Horseman, Pass By

McMurtry’s first novel, Horseman, Pass By (1961; filmed as Hud, 1963), is set in the Texas ranching country. The isolation and claustrophobia of small-town life are examined in The Last Picture Show (1966; film 1971); McMurtry received an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay. The novel was the…

…adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s novel Horseman, Pass By (1961), proved to be the apex of the filmmaker’s career. A beautifully shot, emotionally complex modern western (James Wong Howe won an Academy Award for his cinematography), it featured outstanding performances by Melvyn Douglas (who won the Academy Award as best supporting…

…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,…