Here we have a special movie with the story line written by Louis L’Amour and the main character played by John Wayne. What is not to like about this movie. The beginning scene is Hondo Lane walking in from the desert with his saddlebags in one hand and his rifle in the other. How much more western can you get. He is being chased by Apaches and has out foxed them and ends up at Mrs. Lowe’s ranch a lone woman and her son waiting for her husband to return.
Mrs. Lowe tries to conceal the fact that her husband has left and not likely to return. Hondo moves on but is deeply attracted to Mrs. Lowe, played by Geraldine Page. He accidentally meets her husband and they instantly rub each other the wrong way. Mr. Lowe follows Hondo from the fort as he is going to take some supplies and try and convince Angie to come back to the fort. Hondo is about to get ambushed by Apaches and Mr. Lowe and his side kick run into the middle of it. When everything is done and Hondo had saved his life he still tries to kill Hondo but ends up on the short end of a bullet.
The chase begins and Hondo is trapped and over powered. He is waiting his end with defiant courage when the tintype of Angie’s boy is revealed. Hondo doesn’t know that Vittorio has taken him as a son and a strong father is needed to help raise the boy. After a knife fight for honor he is taken to the Lowe’s ranch and dumped in front of Angie and she is ask if this is her man and she slowly but definitely answers yes.
This is a very good western and I would recommend all western fans to revisit this movie and soak up the western essence of John Wayne. The support of Ward Bond as Buffalo Baker is just one of the appearances he is renowned for in Wayne’s movies.
