the scene that always sticks with me is after Hud and Lon have come home after drinking, and Douglas says to Lon (re. Hud):
'Little by little, the look of the country changes because of the men we admire. You're just going to have to make up your own mind, one day--about what's wrong, and what's right...'
words to live by...
'We all dream of being a child again - even the worst of us. Perhaps the worst most of all...'
yep; watched it for the first time yesterday, without knowing
which or how many awards it got, but I was 99% sure he won the Oscar for it -
and I was right.
wonderful.
sick nature
I just got done watching Hud for the first time and the whole time I was thinking that Melvyn's character may be the most noble character ever written and he played him perfectly, he was toatally believable.
"If I'm gonna react, then I'm gonna over react"-Alan Moore
Top notch acting. Melvyn Douglas made this movie what it is. Truly one of the best.
shareLittle by little, the look of the country changes because of the men we admire.
I think that line bears repeating because it is the best line in the film, probably one of the best in cinema history. It is both a prophesy and a lament. I often think of it when I see some of the "celebrities" and public figures who are admired and rewarded by our culture.
"I don't want any Commies in my car. No Christians, either."
...so true, so true--I'm somewhat reminded of Hemingway's answer when asked how he went bankrupt: 'Two ways--slowly, and then quickly...'
in the '60s, things may have been changing slowly--these days...quickly
re. your signature--'Do you think they give a damn about their bills in Russia?!'
I loved Harry Dean Stanton in 'Repo Man'... :)
'We all dream of being a child again - even the worst of us. Perhaps the worst most of all...'
I know I'm a bit late, but I have to say that I didn't admire Douglas's character in this movie very much.
The performance, yes. Without question. And I'll admit that the line quoted above is beautifully expressed and (IMO) quite accurate, but Homer is hardly a great parent. Just watch Hud's face whenever his father sticks a verbal dagger in him. There's an initial moment of authentic pain, followed by a minute or two of blustery backtalk -- all of which nicely covers just how easily Homer can inflict holier-than-thou brand pain.
Furthermore, I'd say Hud is absolutely correct about his father having "the incompetence". Hud's worked all his life as little more than a hand on the ranch, and now he's watching it all flushed away because daddy bought some dubious beeves.
Hud's not that likable, to be sure, but he didn't get that way over night, despite Homer's low-blow comment that he was "sick of [Hud] long before [the accident]."
No, Homer had his faults or he wouldn't be human (or believable). But remember, Hud is 34 yrs old and Homer had watched his character and behavior all that time. The attitude we see toward Hud is one buoyed by a hundred instances of Hud being "an unprincipled man" who "don't value nothin'" who "keeps no check on his appetites" and who lives "just for himself." Even so Homer admits to Lon that he might have overdone it. "Old people get as hard as their arteries." But Hud justifies Homer's judgement by trying to "sell him out." To make it so he didn't WANT to live anymore." In the end we see that even Hud realizes that Lon "has come to my Daddy's opinion that I ain't fit to live with." But in the very end, that dismissive wave at Lon, (and everybody else) shows that he has learned NOTHING.
Hud wasn't left on Homer's doorstep in a wicker basket.
shareSo WHAT???? He has to approve of all Hud's wrong doing because he was his FATHER???
I'm simply saying that Homer has more to do with the way Hud turned out than you're suggesting. The contrarian in Hud seems to have been reinforced at every turn by the cold, unyielding righteousness of Homer. And remember, although Homer claims that he'd had enough of his youngest son before the accident, it's entirely possible that he only said this to be hurtful, and that it was the accident that drove a spike between the two (this seems to be reinforced by Homer's cryptic response to Lon when the latter asks why the two don't get along).
That would mean that Hud's been living with/working for a man who can't stand him for over a decade. That's bound to make a fellow a bit hard. Added to this, when it's coming time for Homer to turn over the reigns to Hud, his (Homer's) righteous-to-a-fault behaviour has ended up devastating Hud's inheritance. So Hud's stuck it out in this uncomfortable situation for a handful of nothing.
I guess I just don't see Homer as the beacon of golden parenting that you seem to, regardless of his noble grey mustache and solemn, heavy demeanor.
Do you really think Homer has nothing to do with Hud's apparent calousness? Wouldn't that make the film's conflict a bit two dimensional?
balthazar bee wrote
I guess I just don't see Homer as the beacon of golden parenting that you seem to, regardless of his noble grey mustache and solemn, heavy demeanor.
Do you really think Homer has nothing to do with Hud's apparent calousness? Wouldn't that make the film's conflict a bit two dimensional?
I fully agree. This was just an incredible performance by Melvyn Douglas, made all the more incredible if you're familiar with him in his older movies. I can't believe it's the same guy who played the suave sophisticate so many times. Who knew an old, grizzled Texan was lurking in there the entire time?
shareHe had me convinced of his portrayal of Homer. Those two lines are completely on point. Look at our culture today and who people in general admire.
share"Little by little the look of the country changes because of the men we admire..." It's a complex line. It warns us not of such men but of ourselves for admiring them. The cool and cold nihilists, the Huds, are no danger so long as we withhold our admiration. But it was cautionary nonetheless because when the film was made there was a widespread fear that we were turning from the Eisenhowers and Churchills of past admiration and toward the cool guys epitomized on film by Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. In those days these personae were known as anti-heroes, and the fear was that their cool would make equally attractive their denial of values, their just not giving a damn. We can't forget that many middle-Americans, as they were termed in the Sixties, saw confirmation of the warning in the social morphing between the decade's first half, when "Hud" came out, and its second. And taken out of the movie's context it is a still richer line for being double-edged. Whenever a demagogue or mountebank emerges and commands the admiration of a significant part of the public it is that part's admiration of such a scoundrel that changes the look of the country. Even if eventually repudiated a mark has been left. Moreover, if you are IN that part of the public suddenly the "little by little" line is not a warning but a jubilation. It is a complex line, and it is a loaded line. It could have spoken for both those who feared the consequences of a national Elvis Presley infatuation and those who looked forward to them. It can speak for those who find a Father Coughlin, a Joe McCarthy or a Glenn Beck to be a scourge against public rationality, but it can speak for those who feel at home with their pronouncements. It speaks for those who view Obama an alien, a socialist and a Muslim, but for others it holds out hope that the country is growing up. So while I know it's a tempting line to wield it is rather also like a very complex tool or weapon that can be employed cynically, recklessly and ruthlessly.
shareIn a movie with many brilliant performances, Douglas' stands out. The scene you mention alone was Oscar-worthy.
"What do you want me to do, draw a picture? Spell it out!"
I couldn't believe it was the same Melvyn Douglas at first.
(With Greta Garbo, so urbane...)
And that quote...how one wishes we would concentrate on that thought and not 'sound-bite' or 'spin' it away.
In the realm of film characters that stand for virtue, honesty, and decent living, Homer Bannon ranks second only to Atticus Finch.
Just watched "Hud" again last night. Fantastic film, and gets better each time.
One of the most well delivered lines in the history of the cinema is:
Homer: "That's not our quarrel and never has been."
Hud: "Aw the Hell it isn't!"
Homer: "No boy.....I was sick of you a long time before that."
Just strikes deep you know. Heart-wrenching moment.
Only other scene that comes close is from an obscure old Disney Film called 'Toby Tyler' where a man tells his little nephew that he's no kin to him and he's nothing but a mill stone around his neck. Can't watch that scene without being really sad and really angry.