1965's "Apache Uprising" was number 6 out of the 13 B-Westerns produced at Paramount by A.C. Lyles in the mid 60s, crammed full of incidents taken from better known titles, particularly John Ford's "Stagecoach." Rory Calhoun and Arthur Hunnicutt make an interesting team of drifters riding shotgun on a stagecoach to Lordsburg; like Berton Churchill, there's a corrupt businessman (Robert H. Harris) carrying a load of cash, and like Claire Trevor, there's a woman of ill repute (Corinne Calvet). The threat of Apache attack is of course present, along with the more immediate danger posed by deadly gunmen Gene Evans and an especially mean spirited DeForest Kelley, their boss (John Russell) only a few paces behind, just waiting to complete that big payday. Smaller roles are essayed by Richard Arlen, Donald Barry, George Chandler, and two actors making their final screen appearances, the still attractive Jean Parker ("Dead Man's Eyes," "Bluebeard") and Johnny Mack Brown, reduced to playing a lecherous sheriff. Best of all is Lon Chaney, now 6 for 6 in Lyles Westerns, doing the Andy Devine role of coach driver Charlie Russell, a hard drinking, lovable bear of a man, laughing and enjoying life no matter the danger. Present for 8 of the 13 Paramounts, Chaney rejoices in his biggest part yet, and happily survives to the very end. Despite so many familiar elements, Lyles makes it all work in unpredictable fashion, with John Russell getting his just desserts, while DeForest Kelley gets off lightly (offscreen, sad to say).
14 Reviews
An okay film made a lot more enjoyable due to DeForrest Kelley's psycho performance.
planktonrules23 September 2012
I have been on an A.C. Lyles kick recently--seeing about a dozen of his movies in the last week. This producer was known for making low-budget westerns in the 1960s that feature actors who were well past their prime. In other words, old guys--VERY old guys. Sometimes this didn't work very well (such as during fight scenes between VERY aged actors) but generally I like the films, as the actors, though out of fashion, still have it in most cases. And, interestingly, Lyles used many of the same actors in many of his films--and Richard Arlen in apparently ALL of them! This film stars Rory Calhoun and also features the likes of Lon Chaney, DeForrest Kelley, John Russell (all frequent Lyles performers), Gene Evans, Corinne Calvet, Johnny Mack Brown, and Red Barry. Brown, Kelley and Barry both were once big names in TV and B-westerns and it's nice to see them here.
The film begins with Jim Walker (Calhoun) and Bill Gibson (Arthur Hunnicutt) being attacked by Apache warriors. They manage to fight their way out and discover among the Indian dead souvenirs the Apache took of recent attacks on the US Cavalry. They soon meet up with some soldiers (led by Arlen) and inform them of what they found. Well, oddly, no one in town seems to believe them--thinking Walker and Gibson are over-blowing the problem. And so, the local stage decides to go anyway--even with the possibility of crazed Indians waiting to attack. Oddly, Walker and Gibson agree to go along on the stage to help protect the passengers. Unfortunately, a super-crazy hired gun (Kelley) is on board--and he's a born trouble-maker. You just KNOW that sooner or later, he and Walker are going to have it out once and for all. However, it becomes a lot more interesting when the gunman, his friend and his boss suddenly take everyone hostage. Now, the folks might not need to worry about the Apache. What's next? See the film and find out yourself.
In many ways, this film seems a bit like a reworking of the film "Stagecoach". It is NOT a remake--it just has a LOT of similarities--such as the 'hooker with a heart of gold' (Calvet) and the embezzler. Because of this, there's not a lot of originality here, though it was made more enjoyable due to Kelley's VERY florid performance. While not quite as enjoyable, Chaney was also quite good as a grizzled old coot. But, if the you watch the film, understand it is NOT high art! There are lots of sloppy problems with it--more than you'd usually find in a Lyles film. For example, there is a scene where Evans and Calhoun have a fist-fight--and it's VERY obvious they're using stunt-men. Heck, while Evans is balding, his stuntman has a full head of hair. Also, there is a HUGE rainstorm in the film--huge. And yet, the next day, the ground is completely dry--and I am talking about dusty dry! Obviously the director, R.G. Springsteen, was no genius.
