La Fureur des Apaches

Provoked by gold miners invading their homeland, the Apaches go on the warpath. Audie Murphy's cavalry captain brings about a peace that lasts until the murder of a new Indian agent is blamed on the tribe and the ruthless tactics of commanding officer (John Archer) make matters worse. Murphy turns from hating Indians to helping them and ultimately proposes marriage to Linda Lawson's half-breed.

A thoughtful western featuring a clash of cultures, a powder keg situation brought on by greedy miners whose heinous actions cause the Apaches to break the reservation and go on the warpath. Sounds familiar, but there's some nicely drawn characters, a very good cast ( Michael Dante is excellent as Redhawk and L. Q. Jones is quite nasty as the villain), and a bit more depth and an engaging build-up before the lead and arrows fly.

But it's the Audie's understated performance as an Indian-hating ( actually I wouldn't say he hates them, but is confused and bitter) cavalry captain that carries the briskly-plotted film. The action is sporadic with the narrative in the centre, however, when the action comes, it's stirring. There's a particular scene that is quite fresh: Audie and L. Q fight it out in the desert, then stop and duck as the Apaches rush by, and there's a point when they slip into a crevasse of a rock as they rush by again. Energetic western with a strong narrative that ends on a positive note.

The first of Whitney and Murphy's "Didactic History Trilogy" whereby they seek to re-educate the viewer on the American West. Probably the closest Hollywood ever got to Rossellini's TV and the polar opposite of the cartoon nihilism of Leone. Best scene: Murphy, always tortured by whiskey, uses whiskey to torture the bad. Audie Murphy gives a good performance in his role as Jeff Stanton, the captain who acts like he is in charge and is determined to stop the Apaches from causing trouble.

Elsewhere, Linda Lawson is respectable in her role as Dawn Gillis, the missionary who Jeff adores, while Michael Dante is decent as Red Hawk, one of the men who is captured, and L.

Apache Rifles (1964)

nufs68

In the Arizona Territory in 1879, Captain Jeff Stanton takes command of a cavalry unit tasked with returning the Apaches to their reservation. The Mescaleros Apaches, led by chief Victorio, have left the reservation and openly attacked farmers,gold miners and settlers who trespassed on their lands. During a skirmish, Captain Stanton captures Red Hawk, the son of the chief, and uses him to bargain for a truce. Stanton promises to chief Victorio to see that gold miners and settlers are kept off Indian lands. However, some greedy townsfolk and disfranchised gold miners plot to break the uneasy truce. They murder the Indian agent and blame the Apaches. They complain to Washington D. C. about Captain Stanton's negotiated truce. Stanton is replaced by Colonel Perry who intends to use a heavy hand in subduing the Apaches.

Apache Rifles is directed by William Witney and adapted to screenplay by Charles B. Smith from a story written by Kenneth Gamet and Richard Schayer. It stars Audie Murphy, Michael Dante, Linda Lawson, L.Q. Jones, Ken Lynch, Joseph Vitale and Robert Brubaker. Music is by Richard La Salle and De Luxe cinematography is by Arch R. Dalzell.

Murphy stars as Capt. Jeff Stanton, a cavalry officer in Arizona territory, 1879, who is assigned to bring to the reservation the runaway Apaches who have had enough of the greedy gold miners pillaging from their promised land. Originally driven by his hatred towards Native Americans, Stanton's cause is muddied when he starts to fall for half Indian Dawn Gillis (Lawson), who in turn is courted by Red Hawk (Dante).

By 1964 the conventional B Western was very much on the wane, with the theme of being sympathetic to the Native Americans having already been explored significantly in far better Westerns than Apache Rifles. Though it never hurts to have another one in any day and age, mind! Apache Rifles is pretty standard stuff, it's decently constructed and paced by Witney, who gets to show his talent for action scenes, Murphy is his usual affable self, even getting to put some emotion conflict into the portrayal, and exterior photography out of Mojave and the Bronson and Red Rock Canyons is most pleasing. It never quite hits the dramatic heights it aims for because the simmering love triangle often stops the picture in its tracks, a shame especially as some political shenanigans could have been explored further, while a quick about turn in the finale smacks of audience manipulation and comes off as a cheat. But it's inoffensive stuff for the most part, enjoyable for the right reasons within its low budget, even if it's just one for Murphy fans to tick off their lists, never to be seen again. 6/10

You must watch this. The characters are very good. Thoroughly screened and finalised. The story of the movie is also worth watching. One must watch this. Very interesting movie. It will definitely be one of the best of its kind. The action is also thrilling. The actors and actresses have done their best. All the characters are well defined and doing justice to their role. Superb movie. This can be seen by all age viewers. Well defined and well shooted. The scenes are also superb. Action, emotion, thriller, everything is there to watch. A good time pass for all kind of viewers. Apache Rifles worth watching story.