Hud

film by Ritt [1963]

Written by Lee Pfeiffer

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Hud, America film drama, released in 1963, that presented a raw and contemporary take on the western and featured Paul Newman as perhaps the most unsympathetic character he ever played.

Hud (1963) — *Hud* (1963)Patricia Neal in *Hud* (1963).

The movie—based on Larry McMurtry’s novel Horseman, Pass By (1961)—centres on Hud Bannon (played by Newman), a brash, womanizing, self-centred manipulator who is anxious to control his aging father’s cattle empire. In the course of his efforts, Hud both charms and alienates the tough-as-nails housekeeper, Alma (Patricia Neal), and his nephew, Lon (Brandon deWilde), who idolizes him.

The performances in the film drew universal acclaim. Melvyn Douglas won an Academy Award for best supporting actor in his role as the fading but proud elderly rancher who constantly battles Hud while trying to teach Lon the value of integrity and responsibility. Neal received the best actress Oscar as the one woman who could resist Hud’s charms. James Wong Howe’s black-and-white cinematography made the Texas landscape appear as bleak as Hud’s soul.