A surprisingly brutal drama for 1954, Apache, based on a true story, stars Burt Lancaster as Massai, an Apache warrior aiding Geronimo in the latter’s fight with U.S. government forces. With the surrender of Geronimo, Massai is captured and placed on a prisoner train traveling from his homeland (roughly Arizona) to a Florida reservation. Never one to give up easily, Maasai escapes from the train, makes his way to an ally whose daughter, Nalinie (Jean Peters), is in love with him, then is betrayed and recaptured. At this point, a viewer has figured out there is no holding on to this proud and dangerous man, and that Massai clings to a cultural code that asserts his dominance over women.
Indeed, his treatment of Nalinie is reprehensible at times, including tying her to the ground for days and, at one point, knocking her unconscious. Jean Peters, the independent-minded actress who walked away from unsatisfying roles at 20th Century Fox to find greater satisfaction working with such directors as Elia Kazan, Edward Dmytryk, and Samuel Fuller, is remarkable as Nalanie, a very physical role and one that mixes conviction and a strength of character that transcends denigration.
Director Robert Aldrich (Kiss Me Deadly), working in color for the first time, is the right artist to turn Apache into both a visceral and thoughtful experience, although he was reportedly unhappy with the film’s somewhat surprising and ambiguous ending. Strongly recommended.