sandcrab277 Perhaps the only film henry fonda had to actually act in because he wasn't playing henry fonda... i didn't care for his role either ... i'm sure john ford made his gnash his teeth over and over to get this performance ... shirley temple was the best in this film ... its probably the only film she was in that i liked ... john wayne played john wayne very well...

Leofwine_draca FORT APACHE is quite possibly my favourite of the John Ford westerns I've watched thus far, featuring a winning combination of male stars Henry Fonda and John Wayne. The story is a thinly-guised version of the famous Custer tale in which a lieutenant colonel's hubris and hatred of the Apaches leads to an ill-advised venture against them, ultimately spelling disaster. Although the running time is lengthy, this is a well-mounted production that has a bit of everything, from humour to drama, romance to tragedy. Wayne's upstanding protagonist is a good guy to vouch for, Fonda's acting is commendable, and the supporting cast is chock-full of familiar faces including a grown-up Shirley Temple alongside Victor McLaglen, Ward Bond, Grant Withers, et al.

Magenta_Bob Having loved the Ford/Wayne collaboration The Searchers and in general become more positive towards "classic movies" since I last saw Fort Apache, I was hoping it would have something of a renaissance now, but no, it's still pretty lame. It's not downright bad, just very…not interesting in any way. The barren Arizonan landscapes are cool when they don't look too much like a set, although the colorization I watched looked slightly cheap. Henry Fonda is pretty good as the overzealous colonel, determined to gain glory despite having been sidelined by the US army, and when his conflict with good guy John Wayne intensifies, it is elevated to a decently interesting question of honor and the rights of the Native Americans.

Scott44 I agree with cstotlar-1 (Uncomfortable Mismatch, cstotlar-1, 19 June 2012) and ccthemovieman-1 (Not Deserving Of The High Marks It Gets, ccthemovieman-1, 13 March 2007) that Fort Apache is disappointing. I disagree with James Hitchcock (Fine, if dated, drama of men at war, James Hitchcock from Tunbridge Wells, England, 24 July 2010) that it portrays the Indians sympathetically. There's a substantial amount of racism present here, as with other Ford films (most notably the Searchers).The story depicts the soldiers at Fort Apache very favorably. As with almost every other war film ever made, Ford fills his company with his familiar group of players with everyone at least in their mid-40s (including some at grandfather age). You don't see many young men, the kind that actually die in real wars. The age of Ford's regiment reduces the tension we might feel with younger cast members.There are many camera-mugging scenes that are rather painful to watch. For example, Ford seems terribly impressed with Victor McLaglen's comedic skills, but McLaglen never delivers. The scene with the new recruits is particularly bad.Henry Fonda's Lt. Col. Owen Thursday repeatedly behaves unexpectedly, such as when he orders John Wayne's Capt. Kirby York to the rear to escape the oncoming battle. In real life, Thursday would order his rival to the front lines while he himself stayed back. That's how military commanders have done it as long as they have existed.Still, Fonda and Wayne are both good enough, saving Fort Apache. Fonda is playing against type as a glory-hunting racist. His rejection of the man his daughter (implausibly named Philadelphia Thursday) loves is another nonsensical plot turn, particularly since Lt. Michael O'Rourke is a war-hero who went to West Point. He should be at the top of Thursday's social pecking order, not below it.The scenes with Wayne meeting up with Cochise and the Indians are well done. The Indians are rendered sympathetically at this time. However, when we see them calmly massacring the cavalry charge the sympathy is erased.The battle scenes are interesting if you can tolerate many horses being made to fall to the ground. About the best quality of the battle scenes are the apparent speed with which the horses are galloping.Fort Apache is for people who like watching white, middle-aged soldiers depicted heroically; or for watching John Ford's stock company mugging for the camera. Ford, Wayne and Fonda have all been better elsewhere. Fort Apache doesn't inspire multiple viewings.