Hud (film)

Hud (film)

Hud is a 1963 western film whose title character is an embittered and selfish modern-day cowboy. With screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, Jr., based on Larry McMurtry's 1961 novel Horseman, Pass By, it was directed by Martin Ritt and stars Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal and Brandon deWilde and features Whit Bissell.

The tale chronicles the ongoing conflict between Homer Bannon, a principled, honorable and unyielding patriarch, and his son Hud, an unscrupulous, arrogant libertine. Caught in the middle is Lonnie, Homer's grandson and Hud's nephew, who ultimately has to choose between the two. The movie was primarily filmed in and around Claude, Texas.

Hud was a critical and commercial success. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Director for Ritt. Patricia Neal won Best Actress, despite the brevity of the role which might have relegated her to Best Supporting Actress, and Melvyn Douglas won the first of his two Best Supporting Actor statuettes. James Wong Howe won the Best Black and White Cinematography Oscar.