Apache

Released Jul 9, 1954

1h 31m

Western

List

64%

11 Reviews

Tomatometer

45%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Adapted from the 1936 novel "Bronco Apache," this groundbreaking Western casts a sympathetic eye on the struggles of Native Americans in the post-bellum West. Massai (Burt Lancaster), the only Apache warrior still fighting after the surrender of Geronimo, is arrested and placed on a train headed for a Florida prison. After a daring escape, he begins the trip back home to his lover, Nalinle (Jean Peters), on foot -- but the journey is long and treacherous, and the authorities are closing in.

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

A western without strength or spirit that robs me of an hour and a half when I witness the journey of the rebel blue-eyed Indian played by Burt Lancaster. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 5/10

Mar 16, 2022

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Massai covers a lot of ground in his crusade (via plains and trains), and so does the movie -- perhaps too much, since there are some abrupt shifts in both message and characterization.

Rated: 2.5/4

Dec 17, 2020

Full Review

Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Don't be misled by the commonplace title - this is one of the most exciting and entertaining westerns Hollywood has produced in a cayuse age.

Oct 15, 2019

Full Review

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

The radicalized howl to Broken Arrow's amenable mewl

Feb 3, 2011

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Burt Lancaster joins a long line of white actors who played native Americans in this brutal Western, directed by the young Robert Aldrich, who was forced to change the ending.

Rated: B-

Jan 19, 2011

Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Colorful and rousing.

Aug 25, 2007

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Steve D

The film is ok but Lancaster is fantastic.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/07/24

Full Review

Jeff S

This western drama follows the determined lone Apache warrior Massai (Burt Lancaster), who refuses to capitulate even after Geronimo's surrender (Monte Blue). He is pursued not only by long-time foe Al Seiber (John McIntire) but also by Nalinle (Jean Peters), who is devoted to him even though he is running for his life. Western vet Mort Mills, who appeared on Gunsmoke six times, and the criminally underappreciated John Dehner are also along for the chase. This is not a traditional western featuring numerous gun battles in a conventional setting where good and evil are defined in more-or-less precise terms. But it is rather a thought-provoking look at the roles military men and their Native American counterparts played. It's also a story of love against overwhelming odds. According to at least one critic, young Robert Aldrich was "forced" to change the ending. Without knowing what that other ending was, it's hard to imagine it could've been better. This ending is a marvelous triumph in more ways than one.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/05/24

Full Review

William R. P

blue-eyed native Americans

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A minstrel show that should never been made. Racist white people were told that blackface was racist so they decided to wear "redface". It is a remnent of a genocidal past that lives on into the present. Minstrel shows are still being watching and making a profit entertaining racist white people at the expense of indigenous peoples culture. Minstrel shows are a form of cultural genocide and proves that AmeriKKKa today is just as racist as it was before native americans could legally worship their religion. Smutt minstrel films like Apache is proof that the United States is an apartheid state committing genocide against indigenous people.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The fact that there are white actors playing Native Americans, makes this movie slightly racist, but it is still well-worth watching to see Burt Lancaster preform some very impressive stunts throughout the chase scenes in this quality western.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A '50s Western in redface (is that what you call it?) was bound to be uncomfortable to modern tastes. But I went in expecting something of a Broken Arrow: patronizing in many of its assumptions but essentially well-intentioned. This isn't that. In fact, I don't think I'd even consider it an honest attempt to represent the Native point-of-view despite having an Apache as the lead. A real standout for me was the encounter with the Cherokee farmer, whose potted history of his tribe is absolute whiteman bullshit. Apparently the reason for their being driven west was that Cherokee couldn't learn to live at peace with the white men. Only after they had been driven from their homes and humbled did they consent to sit down and be instructed on how to farm and live peaceably. No Cherokee before or since would recognize this story. The Cherokee WERE farmers before they were driven out by white men hungry for more land. There is no way to make the Trail of Tears and all their other misfortunes the Cherokee's fault you racist imperialist douchebags is what I wanted to yell at the screen. And this generally ignorant depiction is exactly what we get for the rest of the film. Indians Like Children. Need Good Beating To Learn How Behave. And yes, they talk just like that. Even to each other when they're presumably speaking Apache. Ugh. Which is a shame because there's the making of a good film in here. The Apache warrior consumed with revenge but forced to find a way to live has the potential to be interesting if the film could only forget for a minute that it's being written by white guys and genuinely take the lead's side. And it's not completely without nuance. Not all white guys are good, particularly an American soldier who seems just as set on fighting as the Apache is. But the ground-level refusal to conceive that any form of prejudice could exist in American-Native relations means that the film is basically a call for Native Americans to be more grateful to their conquerors for teaching them how to grow corn (a plant native to the Americas!) and granting them peace.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

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Robert Aldrich

Director

Burt Lancaster

Massai

Jean Peters

Nalinle

John McIntire

Al Sieber

Charles Bronson

Hondo

John Dehner

Weddle

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Synopsis

Adapted from the 1936 novel "Bronco Apache," this groundbreaking Western casts a sympathetic eye on the struggles of Native Americans in the post-bellum West. Massai (Burt Lancaster), the only Apache warrior still fighting after the surrender of Geronimo, is arrested and placed on a train headed for a Florida prison. After a daring escape, he begins the trip back home to his lover, Nalinle (Jean Peters), on foot -- but the journey is long and treacherous, and the authorities are closing in.

Director: Robert Aldrich
Screenwriter: James R. Webb, Paul Wellman
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., United Artists
Production Co: Hecht-Lancaster Productions, Linden Productions
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 9, 1954, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Mono

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