Worth seeing if you love the genre or Lyles' productions, though this is not an especially great western.
The film begins with Jim Walker (Calhoun) and Bill Gibson (Arthur Hunnicutt) being attacked by Apache warriors. They manage to fight their way out and discover among the Indian dead souvenirs the Apache took of recent attacks on the US Cavalry. They soon meet up with some soldiers (led by Arlen) and inform them of what they found. Well, oddly, no one in town seems to believe them--thinking Walker and Gibson are over-blowing the problem. And so, the local stage decides to go anyway--even with the possibility of crazed Indians waiting to attack. Oddly, Walker and Gibson agree to go along on the stage to help protect the passengers. Unfortunately, a super-crazy hired gun (Kelley) is on board--and he's a born trouble-maker. You just KNOW that sooner or later, he and Walker are going to have it out once and for all. However, it becomes a lot more interesting when the gunman, his friend and his boss suddenly take everyone hostage. Now, the folks might not need to worry about the Apache. What's next? See the film and find out yourself.
In many ways, this film seems a bit like a reworking of the film "Stagecoach". It is NOT a remake--it just has a LOT of similarities--such as the 'hooker with a heart of gold' (Calvet) and the embezzler. Because of this, there's not a lot of originality here, though it was made more enjoyable due to Kelley's VERY florid performance. While not quite as enjoyable, Chaney was also quite good as a grizzled old coot. But, if the you watch the film, understand it is NOT high art! There are lots of sloppy problems with it--more than you'd usually find in a Lyles film. For example, there is a scene where Evans and Calhoun have a fist-fight--and it's VERY obvious they're using stunt-men. Heck, while Evans is balding, his stuntman has a full head of hair. Also, there is a HUGE rainstorm in the film--huge. And yet, the next day, the ground is completely dry--and I am talking about dusty dry! Obviously the director, R.G. Springsteen, was no genius.
Worth seeing if you love the genre or Lyles' productions, though this is not an especially great western.
"So the great hunter is now the hunted."
classicsoncall7 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I thought the screen writers were playing havoc with history here so I had to look a couple of things up. At one point Rory Calhoun's character Jim Walker states that the name 'Apache' means enemy. For some reason I doubted that, but checking a Dictionary.com entry I found that the word origin of 'Apache' comes from Mexican Spanish and quite literally means 'enemy'.
Then there was that business about the movie's sect of Apaches being known as 'Tonto's'. It sounded a little too reminiscent of the Lone Ranger to me, but again, it turns out the Tonto Apache was one of a group of Western Apache Indians and the word also refers to their dialect. The Chiricahua Indians who lived to the South of the Apache called them 'brainless people' or 'people without minds', a more sophisticated way of saying wild or crazy.
So once again I surprise myself with information I pick up in a movie Western. However all of this could have been put to better use in a more compelling story. I thought it kind of odd that the Cavalry troop under the command of Captain Gannon (Richard Arlen) gave such short shrift to Walker and his sidekick Bill Gibson (Arthur Hunnicutt) about the danger of Apaches in the vicinity of Apache Wells. I mean come on, it's right there in the name isn't it?
Now I'm on record in some of my other movie reviews as having a preference for John Russell as an outlaw, but man, he was pretty intense here, wasn't he? That nasty scar below his right eye was a bonus as far as I was concerned, although it did look like his make-up changed from time to time. And if that wasn't obvious enough, whenever Jim Walker got physical with one of the bad guys in a dust up you could clearly make out a stunt double filling in for him. I don't think I've ever seen it as noticeable before even though it happens all the time.
But the actor who takes the gold star here for 'over the top' is DeForrest Kelley and his manic performance as an all around lunatic stage robber; no self control whatsoever. With 'Star Trek' just around the corner the following year, I was waiting for him to come up with something like, "Jim, I'm an outlaw, not a good guy". And you know what, he would have been right all the way around.
