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They Died with Their Boots On is a 1941 western film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Despite being rife with historical inaccuracies, the film was one of the top-grossing films of the year, being the last of eight Flynn-de Havilland collaboration.
Plot
The film follows the life of George Armstrong Custer (Errol Flynn) from attending West Point, wooing of Elizabeth Bacon (Olivia de Havilland), the American Civil War, and the Battle of Little Big Horn. In the film, the battle is blamed on unscrupulous corporations and politicians craving the land of Crazy Horse (Anthony Quinn) and his people.
Historical inaccuracies
- In the film, Custer and Elizabeth ("Libby") meet at West Point in 1857. They did not meet until 1862.
- Custer was not at The First Battle of Bull Run, let alone single-handedly win it.
- Custer was never decorated.
- Sabres were not used at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
- In the film, Custer is shown protecting the Native Americans from crooked businessmen. In reality, Custer hated the Native Americans. The Indians called him "Squaw-killer".
"Custer's Last Stand" sequence
Only 16 of the extras were Sioux Indians. The rest of the Native American army were Fillipino extras. Knowing the scene would be dangerous, Anthony Quinn ordered a hearse on the day of shooting as a joke. Two extras did die during the filming of the sequence. One untrained rider died in a fall from his horse, reportedly while drunk. Another rider was impaled when he fell from his horse onto his sabre.
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
- Stanley Ridges as Maj. Romulus Taipe
- John Litel as Gen. Phil Sheridan
- Walter Hampden as William Sharp
- Sydney Greenstreet as Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott
- Regis Toomey as Fitzhugh Lee
- Hattie McDaniel as Callie
External links
1941 films | American films | Warner Bros. films | Western films | War films | Romance films | Public domain films
"They Died with Their Boots On"