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"Ah aha aha ahaaaa - they call him Captain Apache".

"Well any film that provides you with an opportunity to hear Lee Van Cleef singing not just once, but twice has got to be worth a viewing" I thought to myself. "I'm sure it can't be as bad as I've been told". Well in truth it IS that bad. But it doesn't make it unwatchable! Lee Van Cleef plays an Apache Captain within the Army that is sent to investigate the murder of a Commissioner, and discover the meaning of the dying man's last words "April Morning".

It plays like a murder mystery in a western setting, with numerous characters introduced throughout that appear to have heard the phrase "April Morning", but are either attempting to solve the riddle themselves, or are shot before they can speak. These include gunrunner Griffin (Stuart Whitman), the blonde temptress Maude (Caroll Baker) and the equally teasing Rosita (Elisa Montes). And from a plot perspective, that is pretty much it (well, without solving the mystery that is!). Yes, it sounds very simple, but in actual fact the story is quite convoluted.

The soundtrack is hysterical - the title track in particular being so bad that you just love it - with Lee Van Cleef narrating to a tune so catchy that it would put professional purveyors of pop to shame! And you still get his rendition "April Morning" at the end of the film to look forward to.

Whilst it is quite poor Spaghetti Western fare, and a perfect example of the deterioration of the genre during the seventies, it does have three main factors that make it quite watchable :

1 - Lee Van Cleef himself - although this is a real LVC by numbers effort, the man has a screen presence that can rescue even the worst of films.

2 - The afore-mentioned theme tune.

3 - Caroll Baker and Elisa Montes (thats just the male hormones working! And anyway ladies, you get the bonus of a near naked Lee Van Cleef, so no accusing me of gawping!).

Aside from this, there are some really good moments (Captain Apache insulting the two twins, the death of the Mexican General (played by Jose Bodalo) and a handful of other scenes that I chuckled at at the time but have since left my mind). At times the editing between scenes was quite poor (at one point jumping from Captain Apache in bed with Maude, to them discovering the hanging body of the key witness). Well hung!

Don't let me put you off watching it, because it is an example of a film being so bad its good. I would never have imagined however that Lee Van Cleef crooning would be the highlight of a film!

In spite of continuing abuse from the surrounding people the army life has obviously made good to Van Cleef. The hair from his upper lip has moved on the top of his head, multiplied and grown darker in color. He has never looked as good, relaxed and fast with women. He has never looked as much a comic book westerner either. Check out the fancy leather jacket and how he sucks in his whole belly while posing in a loin cloth.

Now seriously, this is a funny western without really being a western comedy. The cast and the director must have had a lot of fun too doing this and getting paid for it. The heavy hallucination scene jumps out as the most fun, even though the whole film seems like a mad dream. It is like something lifted out of a really old comic book. Gladly, I like a lot of comics and movies that are so bad they transform into good in a whole another context. All the like minded cultured ones, be informed.

By the way, the story of this film brings to mind something similar from Jean Giraud's great Blueberry comics albums. And the excellent movie 'Blueberry' having been hailed as the first psychedelic western with mushroom munching... sorry, Captain Apache kind of got there first. And he sings too!

This is an outlandish and muddled American/Spanish Western starred by the great Lee Van Cleef. A native-American Captain Apache (Lee Van Cleef in the title role) is investigating a murder , some words : ¨April Morning¨ hold a special key about its solution. He deals with a suspect gunrunner (Stuart Whitman) and a gorgeous saloon girl (Carrol Baker). Meanwhile the captain is pursued by some cutthroats ( Percy Herbert, Tony Vogel) and uncovers an assassination scheme.