Then there was that business about the movie's sect of Apaches being known as 'Tonto's'. It sounded a little too reminiscent of the Lone Ranger to me, but again, it turns out the Tonto Apache was one of a group of Western Apache Indians and the word also refers to their dialect. The Chiricahua Indians who lived to the South of the Apache called them 'brainless people' or 'people without minds', a more sophisticated way of saying wild or crazy.
So once again I surprise myself with information I pick up in a movie Western. However all of this could have been put to better use in a more compelling story. I thought it kind of odd that the Cavalry troop under the command of Captain Gannon (Richard Arlen) gave such short shrift to Walker and his sidekick Bill Gibson (Arthur Hunnicutt) about the danger of Apaches in the vicinity of Apache Wells. I mean come on, it's right there in the name isn't it?
Now I'm on record in some of my other movie reviews as having a preference for John Russell as an outlaw, but man, he was pretty intense here, wasn't he? That nasty scar below his right eye was a bonus as far as I was concerned, although it did look like his make-up changed from time to time. And if that wasn't obvious enough, whenever Jim Walker got physical with one of the bad guys in a dust up you could clearly make out a stunt double filling in for him. I don't think I've ever seen it as noticeable before even though it happens all the time.
But the actor who takes the gold star here for 'over the top' is DeForrest Kelley and his manic performance as an all around lunatic stage robber; no self control whatsoever. With 'Star Trek' just around the corner the following year, I was waiting for him to come up with something like, "Jim, I'm an outlaw, not a good guy". And you know what, he would have been right all the way around.
Mature actors
starwood-3413622 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Movie kept my attention. Stagecoach music enjoyable and almost makes the ride real. Have never seen so many slaps in the fighting. Russell and Calhoun were great. One wagon with a dead family include the hound dog starts out the film. After Calhoun and Hunnicutt bury them they are attacked by apaches. The two join a patrol that gets attacked by apaches again. Obvious when Calhoun and Hunnicutt are on top of stage that the coach motion was faked. The conversation is almost funny and the enjoyment of actors shows.
Rory Calhoun, DeForest Kelley and John Russell clash with Apaches at a way station
Wuchakk22 February 2022
A stagecoach hauling honest citizens mixed with a few dubious people travels through the Southwest wilderness during an Apache uprising with everything culminating at a way station. Rory Calhoun, Lon Chaney Jr. And Corinne Calvet are the protagonists while John Russell, DeForest Kelley and Gene Evans play the outlaws
"Apache Uprising" (1965) is an A. C. Lyles Western, who produced over a dozen 'B' Westerns in the mid-60s. These flicks were shot in about 12 days, give or take, using past-their-prime actors mixed with a couple up-and-comers. They were shot on town sets with a few sequences done in the nearby wilderness of SoCal. The teams Lyles gathered always knew what they were doing and did it competently and efficiently, albeit with little artistic merit and just a notch above a TV movie.
This one has elements of "Stagecoach" (1939), "Hangman's Knot" (1952) and "Black Spurs" (1965) with Rory making for a tall, dark Western protagonist; he should've been more popular. While it isn't as good as his previous "Black Spurs," it's still a solid traditional Western with fleshed-out characters and a well-written story, albeit a tad complicated.
Kelley, who would go on to fame with Star Trek the next year, is entertaining as an irascible psycho while the towering John Russell is even more grim as the scarred ringleader.
On the female front, Corinne Calvet was almost 40 during shooting and still alluring. I liked the bit about her unjustly being an outcast purely through gossip/slander (or perhaps I should say impurely).
The movie runs 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot at Vasquez Rocks, just north of Hollywood in the high country east of Santa Clarita, with studio stuff done at Paramount Studios and some stock footage from Arizona.
GRADE: B-/B (6.5/10)
"Apache Uprising" (1965) is an A. C. Lyles Western, who produced over a dozen 'B' Westerns in the mid-60s. These flicks were shot in about 12 days, give or take, using past-their-prime actors mixed with a couple up-and-comers. They were shot on town sets with a few sequences done in the nearby wilderness of SoCal. The teams Lyles gathered always knew what they were doing and did it competently and efficiently, albeit with little artistic merit and just a notch above a TV movie.
