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Fort Apache (1948)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
9 March 1948 (USA) morePlot:
In John Ford's sombre exploration mythologising of American heroes, he slowly reveals the character of Owen Thursday... more | add synopsisAwards:
2 wins & 1 nomination moreNewsDesk:
(5 articles)
A Sweeping Tour of the new USC School of Cinematic Arts, including Special Appearances by George Lucas & Steven Spielberg - Part One (From The Hollywood Interview. 20 April 2009, 11:48 PM, PDT)
(From The Hollywood Interview. 20 April 2009, 4:52 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Very thoughtful, penetrating more (51 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| John Wayne | ... | Capt. Kirby York | |
| Henry Fonda | ... | Lt. Col. Owen Thursday | |
| Shirley Temple | ... | Philadelphia Thursday | |
| Pedro Armendáriz | ... | Sgt. Beaufort (as Pedro Armendariz) | |
| Ward Bond | ... | Sgt. Maj. Michael O'Rourke | |
| George O'Brien | ... | Capt. Sam Collingwood | |
| Victor McLaglen | ... | Sgt. Festus Mulcahy | |
| Anna Lee | ... | Mrs. Emily Collingwood | |
| Irene Rich | ... | Mrs. Mary O'Rourke | |
| Dick Foran | ... | Sgt. Quincannon | |
| Guy Kibbee | ... | Capt. Dr. Wilkens | |
| Grant Withers | ... | Silas Meacham | |
| Jack Pennick | ... | Sgt. Daniel Schattuck | |
| Ray Hyke | ... | Lt. Gates (Adjutant) | |
| Movita | ... | Guadalupe (Col. Thursday's cook) |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
125 min | West Germany:84 min (cut version)Country:
USAColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)Certification:
Australia:G | Iceland:L | West Germany:6 (nf) | UK:U | USA:Approved (certificate #12819) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Norway:16 (1948) | Finland:S | Spain:T | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) (2002)Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Cinematographer Archie Stout and John Ford used infrared black-and-white film stock, developed originally for medical and scientific researches and which doesn't sense the blue and records that color as black, in many exterior scenes shot in the Monument Valley to enhance the clouds and the rock formations. Ford learned that technique from Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa that he worked with for The Fugitive (1947). moreGoofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Cpt. Yorke with Sgt. Beaufort first sets out to see Cochise he simply heads off on his horse in to the desert, taking no water or supplies (there are no packs on the two horses). This journey must be at least day each way as the whole of the US Cavalry has failed to find Cochise. moreQuotes:
Lt. Col. Owen Thursday: Captain Yorke?Captain Yorke: I'm Captain Yorke, sir. I bid you welcome, General Thursday.
Lt. Col. Owen Thursday: I'm not a general, Captain. A man is what he's paid for. I'm paid in the rank of Lt. Colonel.
Captain Yorke: I'd remembered you as a general from the war, sir.
more
Soundtrack:
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon moreFAQ
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Fort Apache
This beautifully shot western--the first in John Ford's so-called Cavalry Trilogy--about a fatuous Lieutenant (Henry Fonda) whose hubris seriously endangers an isolated frontier outpost, grabbed me by the throat in its quietly scathing indictment of military leaders who needlessly risk the lives of their soldiers to win vague notions of heroism for posterity.
Fonda's Lieutenant Colonel Thursday seems an obvious stand-in for General Custer and the film, despite its reputation, seems less derogatory toward Native Americans than keen to extol the virtues of honorable combat agreed upon between two forthright leaders. Note the penultimate scene, occurring after the massacre, in which Wayne, Thursday's successor, wearily addresses reporters eager to talk about Thursday's `legacy': A glossy portrait of the Lieutenant lords over the room, as Wayne discusses Thursday's merits, while looking out fondly at his battalion, their reflection superimposed over Wayne's gaze. This film is not anti-war, rather pro-service and pro-battle. It is not, however, supportive of egregious fronts to the sanctity of human life; a rather interesting contra-distinction, to be sure.