''Apache Woman'' is a 1955 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

directed by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

and starring

Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...

. It was Corman's second film as director, following ''

Five Guns West ''Five Guns West'' is a 1955 Western film set during the American Civil War directed by Roger Corman. It was Corman's first film as director although he had already made two as producer. It was the second film released by the American Releasing ...

''. It was one of four Westerns he made for

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

, the other being ''

'', ''

The Oklahoma Woman ''The Oklahoma Woman'' is a 1956 American Western film directed by Roger Corman. Plot The film involves the return of Steve Ward, a former gunslinger recently released from federal prison, to his hometown to claim a ranch he has inherited. Upo ...

'' (1955) and ''Gunslinger'' (1956). Corman says ''Apache Woman'' and ''Oklahoma Woman'' were from ideas by AIP whereas the others were his ideas. This was the first film from Golden State Productions, a company headed by Alex Gordon.Gary A. Smith, ''The American International Pictures Video Guide'', McFarland 2009 p 14

Plot

The Apaches are being rebellious and government agent Rex Moffett is called in to get to the bottom of who is behind it. Possible suspects include half-Apache Anne Libeau and her brother Armand Libeau.

Cast

as Rex Moffett *

Joan Taylor Joan Taylor (August 18, 1929 – March 4, 2012) was an American television and film actress. Personal life Taylor was born Rose Marie Emma in Geneva, Illinois. Her father, Joseph Emma, from Sicily, was a prop man in Hollywood in the 1920s. Af ...

as Anne LeBeau *

Lance Fuller Lance Fuller (December 6, 1928 – December 22, 2001) was an American actor. Biography Born in Somerset, Kentucky, he worked as a contract actor for most of the 1950s with Universal-International. With many uncredited roles for the firs ...

as Armand LeBeau *

Morgan Jones Morgan Jones may refer to: *Morgan Jones (actor, born 1879) (1879–1951), American silent film actor and screenwriter *Morgan Jones (actor, born 1928) (1928–2012), American film and television actor *Morgan Jones (broadcaster), Welsh television ...

as Macy * Paul Birch as Sheriff * Lou Place as Carrom, the undercover agent *

Paul Dubov Paul Dubov (October 10, 1918 – September 20, 1979) was an American radio, film and television actor as well as screenwriter. He frequently appeared in the works of Sam Fuller. Among Dubov's radio credits include the 05/02/1953 episode of Gunsm ...

as Ben Hunter *

Jonathan Haze Jonathan Haze (born Jack Schachter; April 1, 1929) is an American actor, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in Roger Corman films, especially the 1960 black comedy cult classic, ''The Little Shop of Horrors'', in which he p ...

as Tom Chandler * Gene Marlowe as Chief White Star *

Dick Miller Richard Miller (December 25, 1928 – January 30, 2019) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 180 films, including many produced by Roger Corman. He later appeared in the films of directors who began their careers with Corm ...

as Tall Tree *

Chester Conklin Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with ...

as Dick Mooney

Production

The film was one of the first releases of the

American Releasing Corporation The American Releasing Corporation was an American film distribution company active during the silent era.Soister, Nicolella & Joyce p.380 The company was founded in 1920, but was primarily active from 1922 until 1923, producing or handling film ...

which became AIP.Shocker Pioneers Tell How to Make Monsters: Want to Make a Monster? Experts Tell How It's Done Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times 21 Sep 1958: E1. They had previously distributed two films made by Roger Corman's company, Paolo Alto, ''The Fast and the Furious'' and ''

'', but ''Apache Woman'' was the first film from the production company, Golden State, which was set up by ARC, and run by Alex Gordon. (Golden State's second movie would be ''

Day the World Ended ''Day the World Ended'' is a 1955 independently made black-and-white post-apocalyptic science fiction film, produced and directed by Roger Corman, that stars Richard Denning, Lori Nelson, Adele Jergens, Paul Birch and Mike Connors. Chet Huntle ...

'', also directed by Corman.) Golden State's first movie was to be ''King Robot''. However exhibitors told Nicholson that robots were a poor commercial bet. Gordon says Sam Arkoff and Jim Nicholson, who ran ARC, decided a Western would be a safe commercial bet. The script was the first written by

Lou Rusoff Lou Rusoff (August 3, 1911 – June 29, 1963) was a Canadian-born screenwriter and producer best known for his work with American International Pictures. He was brother-in-law to Sam Arkoff and was the screenwriter for many of Roger Corman's f ...

