Apache Fury (1964) Poster

(1964)

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5/10
This average vintage Chorizo Western packs thrills , horse pursuits , Apache attacks , action and fights
ma-cortes27 September 2020
So-so Paella Western about confrontation between the stagecoach passengers and Indians led by the famous Apache chief Geronimo . This thrilling Tortilla Western packs zooms , thrills , shootouts , go riding , noisy action , chases and Indian attacks . A group of stagecoach passengers (the stiff judge Jesús Puente , his fiancée Nuria Torray , Pastor Serrador, Julio Pérez Tabernero) are attacked by Indians and all of them take refuge at a rest stop . The stagecoach arrives in a wagon station that has come under Indian attack , it is an old , puny fort in ruins , they find out it has been attacked by natives and, subsequently, there are several casualties all around due to the Apache assaults . The judge (Jesús Puente) meets the station master (Frank Latimore) who results to be the man once judged and condemned , and the latter seeks revenge . The wagon is also carrying a large sum of money, and some crooks (Mariano Vidal Molina) use their shrewdness in order to take the cash . All the while the Indians have a very strong reason for wanting one of the passengers, he mistakenly murdered a chief of some friendly Indians. The Indians led by Geronimo attack on and on the wagon train station that is used as a sanctuary by a stagecoach while taking refuge at a scrawny fort .

A routine Gazpacho Western with assaults , treason , go riding , shootouts and drags at times , balancing in ups and downs . The plot summary is plain and simple : a stagecoach is attacked by Apache Indians and then they take shelter at a station , being besieged by the known leader Geronimo . It's a low budget film with ordinary actors , technicians, passable production values and middling results . This moving Tortilla Western blends decent action scenes , shootouts , stirring Indian charges , evocative cinematography and many other things ; all meld together under Jose Maria Elorrieta's mediocre direction . Although the story has been told before , ordinary filmmaking and so-so acting win out , but it results in an acceptable Western adventure flick . It is a combination of overwhelming crossfires and full of villainy , romance , fights and heroism . This is one of the few Chorizo Westerns in which appear Indians , including Apache Chief Geronimo , using Spanish people as extras and stunts . Fair Gazpacho Western with a professional Spanish filmmaker , B-actors , a lot of Spanish secondaries and expert technicians . All in all , this film is predominantly a Spanish film rather than an Italian one . It's a utterly Spanish Western , though by that time to be ordinary Spanish/Italian co-productions in which were clearly dominated by the Italian contingent and the traditional leanings of the Spanish producers of the time have their stamp on the entire proceedings . The Spanish westerns of this era were far more likely to try and emulate their American source material than cultivate a distinctive style of their own the way the Italians were doing but their product , if you like traditional westerns remains watchable . Customary Western that doesn't follows the Sergio Leone wake , but it is proceeded in American models . It's an exciting western with overwhelming shootouts and facing off between the really sieged people and violent Indians . This picture bears remarkable resemblance to ¨Fuerte Perdido¨or ¨Massacre at Fort Grant" or "Doomed Fort" or "Massacre at Fort Perdition" shot at the same time in 1964 with similar director , actors and scenarios . Passable acting by the American Frank Latimore who starred some Westerns , as Spanish as Italian ones , such as ; ¨Charge of Canadian Mounted Police¨, ¨Los Cuatreros¨, ¨Zorro¨ and ¨Vendetta of Zorro¨ by Joaquin Roméro Marchent . Furthermore , Jorge Martin who played a lot of Paella/Chorizo or Tortilla Western filmed in Spain and Jesús Puente , a regular and notorious secondary player . Producer and director took advantage of the atmospheric exteriors from Seseña , Toledo , Colmenar Viejo and Manzanares Del Real , Aranjuez , Madrid and shooting a hastily assembled passable picture . In the movie appears usual support actors of the sixties such as : Mariano Vidal Molina , Aldo Sambrell , Julio Perez Tabernero , Guillermo Méndez , José Sancho , Rafael Albaicín , Frank Braña , Pastor Serrador , Alfonso De La Vega ; all of them performed a great number of Spaghetti/Paella Western .

