IMDb > They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
They Died with Their Boots On
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They Died with Their Boots On (1941) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   2,163 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 35% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Wally Kline (original screenplay) and
Æneas MacKenzie (original screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for They Died with Their Boots On on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
1 January 1942 (USA) more
Tagline:
The heroic saga of Custer's Last Stand! more
Plot:
This is the story of General Custer from the time he enters West Point military academy, through the American Civil War... more | full synopsis
User Comments:
Enjoyably spectacular nonsense more (77 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
To the Last Man (USA) (working title)
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Runtime:
140 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
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:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Because of a shortage of native Americans in Hollywood, Warner Bros. imported 16 Sioux from the Dakotas. more
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. more
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.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in Little Big Man (1970) more
Soundtrack:
Taps more

FAQ

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18 out of 19 people found the following comment useful.
Enjoyably spectacular nonsense, 22 May 2002
8/10
Author: scgary66 from Los Angeles

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

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