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Written by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. from the novel Horseman, Pass By by Larry McMurtry, Martin Ritt's Hud, a contemplative generational morality play set against the parched desolation of the Texas panhandle, premieres in New York. Paul Newman is the titular antagonist, an irreedemably self-centred, hard-drinking philanderer whose festering, toxic enmity toward his disciplinarian, unloving rancher father (Melvyn Douglas) inexorably compromises his relationship with both his impressionable young nephew (Brandon de Wilde) and the father's weary, worn-out housekeepeer (Patricia Neal). An acutely observed, impeccably mounted "modern" Western that becomes the 19th highest grossing release of the year. Oscars go to Neal for Best Actress, Douglas for Best Supporting Actor, and James Wong Howe for his pristine black & white lensing.
