one of the more obscure of anthony mann western and the last frontier be also his only cavalry western ( aside from one brief episode in winchester 73 ) and though naturally he focus on the outsider and internal conflict rather than offer a fordian celebration of comradeship and share ideal . set not in his beloved high country but in the foothill and forest and it a much more cynical view of life of the frontier and in many way his fort apache without the need to preserve the legend represent this outpost be make up of misfit and failure and coward and the odd competent officer ignore by his superior and badly lead while the civil war take priority and all the best the army have to offer . victor mature and james whitmore be the free trapper who find civilisation creep up on them when they be relieve of their pelt and packhorse by a local tribe aggrieve by the incursion of the cavalry into their territory . rather than blame the indian for their loss they decide it the army fault for build the fort and decide to demand compensation from them and end up join their rank a scout instead . but despite the best effort of guy madison amiable and competent act commander to bring mature into the 19th century and make him fit to wear the uniform and the arrival of robert preston humiliate colonel eager to revenge himself on the tribe that drive him out of his own outpost and mature clumsy infatuation with the colonel wife ( anne bancroft and too much of a blank slate here to do much with the role of a woman who tire of be save by men who think they know what best for her ) soon drive matter into much darker territory . it not long before some of the soldier be busily plan on kill each other and both side try to goad their subordinate into do the deed for them represent little wonder that at one point mature throw away the bluecoat he have long covet in disgust and screaming i would have die for this and but it nothing but a dirty filthy blue rag . the stallone of his day and mature be one of those actor who could surprise you with the odd excellent performance here and there when match with the right part and the right director . this be not one of his good day despite have his most complex part and perversely enough a a simple man well mean but drunk and violent and uneducated and with a unsubtle and almost childlike lust for life and the part seem design with burt lancaster in mind and with some striking similarity to his character in the kentuckian . but robert preston ahab like colonel be clearly the best role and determine to resurrect the career he destroy in a single disastrously suicidal civil war engagement by launch another pointless suicidal campaign against the tribe that add another humiliation to the list that keep him out of sight and out of mind of the promotion board . in his obsession to redeem his career he move far away from any hope of moral redemption and driven as much by his sense of shame at his wife sympathy a by the promotion of former comrade he regard a his inferior . he beyond salvation and but there still a recognisable human be in there and one not entirely without a sense of integrity he genuinely admire madison courage in make a futile attempt to get preston order countermand by their superior fatally skew though it be . like it hero and the film be a little rough around the edge ( and boast one of the most surreal and jaunty title song of any western ) and but that only tend to make it more interesting and and there be plenty of mann typically elegant camera move and play on perspective and while the frontier setting be convincingly harsh and primitive . unfortunately the deficiency of the early cinemascope lens be very apparent in columbia dvd and with the image often dark ( 2 . 55 represent1 cinemascope require a huge amount of additional lighting and early scope film show a lot of trial and error ) and grainy .