They Died with Their Boots On
They Died with Their Boots On | |
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Directed by | Raoul Walsh |
Screenplay by |
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Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Bert Glennon |
Edited by | William Holmes |
Music by | Max Steiner |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 140 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1,358,000[1][2] |
Box office | $4,014,000 (worldwide rentals)[1] |
They Died with Their Boots On is a 1941 American Biographical western film from Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by Hal B. Wallis and Robert Fellows, directed by Raoul Walsh, that stars Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland.
The film's storyline offers a highly fictionalized account of the life of Gen. George Armstrong Custer, from the time he enters West Point military academy through the American Civil War and finally to his death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Custer is portrayed as a fun-loving, dashing figure who chooses honor and glory over money and corruption. The battle against Chief Crazy Horse (played by Anthony Quinn) is portrayed as a crooked deal between politicians and a corporation that wants the land Custer promised to the Native Americans.
The film was one of the top-grossing films of 1941. They Died with Their Boots On was the eighth and final film collaboration between
Plot
George Armstrong Custer (Flynn) arrives at West Point in an outlandish uniform he had designed himself, which makes him appear to be a visiting foreign general. Following the misunderstanding, he signs as a cadet and begins to stack up demerits for pranks and a general disregard for rules while at the Point. When the Civil War breaks out, Custer is at the bottom of his class.
Custer is walking a silent punishment tour when he is approached by
Custer makes the acquaintance of Gen. Winfield Scott (Sydney Greenstreet), who aids him in getting placed with the 2nd U.S. Cavalry. He becomes a war hero after disregarding a superior's orders during a crucial battle, successfully defending a bridge for the Union infantry. Awarded a medal, he gets leave to return home to Monroe, Michigan. He meets Libbie at her home, but her father, who has been the butt of Custer's joke earlier that day, orders him to leave. Custer returns to his regiment. Due to a miscommunication from the Department of War, he is promoted by mistake to the rank of brigadier general and takes command of the Michigan Brigade at the Battle of Gettysburg. He wins the day, and many victories follow thereafter.
Upon returning home to Monroe as a Union war hero, Custer marries Libbie in a lavish ceremony with a full honor guard, but soon grows bored with civilian life and begins drinking too much. Libbie visits Custer's old friend Gen. Scott and begs him to assign Custer to a regiment again. He agrees, and Custer is given a lieutenant colonel's commission out west in the Dakota Territory.
When Custer and Libbie arrive at Fort Lincoln, Custer finds the soldiers a drunken, rowdy, and undisciplined lot in need of firm leadership. His old West Point enemy, Ned Sharp (
On the way to Washington for his
Upon returning to Fort Lincoln, Custer comes to realize that his band of cavalry are the only chance at rescuing a force of U.S. infantry from the Lakota. He also knows full well that he and his men have little chance of survival against their force. Custer has a final, emotion-filled goodbye with Libbie, after which he leads his cavalry into battle. An even greater number of Native American tribes, numbering 6000, have come together and joined the conflict. Quickly surrounded, Custer and his meagre forces are killed.
A few corrupt politicians have now goaded the western tribes into war for personal profit, threatening the survival of all white settlers in the Dakota Territories. Custer and his men have given their lives at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in order to slow the Native American advance. A letter left behind by Custer with Libbie, now considered his dying declaration, names the culprits and absolves the Native Americans of all responsibility; Custer wins his final campaign.
