Apache Trail

From MGM's B picture unit comes Apache Trail and the old saying in Hollywood is certainly true here such craftsmanship went into their B pictures at MGM that they would be top of the line at other studios. The story that Apache Trail was adapted from is by Ernest Haycox who wrote Stagecoach.

This is another stagecoach story with a group of men and women rapped in a stagecoach station with attacking Apaches. Among those trapped inside is Lloyd Nolan and it's him the Apaches want. His brother William Lundigan is the stationmaster. Will blood prove thicker than water?

Some of the plot elements and characters from Stagecoach you will immediately recognize. Apache Trail is not a classic like Stagecoach, but it's a competent and sturdy B western from that Tiffany of studios MGM.

Lloyd Nolan, cheerful black-hearted villain, shows up at his brother's stagecoach way-station, and menaces everybody there so he can get his hands on some loot. Will the denizens of the way-station force Lloyd outside the walls of the station, when justifiably irate Apaches march down the APACHE TRAIL to demand his hide?

This is a pretty good (if somewhat set-bound) western, featuring a nice villain turn by Nolan (who really does pull off both his trademark everyman likability and hiss-able villainy) and a ridiculous hot-blooded Latina turn by Midwesterner Donna Reed. There's nothing especially different about this one -- but the careful, somewhat slow MGM pacing and the generally good level of acting keep the subplots moving along. If you like Westerns, you might miss the stunting and outdoor photography you might get in other films like this, but you'll probably like what you see.

All in all, this is not a bad way to spend an hour and a half.

Lloyd Nolan and William Lundigan are unlikely feuding brothers in this modest programmer that has faint echoes of Stagecoach about it. Although he was born and raised in San Francisco, Nolan sounds like he comes from the Bronx, which isn't a good fit for a cowboy. He's agreeably sleazy, though, and Lundigan makes a likable leading man.

Tom O'Folliard (William Lundigan) is released after a 90 days stay in jail. He took the heat for his criminal brother Trigger Bill Folliard (Lloyd Nolan). His former boss reluctantly gives him a second chance at a remote stagecoach stop. Señora Martinez (Connie Gilchrist) and her daughter Rosalia (Donna Reed) are eager to leave until they see him arriving. A stagecoach stops with high class lady Constance Selden and the payroll box for the soldiers. Next comes Tom's no-good brother followed by hostile Apache. The disparate group has to defend the isolated compound.

This starts as a good solid B-western with a drive-by judging. I can almost accept Donna Reed as Latina. It ends with some good Indian killing action although it all looks very familiar. It turns out that I've already seen the action with another version called Apache War Smoke (1952). Nevertheless, the action is good and the rest is fine.

A man with a shady past managing a stagecoach way station is reunited with his outlaw brother, whom he is convinced is up to no good. They are forced to put aside their differences to protect the town when a force of Apaches goes on the warpath, seeking retribution on a white man who deceived them.

A fairly dependable and enjoyable B-western about a pair of estranged brothers (William Lundigan and Lloyd Nolan) who are thrown together by an Apache uprising. Donna Reed provides the love interest, while Chill Wills supplies the philosophising, and there's an array of interesting characters - it was remade as Apache War Smoke, but Apache Trail is much better, more tighter and engaging with a sharp focus on the characters. The running time, however, is too short for more fleshing out the characters and having more tension. Lloyd Nolan takes the acting honours as a slimy criminal with an eye on the Stagecoach payroll, but his lingo and look seems to come out of a 1930's speakeasy. All he needed to do was flip a coin and say "Curtains."