Aufstand der Apachen

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.

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).

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 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)

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.