''Apache'' is a 1954 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 ...

film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Burt Lancaster,

Jean Peters Elizabeth Jean Peters (October 15, 1926 – October 13, 2000) was an American film actress. She is known as a star of 20th Century Fox in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and as the second wife of Howard Hughes. Although possibly best remembered f ...

and John McIntire. The film was based on the novel ''Broncho Apache'' by Paul Wellman, which was published in 1936. It was Aldrich's first color film.

Plot

Following the surrender of the great leader Geronimo, Massai — the last Apache warrior — is captured and sent on a prison train to a reservation in Florida. But he manages to escape in Oklahoma and heads back to his homeland to win back his woman and settle down to grow crops. His pursuers have other ideas, though.

Cast

* Burt Lancaster as Massai *

as Nalinle * John McIntire as

Al Sieber Al Sieber (February 27, 1843 1844 was a leap year, leading to some confusion about Sieber's birth date. His tombstone in Globe gives his birth date as 1844, as does the book ''Chief of Scouts''. Both are incorrect. – February 19, 1907) was a Ge ...

* Charles Buchinsky as Hondo *

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

as Weddle *

Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American television and film actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He retu ...

as Santos *

Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was a British music critic and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed techniques from ...

as Clagg *

Walter Sande Walter Sande (July 9, 1906 – November 22, 1971) was an American character actor, known for numerous supporting film and television roles. Films Born in Denver, Colorado, he was one of those stern, heavyset character actors in Hollywood no pe ...

as Lieutenant Colonel Beck *

Morris Ankrum Morris Ankrum (born Morris Nussbaum; August 28, 1897 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television, and film character actor. Early life Born in Danville in Vermilion County in eastern Illinois, Ankrum originally began a career in ...

as Dawson * Monte Blue as Geronimo

Production

In April 1952 Burt Lancaster announced he would star in a film based on the novel, to be produced by himself and Harold Hecht. Lancaster had previously played an American Indian in '' Jim Thorpe – All-American''. Both Lancaster and his love interest, played by

, appeared in brownface in the film. For four years Lancaster and Hecht had been based at Warner Bros. However in June 1953 they announced they would make two films with

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

, starting with ''Apache''. The film would be the first in a series of movies Lancaster made for

. It was originally budgeted at $742,000. In July 1953 the producers hired Robert Aldrich as a director. Aldrich says this was on the back of his second feature as director, '' World for Ransom'', along with the fact that he had previously worked for Hecht-Lancaster on other movies as an assistant and had tried to buy the original novel himself.mr. film noir stays at the table Silver, Alain. Film Comment; New York Vol. 8, Iss. 1, (Spring 1972): 14-23. The ending of the novel featured the leading character killed by US troops. "Of course, United Artists and Hecht became apprehensive of that so called down-beat ending," said Aldrich. "I made noise but they didn't hear me; then you go through the steps but you know they're going to use that happy ending."

Shooting

Filming started October 19, 1953, in Sonora, after a week of rehearsal. Lancaster tore a ligament while filming a horse scene on the film. He returned to filming relatively quickly.

Reception

Box office

The film was a big hit, earning over in theatrical rentals during its first year of release and $6 million in overall North American rentals. Aldrich subsequently directed Hecht-Lancaster's next film, '' Vera Cruz''. The film earned in American and Canadian rentals during 1954, and it went on to generate total gross receipts of in the United States and Canada. In France, the film sold 1,216,098 tickets at the box office.French box office results for Robert Aldrich films
at Box Office Story

Critical

At the time,

Clyde Gilmour Clyde Gilmour, (8 June 1912 in Calgary – 7 November 1997 in Toronto) was a Canadian broadcaster and print journalist, mostly known for his half-century career with CBC Radio. Early life and education Gilmour was raised in Medicine Hat, ...

praised the film as "one of the most exciting and entertaining westerns Hollywood has produced," while the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

criticized it as "slow and dull." Retrospective reviews have praised the film for its "acceptance of the alien nature of the Apache" and "more than the standard revisionist bromides."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Apache (Film) 1954 films 1954 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Revisionist Western (genre) films Films about Native Americans Apache Wars films Films shot in Arizona Films shot in California Films shot in Los Angeles County, California Films directed by Robert Aldrich Films produced by Burt Lancaster Films produced by Harold Hecht Films scored by David Raksin Norma Productions films United Artists films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films