Product: Fort Apache (Color Enhanced) [VHS] (1948)
Rating: 3.0
Interesting, but unfocused
The video's introduction, provided by TCM movie guru Robert Osborne, describes this as "the typical John Ford western." That may well be. Unfortunately, it doesn't really compliment Ford as an auteur, or even a director, because this is the one Ford film I've seen so far (out of eight) that I would truly call unfocused. It does snap into a decent plot by the last forty-five minutes, but until that time the main thrust of the picture is watered down by too many characters, too many "side moments," and too many changes in tone.Maybe it's because the plot is so basic, and has to be dragged out to the prerequisite, John Ford just-over-two-hours. Lt Col Thursday (Henry Fonda) is a somewhat failed Civil War general, reassigned to lead the cavalry regiment at Fort Apache, who sees his one chance for true military glory in what should be a small dispute with the Indians. Opposing him, in various ways, are his daughter Philadelphia (Shirley Temple!), her sweetheart Lt O'Rourke (John Agar), the far less uptight Captain York (John Wayne), and most of the men of this rag-tag regiment. Where York sees an opportunity for peace, Thursday sees a major battle - and a place in history.It doesn't sound bad, right? And it's not. It is, however, terribly wayward. There is a lot of time - more htan is necessary - spent on Philadelphia's romance, and there are loads of aggravating "comic relief" scenes with the rowdy, hard-drinkin' officers. Ward Bond makes a strong impression as Major O'Rourke (Agar's character's father), but John Wayne himself - the guy with top billing - doesn't make any sort of impact until the film is half over. And the lead casting is downright odd; I find it very hard to swallow Henry Fonda as a militaristic hard-ass, a role one would more typically associate with Wayne. To his credit, though, Wayne actually comes across well in a softer vein than usual, and for those (like me) who have always wondered about his range, it's a pleasantly surprising performance.The Indians themselves don't make an appearance until about forty-five minutes from the end, and it's there that the line between Fonda and Wayne - hinted at, but not acted upon, for most of the second act - is finally drawn. The film abruptly realizes that it is, indeed, a film with a point, and quickly staggers into some semblance of a consistent tone and narrative. What's left is quite good, and Ford handles the battle sequences skillfully, as well as the slightly corny epilogue, but I found myself wishing I actually cared a little more. There's good characterization in the movie, for sure, but it's thrown out in such tiny little morsels that, pretty much, only Fonda, Wayne, and Bond feel like anything more than ciphers. I thought The Grapes of Wrath had pacing trouble, cramming so much into two hours? This is the precise opposite problem. At 90 minutes "Fort Apache" might well have been a classic. At 127 - it's simply too long. Recommended if you're a particularly great fan of the Western, I suppose, but I would still wait til it showed up on TV.