They Died with Their Boots On (1941)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

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:

Untrained rider George Murphy was killed when he fell from his horse while drunk.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Custer first arrives at West Point, he is given the room of his commanding officer and told it is his own. When this trick/joke is later discovered, Custer is asked the name of the cadet who tricked him. Custer answers, "His name is Mudd." This expression did not come into use until after Lincoln's assassination when Dr. Samuel Mudd was convicted of aiding John Wilkes Booth.

Quotes:

[Custer barely misses being dismissed from West Point for fighting]
Gen. Phil Sheridan: You know, Taipe, I'm glad it turned out this way. There's something about that fellow I like.
Maj. Romulus Taipe: Yeah? Well I don't know what it is. If you ask me, he'll make the worst record of any cadet at West Point since Ulysses S. Grant.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "EastEnders: (2000-12-25)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Taps

Rousingly spirited but highly inaccurate account of the legendary Custer

The Custer Legend, a la Warner Brothers Epic. There's no casting against type here, with the flamboyant Flynn as the flamboyant Custer in this rousing tribute, not only to Custer, but to the men of the 7th Cavalry. The story traces the life of the famed 'Boy General" from his turbulent days at West Point to his final fight at the Little Big Horn. Great liberties are taken with facts here, and we are presented with a Custer that is much more sympathetic to the plight of the redman than history relates. But this one is done on such a grand scale, the battle scenes alone provided employment for every extra in Hollywood. Down beat ending and all, this is great fun!