Now you can corral the Duke's
'Hondo,' 'McLintock!'
By Doug Nye
Knight Ridder Newspapers
After years locked away in the
vaults of the John Wayne estate, the Duke's 1953 Western "Hondo"
suddenly re-surfaced in 1991.
John Wayne in "Hondo." |
A few years later, another
Wayne film, 1963's "McLintock!," also came out of
hiding.
Now you can get both in a
boxed collectors edition from MPI Home Video priced at $29.98.
Accompanying the films,
available in VHS only, are a variety of extras including a photo
gallery, original theatrical trailers and lengthy sessions with
Wayne's son Michael and director Andrew McLaglen reminiscing about
the making of the movies.
During its absence from the
public, "Hondo" achieved almost legendary status as one of
the finest Westerns ever made. Much of the critical praise was based
on memory rather than recent screenings. Absence, it seems, really
does make the heart grow fonder.
"Hondo" is a good,
not great, Western. The movie, based on a Louis L'Amour story, runs
barely 83 minutes.
A very trim Wayne plays Hondo
Lane, who befriends a woman (Geraldine Page) and her son caught in
the dangerous Apache territory of 1874.
The whites have just broken
another treaty with the Apache nation and the Indians are preparing
for war.
Hondo has mixed feelings about
the situation.
Having lived with the Apaches
for five years, he is saddened to see their way of life vanishing
from the plains. "It was a good one," Hondo says, a trace
of nostalgia in his voice.
"Hondo" originally
was shot in three dimensions and is among the handful of good 3-D
films made during Hollywood's short-lived craze for the process.
When it was revived in 1991, "Hondo" was shown on
television in the 3-D during a syndicated run throughout the country
with mixed reaction. The process did not work well on television.
The MPI release is in a
"flat" version.
"McLintock!" is best
described as a Western slapstick comedy. It's filled with fun-loving
brawls and humorous encounters between Wayne's character and his
feisty estranged wife, played by Maureen O'Hara. It delivers what it
promises, a couple of entertaining hours that don't tax the brain.
One of the Wayne films most
often asked about is "The High and the Mighty," which was
released in 1954. It and "Island in the Sky" (1953) are
the two Wayne films that have never been on video and haven't aired
on television in many years. William Wellman directed both.
The Wayne estate is still in
the process of trying to restore "The High and the
Mighty." Several years ago, the negatives suffered water damage
during a flood. Two reels of the movie were lost and prints of
varying quality had to be used, such as copies found in Europe and
elsewhere.
The original magnetic
soundtrack also was lost, but has been reconstructed by using four
different sources.
"The High and the
Mighty" starred Wayne as the pilot of a commercial plane bound
for the mainland from Hawaii. It was the forerunner of all those
star-studded "Airport" movies. The film's theme song also
became a hit on the pop charts.
"Island in the Sky"
is the story of the survivors of a transport plane that crashes in
Greenland during World War II. Joining Wayne in the cast are Lloyd
Nolan, James Arness and Andy Devine.
When both are finally restored
and ready for video release, you can bet they will be accompanied by
a huge publicity blitz.
To order or for more
information, call MPI Home Video at (800) 323-0442.
Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Oct. 1, 1999.