HONDO (1953)

John Wayne, Geraldine Page, John Farrow (director).

Usually remembered now as one of the only 3-D Westerns, this film brought novelist Louis L’Amourto national fame, though his role in the origin of the story has since been questioned. Hondo came out a few months after Shane (1953), and the resemblance is striking. Hondo Lane (Wayne), a gunman riding through, stops at a farm house. Only a small boy (Lee Aaker) and his mother (Page) live there. The husband turns out to be a scoundrel wasting away in town. Hondo kills him not knowing the connection. The Apache chief Vittorio befriends the boy and his mother as well. Geraldine Page was nominated best supporting actress for her role.