, Sam Arkoff's brother in law, who became AIP's most regular screenwriter.Gary A. Smith, ''American International Pictures: The Golden Years'', Bear Manor Media 2014 p 22 Filming started May 1955. Tamra Cooper was cast in June 1955. Male star Lloyd Bridges was best known for ''Sea Hunt'' and Joan Taylor had been in a number of Howard Koch-Aubrey Schenck pictures. Corman later said he found the experience interesting because it was one of the few films he directed where he had not developed the script himself. Nonetheless he enjoyed the film, particularly working with

and

. It was shot in two weeks, mostly at the

Iverson Ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. The fir ...

in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

, where Corman had previously made ''

''. Alex Gordon later recalled:

After the fiasco with ''
The Lawless Rider ''The Lawless Rider'' is a 1954 American black-and-white western film directed by Yakima Canutt and starring Johnny Carpenter, Frankie Darro and Noel Neill, and marketed by United Artists. Ed Wood helped co-write the screenplay, which was origin ...
'', I was ab-so-lute-ly just thrilled and amazed and grateful when I came on ''The Apache Woman'' set. Corman’s set was quiet... everything was efficient... nobody was shouting...everybody seemed to know what they were doing... he had the right people there... and he was directing very quietly, giving his instructions and so on. Later I was told by Lloyd Bridges and a couple of others, especially Richard Denning, that Corman wasn’t directing actors. Some of them were asking him certain questions about their interpretations, and Corman was hazy on that: “Just do it the way you would do it... whatever you think... ” 'Very rarely did he ever correct an actor: “No, no, that isn’t right...”

Lance Fuller later said Corman "spent all his time setting up shots. He directed the composition but neglected the actors. He spent a lot of time with the script girl setting things up. I kind of went my own way on that one. Roger was okay, and we had a good relationship, but I didn’t get much direction from him. He didn't tell us what to do, so we improvised and directed ourselves." Fuller said "My highlight was a scene with Joan Taylor in the kitchen. I remember it was an outstanding scene. It was a dramatic monologue, and I directed it myself."

made his acting debut in the film. He had a double role - in the climax he plays an Indian and a member of the posse and wound up shooting at himself. Lancer Fuller later signed a ten picture contract with ARC to make two movies a year.

Reception

Box Office

Although the movie came out in 1955, in September 1958 Samuel Z. Arkoff said he expected his company to break even on ''Apache Woman'' only at the end of the next year. Arkoff said this was because it was issued as a single feature and "a single feature usually gets played - and played down - as the second feature." Arkoff added this "taught us a lesson" and ARC/AIP decided after ''Apache Woman'' that, instead of selling films individually, to sell them two at a time as a "package" to play on a double bill. They had a great success doing this with their first double bill, ''

'' and ''

The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues ''The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues'' is a 1955 independently made, American, black-and-white, science-fiction monster film, produced by Jack Milner and Dan Milner (who also directed), that stars Kent Taylor and Cathy Downs. The film's December ...

'' which secured the future of the company.

Alex Gordon Alexander Jonathan Gordon (born February 10, 1984) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Prior to playing professiona ...

confirmed that saying "it soon became obvious that single B-pictures like these first three 'Fast and Furious'', ''Five Guns West'', ''Apache Woman''would not work out for the new company— they played the bottom of twin- bill programming at $25 per booking. AIP would have to own both pictures to obtain percentage bookings." In 1969 Arkoff said ''Apache Woman'' took ten years to make a profit, and only after it was sold to television.

Critical

The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' called it "competently made second-feature Western, unremarkable but of slightly above average calibre." The movie has been called one of Corman's dullest films.the films of ROGER CORMAN Koszarski, Richard. Film Comment; New York Vol. 7, Iss. 3, (Fall 1971): 43-48.

Copyright

Susan Hart Susan Hart (born June 2, 1941) is an American actress, and the widow of American International Pictures (AIP) co-founder James H. Nicholson. Early years Before she became an actress, Hart worked for a telephone company in Palm Springs, managed ...

References

External links

*
Apache Woman
at Letterbox DVD {{Roger Corman 1955 films 1955 Western (genre) films American International Pictures films American Western (genre) films Films directed by Roger Corman Films produced by Roger Corman Films scored by Ronald Stein Films shot in California Films about Native Americans 1950s English-language films 1950s American films