Terrorism

A little-known film from the 60s taught us how to deal with jihadists unworthy of civil treatment.

Before we can learn how to deal with terrorists, we need to be able to identify whom they are, because the Obama Administration either doesn’t seem able to, or it favors them. In the context of this essay, we’re limiting the discussion to violent Islamic supremacists who kill noncombatants.

The next step would be to elect a president of the US who can cut it. This one cannot. He doesn’t have a clue. But Paul Newman understood exactly how to treat terrorists. At least the character he played in Hombre had.

Hombre was a small budget, 2 hour-long western that premiered in US theaters in January 1967. Wikipedia calls it a “revisionist western.” It was distinguished from others in the western genre, revisionist or not, by its producers and renowned cast. The script was written by Elmore Leonard and Irving Ravetch, based on a novel by, you guessed it, Elmore Leonard. And directed by Martin Ritt.

As I said, the dozen main cast members were outstanding in their field. The protagonist was John Russell, played by Paul Newman. Russell was the top cop in the Apache police. Fredric March was Alexander Favor, a government bureaucrat whose function was to administer the Indian reservations. Barbara Rush was his wife, Audra Favor. Diane Cilento plays opposite Newman, as Jessie Brown, the manager of the boarding house that Russell just inherited from his father. And Martin Balsam, with Spanish accent and makeup to appear as stage coach driver Henry Mendez. The bad guys are played by Richard Boone (Cicero Grimes), Cameron Mitchell (Sheriff Frank Braden), David Canary (Lamar Dean) and Frank Silvera, as the “Mexican Bandit”, his perennial role as character actor in many films.
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Paul Newman Knew How To Deal With Hamas”