FORT APACHE

This is the first of John Ford's 'cavalry trilogy' and I can't wait to see if 'She Wore A Yellow Ribbon' and 'Rio Grande' maintain the same very high standard.

Although John Wayne (as Captain York) effortlessly dominates every scene he is in, the central character is the fascinating one of Lieutenant Colonel Thursday.  Expertly portrayed by Henry Fonda, he is an arrogant and snobbish stickler for military regulations who resents being posted to a backwater (as he sees it) and therefore yearns to make his mark.

I could have done with spending rather less time with the non-commissioned officers and rather more time exploring Thursday's history.  His past relationship with Captain Collingwood could have been fleshed out more, for example. Why the animosity between them?

The observant viewer will notice during the opening credits that the film is based on a short story entitled 'Massacre' and so need not worry that for the first 45 minutes nothing much is happening other than to establish the main characters and to convey something of life in a frontier post - there will be action!

And when the action does arrive it is thrilling. I never tire of the sight of horses (with or without riders) galloping at full tilt against the backdrop of Monument Valley. There is a short very memorable sequence midway in the film where from a great distance we view Miss Thursday and Second Lieutenant O'Rourke riding as if their life depended on it (which it does). 

This young couple, who are in love and who eventually marry, are played by Shirley Temple and John Agar, who were married in real life at the time although she sued for divorce the next year. This is one of her last films before she remarried and embarked on a career in diplomacy.  Her performance here is perfectly fine, but I don't feel that the film industry lost a great talent when she moved on.

One approaches any Western from this era with some trepidation as to its portrayal of Native Americans, so I am pleased to be able to report that this film is close to exemplary in this respect.

It is made abundantly clear that Cochise's people have been badly treated and have a just cause. Cochise himself is presented as a man of honour who wants peace.

In a final scene the film acknowledges the gap that may exist between truth and legend, a theme which Ford returns to later in 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'.

RATING: ✓✓ Catch It If You Can