Apache Trail *** (1942, Lloyd Nolan, Donna Reed, William Lundigan) – Classic Movie Review 13,774

FLAMING ARROWS! FLAMING DRAMA! FLAMING ROMANCE! in MGM’s 1942 Western film Apache Trail, starring Lloyd Nolan, Donna Reed, William Lundigan and Ann Ayars.

‘FLAMING ARROWS! FLAMING DRAMA! FLAMING ROMANCE!’ ‘The Apaches are Coming!… and a group of whites, joined by fate, battle for survival!’

Directors Richard Thorpe and (uncredited) Richard Rosson’s 1942 MGM black and white American Western film Apache Trail is written by Maurice Geraghty, and stars Lloyd Nolan, Donna Reed, William Lundigan, Ann Ayars, Connie Gilchrist, and Chill Wills.

Apache Trail is a welcome, old-fashioned support Western from MGM, about a highwayman ‘Trigger’ Bill Folliard (Lloyd Nolan) chasing after the stagecoach mail and his mail-guard brother Tom O Folliard (William Lundigan) joining him to protect the stage from the Apache on the warpath after a peace pipe is stolen.

The good cast, the interesting characters, the decent production and the tense direction keep the traditional, familiar material going quite strongly. The shooting in Tucson, Arizona, is another strong asset, one of its main assets, though colour would be nice.

It is based on the 1939 story Stage Station in Collier’s by Ernest Haycox, similar to his 1937 story Stage to Lordsburg, which was made into the movie Stagecoach (1939). Indeed, discarded footage from Stagecoach is used in Apache Trail.

It was released on June 24, 1942, by MGM.

It is remade by MGM as Apache War Smoke in 1952, using footage from Apache Trail.

Richard Thorpe gets sole on-screen credit despite working on the film for only two weeks. He replaced Richard Rosson as director when Rosson became ill after 31 days of shooting, having worked from pre-production in December 1941 to early April 1942 on the movie.

Cast: Lloyd Nolan as Trigger Bill Folliard, Donna Reed as Rosalia Martinez, William Lundigan as Tom O Folliard, Ann Ayars as Constance Selden, Connie Gilchrist as Señora Martinez, Chill Wills as ‘Pike’ Skelton, Miles Mander as James V Thorne, Gloria Holden as Mrs Thorne, Ray Teal as Ed Cotton, Grant Withers as ‘Les’ Lestrade, Fuzzy Knight as Juke, Trevor Bardette as Amber, Tito Renaldo as Cochee, Frank M Thomas as Major Lowden, George Watts as Judge Keeley, Mitchell Lewis as Bolt Saunders.

Apache Trail is directed by Richard Thorpe, runs 66 minutes, is made by MGM, is released by Loew’s Inc, is written by Maurice Geraghty and Gordon Kahn (uncredited contributing writer), based on a story by Ernest Haycox, is shot in black and white by Sidney Wagner, is produced by Samuel Marx, and is scored by Sol Kaplan.

Tom O Folliard (1858 – December 19, 1880) was the best friend of outlaw William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid. Both were members of the Regulators during the Lincoln County War. He was shot in the chest by sheriff Pat Garrett on December 19, 1880, at Fort Sumner.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,774

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