They Died with Their Boots On (1941)

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Wally Kline (original screenplay) and
Æneas MacKenzie (original screenplay)

Release Date:

1 January 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance | War | Western

Tagline:

The heroic saga of Custer's Last Stand!

Plot:

This is the story of General Custer from the time he enters West Point military academy, through the American Civil War...

Plot Keywords:

Civil War | West Point | Little Big Horn | Crazy Horse | Cavalry

Cast

Errol Flynn	...	George Armstrong Custer
Olivia de Havilland	...	Elizabeth Bacon
Arthur Kennedy	...	Ned Sharp
Charley Grapewin	...	California Joe
Gene Lockhart	...	Samuel Bacon, Esq.
Anthony Quinn	...	Crazy Horse
Stanley Ridges	...	Maj. Romulus Taipe
John Litel	...	Gen. Phil Sheridan
Walter Hampden	...	William Sharp
Sydney Greenstreet	...	Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott
Regis Toomey	...	Fitzhugh Lee
Hattie McDaniel	...	Callie
G.P. Huntley	...	Lt. "Queen's Own" Butler (as George P. Huntley Jr.)
Frank Wilcox	...	Capt. Webb
Joe Sawyer	...	Sgt. Doolittle (as Joseph Sawyer)

Also Known As:

To the Last Man (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Norway:16 (1947) | Finland:K-8 (1965) | Finland:S (1943) | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #7505)

Filming Locations:

Alhambra, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Because of a shortage of native Americans in Hollywood, Warner Bros. imported 16 Sioux from the Dakotas.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Among the many historical inaccuracies is the fact that Crazy Horse and Custer never met each other face to face. Given Crazy Horse's relative anonymity, it is also unlikely that he would have been recognized had he in fact been captured prior to the Little Big Horn.

Quotes:

Ned Sharp: Where is the regiment riding?
George Armstrong Custer: To hell, Sharp... or to glory. It depends on one's point of view.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Little Big Man (1970)

Soundtrack:

Taps

Enjoyably spectacular nonsense

All in all, an excellent movie from that time and source (coming from Warner Brothers as it was peaking in craftsmanship and style just before WWII), provided you don't take it at all seriously. The movie really makes no claim to being historically accurate, and is certainly no more or less accurate or believable than say, JFK. (This one may actually be more honest about it, though, as it essentially admits along the way that it's not to be taken as particularly fact-based, but more of a stylishly semi-heroic portrayal.) It's worth noting that audiences of the time were no more naive about the story than we are today; the NY Times review conceded that audiences would "dismiss factual inaccuracies sprinkled throughout the film," described the biographical account of Custer's life as "fanciful," and pointed out that the presentation of Custer's motivations regarding the final events were at odds with various historical accounts. They could have really gone overboard in building up Custer, one supposes, but they succeed admirably in depicting him as not necessarily the sharpest or most diligent guy around, but appropriately determined, principled and inspirational.

Flynn and DeHavilland, doing their 8th movie together in 7 years (and their last), are so comfortable together, and play off each other so easily at this point, that it's not too difficult to overlook how thinly their courtship is written here. With a first-time pairing, it would be hard to imagine what could really draw Elizabeth to Custer, but these two make it work. The movie is also missing their director from their previous seven films together (the greatly underrated Michael Curtiz), but given that he had worked with them on the previous year's similar-themed Santa Fe Trail, it's understandable if he chose to opt out of this one. (They all started together with Captain Blood and The Charge of the Light Brigade - both terrific - so we can't really blame them if they started having a tough time keeping it all fresh.)

Raoul Walsh, the director here, is certainly more comfortable with the action sequences - which are outstanding - and everything else outdoors. The interior scenes are a little more uneven, but the studio craftsmen succeed in compensating for that very well, as does Warner Bros' outstanding cast of "usual suspects" and new faces (Greenstreet, Gene Lockhart, Anthony Quinn, Arthur Kennedy, etc). I would have liked it better if Kennedy's character had been a bit less standard (I generally like his work), but here he seems to be hitting roughly the same notes in every scene; the part could have been better written - and I suppose they might have been unsure of what he could handle, as he'd only been in films for one year (Walsh probably took him for this after doing High Sierra together).

Various highlights include the depiction (probably imagined) of the genesis of "Garryowen" as the cavalry theme. The last half hour is particularly outstanding, especially with the parting of the leads echoing the end of their screen partnership, followed by the final battle scenes. A thoroughly rousing adventure.

8 of 10