40 Guns to Apache Pass

Murphy does all the right things but they are the same heroics and " it's okay I'm just shot in the chest so I ain't gonna flinch" routine as westerns had ten and twenty years before. It's hard to believe this film was made in the era of the American Indian movement and the Beatles etc. This film also reminds me of why the western faded. The Indians here are simple ciphers. They are portrayed as mindless " hostiles" and the western clichés are trotted out. The" whites" are heroics defenders, the Indians are savages. 1967 was far too late for that to play any more. I laughed when the opening line was " there were only a few brave men stopping the whole Territory of Arizona being overrun".they meant of course a few brave settlers from the east. But it struck me as odd that in 67 the line was not in any way used for irony. The few brave men were in fact Indians defending their community and the overrunning was being done by " whites". Overall it's workmanlike effort but nothing really distinguished this film from any production line western from the 50's. Murphy seems tired but competent and remarkably well preserved for a WWII veteran.

Director William Witney is no John Ford. But it's doubtful that even the great Ford could have done anything with this lame western which has possibly one of the dullest screenplays ever written.

Saddled with bad material, it's no wonder that AUDIE MURPHY finds himself floundering about in a role that's so poorly written, he never has a chance. The actor himself admitted to being a "no talent" when it came to screen acting, and here he really gets his chance to prove it. The only other respectable performance in the film is given by KENNETH TOBEY, usually Mr. Nice, here cast as the bad guy who wants to sell rifles to the Indians and ends up in a heap of trouble when Audie decides to single-handedly take care of the situation and put Tobey and his cronies out of business. It takes more than an hour to get to this situation and by that time it's doubtful whether anyone was left watching.

Filmed in muddy color with some interesting background scenery the only thing to dwell on during long stretches of dull dialog, it's no wonder Murphy's career was in decline by the time he did this film away from his home studio, Universal. Unfortunately, a tragic plane accident took his life only a few years later.

This joke of a movie -- with terrible acting, a thin plot and cheap production values -- at least gave me a laugh once when I badly needed one. For some unaccountable reason, they sent us this movie about the cavalry to see when we were serving in the actual 1st Cavalry (Airmobile) in Vietnam.

These guys couldn't shoot straight, except for the few times when a single shot felled multiple Indians, but they also could not be wounded, even when taking cover behind the flimsiest rail fence.

So little thought went into this movie that it deserves to be ranked among the worst of all time. However, I gave it a second star because of the laughs.

Audie Murphy, the Most Decorated WWII Soldier, Including the Medal of Honor, had a Long and Successful Run in mostly Moderate Budgeted Westerns, and was a Household Name. He was a Humble Hero, Soft Spoken, but Intimidating Behind an Icy Stare.

Always Quick to Point Out that being a Good Actor was an ongoing Fight He Never Won but Never Gave Up trying, managed 44 Films, some to Box Office Glory. His Autobiographical Film, "To Hell and Back"(1955) Broke Box Office Records and Wasn't Topped for 20 Years.

In this, His Last Major Role, was Characteristic of His Real Life and Screen Persona, but the Movie itself was Anachronistic. The Vietnam War was Raging and by 1967, ironically the "Summer of Love", most Leaders within the know knew that "the Nam" was going to be a Tough War.

This Film has a "John Wayne" Attitude and a No Apologies Conceit that was Conservative.

The "Whites are the Good Guys", "Indians are the Savages", Cliché was No Longer Sell-Able and the Film Suffers from a Story-Line Best Suited in a more "Unenlightened" Time.

Murph, looking as Young as Ever but showing Signs of Body Sprawl, Delivers a Dutiful Performance. He is "Helped" by Kenneth Tobey giving a Good-Bad Guy Role and He makes the most of it and is the Film's only Interesting Element. Audie looks more Hesitant, perhaps Sensing that His Time On the Screen had Passed.

Rather than trying to Pursue other Ranging Roles Audie Murphy Retired from the Screen but Never Retired from the Hearts of Grateful Americans and Remained a Real Hero for the Rest of His Short Life.

He Died in a Plane Crash at the Age of 46. The Only Grave Receiving More Visits in Arlington is JFK.

Here's the bad news about this film. It has a ridiculous narration that keeps telling us what we don't need to be told. And the music is hit or miss, sometimes appropriate to what's being shown, and sometimes seriously off, sounding like merry go round music when major action is happening.

If those things were corrected, then the rest of the film's flaws are lesser and could have been put up with. The acting is good in some parts and with other actors not quite good enough. The story is OK and has some thrilling bits in the last half.

If you're an Audie Murphy fan, then you may want to watch this, but it's not as good as some of his earlier films.

So sad, why didn't he change over to modern action films.