Apache Uprising

A rather mean-spirited A.C.Lyles potboiler shot mostly indoors with plenty of sixties-style violence in which nasty people do nasty things to each other (none nastier than a pre-Star Trek DeForest Kelly, who shoots one guy in cold blood).

As the lady with a past, Corinne Calvert is there to incur the disapproval of a bunch of "miserable old biddies" led by Jean Parker and be fought over rather than wooed.

The film takes place in Arizona circa 1880s and deals with the stage coach lines trying to run from Texas through Arizona over to Phoenix and points west. The stage coach and passengers are attacked by renegade Apaches. These stage coach hands, passengers, and various AZ outlaws, all of whom are travelling through Indian country, are forced to join forces against the Apaches in order to save their lives and scalps.

Old fashioned/traditional westerns like this A. C Lyle western is what I prefer and they were fast becoming anachronistic in the 1960s in the cinema halls, however this western is fairly ordinary with a few good points such as some action sequences, an array of older actors, nice location and an oddness - it's an ok time filler, nothing more. Deforest Kelley plays a psychotic gunman who goes into psycho mode every five seconds. It amazes how John Russell's character would hire such a loose wire when he would be attracting attention with his behaviour.

but not by a whole lot. The cast is a bit more vigorous than the usual group of senior citizen actors who populate the typical Lyles western, the action is staged a bit more professionally and the script isn't one of the worst of the series (although it's nothing to write home about, either). Rory Calhoun and John Russell, unlike most of the leading men in this series, seem to have matured rather than "aged," and that fact alone lifts this picture up a notch from the usual run-of-the-mill Lyles extravaganza. It's still nothing special, but it's not as embarrassing as some of the other entries in Lyles' string of geezer oaters.

I had the pleasure of seeing every one of the Lyles' westerns on original release here in London, dear old Blighty. I was never much interested in the main attractions of the double feature programmes where AC's cracking little cowboy pictures always took second billing. " Apache Uprising " however, broke the mould and played main feature, with " Beach Ball " in support, at the splendid Paramount Plaza at Piccadilly Circus - although only for two weeks, after which it was relegated to the usual spot for general release. I wrote to dear AC and got a couple of letters back from him, where he told me all about how he was moving away from westerns into dramas and was working on " Rogue's Gallery ". A true gentleman. It must have been a joy working with such an array of talent from yesteryear.

And I would say unusual western from AC Lyles' stuff that usually take place in towns, between outlaws spreading terror and the good sheriff, with some more or less complex story to "spice" the story. Here it is question of Indian renegades, so the usual settings of Lyle's productions expand a bit, in more outdoor scenes...The most interest remains, as usual in Lyle's prod, the cast, mainly old timers from Hollywood with a bunch of villains absolutely exquisite - De Forest Kelley, Gene Evans and above all a convincing John Russel, the leader. Only John Doucette and Robert Wilke were missing in this villain gallery. But that remains a B vintage western, not a milestone in western history. A vert cruel ending, but for the villain. Some kind of taste as the final minutes if JOHNNY COOL.