Fort Apache

Sometimes, a Western moves at a mosey, appropriately enough. Here's an example, a film that takes its time getting to the heart of the story, though an excess of establishing scenes. Eventually, though, you wind up with a pretty good but not great cowboys and Indians flick. The story is basically just a backdrop to collection of character studies. Henry Fonda's colonel is supposed to be the foil, if not the outright villain, of the piece, but, frankly, a modern or dispassionate viewer can see he has a point, both about his perceived exile to a frontier posting and the half-assed nature of the men under his command. It's a decent performance, but not one that can really drive a film. John Wayne comes off somewhat better--his captain is practical, pragmatic, and a decent guy. Among the principals, Shirley Temple shines as the colonel's daughter; she's a luminous screen presence, even here in her post-superstardom teens. When the movie eventually gets around to some actual story, a series of questionable actions ultimately leads to a provocative climax and ending, with some interesting perspective on just how the west came to be considered to have been won--though ultimately without diverging too far from Western convention. All in all, not bad but not really spectacular--basically, it's pretty much standard issue stuff, which means watchable but not really a classic.