This offbeat Western packs shootouts, action Western, violence, some touches of humor and strange images about witchery and necromancy. Packs a cynic and ironic portrayal of a rough captain Indian and his exploits in Old West gunning down enemies with one-dimensional roles and dozens of stereotypes who cross his path. The picture turns out to be another Spaghetti Western which during the 60s and early the 70 were ordinarily shot in Spain. Numerous support cast full of secondaries from Spanish/Italian Western as Jose Bodalo,Ricardo Palacios, Dan Van Husen,Charly Bravo, Milo Quesada, among others. The tale is filmed in Texas Hollywood,(Almeria,Andalucia, Spain) and partially in the fortress built for ¨El Condor¨(John Guillermin also with Cleef) by the production designer Julio Molina . Nevertheless, today the fort has been crumbled and only remains some ruins. Rare musical score and songs are played by Lee Van Cleef. Atmospheric and colorful cinematography by John Cabrera. The movie is produced by Milton Sperling (¨Battle of Bulge¨), Irving Lerner(¨Royal hunt of sun¨) and the prestigious screenwriter Philip Jordan (the classic ¨Johnny Guitar¨ and ¨Bad man's river¨ again with Van Cleef). The motion picture is regularly directed by Alexander Singer. The flick will appeal to S.W. buffs and Lee Van Cleef fans .

Produced by America and Spain, this stars Lee Van Cleef as a Union Army... Apache Captain (!) He's out to discover the meaning behind "April Morning" , a dying agent's last words. With very few leads, he starts a tense alliance with a corrupt gun-runner named Griffin (Stuart Whitman), but finds he'll have to work quicker if he's to find out information as his contacts have a rather annoying habit of dying - and just before they tell him as well. The film also stars Carroll Baker (Giant, The Big Country) and Percy Herbert, a bit-part Brit-actor who featured in "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962) and a couple of "Carry On..." films.

The action scenes here work well, and the humour (mostly intentional) is fairly amusing. Many of the scenes are filled with tension - and the mystery of April Morning is played out well enough to sustain interest and keep you gripped right 'till the end. The music is hardly in the traditional style most westerns follow, although saying that the soundtrack is fine as it includes the novelty of hearing Van Cleef sing "Captain Apache" and "April Morning" with whom, if the lyrics are to be believed, he apparently has a date.

I found this film really enjoyable and very entertaining. After viewing it, I can't get the title song out of my head, although that's most likely a negative point. With the right amount of action and suspense, and a dollop of good humour, this is a movie for little boys of all ages. Recommended.

Alexander Singer's "Captain Apache" of 1971 is often regarded as one of the worst Eurowesterns ever made. I am a Spaghetti Western enthusiast, and I've seen many many Eurowesterns (I won't call this a Spaghetti Western, since it's not an Italian production, and neither the director nor the supporting actors are Italian) and I agree that Captain Apache is certainly a bad movie, although I would not go so far to call it one of the worst Eurowesterns. It actually has some very funny moments, and if you regard it as a comedy more than a Western that is supposed to deliver suspense, gunplay, atmosphere whatsoever, it will definitely entertain.

Lee Van Cleef is one of my favorite actors, this movie provides the exceptional opportunity to hear Van Cleef sing. His singing qualities are terrible, he sings two songs in this movie "April Morning" and the main theme, "Captain Apache". While "April Morning" is very funny to her because it sounds so damn terrible when Lee Van Cleef sings, "Captain Apache" is far from good, but not that horrible, since he doesn't sing but just speaks the text in this one.

Van Cleef doesn't have his trademark mustache in this one, he plays a native American army captain, Captain Apache, and is constantly referred to as 'redass' by other characters in this movie. The only other Spaghetti Western Regular in "Captain Apache" is José Bólado, whom Spaghetti Western fans should know for his role in Sergio Corbucci's masterpiece "Django" of 1966. I also recognized Dan Van Husen, who played one half of a pair of flamboyant, idiotic (and hilarious) twins in this, I had seen him in "Light The Fuse... Sartana Is Coming" and in "Cut Throats Nine".

All things considered, "Captain Apache is a bad film, if you consider it as a Spaghetti Western and expect qualities like great style, a cool score, suspense and gunplay or interesting Antihero characters. It works as a comedy, however, and I don't even think that most of the hilariously stupid elements were unintentional. I personally think that the director was quite aware that he was directing a very cheesy flick, and he probably tried to compensate the unintentional comedy factors by adding (admittedly cheesy) humor that was quite intentional. I don't have the slightest doubt that Lee Van Cleef was 100 % aware that this would be one of his worst, if not his worst film, and he took it with a sense of humor and tried to make the best out of it.