This one has elements of "Stagecoach" (1939), "Hangman's Knot" (1952) and "Black Spurs" (1965) with Rory making for a tall, dark Western protagonist; he should've been more popular. While it isn't as good as his previous "Black Spurs," it's still a solid traditional Western with fleshed-out characters and a well-written story, albeit a tad complicated.
Kelley, who would go on to fame with Star Trek the next year, is entertaining as an irascible psycho while the towering John Russell is even more grim as the scarred ringleader.
On the female front, Corinne Calvet was almost 40 during shooting and still alluring. I liked the bit about her unjustly being an outcast purely through gossip/slander (or perhaps I should say impurely).
The movie runs 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot at Vasquez Rocks, just north of Hollywood in the high country east of Santa Clarita, with studio stuff done at Paramount Studios and some stock footage from Arizona.
GRADE: B-/B (6.5/10)
A little better than the usual A.C. Lyles geezer western . . .
frankfob5 August 2002
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.
Rather good AC Lyles' material
searchanddestroy-119 March 2023
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.
A.C. Lyles to the Rescue?
JohnHowardReid7 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
SYNOPSIS: A stagecoach operator plans to rob a relay station of its gold. NOTES: Locations in the Mojave Desert.
COMMENT: While not quite up to their usual actionful, briskly-paced standard, this A. C. Lyles/R. G. Springsteen western is worth seeing if only for the opportunity of renewing screen acquaintance with such a grand roster of veteran players, particularly John Russell as the criminal mastermind, Johnny Mack Brown as a self-seeking sheriff, Lon Chaney as a laughing stage driver and DeForest Kelley as a schizoid gunfighter. Arlen's part is small, but Gene Evans is delightful as Kelley's sidekick. Technically, the film shows signs of hasty shooting, particularly in its variable color photography and obvious back projection. Production values are fair — though the film was made on a very limited budget, there is no utilization of stock footage.
COMMENT: While not quite up to their usual actionful, briskly-paced standard, this A. C. Lyles/R. G. Springsteen western is worth seeing if only for the opportunity of renewing screen acquaintance with such a grand roster of veteran players, particularly John Russell as the criminal mastermind, Johnny Mack Brown as a self-seeking sheriff, Lon Chaney as a laughing stage driver and DeForest Kelley as a schizoid gunfighter. Arlen's part is small, but Gene Evans is delightful as Kelley's sidekick. Technically, the film shows signs of hasty shooting, particularly in its variable color photography and obvious back projection. Production values are fair — though the film was made on a very limited budget, there is no utilization of stock footage.
Apache Uprising
coltras3526 March 2023
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.
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.
Starts Out Like STAGECOACH
boblipton14 January 2018
A motley assortment of passengers take the stage for Lordsburg and Apache Wells; two of them -- Rory Calhoun and Arthur Hunnicutt -- tell Richard Arlen that the Apaches burned a wagon train. I was all prepared for an A.C. Lyles produced remake of STAGECOACH. Instead, it switched halfway through and turned into something quite different.
It's still a Geezer Western, with all the actors of an earlier era, happy to pick up a paycheck: Red Barry. Jean Parker and Johnny Mack Brown in small parts, Lon Chaney Jr. as the coach driver, DeForest Kelly as the psycho gunman ... but in the end it switched gears often enough in surprising but sensible ways to keep up my interest, and turned into a tough, hard western.
It's still a Geezer Western, with all the actors of an earlier era, happy to pick up a paycheck: Red Barry. Jean Parker and Johnny Mack Brown in small parts, Lon Chaney Jr. as the coach driver, DeForest Kelly as the psycho gunman ... but in the end it switched gears often enough in surprising but sensible ways to keep up my interest, and turned into a tough, hard western.
DeForest Kelley Has Issues Here
bkoganbing14 March 2007
I've a real affection for the A.C. Lyles westerns which gave employment to a lot of old time players who were finding work increasingly hard to get because of the decline of the studio system and in some cases a refusal to work in television. But Apache Uprising took elements from Stagecoach, Rawhide, Broken Arrow, Coroner Creek, with a little bit of English Gothic thrown in the mix and it didn't come out well.
