53 Stages of Action

Hud is a 1963 American contemporary Western film directed and produced by Martin Ritt, and starring Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Brandon deWilde, and Patricia Neal. It was produced by Ritt and Newman's recently founded company, Salem Productions, and was their first film for Paramount Pictures. Its screenplay was by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. and was based on Larry McMurtry's 1961 novel, Horseman, Pass By. The film's title character, Hud Bannon, was a minor character in the original screenplay, but was reworked as the lead role. With its main character an antihero, Hud was later described as a revisionist Western. Hud was shot on location on the Texas Panhandle, including Claude, Texas. The story centers on the ongoing conflict between Homer Bannon (Douglas), an elderly, principled cattle rancher and Hud (Newman), his arrogant and unscrupulous son, during an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease which puts the family's ranch at risk. Lonnie (deWilde), Homer's grandson and Hud's nephew, is caught in the center of the conflict and forced to choose which character to follow. Hud premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, and was a critical and commercial success at its general release. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning three; Patricia Neal won Best Actress, Melvyn Douglas won Best Supporting Actor, and James Wong Howe the Academy Award for Best Black and White Cinematography. Howe's use of contrast to create space and his selection of black-and-white was acclaimed by critics. In later reviews, the film received additional praise. In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.