This is a good-natured Eastmancolor romp with atmospheric cinematography from Alfonso Nieva , though a perfect remastering being necessary because of the film copy is washed-out ; in addition an evocative musical score by Fernando Garcia Morcillo . This "El Hombre de la Diligencia" was middlingly directed by José Maria Elorrieta , a hard-working craftsman who had already filmed other Westerns and adventures . He was a writer and director , especially known for Rosa De Lima (1961), Muchachas En Vacaciones (1958) , and made many other films until his early death at 53 . Spanish writer/filmmaker Jose Maria Elorrieta so consistently mixed the good with the mediocre that it became quite impossible to know what to expect from him next . As Elorrieta had prolific career , working from the 40s to 70s he directed all kind of genres such as Terror : ¨Escalofrío Diabólico¨, ¨La LLamada Del Vampiro¨, ¨El Espectro del Terror¨, ¨Las Amantes Del Diablo¨; Western : ¨Los Siete De Pancho Villa¨, "If You Shoot... You Live!", ¨Hombre De La Diligencia¨ , and adventures as ¨La Muchacha Del Nilo¨, ¨Conquistadores Del Pacifico¨, El Tesoro De Makuba¨, ¨La Esclava Del Paraíso¨ and ¨Hawk of Castile¨. Rating : 5 , mediocre Western movie , entertaining stuff that provides audience amusement . Enjoyable but ordinary production packs enough breathtaking fights , tempestuous romance and exciting situations for a good time . It will appeal to Eurotrash fans and Western movies aficionados .
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4/10
Familiar Cowboys & Indians story that doesn't work as well as its predecessors
Asgardian25 February 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Way back in 1939 a short story, Stage Station, was written by legendary western writer, Ernest Haycox, of Union Pacific & Stagecoach fame. This story was used at least twice by Hollywood, Apache Trail (1942) & Apache War Smoke (1952).

Now I know very little about Eduardo Guzmán, (aka Edward Goodman) who is credited with writing the novel that this movie is supposedly based on, but I can sure as hell spot the same story when it is used frequently.

Apache Trail & Apache War Smoke both credit the writing honours to Ernest Haycox, Apache Fury makes no mention of him, which I find very strange as the story used is practically a carbon copy.

A wagon train station is used as a sanctuary by a wagon that has come under Indian attack. The station master is known by some of the passengers and hanger-ons. The wagon is also carrying a large sum of money, which becomes the sole focus of a couple of no-goods. All the while the Indians have a very real reason for wanting one of the passengers, he mistakenly killed a chief of some friendly Indians.

There are some minor differences from the Haycox story, but not many nor are they important parts of the plot.

The genesis of this movie is very disappointing in my opinion.
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6/10
Fury of the Apaches
CinemaSerf29 May 2023
This isn't actually half bad. The acting and production are pretty nondescript, but the story is OK - a distant cousin of "Stagecoach" (1939) - featuring some folks travelling on the stage forced to hole up at a staging post to save themselves from some marauding Apache. To add some spice, there is an old score to settle between the star, Frank Latimore ("Loman") and a judge whom he knows stole his home from him many years earlier. Nuria Torray provides some (thankfully) sparse romantic interest, but essentially this is a siege western with a few somewhat predictable twists and turns whilst they try to keep their pursuers, who are plentiful but luckily couldn't hit a barn door with a shovel, at bay. It's no worse than plenty of American made movies of this genre and though pretty much forgettable it passes 90 minutes just fine.
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3/10
Only for real fans of Euro westerns
Wizard-825 September 2020
"Fury of the Apaches" (a.k.a. "Apache Fury") was released the same year as Sergio Leone's game changing western "A Fistful of Dollars", and there is interest in comparing both movies. "A Fistful of Dollars" was swiftly told, unfolded in a gritty manner, and had plenty of energy. "Fury of the Apaches", on the other hand, sticks pretty close to the style of westerns made in the United States in the late '50s to early '60s. It's much slower in pace, has less action, and has far more talking. Also, the way it's directed lacks any flashy style, though it picks some atypical locations in the Spanish desert to shoot on. But for the most part, the movie just plods along slowly with not very many surprises. I think that's because there was more of a Spanish influence on the movie than Italian; the Italians were much better at making lively Euro westerns. Anyway, there's not much to recommend in this movie unless you have great interest in seeing a Euro western that was made in a more conventional style before Leone came along and really shook the genre up.
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4/10
C-grade Spanish western
Leofwine_draca3 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
FURY OF THE APACHES is an early spaghetti western made before the stratospheric success of Sergio Leone's A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, and thus it has little in common with the Eastwood film. Instead it feels very much like an updating of the John Ford classic STAGECOACH mixed with Howard Hawks' RIO BRAVO, featuring a bunch of characters fending off a frenzied mob of Apache Indians who are more than a little upset about the sudden death of their leader at the hands of one of the group.

On paper, FURY OF THE APACHES sounds decent enough although it's the type of film let down by the lack of budget and expertise that makes it a lacklustre experience throughout. It's a noisy production, sure, with a lot of action scenes, but fewer of them are entertaining than you'd expect and the end result is all too familiar and much the same as any number of Ameircan B-movie westerns. The only time this film really rises above the norm is during a speeding stagecoach chase which is well staged given the constraints.
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4/10
We're all going to die so we might as well fight.
mark.waltz23 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
If I took a drink every time that Nuria Torray said something about the fact that the Apaches were going to kill them all, I'd be as drunk as the lout who makes a pass at her. There's nothing much to praise in this Spanish made western film which stars American actor Frank Latimore, an embittered man desperate to settle a score and entrapped with a bunch of people from a stagecoach camped out in this deep canyon valley where the Apaches attacks are quite brutal.

I'll praise the photography and give light thumbs up to the musical score, but it's pretty depressing considering how their fates seem ensured so in that way, Torray has a point. However, there's so many little plots surrounding this dour Euro western and the characters not especially fleshed out or unique. The acting seems to be nothing more than a bunch of adults reciting lines and often they aren't even engaging with one another.