I recommend "Captain Apache" to Eurowestern fans, simply for the fun factor and for the opportunity of hearing Van Cleef sing. People not familiar with the Spaghetti Western genre, avoid this, and watch the genre masterpieces with Lee Van Cleef such as "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" (one of the greatest movies ever made and my all-time favorite), "For A Few Dollars More", "The Big Gundown", "Day Of Anger" or "Death Rides A Horse" instead.

Don't expect anything that could be taken seriously, but I still recommend this to my fellow Spaghetti Western fans, just for the heck of it. Lee Van Cleef is always worth the time. 4/10

Spanish production from director Alexander Singer, an inferior descendant of the spaghetti western taken from S.E. Whitman's book, has Apache Indian Lee Van Cleef, an Army Captain in the Old West, butting heads with a shifty-eyed land baron (Stuart Whitman) who is predictably up to no good. Cheaply-made, and with laughable dubbing, though with a great deal of eccentric characters and intentionally-funny dialogue. Odd to see method player Carroll Baker in these dusty surroundings, but she's very energetic. Fans of Sergio Leone's vastly smoother and more slick genre epics will nevertheless find a decent movie companion here. ** from ****

This film recently was aired on the Encore Western channel. I was surprised to see that the film was in really lousy condition--with a faded print and some choppy sections. Clearly this film has seen better days--though at least they DID close caption the movie--a plus for folks like me who are a tad hard of hearing.

This is an odd Western for Lee Van Cleef. Though he plays a scary guy once again, so much of the guy is atypical of Van Cleef. First, the film begins with Van Cleef himself singing (actually, it's more like talking) the title song! Then, as the credits roll, you see that he's sporting a wig--hiding his very thinning hair. Then, you soon learn that he's an American-Indian officer serving with the US military! I guess he could somewhat pull this off, but this is clearly an odd performance for this actor.

Van Cleef has been ordered to go to Mexico to extradite some men who killed an American official. In the process, you learn about an evil boss-man (Stuart Whitman) who runs things and may be behind the murder--heck he's done a few killings himself. However, oddly, he offers to help Van Cleef in his mission.

In addition to the plot, there are a few scenes thrown in here and there that are pretty cool. First, if you really want to see a lot of Van Cleef, there's a very gratuitous scene of him in a loincloth--not bad for a middle-aged man. Second, the coffin scene is pretty cool--see it and you'll know what I mean. However, even with a few good scenes here and there, this certainly WON'T elevate this scene to the quality level off Van Cleef's classic westerns, such as "Fistful of Dollars" and "For a Few Dollars More". "Deathwork" is often enjoyable, but nothing all that special--and occasionally very goofy and strange (such as the ill-fitting drug scene). And what's with all these "April Morning" comments throughout the film?! Talk about bizarre! It certainly is a lesser Van Cleef film--not even up to the standards of his Sabata films.

After an Indian commissioner is found murdered in the Arizona territory a cavalry officer by the name of "Captain Apache" (Lee Van Cleef) is ordered to investigate. And in the course of his investigation he discovers that the last words uttered by the victim was "April morning". Somewhat puzzled he asks certain key people in the closest town what it means but he soon finds out that because he is half-Indian they want nothing to do with him. Not only that but there are a couple of people who have become unusually interested in these two words as well and they are determined to find out what it means at all costs. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that, although this was an usual role for Lee Van Cleef, he seemed well-suited for it. He also sang two songs in the movie but neither were sufficient for him to consider giving up his acting career over. In any case, while certainly not a great western by any means, I found it to be worth the time spent and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Western star Lee Van Cleef is cast here in the title role, an Indian (!) officer in the Union Army. Clean shaven, wearing a toupee, and caked under more makeup than usual, Van Cleef is on the case when an Indian agent (Luis Induni) is killed. The agents' dying words are "April morning", and Van Cleef must solve the mystery behind this phrase. Among the characters he encounters are Griffin (Stuart Whitman), a gun runner, Griffins' fiancée Maude (ever lovely Carroll Baker), and a pair of thugs, Moon (Percy Herbert) & Snake (Tony Vogel).

