The Battle at Apache Pass (1952)

When Cochise bands together with Geronimo and other Indian nations, Major Colton abandons his fort, heading towards Fort Sheridan, through Apache Pass. Only thing in his way are the Indians he used to call his friends.

Director:

George Sherman

Writer:

Gerald Drayson Adams (story)

Stars:

John Lund, Jeff Chandler, Beverly Tyler

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Lund	...	Maj. Jim Colton
Jeff Chandler	...	Cochise
Beverly Tyler	...	Mary Kearney
Bruce Cowling	...	Neil Baylor
Susan Cabot	...	Nono
John Hudson	...	Lt. George Bascom
James Best	...	Cpl. Hassett
Regis Toomey	...	Dr. Carter
Richard Egan	...	Sgt. Reuben Bernard
Hugh O'Brian	...	Lt. Robert Harley
Gregg Palmer	...	Joe Bent (as Palmer Lee)
William Reynolds	...	Lem Bent
Jay Silverheels	...	Geronimo
Tommy Cook	...	Little Elk
Jack Elam	...	Mescal Jack

Storyline

When Cochise bands together with Geronimo and other Indian nations, Major Colton abandons his fort, heading towards Fort Sheridan, through Apache Pass. Only thing in his way are the Indians he used to call his friends.

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Plot Keywords:

fort | geronimo | major | apache | knife fight | 

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Taglines:

A GREAT INDIAN LOVE -- AND A GREATER HATE! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Levante dos Apaches

Filming Locations:

Arches National Park, Moab, Utah, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The story combines two real-life elements, one that happened in 1861, the other (the battle itself) in 1862, making this something of a prequel to the previously filmed Broken Arrow. The events in that film took place in 1871 and 1872.

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Connections

Followed by Taza, Son of Cochise (1954)

User Reviews

Good Western, well-photographed

This is a good cavalry Western, with a respectable cast and well photographed. John Lund may have got top billing, but Jeff Chandler has the better screen presence, and possibly Richard Egan too.

It contains a couple of common minor flaws of Westerns of the 1950s: the uniforms and carbines relate more to the 1870s than the early Civil War period, and Susan Cabot is yet another white American actor/actress who doesn't convince as a native American, especially compared with the "real Indian" women who briefly appear. Chandler is more convincing as Cochise,and complements well the Canadian Indian actor Jay Silverheels, best known as Tonto in the Lone Ranger series, where he always struck me as being a bit wooden; here he gets some dialogue and a couple of good fights (which he loses)) as Geronimo.

There's a suggestion of an instant romance between Lund and Beverly Tyler as the wagon-train survivor, but this is so feeble it might as well have been omitted.

The action scenes are well handled, especially the climatic battle in Apache Pass.