In all fairness to the Apaches though, one of the characters does indicate a suspicion that they aren't really Indians but white bandits dressed up in native attire to hide their identity. They claim to know the Apaches from the nearby hills and debate their involvement, but circumstances prove otherwise. The ending plops down with a thud, although by that time, I had pretty much stopped caring how it resolved itself anyway.
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4/10
Apache Fury
coltras352 May 2023
In an old fort dedicated to the service of change of chivalry, show up three hired murderers and warn Lohman, the manager, who is about to get a stagecoach traveling in the former judge who unjustly condemned to five years in prison , and of course the husband murderer now promised the judge, Ruth, indicating further that brings a suitcase with many dollars. However, Lohman rejects the suggestion of the bandits. But when the judge and his girlfriend, the fort was attacked by Indians.

Not the the most engaging western I've seen. After a promising start with an Apache attack on a Stagecoach, tediousness sets in, thanks to the endless bickering among the occupants of the way station. Not entirely bad though as it gets progressively better midway with some fair drama, but don't expect earth shattering exciting. The hero and villain are bland - the action is ok. It's just a little flat. The scenery is good.
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9/10
Excellent Early Euro Western Cowboy & Indians Movie!!
Steve_Nyland16 May 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This movie RULES!

Directed by FEAST OF SATAN'S Jose Marie Elorietta before Spaghetti Westerns had become a bona-fide genre, FURY OF THE APACHES straddles the divide between Cowboy Movies and the Spaghetti approach by having the minimum story necessary to explain what is happening and let the action speak for itself. Even The Duke probably would have liked this nasty, violent, and immensely entertaining film that manages to NOT rip off FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, though mostly because it wasn't a hit yet when this was made.

THE PLOT: A group of disparate "Ark" type humans find themselves barricaded in an old Mission turned stagecoach station in frontier era Arizona after a young, hot-headed idiot mistakenly shoots & kills the chief of the local Apache tribe. Oops! The "Injuns" surround the makeshift fort, the arrows & bullets fly, personal conflicts turn deadly, and it is only a matter of time before the savages spill over the walls and hack everyone to death in an orgy of genocidal fury. THE END.

Seriously, though, this film has what most of the "great" Spaghetti entries lack, which is a genuine human story. Frank Latimore, an actor I am otherwise unfamiliar with, was well chosen to play the wrongfully disgraced former Army officer, now paroled and working the station with all of the cynicism of Bogie. And by Jove if fate hasn't sent the crooked judge who arranged for his misfortune into his very arms, complete with a fortune in hard cash and a pretty young wife to be (Liz Moreno, who is so gorgeous it almost makes you want to cry) who, it turns out, hates the bastard as well. Add a couple of ex-cons (one of them played by Spaghetti legend Aldo Sambrell, insane as always) who want to slit everyone's throats and make off with the goods, and THEN throw a thousand heavily armed Indian braves at them, and by golly you can kiss 90 minutes of your life good-bye. The film moves at a breakneck pace, complete with an ending that is oddly evocative of THE ROAD WARRIOR, which is probably the point, since George Miller doubtlessly grew up on the FORT APACHE type Cowboys Vs Indians thrillers that no doubt also inspired Elorietta & company.

FURY OF THE APACHES is also interesting in that it is one of the few Euro Westerns (filmed in Spain by an Italian & Spanish crew) to directly involve Native Americans. One of the things that always struck me as odd about Spaghetti Westerns is how they seemed to forget that there were Natives here before the Gringos and the Pistoleros both, but other than a few comic relief moments and Sergio Corbucci's painful, anti-fun NAVAJO JOE, there really aren't too many examples of Native Americans playing a big role in Spaghetti fare. A lot of that has to do with the simple logistics of how the films were made: If you're shooting in Spain, you tend to use Spaniards as extras, and so we'd usually watch stories about Gringos encountering swarthy Mexican banditos and curvy cantina Senoritas. This time, it's just good old Cowboys & Indians, though it is too bad that all we see of the Apaches are the kind of pop up target bad guys that the Bugs played in STARSHIP TROOPERS. And yes, I bet Paul Verhoeven saw this movie also at some point.

I wouldn't dare give away the ending, though I can confirm that fans of Elorietta's slanted twist on story convention will not be disappointed by how he dishes out the goods: Everyone gets what they had coming in the end, with even the young idiot provided an ample chance to redeem himself and save the others. Excellent musical score by Fernando García Morcillo, some good carnage and an interesting ensemble cast that really doesn't have a standout performance, but no weak spots either. SEEK IT OUT: Something Weird Video has a VHS release of the film you can order off their website.

Another excellent example too of how the great Eurohorror directors all plied their wares in the other genres before making their Gothic Classics; Jose Elorietta may be better known for his horror shockers, but this is easily my favorite of his films and I love Gothic Eurohorror. Not to be missed!!

**** out of ****
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