Apache

(1954)
Directed by - Robert Aldrich

Starring:
Massai - Burt Lancaster
Nalinle - Jene Peters
Hondo - Charles Bronson




Apache is set out in the dessert southwest in the 1890’s and details the story of the last “fighting” apache Massai. It begins as a peace treaty is signed between the apache and the United States government by no less than Geronimo himself. Apparently the US thinks that he and his warriors pose too much of a threat amongst their people so they ship them on a train to Florida (I mean WHO would want to live there, right?). As it happens Massai is also on the train and soon being unable to consign himself to a life as a farmer in a far off land, he jumps the train as soon as he has the opportunity.

Massai lands in a strange world - St. Louis. He’s picked out with no great difficulty as soon as he arrives. An angry mob chases him out of the city and he is left to wander back to his homeland. Along the way he meets a Cherokee man who has taken up farming. Massai doesn’t believe his eyes (he thinks the Cherokee killed a white man and took his house). Times have changed and fighting won’t do any good. The Cherokee man tells Massai “I learned that the only way to live with the white man was to act like one.”

However we still have faith that Massai won’t give up his war drum just yet. If he did it would make for a pretty boring film. Anyways, after a grueling journey Massai finally reaches his people and is promptly handed in by his own chief. Massai has lost trust in everyone by now and has no one except the chief’s daughter who is willing to die for him (literally).

It is man against the world at this point. Massai becomes a one man army. Will he fight to the death or will love conquer in the end? It certainly didn’t end in the way I expected and that is one good thing about this film. It doesn’t try to portray Native Americans as bloodthirsty scalp-hungry renegades. You begin to see they have a reason to fight. They have been on this land for hundreds if not thousands of years and their very way of life is threatened.

Burt Lancaster does a good job as an Apache - even though no amount of makeup can make him look the part. There isn’t a lot of that broken English we hear from Native Americans in many westerns either. Lacking also are the typical chase and shoot-’em-up scenes. If you’re looking for a western that isn’t western and where the “Indians” aren’t the bad guys than this is for you.

2 ½ stars