Duel at Apache Wells (1957)

Ben Cooper is Johnny Shattuck, a young man who returns to the Apache Wells area because he fears his father is in trouble.

He heard he hasn’t shipped any cattle in more than a year.

That’s a fact. A cowpoke he fired for rustling named Dean Cannary (Jim Davis) has rounded up 12 hired guns, taken over the Apache Wells spread and denied other ranchers access to the water there.

And without that water, the Shattuck ranch has no way to drive its cattle to market.

Ben and his dad come up with a plan involving water tank wagons to try to solve that problem. But Cannary proves tough to outwit.

Then there’s pretty Anita Valdez (Anna Maria Alberghetti). She’s waited for years for Johnny to return home.

Cannery has his own plans for her, too, and those plans sure don’t involve Johnny.

Ben Cooper as Johnny Shattuck, the young man who returns home after a long absence in Duel at Apache Wells (1957)

Anna Maria Alberghetti as Anita Valdez, happy to see Johnny back home in Duel at Apache Wells (1957)

Review:

So-so Republic Western with a couple of tired plot twists — whites masquerading as Indians and a young gunman with a mysterious past. Johnny was estranged from his father after an argument over a horse. He’s spent the last four years in Mexico.

The waif-like Alberghetti looks lovely, and that’s the highlight of this film. She was a child prodigy as a singer, won a Tony on Broadway, but doesn’t get to sing in this or in her other Western starring role, “The Last Command” (1955).

Surprisingly, she’s top-billed in this Western. Alberghetti’s film career never really took off and included playing Princess Charming in the Jerry Lee Lewis comedy “Cinderfella” (1960). Alberghetti headed to Broadway, a string of successful roles and her Tony win afterward.

Jim Davis as Dean Cannary, the man trying to force that Shattucks off their ranch in Duel at Apache Wells (1957)

Harry Shannon as Wayne Shattuck, ready for a showdown with Dean Cannary in Duel at Apache Wells (1957)

Directed by:
Joseph Kane

Cast:
Anna Maria Alberghetti … Anita Valdez
Ben Cooper … Johnny Shattuck
aka The Durango Kid
Jim Davis … Dean Cannary
Harry Shannon … Wayne Shattuck
Francis McDonald … Hank
Bob Steele … Joe Dunn
Frank Puglia … Senor Valdez
Argentina Brunetti … Tia Maria
Ian MacDonald … Marcus Wolf
John Dierkes … Bill Sowers
Ric Roman … Frank

Runtime: 69 min.

Ian McDonald as Marcus Wolf, the businessman in cahoots with Dean Cannary in Duel at Apache Wells (1957)

Bob Steele as Joe Dunn, one of Dean Cannary’s top guns in Duel at Apache Wells (1957)

Memorable lines:

Dean Cannary: “No one wears a gun around here unless I saw so.”
Jhnny Shattuck: “Are you the law around here, Cannary? I don’t see you wearin’ a star.”
Cannary, patting his holstered six-gun: “I make my own law around here. And this is all the star I need.”

Dean Cannary to pretty Anita Valdez: “Could it be that you’re worried about Johnny Shattuck?”
Anita: “What have you done to him now.”
Cannary: “Nothing. I haven’t seen him since the other day. But there will be other days and he and I will meet again. You see, right now, you feel better,
thinking Johnny’s the one for you, thinking he’s a shot at being important. But you’re wrong, Anita, and you’ll realize it sooner than you think. The Shattucks aren’t going to be important any longer. But I am. I’m moving up with you. You don’t believe me. Not yet. But you will.”

Anna Maria Alberghetti as Anita Valdez and her father Juan (Frank Puglia), stuck in the middle of a range war in Duel at Apache Wells (1957)

Francis McDonald as Hank, one of Shattuck’s loyal allies in Duel at Apache Wells (1957)

Ben Cooper as Johnny Shattuck getting a cool reception upon returning home in Duel at Apache Wells (1957)

Jim Davis as Dean Cannary, trying to stake claim on Anita Valdez (Anna Maria Alberghetti) in Duel at Apache Wells (1957)