Apache Blood

I absolutely do not understand why anyone would post a comment to a movie they hadn't bothered watching all the way through. Thank God for the internet, keeping these folks off the streets! I have not seen Apache Blood in years, but my recollection of it should be more useful than the "didn't watch it...fast-forwarded...made snide remarks" review that appeared previously. I saw it on the late, late movie, with commercials, several years before my area was even wired for cable! Apache Blood is a low-budget, independent effort, with only one "name" in the cast. It's a western concerning a soldier's efforts to get back to his fort while being pursued by an Apache, played by Ray Danton. I don't recall a great deal of dialog, but the movie managed to hold my attention to the end. The tone established in the first 99% of the movie abruptly changes at the end; I was never sure how I felt about that, but it was definitely a surprise! If you enjoy cheap little indies, you should like this one.

This is basically the story of mountain man Hugh Glass worked over and placed later in the later Old West with him becoming a Cavalry scout and the other mountain men becoming cavalry troopers. Watch "Man In The Wilderness" and see the resemblance. Mr. Danton was the only actor in the whole movie while the rest were more than likely hired off the streets. Pass this one by! Low Budget? Yeah. This one must of been made with $1.98! I feel sorry for Mr. Danton as he was a terrific actor and this film was below his standards. The two scriptwriters were actors in this film. One played the scout and the other was the Agarn-looking trooper in the fort at the end of the flick who shot at the scout and Mr. Danton.

I came into possession of this film with the purchase of a 5 disk/20 movie set called "Spaghetti Westerns" Apache Blood does not belong in this collection but that is not my greatest disappointment with the film.

The story and its ending is the only value this film has and we will give 4 stars for that alone. No other effort in the making of this film deserves any stars at all. The directing is awful and the only thing worse is the editing which was probably done by the director. At first I thought that the film was a student project done by a student that flunked out of film school. It is a sin what was done to a provocative story about the treatment of the so called "Indians" (native Americans) because of the prejudice, bigotry and hate of the invaders of their land.

We make no comment on the acting. It is difficult to critique the actors performances with the obvious sub-amateurish directing. The director just did not know when to say "cut"; did not understand screen direction; did not know that one does not have to play the whole journey or day to communicate distance or time.

Extremely protracted scenes of being on the run or on the chase made this movie too long by 30-40 minutes. We can not blame the editor too much since the director probably provided minimal options. Then, to add even more, the end has a recap that is totally unnecessary and presumes the viewer won't understand the ending without it. Instead, if you do watch this movie, stop it when the recap begins as it only confuses what is the best part of the movie.

One reviewer here states that if you make it half way through then stick around for the end, its worth it.

Another Indian treaty is broken and the angry Apaches, led by Hollywood/exploitation veteran Ray Danton, are massacring any blue-coat they come across. Meanwhile, a civilian Army scout is mauled by a bear and left for dead by his troop, much like Richard Harris in Man In The Wilderness. (a much better film)

The enjoyment (or non-enjoyment) of Apache Blood is entirely dependent on one's tolerance for no-budget drive-in schlock.

The film is told with minimal dialog and almost entirely in pictures with familiar library music blaring away, keeping it from being totally boring but also hampering the story a bit as well.

After a lousy ending, the final eight or so minutes is a complete waste of time with a long slow-motion sequence recounting all the movie's violent moments, as well as an artist's rendering of Danton as the Apache explored at length by the camera!

This is truly one of the worst films I have had the misfortunate of seeing. It was my dad's turn to rent a film, and for some reason he came home 'Pursuit' a.k.a 'Apache Blood.' The fact that it is a western, piqued his interest. As we began to watch it, we recognized that the acting (what little there was) was horrid, and the plot, insipid. Upon this discovery, we realized that our evenings entertainment was ruined. But maybe not. My dad ingeniously decided to run the tape on fast forward while in play function. With a few added silly sound effects, what was drivel, turned into a hilarious father/daughter evening.