Hello, Posse!
I hope you are all staying safe and warm wherever you are. We have been watching the tail end of a hurricane pass through our town the last few days. There have been a lot of weather warnings going out across our area to stay inside. We have lost a our bike covers and the landlord lost a tree in the storm but for the most part it wasn't that bad. Our plastic patio chairs haven't moved so how bad could it have really been?
I am working setting up a remote interview set up so I can start interviewing other authors and people of interest for our Wednesday Whatever The Podcast. I have some incredible author friends and would love for you to get to hear all about them and the books they write as well. While I still want to push my own books, I do not want my podcasts to just be about me and my books. That would even bore me!
So keep an eye out for author interviews to come to Whatever Wednesday's very soon! But for now let's get on with our movie!
Today we have another wonderful John Wayne classic western, Hondo. This film was released by Warner Bros. in 1953. It was actually a Warnercolor 3D Film directed by John Farrow. Hondo is another great western movie that was based on a short story by Louis L'Amour titled, The Gift of Cochise. Later, L'Amour wrote Hondo, a novelization of the movie.
Hondo had some trouble during production. The film went passed their shooting schedule and director Farrow had to leave the project due to other contractual obligations. Wayne had already worked in several films with director John Ford and asked him to step in and finish the final fight scenes between Apaches and settlers. Ford was not credited for his work on the film.
Wayne was joined on the cast by Geraldine Page, Ward Bond, Michael Pate, James Arness, Rodolfo Acosta, Leo Gordon, Tom Irish, Lee Aaker, Paul Fix, Rayford Barnes, Frank McGrath, Morry Ogden, and Chuck Roberson.
This film follows a disgruntled Indian scout, Hondo Lane (Wayne). After escaping an attack by Indians, Hondo walks to a nearby ranch with just his saddle and his dog, Sam. Hondo meets homesteaders, Angie Lowe (Page) and her son Johnny (Aaker). Her husband Ed has long since abandoned his family. Hondo can see the ranch is in dire need of attention. Angie strikes a deal with Hondo to break one of her horses for riding and then he can use that one to ride back to the Fort.
After spending some time together, Hondo shares with Angie that he is of Native descent he used to have a wife. He confesses that Angie reminds him of her. Attraction is quick for Angie and Hondo, but he has to get back to the fort to report in. He tries to convince Angie that she and her son are not safe on the ranch and should come to the fort with him. There had been a treaty with the local Apache tribe, but the treaty was broken (not by the Indians) and the Natives have been retaliating in the area against the settlers.
Angie assures Hondo that she and her son will be safe, she has always had a friendly relationship with the local Apaches and they often come by to water their horses at her ranch. Hondo leaves and goes back to the fort only to find out that the military have started to evacuate settlers in the area due to increased attacks by the local Apaches. Before Hondo can head back to the ranch to check on Angie and her son, he gets into a brawl in the Saloon and end up beating down a cowboy pretty good. Hearing the mane's name, Honod suspects he just beat down Angie's deadbeat husband.
As Hondo heads back to the ranch to check on Angie and her son, he is being followed Ed and another man as well as some Apache scouts. Hondo leaves his camp before being ambushed by either pair but his pursuers face off against each other. Hondo manages to save Ed but he is only grateful for a short while before he tries to shoot Hondo in the back. His dog Sam alerts him and he is able to gun down Ed before he gets the drop on him. As he is searching the cowboy, he finds a tintype photo of Johnny and realizes he was right and this man was Angie's husband. Hondo takes the photo with him.
While Hondo is trying to get back to the ranch, Angie is having her own runin with the local Apaches. A band of warriors stop by the ranch and start to get rough with Angie. Her son Johnny comes to her rescue and shoots at one of the Indians attacking his mother. The chief is impressed by the boys bravery and tells Angie that he needs a father to guide him into manhood and offers her a number of his warriors to choose from. She insists that she is till married and her husband will return. The Chief gives her until planting season for her husband to return or he must choose a new husband.
As Hondo makes his way back to the ranch, he is set upon again my Natives. He is beaten and tortured. During the assaults, the tintype photo of Johnny is found and the Apaches think they have found Angie husband. They take Hondo to the ranch where Angie lies to them to save Hondo's life.
The truth eventually comes out about how Hondo killed her husband in self-defense, but the attraction between the main characters just can't be denied. Hondo talks Angie into going back to the fort with him and they eventually head west to start new life as a family on Hondo's ranch.
This is a classic Wayne western and should be seen at least once in life.
Movie Snack Recipe
Okay now, I am going to need you to go along with this today because this recipe pairing for our movie is a bit of a stretch for the connection. Since Angie was given until the spring planting season, we have a Spring Roll recipe for our movie snack.
I know, I know, it's almost a bad Dad Joke, but I just published my 500th blog last Friday and at least a third of those were Monday Movie Madness blogs. It's hard to keep finding relevant movie snack recipes that actually connect to the movie somehow; fun, but not easy. So just go with me on this, at least it's a great recipe. We made crab spring rolls for dinner last night.
We can thank Tastes Better from Scratch for this Fresh Spring Rolls (<--- click for recipe) recipe today. They are quick and easy to make and are a healthy snack. The best part is they taste great too! That is a trifecta that is always a winner. If you don't have these exact ingredients, don't worry. you can throw all kinds of things in a rice paper wrapper and make your own spring roll recipe. Last night we had crab meat with fresh spinach, carrots, a bean sprout mix and a little sweet chili sauce in the roll. It was tasty. Give the Tastes better from Scratch recipe a try or see what veggies you have in the fridge and come up with your own. You really can't go wrong. Those are my favorite kinds of recipes.
Remember . . .
Many great western movies, like Hondo, started out as great western books or short stories. If you are looking for more wholesome entertainment, the Into the West Saga Serial book collection is a must read. Just go to Stephen's Books (<--- click here) to check out all the titles currently on sale.
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But now you know what time it is, posse. It's time to grab your snacks and settle in for another great western movie!
Enjoy,