Fort Bowie

[pvitari]

Glad you like the caps, JackFavell. Actually there are plenty of blurry ones -- they're unavoidable in action/battle sequences, or even when someone is merely moving -- but I frequently will click through frame by frame in such sequences looking for the best-looking frames. And I usually won't pick a blurry one to post here, although in the case of that one where Ben grabs the strap, I did chose it because he was just so amazing in that stunt. (As was the stuntman playing the Indian, and his horse too.) The DVD is really great looking (that is, after they re-pressed it with correctly functioning equipment) although you may have noticed damage running all down the far left side of the frame throughout the film. It looks to be part of the print and I guess that was the best print they could find. It really does look great except for that.

More screencaps. Get ready for more romance in the wild west. ;)













In this scene, Major Wharton and Colonel Garrett discuss their differering philosophies on how to deal with the Indians. The proto-Nazi stormtrooper Major opines that since the Indians are to be eliminated, it would only be "humane" to "kill them as fast as possible." Then he admits that he was sent out to replace Garrett as soon as he has had enough field experience. Brrrrr.










The Colonel is delighted to see his wife and tries to kiss her but she turns her head so he only gets her cheek.












He thinks he's so cool but he's such a CREEP.

[pvitari]

And more...





The beginning of a discussion between the Garretts in which Alison complains about the Colonel's slobby appearance, his inability to get assignments to "fashionable" posts, and his overall uselessness.






This is the point where, to get his goat, she informs him that Captain Thompson made love to her. (I assume she was using the phrase "make love" in the old-fashioned sense, i.e., courting or pursuing her, rather than the actual act... though that fadeout at the end of their kiss a couple of scenes back made me wonder what exactly went on after the fadeout! Though how they could get away with it with the troopers a few feet away makes it unlikely.)


The Colonel does not receive this news happily.


The Colonel, freshly shaved and groomed, calls a meeting to discuss how to bring in the Apache leader Victorio and his band, which have been on the rampage since Major Wharton's little massacre. (You all remember Victori0 -- he was played by Michael Pate in Hondo!) ;)


Dr. Freud, what is your diagnosis about Major Wharton's constant fiddling with arrow? "He iss sufferink from several sexual inadequacies and insecurities, and no doubt he compensates for this by belief-ink that he can proof hiss manhood by killink as many Indians as possible."


The Colonel comes up with an ingenious plan -- send out Captain Thompson to tell Victorio he and his group have to surrender, without any conditions. How very King David of him!








Thompson knows the dangers but he'll do it. At this point he doesn't realize the motivation behind the orders though.

[pvitari]

Two batches tonight! I'm hoping I can get this movie done before my "staycation" ends and I have to go back to work next Monday.

Thompson asks Chanzana where he can find Apache chief Victorio. (Chanzana used to be Victorio's girlfriend.) She mentions that she overheard the Garretts talking and that Thompson is being sent out deliberately on a suicide mission. He dismisses the idea and also tells her that he rejected Alison's advances.








More soap opera with Alison, who also warns him about the Colonel sending him to certain death, but he poo poos it. She begs him to take her away from all this and he demurs -- even though she's everything he wants in a woman he also knows she just sees him as her ticket out of the fort and he'd rather go out on a dangerous mission and die honorably, or something like that. Much as I love Ben as an actor, he's really stiff in this scene. I chalk it up to a) poorly written dialogue, much of it written without contractions; b) Ben's discomfort with such material; c) director Howard Koch not really working with his actors to put some subtext and/or unspoken emotion into the scene; d) lack of chemistry with Jan Harrison. In fact, this scene and the next (with Ben and Kent Taylor) are pretty bad due to all of the above plus some really flat shooting -- just a series of two shots and medium close-ups (or close medium shots), and some unflattering angles and lighting, especially on Ben.












Garrett tries to get an admission out of Thompson about Alison but Thompson changes the subject back to the mission. Garrett promises to tell the eeeee-vil Major Wharton to stay back while Thompson talks to Victorio.

