Captain Apache

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.