Saturday 23 March 2013

Elmore Leonard's Hombre

BBC Radio Four Afternoon Play
Adapted by Robert Ferguson

This audio dramatization of Elmore Leonard's, Hombre is available to listen to via the BBC iPlayer for the next seven days with, I think, worldwide availability.

Hombre is a gritty western that tells of John Russel, a white man who has been raised by the Apaches. Because of this he finds himself an outcast among his own people.  When Russel takes a stagecoach none of the other passengers want anything to do with him - that is until a band of outlaws ride down on them and leave them stranded in the desert.

"Now, obviously, it would be ideal to go out somewhere hot and dry with actors and kit. Given the weather lately, I fancied Nevada or perhaps Morocco… Sadly, the reality is that we have to do it all in one big windowless room in BBC Broadcasting House in just two days. Luckily, our Drama studio is actually pretty wonderful." Martha Littlehailes, Senior Studio Manager 


The BBC produce some great audio drama for radio four and this play is no exception - it's also welcome because it is a western, a genre which is rare on the radio these days. How can a western, a seemingly visual medium work on the radio? Very well and the play is brilliantly adapted and well acted, with sound effects that help the listener paint those stunning western landscapes in their  imagination. As anyone who listens to radio drama will know - the pictures are wonderful.

Next week Radio Four continues the western season with an all new radio version of Shane.

Find Hombre on the iPlayer HERE

1 comment:

Davieboy said...

Thanks for this info, wouldn't have known about this.
Looking forward to Shane, my fave Western - a few years back I visited Wyoming and had a day-long tour of the Shane locations with local guy Wally Farmer. Here's a shout-out to him!

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