Fort Apache
Short description
Fort Apache is a Western set at a remote cavalry outpost on the frontier, where soldiers are hardened by years of fighting Mescalero Apaches. The arrival of Owen Thursday, a Civil War general reduced in rank to lieutenant colonel, brings a change of command and a clash of outlooks. Thursday is bitter about the posting and determined to restore the standing he feels he has lost, while Captain Kirby York, an experienced officer who knows the Apache and their chief Cochise, favours caution. Thursday's insistence on pursuing his own policy against the warnings of his subordinates sets him on a collision course with Cochise and with the men he leads.
John Ford directed the film, the eleventh of the thirty-one features he made in chronological order, following My Darling Clementine and preceding 3 Godfathers. Frank S. Nugent wrote the screenplay and Merian C. Cooper produced. John Wayne plays York, Henry Fonda plays Thursday, and Shirley Temple appears as Thursday's daughter Philadelphia, with Pedro Armendáriz, Ward Bond and George O'Brien among the credited cast of forty-three.
Released in May 1948, the film had a budget of about three million dollars and took roughly the same amount at the worldwide box office. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.4 from around twenty-one thousand votes, and on TMDB a rating of 7 from 428 votes. A critics' rating of 8.6 from twenty-one reviews places it well above those audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- In addition to the black and white version, a color version of the film also exists.
- Bad weather often caused delays during filming, so John Ford found a local Navajo shaman. The director offered the Native American one hundred dollars if he could predict the weather. For several days, the forecasts came true, but one day the shaman said he could no longer predict it. When the director asked why, the Native American replied that John Wayne had taken his radio.
- Joseph Breen (1888-1965, an influential figure in American cinema, he applied the so-called Hays Code to film production) had some issues with the script. He was particularly concerned that the scene of men working with manure might be considered indecent, and he insisted that the shots of the dead soldiers be shown fleetingly and without detail. Furthermore, he insisted that the film not show a toilet, and that scenes involving drinking be minimized. In addition, Breen insisted that director John Ford (1894-1973) be in constant contact with Mel Morse, the director of the regional branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, regarding all scenes involving horses and other animals.
- By Ford's decision, Apache Indians were portrayed by Navajo Indians, as he considered them natural actors and, moreover, very reliable. Ford himself treated the Indians with respect, and they enjoyed working for him. The Indians generally liked it when filming started nearby, as it meant an opportunity for extra work. They traveled vast distances by wagon to the set and knew they could count on a decent meal on Ford's set. The film required 200 Navajo Indians to play the roles of warriors, and another 100 women and children, as well as 100 extras to portray the regular army.
- During filming, stuntman John Hudkins (1918-1997) broke his spine – a horse fell on him during the filming of a scene where a wagon with ammunition capsizes at high speed on a sharp turn (this scene remained in the film). Fortunately, Ben Johnson (1918-1996)'s intervention prevented even more serious consequences. For this, Argosy Pictures Corporation signed a seven-year contract with him, and he played significant roles under that contract. It took Hudkins a year to recover.
- Cinematographer Archie Stout (1886-1973) and John Ford used infrared black and white film (which was originally created for medical purposes and scientific research) for filming in Monument Valley. This film did not register blue color, showing it as black, which added extra drama to the image. In infrared imagery, the actors' skin looked too pale, so they had to use a lot of makeup.
- While Frank S. Nugent (1908-1965) was working on the script, John Ford went to Monument Valley to scout locations. Fully understanding the need to keep Argosy Pictures Corporation afloat, Ford spent six months planning the shooting schedule, managing to reduce the film's budget from $2.8 million to $2.1 million and finish filming in 44 days instead of the originally allocated 77 days.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
