They Died with Their Boots On

George Armstrong Custer enters West Point and becomes its worst student. He does not follow the rules and sets a record for demerits. The Civil War comes and through an error he is raised to general. He wins in the field. When the war ends he is sent west. There is a treaty there: the Black Hills were left to the native people. Then word spreads that gold has been found in the area and companies want in. Custer opposes it. His rank is taken. In the end he returns and rides to Little Bighorn. Raoul Walsh directs. Errol Flynn plays Custer and Olivia de Havilland his wife Libbie; Arthur Kennedy is in the cast. It is an American production, made in 1941. The narrative is not faithful to history; Custer is shown here as an officer defending the rights of native people and that does not agree with the record. It is the last film Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland made together. Three men died during the shoot; one was Jack Budlong, who rode in the cavalry charge with a real sabre and was thrown from his horse by an explosion, one fell from a horse and broke his neck, and one had a heart attack. A fully equipped medical unit was built at the location during the production; the number of injured stunt riders and extras was high. The matter it treats is the conflict between company interest and a promise given; the film builds that directly. The final battle is held long and the outcome is known from the start. Its limit is accuracy; the narrative builds a legend and the native people stay at its edge. Who it is for: viewers who like classic Hollywood westerns and Errol Flynn's films. Who it is not for: it is historically wrong, long, and the outlook dated.