Apache Blood (1975)

Director:

Vern Piehl

Writers:

Dewitt Lee (screenplay) and
Jack Lee (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 June 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot Keywords:

Opening Action Scene | Wild West | Indian | Chase | Scout

Cast

Ray Danton	...	Yellow Shirt
Dewitt Lee	...	Sam Glass
Troy Nabors	...	Cpl. Lem Hawkins
Diane Taylor	...	Yellow Shirt's Woman
Eva Kovacs	...	Martha Glass
Jason Clark	...	Army Dispatch Rider
Dave Robart	...	Soldier
William Chadwick	...	Soldier
Carl Mancini	...	Soldier
Earl Baldwin	...	Soldier
Wilford 'Whizzer' White	...	Indian
Carl Nelson	...	Indian
Jack Lee	...	Soldier at Fort

Directed by
Vern Piehl		(as Tom Quillen)

Writing credits
Dewitt Lee		(screenplay) and
Jack Lee		(screenplay)

Produced by
Vern Piehl	....	producer
Rowd Sanders	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Ed Norton

Cinematography by
Vern Piehl		(as Vincent Powers)

Film Editing by
Ronald L. Walker		(as Bill Irwin)

Art Direction by
William Winn

Makeup Department
Paula	....	hair stylist
C.J. Smith Jr.	....	makeup artist

Art Department
Mel Berns	....	props

Sound Department
Lloyd C. Lyman Jr.	....	sound director (as Lloyd Lyman)
Don Petelle	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Don Bell	....	camera operator
Mal Bernstein	....	still photographer
Will Berwin	....	gaffer
George Huth	....	key grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charlotte Carr	....	wardrobe

Transportation Department
Harold Lou	....	transportation

Other crew
Don Douglass	....	titles
Wes Farrow	....	production coordinator
Norma Lewis	....	script supervisor
Carl Neilson	....	head wrangler

Distributors

• Key International Pictures (1975) (USA) (TV)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Starlight

Special Effects

• Imagic (optical effects)

Also Known As:

"Pursuit" - USA (reissue title)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Carefree, Arizona, USA

Trivia:

Filmed in 1971 under the title "Sh'e ee Clit Soak", which translates as "A Man Called She", retained as the title song.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Yellow Shirt chases the mountain men through the desert, he is shown running without his rifle. As he closes in on the mountain man, he has his rifle.

Low budget Western made on Hollywood's fringe with former heartthrob

Ultra low budget, and not particularly good, western from the 70s. The vastly underrated Ray Danton shows what ruined his acting career... although he had been on the slide for some time. This was his third last film - he went on to direct, mainly in TV.

Still for those who enjoy watching films (as I do) made on Hollywood's fringe with former stars this is for you.

The reality is these types of films kept former leading actors (albeit some of them were second string leading men) working when they grew older and had been forgotten by the major studios. ( great actor stars like Rory Calhoun, Guy Madison, Cameron Mitchell, John Carradine and many more). It's would be quite a experience to go ( like Ray here) from "under contract to ...." to small B pictures and drive-in fair, but an actor has to pay the bills. And this fringe Hollywood can produce minor classics ( although this is not one of them) and must be an interesting place to work in. The only film to capture a bit of this fringe low budget Hollywood cinema successfully is Frank Oz and Steve Martin's comedy "Bowfinger".

As for the film itself, the direction is basic, the editing is rotten, and the acting is passable... just.( better direction could have helped). But still through it all Ray Danton shines, you can tell he is a breed apart from everyone else involved in the film.