Scott LeBrun Western star Lee Van Cleef is cast here in the title role, an Indian (!) officer in the Union Army. Clean shaven, wearing a toupee, and caked under more makeup than usual, Van Cleef is on the case when an Indian agent (Luis Induni) is killed. The agents' dying words are "April morning", and Van Cleef must solve the mystery behind this phrase. Among the characters he encounters are Griffin (Stuart Whitman), a gun runner, Griffins' fiancée Maude (ever lovely Carroll Baker), and a pair of thugs, Moon (Percy Herbert) & Snake (Tony Vogel).The prospect of Van Cleef playing an Indian is the main drawing card of this decent enough but unremarkable film. It's adequately directed by Alexander Singer, a veteran of mostly TV, and scored well enough, by Dolores Claman, but it's also choppily edited, and the story (based on a novel by S.E. Whitman), isn't told in a particularly interesting way (despite the presence of top screenwriter Philip Yordan). What does help, to a degree, is a certain irreverence at times, and vivid location shooting in Spain. More squeamish viewers may appreciate the fact that it's violent without being particularly gory.The mostly European cast is entertaining enough to watch. Whitman and Baker are fine, but "Captain Apache" is first and foremost a Van Cleef vehicle. He offers a typically stylish and charismatic performance, and, in one hilariously absurd scene, must suck in his gut when he's made to disrobe in front of an Indian chief.Unmemorable overall, but it's still recommended if one is a fan of the star.Six out of 10.

Leofwine_draca This is a bizarre comic western, also known as DEATHWORK and THE GUNS OF APRIL MORNING. It's a UK/Spanish co-production that sees Lee Van Cleef - at the peak of his fame - playing the world's unlikeliest Native American, whose nickname here is "Red Ass" judging by the number of times people call him it. The narrative is a mystery yarn in which the Van Cleef character attempts to discover the meaning of the phrase "April morning".It's an odd film indeed, one in which the tone is all over the place. You can tell it's a comedy more from the over-the-top nature of the camera shots and the one-liners than a genuinely funny atmosphere, but the whole thing is just too ridiculous to take seriously. I felt embarrassed for Van Cleef in his cast-against-type role and the production values are just sloppy, with US TV director Alexander Singer out of his depth and lacking the style of your typical spaghetti western filmmaker.The cast is undoubtedly the most interesting about this film; it includes Hollywood-star-turned-giallo-actress Carroll Baker as a femme fatale whose appeal is stolen by the lovely Elisa Montes, and Britain's own Percy Herbert as a heavy. Stuart Whitman bags a large supporting role as an ally whose motivations are decidedly murky. CAPTAIN APACHE features some adequate action sequences to prop up the flagging narrative but it's a definite miss, unfortunately.

MartinHafer This film recently was aired on the Encore Western channel. I was surprised to see that the film was in really lousy condition--with a faded print and some choppy sections. Clearly this film has seen better days--though at least they DID close caption the movie--a plus for folks like me who are a tad hard of hearing.This is an odd Western for Lee Van Cleef. Though he plays a scary guy once again, so much of the guy is atypical of Van Cleef. First, the film begins with Van Cleef himself singing (actually, it's more like talking) the title song! Then, as the credits roll, you see that he's sporting a wig--hiding his very thinning hair. Then, you soon learn that he's an American-Indian officer serving with the US military! I guess he could somewhat pull this off, but this is clearly an odd performance for this actor.Van Cleef has been ordered to go to Mexico to extradite some men who killed an American official. In the process, you learn about an evil boss-man (Stuart Whitman) who runs things and may be behind the murder--heck he's done a few killings himself. However, oddly, he offers to help Van Cleef in his mission.In addition to the plot, there are a few scenes thrown in here and there that are pretty cool. First, if you really want to see a lot of Van Cleef, there's a very gratuitous scene of him in a loincloth--not bad for a middle-aged man. Second, the coffin scene is pretty cool--see it and you'll know what I mean. However, even with a few good scenes here and there, this certainly WON'T elevate this scene to the quality level off Van Cleef's classic westerns, such as "Fistful of Dollars" and "For a Few Dollars More". "Deathwork" is often enjoyable, but nothing all that special--and occasionally very goofy and strange (such as the ill-fitting drug scene). And what's with all these "April Morning" comments throughout the film?! Talk about bizarre! It certainly is a lesser Van Cleef film--not even up to the standards of his Sabata films.

MovieWiz66 ...or the pop culture that defined the late 60's and early 70's,then you will get a kick out of Van Cleef crooning and,of course,kicking butt. If you watch this film looking for a deep,meaningful,thought-provoking film then you will obviously be in for a let down. However,if you are a fan of all things 60's and 70's including Spaghetti Westerns and Italian/Spanish cinema in general,then you will find this a delightful romp. While the plot is pretty much standard fare,it is a fun ride that will make you wonder just who will turn out to be the culprit in the end. Van Cleef could take the worst of scripts and make them workable. I think you could tell that Lee had fun with this movie and,according to an earlier comment,the whole cast seemed to join in the fun. I found an interview with Van Cleef online a while back and he mentioned Captain Apache as one of the films that he actually had a blast making. I had not seen the film then and after finally viewing it online...I could see the enjoyment in Van Cleef as he soaked up this character while not taking it all too seriously. As I said before,if you are like me and a fan of anything from that time period and spaghetti westerns in particular..you will love this film,if not,you will probably want to skip this one. I give in 9 stars because I understand what the film is intended to do..entertain,and it does that quite well. You can find it now at a site called tv4u for free(legal too).