[pvitari]

Further soap with Alison and Colonel Garrett. She's FURIOUS -- take a look at the expression on her face! -- that he's sending Thompson on such a mission, he says it's a good idea both strategically and tactically but if he's killed it will save them all a scandal since there will be no need for a duel. She says Thompson rejected her advances. (I'm still wondering about that fade-out though!)







The start of the mission to meet with Victorio.










Thompson and Chanzana spot Wharton and his troops waiting down below. Thompson assures her they will stay down there.

[pvitari]

Yes, even more!!









Larry Chance as Victorio. Other than his filmography at the IMDB, I have not been able to find out anything about him.














Fingerpointing!




What's happened is that stupid dope Major Wharton, with his troopers, has followed Thompson up near Victorio's hideout, instead of staying in the valley below. Naturally Victorio -- who has demanded that Wharton be executed in retribution for the massacre at the beginning of the film -- feels betrayed.








The Indians trick Wharton into sending out his lieutenant and a sergeant to talk but when they come close, they are killed.


Wharton is not happy as just a couple of minutes ago he was sneering at how scared the Indians were.

[pvitari]

This is such a big batch I'm dividing it into two. First half.

Just a reminder: MAJOR SPOILERS!


Thompson and the sergeant have been tied up, and Victorio and his men attack Major Wharton's troop and wipe them all out. :( Victorio personally gives Major Wharton what he so richly deserves, too.

I picked out some of my favorite shots from the battle.















These are the two stuntmen doubling for Victorio and Major Wharton, who have a close encounter on horseback. Basically Victorio rides down on him, pulls him off his horse, and after a brief struggle...it's curtains for the Major.








On to part two...

[pvitari]

Victorio returns to gloat over his complete destruction of Wharton's unit.


This is a shot of Victorio's beautiful white horse. I couldn't resist including this one because the horse is so pretty. :)


Victorio (doubled again, I think) and his men now rush off to attack Fort Apache itself, knowing that it has been left with only a few soldiers to defend it. (All the other details are out scouting around for Indians).


Chanzana gets the bright idea of rescuing Thompson and the sergeant. I love the way she chops someone once in the kidneys or the back and he's instantly killed and falls over without being able to give a warning or a shout.










Thompson tells Chanzana he's going to drive off the Indians' horses and then on his way out he'll rescue the sergeant. That's definitely Ben driving the herd, but...






...It's a stuntman, not Ben, performing the rescue! I have no idea why they got a stuntman to do this simplest of stunts: cut down the sergeant and drape him over the horse, then ride away. Furthermore, it's a bad editing job as in the middle of the rescue they cut to a shot of Chanzana riding up. Or maybe they did it that way to distract you so you won't notice it's not Ben.


Now it's Ben again.

[pvitari]

A few more for today.







The gruesome aftermath of the battle.






Thompson tells the sergeant to go find Lieutenant Maywood and his men and bring them back to the fort, where he and Chanzana are now heading.

[pvitari]

And now for a Ben-free (alas) group of pictures... a bit of domestic drama followed by the Apaches' attack on Fort Bowie.

This guy is a mail rider -- I just love the way he leaps off the horse. I keep thinking all this jumping off horses before they've stopped (Ben does it a lot) is something they do in the movies because it looks cool on camera, rather than proper dismounting in real life. Any horse people here to discuss this?


You've got mail! And it's a letter from HQ telling Colonel Garrett he's being relieved of command and sent to Washington, and Major Wharton will now be in command. Oh the irony!




Alison tells Garrett she'll be leaving WITH him -- implying that once they get to D.C., she will LEAVE him.


The attack! Basically some random pictures I really liked. Here comes the first wave of Apache warriors.






The start of a horse fall.




Sergeant Johnny Western orders the women and children to get down at the back of the room.












The rest of this batch in the next post ---->

[pvitari]

I can't resist pictures with the white horse. :)














Sorry to stop in mid-battle but that's as far as I've gotten. We're in the home stretch, though. :)

[JackFavell]

Beautiful caps- makes it look better than it is. The inside-the-fort part where the men line up on the high railings or battlements always makes me think of Beau Geste. I wish the director had learned something of how to film battle scenes from that movie.

