A family’s downfall becomes a stark elegy for the ideals of the American frontier in this quietly subversive reimagining of western myths. In the fourth of his six collaborations with the progressive director Martin Ritt, Paul Newman created his darkest role yet as Hud Bannon, a charismatic but ruthlessly unprincipled rancher. Hud’s ambition to seize control of an ailing cattle business from his tradition-bound father (Melvyn Douglas) drives the family—including his worshipful nephew (Brandon de Wilde) and worldly-wise housekeeper (Patricia Neal)—toward collapse.