Owen Thursday sees his new posting to the desolate Fort Apache as a chance to claim the military honour which he believes is rightfully his. Arrogant, obsessed with military form and ultimately self-destructive, he attempts to destroy the Apache chief Cochise after luring him across the border from Mexico, against the advice of his subordinates.
▶ Watch Trailer
John Wayne
Capt. Kirby York
Henry Fonda
Lt. Col. Owen Thursday
Shirley Temple
Philadelphia Thursday
Pedro Armendáriz
Sgt. Beaufort
Ward Bond
Sgt. Maj. Michael O'Rourke
George O'Brien
Capt. Sam Collingwood
Victor McLaglen
Sgt. Festus Mulcahy
Anna Lee
Mrs. Emily Collingwood
Irene Rich
Mrs. Mary O'Rourke
Dick Foran
Sgt. Quincannon
Director
John Ford
Screenplay
Frank S. Nugent
Tagline
"John Ford's Masterpiece of the Frontier!"
Status
Released
Original Language
EN
Budget
$2,500,000
Revenue
$3,000,000
Production
Argosy Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures
John Chard
May 29, 2019
Any questions? Fort Apache is the first film of what came to be known as John Ford's US Cavalry trilogy. Just like the other two, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon & Rio Grande, this is also based on a short story by James Warner Bellah. Originally intended to be shot in colour, it was however filmed in black and white with Ford still making spectacular use of the Monument Valley location. The story pri...
CinemaSerf
July 9, 2022
Certainly, I think, the best of the John Ford US cavalry trilogies this one. Henry Fonda is cracking as the honourable, but out of his depth, by-the-book colonel sent to run a ramshackle army post just as the Apache are on the rise again. He replaces the far more practically experienced John Wayne and soon it all gets a bit sticky. John Agar and Shirley Temple provide an amiable romantic sub-plot ...
Where to Watch
Rent
Buy
Search our entire catalog of thousands of movies across every genre.