Not to say that Fort Bowie isn't worth watching, it is, but it could have been so much better with a little style or knowledge of how to create better fight sequences.

[pvitari]

but it could have been so much better with a little style or knowledge of how to create better fight sequences.

Or how to meld the personal stories with the military stuff. (Something John Ford was a master at.)

Trivia time while I work on more screencaps:

Ben and Jan Harrison (who played Alison Garrett in Fort Bowie) worked again together four years later, when she played saloon girl Joyce in the Bonanza episode "The Gamble." Ben plays a crooked deputy who participates in a bank robbery because he's in love with Joyce and she's tired of hearing him talk about how he's going to get some money so they can go away together. In fact, it's pretty obvious from their one scene together that her ONLY interest in him is money. :)





"The Gamble" is an excellent episode directed with verve and crispness by the great William Witney, and with beautiful lighting (especially in the night scenes) by cinematographer Haskell B. Boggs.

[JackFavell]

Hey! I didn't realize that was Jan!

[pvitari]

Saturday batch... getting near the end! There are some Ben pics but a lot of it is still the climatic battle, plus a revelation :) for Alison.

A wounded soldier is brought into the mess hall and...


Alison is repulsed by... ick... blood. (She should have seen the pencil eraser-size chunk of flesh the nice lady doc took out of my arm yesterday when she removed a mole... gross!) :)


Sergeant Johnny Western!




The Indians overturn a wagon so it can provide cover


Fingerpointing!


Chanzana and Thompson have met up with Lt. Maywood and Sgt. Kukas




The colonel is so cool, calm and collected under fire...


...that even Alison is impressed. In fact, she suddenly falls in love all over again with her husband. Convenient, that!


Another moment for Dr. Freud! He gives her his empty pistol (revolver? I don't know from guns) and she gives him the rifle she just loaded for him.


"Oh, Jim, you're the only man I've ever loved. You must believe me." Who WROTE this dialogue? ***Paula looks up screenwriter...Maurice Tombragel.*** Some actresses could pull it off -- imagine if Barbara Stanwyck had played Alison; she'd put a ferocity and yearning into it that would make it REAL -- but I'm afraid that Jan Harrison delivers her lines in a simpering, breathy little voice that has me rolling (unintentionally) in the aisles.






These two young men are so cute, I was rooting for them!


Maywood's soldiers roll a wagon up to the fort's walls.






Thompson and Sgt. Kukas gallop up to the wagon... to be continued.

[pvitari]

Finished the screencapping -- will probably take until Tuesday to get everything online though. Last two batches!

I believe that was Ben himself riding up to the wagon in that last photo, but I think it's the stunt double galloping up onto the wagon and jumping over the fort wall -- not that you can really tell from these pictures!




Cut to -- Thompson and Kukas already on the ground. You don't really get to see the stunt too well. They ride towards the wagon, cut to them riding up the wagon, cut to the leap, cut to Ben and Peter Mamakos as Sgt. Kukas already on the ground. I'll bet that wooden wall for the leap was really much shorter than the one actually built for the fort set.




Victorio sees Thompson and Kukas and the rest of the troops pouring into the fort and knows the tide has suddenly turned against him.


Chanzana decides to join the battle rather than just wait it out as Thompson ordered her to do.




There are a lot of great stunts in this movie and this one is my favorite -- this stuntman does a saddle fall off his horse WHILE IT'S IN MID-AIR leaping over a well. (!)




Victorio and his men force their way into the mess hall.






That's Ben (not a stuntman) doing that grand jetee ;)


The beginning of the climatic fight between Thompson (with his tomahawk) and Victorio (with his knife)


Ben's double taking a fall for him...


Ben does the close-ups and medium shots...


...and the stuntman does the longer shots.






Colonel Garrett looks out of the mess to see what's happening



To be continued...