Apache Gold

Apache Gold is a 1963 Western adventure based on the characters created by Karl May, marking the first screen appearance of the Apache chief Winnetou and the frontiersman Old Shatterhand in this series. A railway company is building a line across the American West, and a criminal named Santer, who leads a gang, wants to divert the route through Apache land to reach a gold mine on ground the Apaches consider sacred. Old Shatterhand, working for the railway as a surveyor, learns of the scheme and tries to prevent a war by seeking contact with the Apaches, though they distrust him at first. His path crosses that of Winnetou, the chief's son, and the two men move toward an understanding.

Harald Reinl directed the film, the second in the chronological list of his works that includes Treasure of Silver Lake from the previous year, followed by Last of the Renegades and The Desperado Trail. Lex Barker plays Old Shatterhand and Pierre Brice plays Winnetou, with Mario Adorf as Santer, Marie Versini as Nscho-tschi, Chris Howland as Lord Tuff-Tuff and Walter Barnes as Bill Jones among a credited cast of twenty-six. Harald G. Petersson wrote the screenplay, and Horst Wendlandt produced.

Produced across Germany, Italy, France and Yugoslavia on a budget of about two million dollars, the film returned roughly thirty-seven million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.8 from around 5,100 votes, and on TMDB it also stands at 6.8, from 179 votes, indicating a modest but consistent response across both audiences.