The English Gothic gets into it when the passengers of a stagecoach get held hostage in a relay station by three outlaws, with thunder and lightning flashing outside together with Apaches on the warpath. It comes right out of innumerable old English murder mysteries.
Funny thing that with all the old stars like Rory Calhoun, Corinne Calvet, John Russell, Lon Chaney, Jr., Johnny Mack Brown, the one you will remember from this film is DeForest Kelley. The original Star Trek was debuting this year and I'm willing to bet this was Kelley's final work prior to becoming wise old Dr. Leonard McCoy. Toby Jack Saunders is as far from McCoy as you can get. He's reminiscent of the outlaw that Kelley played in The Law and Jake Wade. He's one hateful punk with some serious self esteem issues.
I've seen every member of this cast do better work, even better work for A.C. Lyles and it's too bad the film was beneath the talents of all of them.
The English Gothic gets into it when the passengers of a stagecoach get held hostage in a relay station by three outlaws, with thunder and lightning flashing outside together with Apaches on the warpath. It comes right out of innumerable old English murder mysteries.
Funny thing that with all the old stars like Rory Calhoun, Corinne Calvet, John Russell, Lon Chaney, Jr., Johnny Mack Brown, the one you will remember from this film is DeForest Kelley. The original Star Trek was debuting this year and I'm willing to bet this was Kelley's final work prior to becoming wise old Dr. Leonard McCoy. Toby Jack Saunders is as far from McCoy as you can get. He's reminiscent of the outlaw that Kelley played in The Law and Jake Wade. He's one hateful punk with some serious self esteem issues.
I've seen every member of this cast do better work, even better work for A.C. Lyles and it's too bad the film was beneath the talents of all of them.
AC brought pleasure to western fans here in the UK
malcolm-webb22 November 2009
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.
A Terse Tale
richardchatten10 March 2021
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.
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 real villains aren't the Apaches.
mark.waltz16 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Another variation of the "Stagecoach" theme, this is another Rory Calhoun western with Apache in the title. However, the Apaches only play a small parts in this film that has the revelation not so surprising that the real villains are other white men, members of a wagon train led by Rory Calhoun and containing an alleged prostitute (Corinne Calvet) whom the good ladies of the town that they came from have demanded be told to leave. You've got a corrupt sheriff in that town (Johnny Mack Brown) and two white men involved in a crime involving stolen gold.
We know right away that future "Star Trek" doctor DeForest Kelley is one of the villains, but who is he reporting to? The wagon train undergoes unattacked by Apaches, ends up at a rest stop where all comes out, and romance begins to grow between Calhoun and Calvet.
When the Apaches find Calhoun and Calvet while searching for a wounded Apache the wagon train picked up, you get a rare opportunity to see their honor as they have a standoff with the villains, men who harassed Calvet while on the wagon train.
John Russell, Lon Chaney Jr., Richard Arlen, Arthur Hunnicutt, George Chandler and Jean Parker are among the many veteran actors who appear in this colorful but secondary A. C. Lyles western, passable but convoluted. Everything going on in the first three quarters seemed like a messy puzzle until the script writer decided that it was time to wrap things up neatly. Fine for a one-time viewing, but glad to have it off my list.
We know right away that future "Star Trek" doctor DeForest Kelley is one of the villains, but who is he reporting to? The wagon train undergoes unattacked by Apaches, ends up at a rest stop where all comes out, and romance begins to grow between Calhoun and Calvet.
When the Apaches find Calhoun and Calvet while searching for a wounded Apache the wagon train picked up, you get a rare opportunity to see their honor as they have a standoff with the villains, men who harassed Calvet while on the wagon train.
John Russell, Lon Chaney Jr., Richard Arlen, Arthur Hunnicutt, George Chandler and Jean Parker are among the many veteran actors who appear in this colorful but secondary A. C. Lyles western, passable but convoluted. Everything going on in the first three quarters seemed like a messy puzzle until the script writer decided that it was time to wrap things up neatly. Fine for a one-time viewing, but glad to have it off my list.
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