Western RoundUp: Apache Rifles (1964)
Over the last few years I’ve periodically reviewed new-to-me Westerns with one of my favorite Western stars, Audie Murphy.
Previous Murphy Westerns reviewed in this column are Destry (1954), Seven Ways From Sundown (1960), Hell Bent for Leather (1960), and Showdown (1963). I loved the first three and had mixed feelings about the last film on that list, Showdown.
This month I’m taking a look at another Audie Murphy film, Apache Rifles (1964), which has the latest release date of his films reviewed here to this point. It was filmed in May 1964, when Audie was 39, and released the following November.
The film is set in Arizona of the late 1870s. Audie plays Army officer Captain Jeff Stanton, charged with the responsibility of returning Apache Indians to their reservation.
Captain Stanton feels animosity toward Indians, who killed his father years before, but he’s also a responsible and ethical man and successfully negotiates a truce with Victorio (Joseph A. Vitale) and his son Red Hawk (Michael Dante).
Some local miners are upset about being forced off Apache land as part of the peace agreement and complain to higher-ups in Washington. This results in Captain Stanton being replaced by Colonel Perry (John Archer), who also dismantles the patrol system set up by Captain Stanton to protect the Apaches from the miners. Bloody conflicts ensue.
This is a solid Western which runs a well-paced 92 minutes. The screenplay was written by Charles Smith from a story by Kenneth Gamet and Richard Schayer.
It was filmed by Arch R. Dalzell and directed by longtime Western specialist William Witney, whose work in Westerns went back to the late ’30s. Witney directed countless Roy Rogers films, among other Westerns, and also worked extensively in television.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Witney’s son at the Lone Pine Film Festival and hearing some of his memories of his father’s career. William Witney wrote a uniquely titled memoir, In a Door, Into a Fight, Out a Door, Into a Chase: Moviemaking Remembered by the Guy at the Door.
I found the Apache Rifles story a little top-heavy in battle sequences, but that’s balanced by fast-paced plotting and interesting characters.
Murphy brings depth to Captain Jeff Stanton, as his character wrestles with multiple conflicts: Wariness of Indians due to family history vs. the fact he’s a good man at heart; loyalty to the army vs. dismay when Col. Perry goes back on Jeff’s word to the Indians; love for a beautiful half-breed missionary, Dawn (Linda Lawson), vs. his feelings about Indians.
Among these dilemmas, I especially liked the fact that Jeff struggled a bit with his feelings for the spunky Dawn; she’s thoughtful, but no shy and retiring miss, and I liked their repartee. In my opinion the film would have benefited from a couple more minutes spent on their relationship, with a little less action on the battlefield.
One of the most interesting characters in the film is the doctor (J. Pat O’Malley) who reminds Captain Stanton that everyone is the same on the inside. Archer also does well as Col. Perry, who initially comes across as rather unpleasant but proves in the end to be more willing to recognize Captain Stanton’s strengths than we might expect.
Peter Hansen, later a star of TV’s General Hospital for decades, plays the captain Jeff relieves of duty at the beginning of the movie. Hansen’s first film, back in 1950, was the Alan Ladd Western Branded (1950), and as a producer Ladd cast Hansen in a trio of films in the ’50s, including the Western Drum Beat (1954).
The cast also includes L.Q. Jones, Ken Lynch, Robert Brubaker, Eugene Iglesias, and Robert Karnes.
The film benefits strongly from extensive location shooting, mostly at Red Rock Canyon. The majority of the scenes are exteriors, which contribute enormously to the movie’s feeling of authenticity. Moreover, I don’t believe any of the exteriors were faked in a soundstage.
Over the decades countless Westerns, horror, and sci-film movies filmed at Red Rock Canyon, which I’ve visited several times. Here’s a selection of photos I took at Red Rock Canyon a couple of years ago.
The movie also shot at Bronson Canyon, which I wrote about here in a locations column in 2022.
I viewed Apache Rifles via a new Blu-ray I purchased which was released by Kit Parker films. It’s a 4K transfer from the original 35mm camera negative, and it looks terrific.
Apache Rifles is presented on the Blu-ray with optional English subtitles, and it has an informative featurette on the film’s background narrated by Westerns historian Toby Roan. The featurette runs a little over six and a half minutes.
The film is part of a “Saddle Up Western Double Feature” disc with a similarly restored version of a favorite Rod Cameron Western, Panhandle (1948), which I wrote about here in Hidden Gems, Vol. 1. The double feature set is available in both Blu-ray and DVD editions.
Like Apache Rifles, Panhandle comes with an introduction by Toby Roan which runs just over six minutes. I’m looking forward to revisiting Panhandle soon and checking out the restored print.
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– Laura Grieve for Classic Movie Hub
Laura can be found at her blog, Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings, where she’s been writing about movies since 2005, and on Twitter at @LaurasMiscMovie. A lifelong film fan, Laura loves the classics including Disney, Film Noir, Musicals, and Westerns. She regularly covers Southern California classic film festivals. Laura will scribe on all things western at the ‘Western RoundUp’ for CMH.
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Laura, I really enjoyed your good write-up of APACHE RIFLES(1964). I’m a longtime fan of Audie Murphy. The local TV stations aired a lot of his Universal-International movies when I was a youngster back in the day. I think he was a fine actor and the camera loved him because of his screen presence. I can always watch an Audie Murphy movie, especially his Westerns. I commend Murphy for helping keep traditional Western movies going through 1967.
I never viewed APACHE RIFLES back in the day, because it wasn’t aired in my neck of the woods on TV, that I know of, even during the Cable TV explosion of the 1980’s. I first viewed the movie online in January, 2025 and I really liked it, so needless to say I look forward to the Blu-ray. Toby Roan gives us informative information that is always welcome.
I agree with you about Captain Stanton(Audie Murphy) and Dawn Gillis'(Linda Lawson) repartee and I also would have enjoyed a little more depth in their relationship. Also, actually the movie had a triangle of romance that included Red Hawk(Michael Dante), which I found rather interesting. Red Hawk was clearly in love with Dawn and she had feelings for him.
Linda Lawson is a talented beautiful actress who is one of many unsung actresses of the 1950’s and 1960’s that were solid working performers. I enjoyed her work in all those TV shows that I viewed during the 1960’s. She was no stranger to Westerns and was good in them.
Although I liked the movie, I do think the ending felt, to me, rather rushed and that a scene was missing, which probably ended up removed in the editing. Michael Dante is still with us and he might remember. Dante is a fine actor in his own right and is still active at 93 years young. I’ve not read his autobiography MICHAEL DANTE: FROM HOLLYWOOD TO MICHAEL DANTE WAY(2013), from what I’ve read it is well worth reading. He has nice things to say about his friend Audie Murphy. Dante has written 6 books and is working on a 7th. He has a website michaeldanteway.com and I think it is worth checking out. The articles and interviews are very interesting.
I really like it when you write about the importance of location filming, especially in Westerns, because I think that landscapes are characters in Westerns and this feeling of authenticity adds so much. Red Rock Canyon is a ruggedly beautiful location and thanks for your wonderful photographs.
I look forward to reading you next write-up. Have fun at the Turner Classic Film Festival.
Thank you for this very good review of APACHE RIFLES, Laura. It will be great to get the new BluRay release.