Product: Fort Apache (Color Enhanced) [VHS] (1948)
Rating: 4.0
EXCELLENT WESTERN SAGA
Fort Apache is a 1948 western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. The film was the first of the director's "cavalry trilogy" and was followed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Rio Grande (1950), both starring Wayne. The story, which screenwriter James Warner Bellah based loosely on George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of Little Bighorn, as well as the Fetterman Massacre of 1866, was one of the first to present an authentic and sympathetic view of the Native Americans involved in the battle (Apache in the film, Sioux in the real battles).The film was awarded the Best Director and Best Cinematography awards by the Locarno International Film Festival of Locarno, Switzerland.After the end of the American Civil War, the veteran, well-respected Captain Kirby York (John Wayne) is expected by the regimental personnel of Fort Apache, an isolated U.S. cavalry post, to replace the outgoing commander. York had commanded his own regiment during the Civil War and was well-qualified to assume permanent command. To their surprise and disappointment, the command of the regiment was given to Lieutenant Colonel Owen Thursday (Henry Fonda). Thursday, a West Pointer, was a General during the Civil War. Despite his Civil War combat record, Lieutenant Colonel Thursday lacks experience to deal with the Indians he is expected to watch, and is a very arrogant officer and martinet.Accompanying widower Thursday is his daughter, Philadelphia (Shirley Temple). She becomes attracted to Second Lieutenant Michael Shannon O'Rourke (John Agar), the son of Sergeant Major Michael O'Rourke (Ward Bond). The elder O'Rourke had won the Medal of Honor, entitling his son to enter West Point and become an officer. However, the class-conscious Thursday forbids his daughter to see someone he does not consider a gentleman, despite the fact that Sergeant Major O'Rourke had served during the Civil War as a Major with the Irish Brigade and went on to earn the Medal of Honor for his bravery under fire.When there is unrest among the Indians, led by Cochise (Miguel Inclan), Thursday ignores York's advice to treat the natives with honor and that the problems are caused by corrupt Indian agents. His arrogant behavior drives the Indians to rise up. Eager for glory and recognition, Thursday orders his regiment into battle on Cochise's terms, despite York's urgent warnings.By deliberately misinterpreting his orders York spares the younger O'Rourke from battle. However, Thursday's entire command is wiped out. Thursday himself survives but then returns to die with the last of his men. Cochise spares York's detachment because he knows York to be an honorable man.Subsequently, now-Lieutenant Colonel Kirby York commands the regiment. Meeting with correspondents introduces Lt. O'Rourke, now married to Thursday's daughter. A reporter asks if he has seen the famous painting depicting "Thursday's Charge." York, about to command a new and arduous campaign to bring in the Apaches, says it is completely accurate and then reminds the reporters that the soldiers will never be forgotten as long as the regiment lives.Some exteriors for the film were shot in Monument Valley, Utah. The exteriors involving the fort itself and the renegade Indian agent's trading post were filmed at Corriganville, which is now a park in Simi Valley, California.