This film is the first and to my mind the best of John Ford's cavalry trilogy. It is the Custer story in all but name, with Henry Fonda as Colonel Owen Thursday in the Custer role, and John Wayne's Captain York presumably representing Captain Benteen, one of Custer's subordinates at the Little Big Horn, who despised Custer and openly clashed with him several times. This film is notable for its detailed portrayal of life on an army outpost, the like of which I cannot recall seeing to this extent in any other film. The Apaches are treated with sympathy in the film. Captain York respects them, and tries to get Colonel Thursday to, but Colonel Thursday is more interested in winning glory by defeating them. During the film, Colonel Thursday and Captain York clash several times, but at the end, with Thursday's attack on the Apaches a disaster, Captain York tries to rescue him and take him to safety. It is here that Colonel Thursday redeems himself to some extent by insisting on returning to the remains of his command to die with them. All in all, a great film.

Released in 1948 and directed by John Ford, "Fort Apache" stars John Wayne as a veteran war captain who is challenged when Fort Apache is placed under the command of a naïve, glory hungry lieutenant colonel (Henry Fonda) who doesn't understand nor respect the local Natives. Shirley Temple plays the daughter of the new commander who becomes romantically interested in one of the officers (John Agar).How do you review an old Western like this when you can't stand B&W or old-fashioned scores and hokey antiquated songs, not to mention the incongruent campy elements and slapstick (non)humor Ford is known for? Basically you have to ignore all these factors and focus on the story and the actors. If you can do this, "Fort Apache" is worth checking out. Wayne was lean & mean at almost 41 (during shooting) and Temple was a seriously winsome cutie at almost 20. Amazingly, the film utilizes real Native Americans for the cast and the movie gets extra points for this and their respected portrayal. The film runs 128 minutes and was shot in Utah (e.g. Monument Valley & Arches), Arizona and California. The screenplay was written by Frank S. Nugent from a story by James Warner Bellah. GRADE: B-

Directed by John Ford (Stagecoach The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley, The Searchers, The Man Shot Liberty Valance), I found this film listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I hoped it would be worthy of this and the five stars critics gave it. Basically set after the American Civil War, highly respected veteran Captain Kirby York (John Wayne) is replacing the commander at Fort Apache, an isolated U.S. cavalry post. The soldiers however are surprised and disappointed that regiment command is given to Lieutenant Colonel Owen Thursday (Henry Fonda), a West Point graduate who lacks experience with the Indians and is incompetent, arrogant and egocentric. Thursday is a widower, accompanying him is his daughter Philadelphia (Shirley Temple), she becomes attracted to Second Lieutenant Michael Shannon O'Rourke (John Agar), son of Sergeant Major Michael O'Rourke (Ward Bond), but Thursday will not allow his daughter to see someone he does not consider a gentleman. There is unrest among the Indians, led by Chief Cochise (Miguel Inclan), and corruption from from Indian agent Silas Meacham (Grant Withers), Thursday is unable to deal with this, due to his interpretation of regulations and his arrogance, so the Indians rebel, and York is eventually relieved and replaced by Captain Sam Collingwood (George O'Brien). Young O'Rourke is spared from battle by York on Thursday's orders, the entire command are nearly wiped out, but a few soldiers escape back to the ridge where Captain York is positioned, Thursday also survives, but dies soon after returning, York and the rest of the detachment are spared by Cochise because he knows York is an honourable man. Lieutenant- Colonel Kirby York becomes commander after this, O'Rourke becomes Lieutenant and marries Philadelphia, a reporter asks about the painting "Thursday's Charge", York who is commanding a new campaign against the Apaches, and believing Thursday was a poor tactician and led a suicidal charge, says the painting is accurate and the soldiers will never be forgotten as long as the regiment lives. Also starring From Russia with Love's Pedro Armendáriz as Sergeant Beaufort, George O'Brien as Captain Sam Collingwood, Victor McLaglen as Sergeant Festus Mulcahy and Anna Lee as Mrs. Emily Collingwood. Wayne as usual gives a great noble performance, Fonda is cast against type but also does well, and supporting cast members Temple and Armendáriz are good also, I will admit I did not pay the fullest attention to all the chatty scenes, but I was hooked by the action with cowboys against Indians, guns banging all over the place and the great use of sweeping desert and mountain landscapes, it is overall a worthwhile western. Very good!

I agree with cstotlar-1 (Uncomfortable Mismatch, cstotlar-1, 19 June 2012) and ccthemovieman-1 (Not Deserving Of The High Marks It Gets, ccthemovieman-1, 13 March 2007) that Fort Apache is disappointing. I disagree with James Hitchcock (Fine, if dated, drama of men at war, James Hitchcock from Tunbridge Wells, England, 24 July 2010) that it portrays the Indians sympathetically. There's a substantial amount of racism present here, as with other Ford films (most notably the Searchers).The story depicts the soldiers at Fort Apache very favorably. As with almost every other war film ever made, Ford fills his company with his familiar group of players with everyone at least in their mid-40s (including some at grandfather age). You don't see many young men, the kind that actually die in real wars. The age of Ford's regiment reduces the tension we might feel with younger cast members.There are many camera-mugging scenes that are rather painful to watch. For example, Ford seems terribly impressed with Victor McLaglen's comedic skills, but McLaglen never delivers. The scene with the new recruits is particularly bad.Henry Fonda's Lt. Col. Owen Thursday repeatedly behaves unexpectedly, such as when he orders John Wayne's Capt. Kirby York to the rear to escape the oncoming battle. In real life, Thursday would order his rival to the front lines while he himself stayed back. That's how military commanders have done it as long as they have existed.Still, Fonda and Wayne are both good enough, saving Fort Apache. Fonda is playing against type as a glory-hunting racist. His rejection of the man his daughter (implausibly named Philadelphia Thursday) loves is another nonsensical plot turn, particularly since Lt. Michael O'Rourke is a war-hero who went to West Point. He should be at the top of Thursday's social pecking order, not below it.The scenes with Wayne meeting up with Cochise and the Indians are well done. The Indians are rendered sympathetically at this time. However, when we see them calmly massacring the cavalry charge the sympathy is erased.The battle scenes are interesting if you can tolerate many horses being made to fall to the ground. About the best quality of the battle scenes are the apparent speed with which the horses are galloping.Fort Apache is for people who like watching white, middle-aged soldiers depicted heroically; or for watching John Ford's stock company mugging for the camera. Ford, Wayne and Fonda have all been better elsewhere. Fort Apache doesn't inspire multiple viewings.