The prospect of Van Cleef playing an Indian is the main drawing card of this decent enough but unremarkable film. It's adequately directed by Alexander Singer, a veteran of mostly TV, and scored well enough, by Dolores Claman, but it's also choppily edited, and the story (based on a novel by S.E. Whitman), isn't told in a particularly interesting way (despite the presence of top screenwriter Philip Yordan). What does help, to a degree, is a certain irreverence at times, and vivid location shooting in Spain. More squeamish viewers may appreciate the fact that it's violent without being particularly gory.

The mostly European cast is entertaining enough to watch. Whitman and Baker are fine, but "Captain Apache" is first and foremost a Van Cleef vehicle. He offers a typically stylish and charismatic performance, and, in one hilariously absurd scene, must suck in his gut when he's made to disrobe in front of an Indian chief.

Unmemorable overall, but it's still recommended if one is a fan of the star.

Six out of 10.

At first when accidentally stumbling upon "Captain Apache" on late night TV and knowing absolutely nothing about it, I derived it would be a story similar to the one told in "A Man Called Horse" (and thus also a predecessor to "Dances with Wolves") and revolving on a white man fighting alongside the oppressed Indians. What else do you expect from a film with a title like that? It quickly becomes obvious this isn't the case, and the titular Captain (the almighty Lee Van Cleef), is simply an eccentric loner but a genuine Indian. He works as an Army officer, but none of the white cowboy-machos respect him because he's a "Redass" and the Indians don't trust him because he does a white man's job. He even has to remove his uniform whilst talking to the Indians, resulting in a shameless and gratuitous naked Van Cleef scene. The whole movie searches for the meaning of the words "April Morning", and the dialogs in the script make damn sure you don't forget them as they're repeated approximately every 7,5 seconds. April and Morning were the last words of a dying officer and they are believed to have an important significance. Captain Apache investigates and quickly becomes entangled in a large-scaled conspiracy of Mexican gun smugglers, quality prostitutes, corrupt army commanders and … genuine witches! The plot is often needlessly convoluted and I easily admit I didn't bother to comprehend everything, especially because the basic premise is rudimentary simple and actually gets revealed already in the two-line plot synopsis here on this site. How absurd is that? Throughout the whole film the words "April Morning" bathes in an aura of mystery and their meaning is successfully kept secret until five minutes before the ending, yet around here the whole film is bluntly summarized in two sentences. "Captain Apache" is overall very forgettable, but it does feature a couple of brilliantly comical moments (Van Cleef's drinking contest with the freaky twin bodyguards or his acid trip inside the witches' cavern), some decent shootouts and – not to forget – two songs sung by no less than Lee Van Cleef himself. This is the only time Lee was ever credited as a singer and that trivia aspect alone makes "Captain Apache" a curious must-see for fans of Euro-westerns. The presence of cult-siren Carroll Baker ("Baba Yaga", "Knife of Ice", "Bad", "Cyclone"…) as every male character's love interest is another good reason for avid cult fanatics to track down this nonetheless mediocre film.

Captain Apache is the story of an Apache Indian (Lee Van Cleef) who is a captain in the Union Army hired to find the man responsible for the killing of an Indian commissioner. He fights his way from town to town in Arizona and Mexico trying to find the meaning of "April morning", the last words of the murdered man. All roads lead to Griffin(Stuart Whitman), a wealthy and mysterious gun smuggler. The Captain gets to know Griffin,but remains suspicious as to whether he is friend or foe. As he gets closer to finding out the meaning of "April morning", he smells a conspiracy as all those so eager to give him answers start getting killed. With April fast approaching, he is running out of time.

This unique and fun Spaghetti Western is full of smart (albeit cheesy)dialogue, great action, and a groovy 60's soundtrack to boot. Memorable scenes include a shootout in a Mexican saloon overtaken by a witch, and the Captain's drug induced trip through old west ruins. Also worthy of mention is that two songs in the film are belted out by Mr. Lee Van Cleef, himself. Fans of this genre will find this one to be a real treat worthy of watching once or again and again.

just watched on talking pictures. its not a masterpiece but that doesn't matter. its a spag western from seventies that will take you on captain apatches investigations into..... no spoilers... but it has charm and all the scenes work (as long as you don't try to hard to get a grip of any plot). Lee Van is an Indian captain dude in a very 70s way and lol it worked for me. A MUST Watch for fans of lee. A gem!

