Fort Apache (film)

Fort Apache is a 1948 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. The film was the first of the directors cavalry trilogy and was followed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon 1949 and Rio Grande 1950, both also starring Wayne. The screenplay was inspired by James Warner Bellahs short story Massacre 1947. The historical sources for Massacre have been attributed both to George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of Little Bighorn and to the Fetterman Fight. The film was one of the first to present an authentic and sympathetic view of the Native Americans involved in the battle Apache in the film, Sioux in the real battles.citation needed

After the American Civil War, highly respected veteran Captain Kirby York John Wayne is expected to replace the outgoing commander at Fort Apache, an isolated U.S. cavalry post. York had commanded his own regiment during the Civil War and was wellqualified to assume permanent command. To the surprise and disappointment of the company, command of the regiment was given to Lieutenant Colonel Owen Thursday Henry Fonda. Thursday, a West Point graduate, was a general during the Civil War. Despite his Civil War combat record, Lieutenant Colonel Thursday lacks experience with the Indians he is expected to oversee, and is an incompetent, arrogant and egocentric officer.Accompanying widower Thursday is his daughter, Philadelphia Shirley Temple. She becomes attracted to Second Lieutenant Michael Shannon ORourke John Agar, the son of Sergeant Major Michael ORourke Ward Bond. The elder ORourke was a recipient of the Medal of Honor as a major with the Irish Brigade during the Civil War, entitling his son to enter West Point and become an officer. However, the classconscious Thursday forbids his daughter to see someone he does not consider a gentleman. ........

Source: Wikipedia