, his romantic lead, Geraldine Page, seems somewhat miscast. Page, a New York stage actress, looks too soft to be believable as a frontier wife, even though her less glamorous appearance is a welcome change.

Hondo’s other big problem is the inclusion of several “gimmick” shots designed to take advantage of the 3-D filming. While these might have wooed cinemagoers in the early 50s, they don’t age well, and cheapen the film as a whole.

That said, though Hondo certainly isn’t the best of Wayne’s westerns, it won’t leave you feeling burned.