Where do above average writers and producers go when they let down their guard and follow lowly influences? In this case it's Philip Yordan and Milton Sperling - well, seems they join the Spanish (Spaghetti copy) cheap stakes. But like all failed arts the results only sink them into undeserved oblivion. Italy's Sergio Leone seemed to have nearly perfected the trend of: 'We can mimic the USA with cheap copies of their own history' by producing low-grade stories of the American West -the problem was, they thought they could do it better. These genres simply copied each other in the quest for easy money - then went on to become tombstones in Boot Hill.

This one has the usual cast of once-were 'stars' who languished on the casting couches after a few marginal roles in OK features - then progressed quickly down the ladder to Euro/Spag land. Here, Lee Van Cleef takes the lead as 'Captain Apache' and even attempts to sing the credit tile songs! The El Paso DVD is presented in standard TVs 4x3 leaving the stars chopped off at the edges from the original 'CinemaScope' ratio, and looking appalling.

El Cheapo Director Alexander Singer, proves he just never 'had-it' even though some American historians of late are trying to hail him as an overlooked talent (off what?) Those who enjoy 'BAD' movies may get a giggle or two - otherwise, hit the trail Captain and please, follow it into a never ending sundown.

One of my favorite Van Cleef spaghetti westerns--more TV-show in look than a feature film and Van Cleef goes against type. I'm not surprised that everyone here dislikes it. The movie is definitely an acquired taste. I saw it during its theatrical run and wish I could find a decent print on DVD. TNT used to run it, I hope the western channel airs it someday. The very funny script is a non-stop barrage of one-liners but played so totally straight and dry by everyone, Van Cleef, Whitman, Carroll Baker, that it works. I've read that the cast had a good time making Apache. The twanging guitar soundtrack is terrific--totally unlike the music composed for most Euro-westerns. I'd love to buy the soundtrack CD.

There's some sharp dialogue in all this flim-flam, and several well set-up comic scenes all the funnier for being played dead straight. Caroll Baker, the girlfriend of Stuart Whitman's shady saloon owner and chief attraction of its brothel division, is found in bed by van Cleef with one of his subalterns. The latter is highly embarrassed but she isn't: and when van Cleef asks her "Aren't you supposed to be getting married today?" she replies flatly "The wedding isn't until two o'clock".

I would call this a spaghetti movie, but somebody forgot to put in the pasta. An extremely low budget, coupled with a dreary story and low-end talent provided the viewer with a look at how sloppy a movie can be. There must be a market for this bilge, for there are plenty of these turkeys to be seen.

This is a bizarre comic western, also known as DEATHWORK and THE GUNS OF APRIL MORNING. It's a UK/Spanish co-production that sees Lee Van Cleef - at the peak of his fame - playing the world's unlikeliest Native American, whose nickname here is "Red Ass" judging by the number of times people call him it. The narrative is a mystery yarn in which the Van Cleef character attempts to discover the meaning of the phrase "April morning".

It's an odd film indeed, one in which the tone is all over the place. You can tell it's a comedy more from the over-the-top nature of the camera shots and the one-liners than a genuinely funny atmosphere, but the whole thing is just too ridiculous to take seriously. I felt embarrassed for Van Cleef in his cast-against-type role and the production values are just sloppy, with US TV director Alexander Singer out of his depth and lacking the style of your typical spaghetti western filmmaker.

The cast is undoubtedly the most interesting about this film; it includes Hollywood-star-turned-giallo-actress Carroll Baker as a femme fatale whose appeal is stolen by the lovely Elisa Montes, and Britain's own Percy Herbert as a heavy. Stuart Whitman bags a large supporting role as an ally whose motivations are decidedly murky. CAPTAIN APACHE features some adequate action sequences to prop up the flagging narrative but it's a definite miss, unfortunately.

This is one of those films that is so bad it slips into a new form of entertainment. I get the impression that someone brought up on a lifetime of Roy Rogers and Batman tried to do a Sergio Leone. Its over labored screenplay is perfectly emphasized by the childish soundtrack.

One of the numerous westerns Lee Van Cleef made in the 70s, this one is pretty poor!

