HONDO (1953)

Way off out in the middle of the unsettled New Mexico Territory, homesteader Geraldine Page sees a lone man walking across the desert towards her house.  She and her young son are all alone since her husband left...but this isn't her husband returning.  No, it's Army despatch (yes, it's spelt with an e) rider Hondo Lane (John Wayne).  He got his ass kicked a few days ago by some Indians and now he's without a horse.  Once rested up he does some chores around the house in exchange for a horse.  While he's at it he makes quite an impression on Geraldine.  He can't lollygag around though, he needs to get back and tell the Army that the Apaches are gearing up for war!  Will Wayne and Geraldine's paths cross again?

I liked HONDO.  The story is a little different than your average cowboys versus Indians story thanks to the fact that the Indians were actually portrayed as humans and not just bloodthirsty savages.  The relationship between Wayne and Geraldine was believable and I thought she was fantastic.  I knew she was a master from her performance in INTERIORS, but seeing her give a performance nearly to the same level 25 years earlier was quite surprising.  Beautiful photography, Ward Bond with a beard, quick pace, James Arness in a small role, cute looking dog.  Worth a watch for western fans.

One interesting fact about HONDO is when the production went over schedule director John Farrow (yes, Mia's father) had to leave to start on his next project so John Ford was brought in (uncredited) to finish the job!  How crazy is that?!

INTERIORS (1978)

Three adult sisters are having trouble coping with the sudden separation of their parents. The split shouldn't have come as a surprise since the mother has ruled the family with an iron fist for a number of years, but it did comes as a surprise. To make matters worse the mother has a history of mental illness and now, in her denial, she's become suicidal. Added to this crisis is the personal life drama (husband/boyfriend, job, family history etc.) of each of the sisters.

With his previous film (ANNIE HALL) Allen proved that he was capable of more than just broad comedies by introducing a level of seriousness never seen before in his films, but with INTERIORS he takes it to the next level: the pacing is purposely slow; there's no music for nearly the entire film; the colors are all subdued and bleak; zero laughs; hardly any action beyond talking. INTERIORS is most decidedly not what audiences were expecting from the guy who brought them TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN and SLEEPER, but if they had an open mind about it they ended up being treated to one of the best films of the 1970's.

A number of critics simply dismiss INTERIORS as an "homage to Ingmar Bergman" (what's wrong with that?!), even so it's still a powerful and emotionally moving film that should not only be seen but studied...especially the script and the set decoration. I cannot recommend it enough.  It's a masterpiece.  I'm very surprised that Geraldine Page didn't win the Oscar for Best Actress.