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Title: Needed Tightening in the Screenplay
Review: While I like "Fort Apache," I feel that there is too much horseplay in the movie as well as too much Shirley Temple-John Agar. Joanne Dru is far superior in a similar type of role in the follow-up "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon." The screenplay to "Fort Apache" could have been tightened up dropping about 10 minutes and giving it a more streamlined result. "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" is a superior film because of a better handled script. Having said that, "Fort Apache" is still very entertaining. Its strength is in its opposing characters played by Henry Fonda and John Wayne. It's easy to focus on Fonda's martinet of a commander, but Wayne is excellent in his somewhat secondary role. He's almost an observer on equal footing with the supporting players and that generosity pays off with a very likeable, heroic character. I don't like "Fort Apache" enough to add it to my collection, as I have "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," but it's still a film to watch and enjoy.
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