Cast
- Errol Flynn as George Armstrong Custer
- Olivia de Havilland as Elizabeth Bacon Custer
- Arthur Kennedy as Ned Sharp
- Charley Grapewin as California Joe
- Gene Lockhart as Samuel Bacon
- Anthony Quinn as Crazy Horse
- George P. Huntley Jras Lt. "Queen's Own" Butler
- Stanley Ridges as Maj. Romulus Taipe
- Gen. Phillip Sheridan
- Walter Hampden as William Sharp
- Sydney Greenstreet as Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott
- Regis Toomey as Fitzhugh Lee
- Hattie McDaniel as Callie
- Minor Watson as Sen. Smith
- Joseph Crehan as President Ulysses S. Grant
Production
Development
The Warner Bros. script was an original screenplay and was announced in early 1941 as a vehicle for Errol Flynn.[3] It was to be made after Warner's aviation film Dive Bomber, another feature starring Flynn.[4]
Filming
The film is frequently confused with
Three men were killed during the filming. One fell from a horse and broke his neck. Another stuntman had a heart attack. The third, actor Jack Budlong, insisted on using a real saber to lead a cavalry charge under artillery fire. When an explosive charge sent him flying off his horse, he landed on his sword, impaling himself.[5] In September 1941, during filming, Flynn collapsed from exhaustion.[6]
Jim Thorpe, who appears as an uncredited Native American warrior, reportedly had an off-camera fight with Errol Flynn, knocking him out with one punch.[7]
The film reunited Gone With The Wind (1939) cast members Olivia de Havilland and Hattie McDaniel. De Havilland appeared in this film while simultaneously making The Male Animal (1942) starring Henry Fonda, putting the actress under enormous pressure from a heavy workload.[8]
Custer's last stand
While the rest of the film was shot in locations in southern California, the filmmakers had hoped to capture this climactic sequence near the actual location of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Owing to scheduling and budget constraints, however, the finale of the film was relegated to a rural area outside Los Angeles.
The film shows Custer leading his troops in a saber charge, in the course of which they are surrounded and Custer, being the last man alive, is killed. In reality, the men had boxed their sabers and sent them to the rear before the battle; site evidence, along with some Native American accounts, indicates that Custer may have been among the first to die. He is also shown during the battle with his trademark long hair when, in reality, he had cut it short just prior to the Little Bighorn campaign. Several members of Custer's family (his brothers Thomas and Boston, his brother-in-law James Calhoun and nephew Henry Reed) also died in the battle, but aren't depicted in the drama.
Crazy Horse, played by
Soundtrack
The film score was composed by
Reception and box-office
According to Alex von Tunzelmann, writing for The Guardian in 2009, "More errors riddle this biopic of General Custer than bullets flew at the Battle of Little Big Horn".[10]
Box office
They Died with Their Boots On grossed $1,871,000 in the United States and $2,143,000 overseas. Its total receipts of $4,014,000 was the studio's third largest of the season.[1][2] It made the studio a profit of $1.5 million.[1]
Critical
Filmink magazine argued that "Flynn gives one of his finest performances, taking Custer on a genuine emotional journey from silly boy to grown man".[11]
Home media
Like Errol Flynn's earlier film Sea Hawk, They Died With Their Boots On was colorized in the late 1980s. This version was released on VHS tape in 1998 by Turner Entertainment and Warner Bros. Entertainment.[12] The original black-and-white film was released on DVD in 2005 by Turner Entertainment and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
See also
- The Scarlet West (1925)
- General Custer at the Little Big Horn (1926)
- Little Big Man (1970)
- List of films and television shows about the American Civil War
References
- ^ .
- ^ .
- ^ "Warner Bros. Stories Listed: Million Dollars Worth of Plots on Hand for Films to Be Made in 1941". Los Angeles Times. January 3, 1941. p. 10.
- ^ "'Dive Bomber' Is Next Vehicle Of Errol Flynn". The New York Times. February 15, 1941. p. 9.
- ^ "They Died with Their Boots On (1942)". Turner Classic Movies.
- ^ Thomas, Tony; Behlmer, Rudy; McCarty, Clifford (1969). The Films of Errol Flynn. Citadel Press. p. 111.
- ^ "They Died with Their Boots on (1941) – IMDb". IMDb.com. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
- ISBN 0-440-17866-5.
- ISBN 0-8032-7790-3.
- ^ Von Tunzelmann, Alex (February 11, 2009). "They Died with Their Boots On: overdressed, overblown, and so over". The Guardian. Reel History.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (November 17, 2019). "The Films of Errol Flynn: Part 3 The War Years". Filmink.
- ^ "They Died With Their Boots On". April 19, 2005 – via Amazon.