Cleef plays the title character, a Native American Indian who is also a US army captain (though how he got to be one is unexplained). He is investigating the murder of the Indian Commissioner, and attempting to find out the meaning of his dying phrase 'April Morning.' During his hunt for the baddies, he encounters numerous obstacles, including gunrunner Stuart Whitman and two heavies who give him hallucination inducing drugs.

The soundtrack is very dated (electric guitar during one fight) but the main and end titles are reason enought to watch-Lee Van Cleef sings! Well, on the title track of 'Captain Apache' he talks, but the end titles song 'April Morning' finds him singing! Couldn't they get anybody else? Or where they just having a laugh?

Some moments are fairly effective, but it's mostly rubbish, albeit unintentionally funny rubbish! The 'romance' with Carroll Baker is probably the worst point, although the unimaginably silly storyline should be named and shamed as well! So, watch this if you either:

a) want to have a laugh

b) are a spaghetti western nut

c) want to hear lee van cleef sing!

Captain Apache, a Native American Cavalry officer, needs to solve a mystery based on the last words of an old friend: "April morning". He realises an assassination is about to take place and no-one else can prevent it.

Filmed in Spain, this joins the extremely small group of English westerns and, like the others, it leaves much to be desired. Low value film compared to superior US westerns, it stars Lee Van Cleef and Carroll Baker.

...or the pop culture that defined the late 60's and early 70's,then you will get a kick out of Van Cleef crooning and,of course,kicking butt. If you watch this film looking for a deep,meaningful,thought-provoking film then you will obviously be in for a let down. However,if you are a fan of all things 60's and 70's including Spaghetti Westerns and Italian/Spanish cinema in general,then you will find this a delightful romp. While the plot is pretty much standard fare,it is a fun ride that will make you wonder just who will turn out to be the culprit in the end. Van Cleef could take the worst of scripts and make them workable. I think you could tell that Lee had fun with this movie and,according to an earlier comment,the whole cast seemed to join in the fun. I found an interview with Van Cleef online a while back and he mentioned Captain Apache as one of the films that he actually had a blast making. I had not seen the film then and after finally viewing it online...I could see the enjoyment in Van Cleef as he soaked up this character while not taking it all too seriously. As I said before,if you are like me and a fan of anything from that time period and spaghetti westerns in particular..you will love this film,if not,you will probably want to skip this one. I give in 9 stars because I understand what the film is intended to do..entertain,and it does that quite well. You can find it now at a site called tv4u for free(legal too).

Psychedelic Spanish-UK western stars a toupee wearing LVC playing a half-breed lawman investigating the death of a high ranking chief who begins to suspect a conspiracy involving prominent landowner (Whitman).

Lovely Carroll Baker co-stars as their mutual love interest, and Brits Percy Herbert and Tony Vogel play a pair of Whitman's sharp shooting thugs. Screenwriter Yordan's actress wife Faith Clift also appears as Abigail an attractive saloon gold-digger, whilst regular Spanish based US ex-pats Charles Stalnaker, John Clark, Dean Selmier, Bruce M. Fischer and Bud Strait all have supporting roles of varying importance.

There's plenty of tension as the elaborate mystery unfolds, combining conventional elements of suspense, western, crime, and political thriller into a strange but potent Euro curio that seems universally unliked. It's reminiscent of Yordan's other Spanglish films, offbeat and not for all tastes, although there's no denying the genuine intrigue and if all else fails, that swingin' theme song sung by crooner LVC himself should set things alight (his 'April Morning' closing track is a jazzy number too, even if the vocals are a little off-key).

A Native American born US Army officer, Captain Apache, investigating a murder, uncovers a presidential assassination plot.

This film was supposed to be the beginning of a new hybrid super hero series for TV but negotiations went no where and he property became a one shot feature film.

It also contains the worst title song you will ever hear.

The guy who directed this monstrosity was a TV director who worked on Lou Grant and Star Trek Voyager, among others.

He was devastated when this movie did not turn into a TV series. He thought it was his big break that would take him away from one short directorial forays like The Man from UNCLE and the Monkees.

Perhaps if you're going to make a spaghetti western you should firm in Italy, not Spain.

Just saying.

The movie is horrible.