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?!

STALAG 17 (1953)

Set in a prisoner-of-war camp in Nazi Germany STALAG 17 tells the story of a group of American soldiers who are constantly working on a way to escape.  The film opens with two soldiers making their way through a tunnel a bunch of the guys have been working on.  They get all the way to the other side of the fence only to find guards waiting on them...guns blazing.  How did the guards find out about the tunnel?  It was top secret.  There's gotta be a rat in the barracks.  But who could it be?  It's probably Sefton (William Holden).  That piece of shit is always making deals with the guards to look the other way on all of his schemes.  Motherfucker has more cigarettes than Philip Morris himself!  And so it begins.  The men turn on Holden, thinking he's to stooge, but he's not.  Now, under constant surveillance and ass-kickings, Holden has to figure out who the rat is himself.

STALAG 17 is nearly a great film.  The thing that holds it back from being a great film is the unneeded comedic elements.  I understand that Billy Wilder always enjoyed mixing genres, but watching this film now the comedic parts are so horribly dated(?) and unfunny that they're almost painful to watch. The tension's going along good when suddenly you got two morons singing, dancing and slapping a guard in the face with a wet paint brush.  I guess audiences liked it though since Robert Struss actually got a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his ridiculous performance!  Holden ended up winning the Oscar for Best Actor, but I think it should have gone to Montgomery Clift for FROM HERE TO ETERNITY instead.

Minus the "funny" parts STALAG 17 is an excellent film.  Strong cast, great looking sets, compelling story with lots of tension.  Definitely worth a watch.