Hud
Hud Bannon is a ruthless young man who tarnishes everything and everyone he touches. Hud represents the perfect embodiment of alienated youth, out for kicks with no regard for the consequences. There is bitter conflict between the callous Hud and his stern and highly principled father, Homer. Hud's nephew Lon admires Hud's cheating ways, though he soon becomes aware of Hud's reckless amorality to bear him anymore. In the world of the takers and the taken, Hud is a winner. He's a cheat, but, he explains "I always say the law was meant to be interpreted in a lenient manner."
Despite its limited budget of $2.5M, Hud became a box office success, earning $10.0M worldwide—a 300% return. The film's unconventional structure engaged audiences, demonstrating that strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
3 Oscars. 17 wins & 17 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Hud (1963) showcases deliberately positioned story structure, characteristic of Martin Ritt's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 52 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.9, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Lonnie walks through the predawn Texas landscape searching for the cattle, establishing the isolated ranch world where three generations live under patriarch Homer Bannon's stern moral code while his cynical son Hud represents modern amorality.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when Homer discovers one of his prize Longhorns dead in the pasture. He immediately calls the state veterinarian, fearing the herd has contracted hoof-and-mouth disease, which would mean the destruction of everything he's built over a lifetime.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 28 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to Homer makes the decisive choice to wait for the test results rather than sell the potentially diseased cattle, accepting financial ruin over moral compromise. This irrevocable decision sets the family on a collision course and forces everyone to choose which man's philosophy they'll follow., moving from reaction to action.
At 56 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat The diagnosis is confirmed: the herd has hoof-and-mouth disease. All the cattle must be destroyed. Homer's life work will be literally buried in a pit. This false defeat marks the point where doing the right thing leads to total loss, testing whether principle can survive catastrophe., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 84 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Homer suffers a fatal heart attack after witnessing the destruction of his herd and Hud's betrayal. The patriarch dies having seen his life's work annihilated and knowing his son embodies everything he stood against. The moral center of the ranch world is gone., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 90 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Lonnie makes his decision. He packs his bag and prepares to leave the ranch, rejecting Hud's offer to stay and run things together. He finally sees clearly that Hud's way leads only to emptiness, and chooses to seek his own path rather than inherit either man's life., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Hud's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping Hud against these established plot points, we can identify how Martin Ritt utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Hud within the drama genre.
Martin Ritt's Structural Approach
Among the 4 Martin Ritt films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 6.8, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. Hud represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Martin Ritt filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman. For more Martin Ritt analyses, see Norma Rae, Stanley & Iris and Hombre.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Lonnie walks through the predawn Texas landscape searching for the cattle, establishing the isolated ranch world where three generations live under patriarch Homer Bannon's stern moral code while his cynical son Hud represents modern amorality.
Theme
Homer tells Lonnie: "Little by little the look of the country changes because of the men we admire." This encapsulates the film's central question about moral inheritance and whether principle or expediency will define the next generation.
Worldbuilding
The Bannon ranch dynamics are established: Homer's principled Old West values, Hud's selfish hedonism, Lonnie's hero-worship of his charismatic uncle, and housekeeper Alma's weary wisdom. Lonnie is torn between his grandfather's integrity and his uncle's seductive worldliness.
Disruption
Homer discovers one of his prize Longhorns dead in the pasture. He immediately calls the state veterinarian, fearing the herd has contracted hoof-and-mouth disease, which would mean the destruction of everything he's built over a lifetime.
Resistance
The veterinarian quarantines the ranch while running tests. Hud argues they should sell the cattle quickly before anyone knows they're sick, showing his contempt for ethics. Homer refuses, insisting on doing right regardless of cost. Lonnie witnesses this fundamental clash of values.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Homer makes the decisive choice to wait for the test results rather than sell the potentially diseased cattle, accepting financial ruin over moral compromise. This irrevocable decision sets the family on a collision course and forces everyone to choose which man's philosophy they'll follow.
Mirror World
Alma becomes the thematic mirror, having loved and left men like Hud before. She tells Lonnie she can see through Hud's charm to the emptiness beneath. She represents the wisdom of experience and the possibility of choosing dignity over desire.
Premise
The quarantine continues as they await test results. Lonnie experiences both sides of his inheritance: Homer's quiet strength and painful memories of Lonnie's father (Hud's brother, killed in a car crash Hud caused), and Hud's exciting nights of drinking and women. The generational conflict intensifies.
Midpoint
The diagnosis is confirmed: the herd has hoof-and-mouth disease. All the cattle must be destroyed. Homer's life work will be literally buried in a pit. This false defeat marks the point where doing the right thing leads to total loss, testing whether principle can survive catastrophe.
Opposition
The cattle are rounded up and shot, then buried in mass graves. Homer is spiritually destroyed watching his legacy executed. Hud tries to have Homer declared incompetent to seize control of the ranch. Hud drunkenly assaults Alma, revealing his true nature. Everything decent is under siege.
Collapse
Homer suffers a fatal heart attack after witnessing the destruction of his herd and Hud's betrayal. The patriarch dies having seen his life's work annihilated and knowing his son embodies everything he stood against. The moral center of the ranch world is gone.
Crisis
After Homer's funeral, the emptiness sets in. Alma packs to leave, having seen too much ugliness. Lonnie wanders the ranch, processing his grandfather's death and confronting the reality of who Hud is beneath the charm. The illusions are dead; only choice remains.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Lonnie makes his decision. He packs his bag and prepares to leave the ranch, rejecting Hud's offer to stay and run things together. He finally sees clearly that Hud's way leads only to emptiness, and chooses to seek his own path rather than inherit either man's life.
Synthesis
Lonnie says goodbye to the ranch and to Hud. Hud, now alone with everything he wanted—control of the land, freedom from judgment—is revealed as completely hollow. Alma has gone, Lonnie is leaving, Homer is dead. Hud has won the ranch but lost his humanity, if he ever had it.
Transformation
Lonnie walks away down the road with his suitcase as Hud stands alone in front of the empty ranch house. Where the film opened with Lonnie searching for cattle in Homer's world, it closes with him leaving to find his own way, having learned that principle matters even when it costs everything.