40 Guns to Apache Pass

40 Guns to Apache Pass is directed by William Witney and written by Willard and Mary Willingham. It stars Audie Murphy and Kenneth Tobey. Music is by Richard LaShelle and Jaques R. Marquette photographs it in Pathe Color with location work coming at Lovejoy Buttes, Red Rock Canyon and North Ranch in California.

The Apaches, led by Cochise (Michael Keep), are on the warpath and vowing to kill all whites they come across. Captain Bruce Coburn (Murphy) is in charge of leading homesteaders out of harms way. But there is unrest in the band of men under his charge and mutiny is afoot.

This was the last but one film Murphy made before retiring, you feel that he hoped this would be a fitting swan song to his career. It wasn't. Saddled with a weak script and surrounded by wooden supporting actors, Murphy alone can't make this lacklustre, cliché riddled, Western work. There's some nice scenery shot by Witney and Marquette, but with LaShelle scoring it like an episode of Scooby Doo the impact is lost. It would be easy to blame director Witney, a man more than capable of stringing together an action based movie, but asking him to try and make this particular screenplay stretch to over an hour and half was asking for the impossible.

3/10 for Murphy's manful efforts to carry such a low-budget, routine and forgettable piece.

Audie Murphy plays a tough, by-the-book Cavalry officer in Apache territory who's hard on his men. He's sent to pick up 40 automatic rifles and bring them back to the fort, but he runs into difficulties (of course). This is one of those very routine minor movies that Murphy kept turning up in after the end of his Universal contract. The "fort" is a one-rail corral; the soldiers are colorless, minor character actors--with one exception (see below). Distances shrink and enlarge at the whim of the plot (sometimes the action takes place a couple of days from the fort, then it's an hour's ride). The locations are overly familiar--a couple of day's shooting in Red Rock Canyon, a couple of days probably in the Owens Valley, and a couple more in rolling California hills. But--and it's a big one--Bodine, the antagonist, is played by the reliable Kenneth Tobey. As always, he gives it his all--turning this minor role into a distinct, peculiarly likable heavy. He's wry, vindictive, amusing, and--unusually for a Western where most of the good guys are former Confederates (unless the name "Quantrill" is evoked)--he fought for the South, but he's a bad guy.

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.

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.

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.