Apache Drums

After gunning down two people in a saloon a gambler by the name of "Sam Leeds" (Stephen McNally) is told to leave the town of "Spanish Boot" at noon by the local mayor "Joe Madden" (Willard Parker). Although Joe believes that Sam's presence is bad for the town there is also a woman named "Sally" (Coleen Gray) who both men are attracted to that might have also factored into this decision. However, since he has little choice he sets out into the desert only to discover that the Apaches are on the warpath and rushes back to Spanish Boot to tell them of the news. At first they don't believe him but when a small cavalry unit arrives they realize that they will need every gun they can get-and even then it might not be enough. At any rate, rather than disclose any more of the film and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a pretty good grade-B western movie for this particular time. It certainly would have been a fine picture to show at the local drive-in. Slightly above average.

The least we can say is that for his last film as a producer, Val Lewton literally excelled, and in a domain where he was not used at all: the western. But if you watch this one very carefully, closely, you'll notice the Val Lewton's trademark; the atmosphere, the terrific atmosphere that he used for his famous, notorious RKO pictures horror films. Not in every scene, but during the second part. And the association between Hugo Fregonese and Val Lewton is a success, as was the combination Harry Joe Brown and Budd Boetticher for the Randolph Scott's western written by Burt Kennedy. Don't miss this one, it's Fregonese's best film.

While not one of the greatest westerns to ever be brought to the screen, this movie does bring something else that others seemed to fail at, and that is actual human feelings and and what they went through in times of turmoil such as this film suggests. The townsfolk have to hold up in a church while outside they are attacked by Indians. In the movie it shows how the people would have and must have felt. The ending also leaves the viewer feeling pretty good. For not a very popular movie as say a John Wayne movie, this movie is actually quite good. It has yet to be released on DVD or VHS and i seriously doubt that it even has a chance yet if it was i strongly suggest western fans to grab a copy of it and see what I'm really talking about. As for those who want to see it now, your best bet is probably to try to catch it on the Western Channel although i have bee watching the channel for a few years and have yet to see it on there. The only time i ever saw it on television was on AMC, back when they had no commercials and actually played what the channel suggested, Classics.

Like Lewton's horror films, one doesn't notice the low budget (the lowest ever for a color film at that time, per Lewton) because of the excellent character development and the plot tensions. And like his horror films, it's what you CAN'T see that's so terrifying. The final scene is in an adobe church with high, open windows. Outside one can hear the Apache drums and chants, the light from the burning town flickers on the walls, and one is forced to imagine the scene outside, as do the small band of settlers claustrophobically huddled inside. Indians appear at the windows from time to time like fun-house pop-ups. It's a nightmare situation mined for all its possibilities. Other scenes have a similar effect. A man without a gun comes on a just-massacred traveling party; suddenly, danger seems to exist all around him. Later, the hero is traveling with a party of armed men; suddenly he finds himself alone on foot on a flat plain with nowhere to take cover and a band of Apaches riding toward him at full gallop. And the opening scene: a gunfight occurs off-screen, shattering the peaceful scene of a kitten being served milk (an example of what Lewton called a "bus" scene after the sudden appearance of the bus in THE CAT PEOPLE). Though these situations may not be unique to this film, they are obviously the sort that appealed to Lewton, and are handled very effectively. But the core of the film is the characters: the protagonist, a card sharp who plays the angles (his nickname is "Slick") and is fast with a gun, a wise-ass who isn't all bad; the virtuous sheriff who isn't all good; the preacher, an old man with a lot of gumption, not a bad judge of character, but a reactionary Irish Catholic priest with a strong racial prejudice. Other typically interesting Lewton characters are the madam who's happy enough to leave town if someone will buy her out at a good price, the cavalry officer who understands the Indians, and particularly the stoic Indian scout, faithful to the settlers to the end. The very fact that these characters don't move to extremes in extreme situations, that they have both good and less positive traits, is what gives this film its grab. It's a film that doesn't force the viewer to follow its path, and doesn't automatically go to the dramatic limit suggested by the situation... That's why Lewton's films are great!

I saw this film years ago on television when I was a kid. I remembered it vividly and I've not written any review of it as I wanted to see it fresh before doing so. Now thanks to YouTube I have seen it and it is as good as I remember it.

Stephen McNally stars as a roguish gambler who kills someone accusing him of cheating. That's all mayor, veterinarian, and blacksmith Willard Parker needs to throw McNally out of town. In fact an attack of Puritanism has swept the town of Spanish Boot and the saloon has closed down and the girls ordered to leave. But when McNally goes after them he finds them massacred by the Apaches.

Two hundred strong under Vittorio and they've crossed the Mexican border and wreaking general mayhem in Arizona. The town bands together and takes refuge in a church which does have good walls, but also windows to high up to shoot from, but great for the Apache to scale.

Though both McNally and Parker act real juvenile at the beginning both are goofy over Coleen Gray in the end they both step to the plate.

Apache Drums was the last film of Val Lewton, his only western, but it has its moments of horror and suspense so associated with Lewton. It's not a film for the faint of heart, but I recommend it highly for western fans and Lewton fans.