"Santa Fe Trail" only nominally lives up to it's title, serving as a backdrop to it's story of abolitionist John Brown (Raymond Massey) and his zealous mission to ban slavery in pre Civil War America. Most of the action takes place in 'Bloody Kansas', still a territory in 1854 and home of Fort Leavenworth, the U.S. Army's most dangerous outpost. It's where hot headed members of West Point's graduating class of the same year wind up being assigned, including J.E.B. Stuart (Errol Flynn) of Virginia and George Custer (Ronald Reagan) of Ohio. Though the military men would find themselves on opposite sides in the Civil War, the film finds itself in the middle, straddling the line of dedication to duty and leaving matters of policy to civil authority. Depending on one's point of view, that's either noble or a cop out, as the soldiers face no moral quandaries. Their mission is simply to bring John Brown to justice, dead or alive.
It's interesting to reflect on the film from a historical perspective today, some sixty six years after it was made, while only seventy five years after the end of the Civil War. The portrayal of blacks in movies often found single characters in subservient or comedic roles, but here a slave family on the way to freedom is portrayed as human, terrified of confrontation aboard a train bound for still neutral Kansas Territory. Their plight is given even more meaningful resonance later in the film when John Brown finds he must leave Kansas to avoid capture. "Does just sayin' so make us free...?" one of the former slaves wonders, fearing he may not be equipped for that privilege.
Historical inaccuracies aside, I found the film to be exciting and entertaining, assembling many of Warner Brothers' stars and stock players, along with masterful director Michael Curtiz. Flynn and Reagan generally share equal screen time, vying for the attention of Kit Carson Holliday (Olivia DeHavilland), whose father Cyrus (Henry O'Neill) lends credence to the story's backdrop financing the construction of the Santa Fe Railroad. As in the same year's "Virginia City", Flynn is supported by those two flat footed rum-pots, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams and Alan Hale, whose comedic camaraderie is injected at just the right moments. However when the spotlight is on Raymond Massey, it's difficult to turn away; the energy and zeal he brings to the character of John Brown is totally absorbing. His performance is reminiscent of an earlier portrayal, that of the unwavering protagonist Cabal in the 1936 film "Things to Come".
I'm surprised it took me so long to get around to "Santa Fe Trail", since it's a public domain staple and available virtually everywhere as a single film or in compilation with other Westerns. For those who find it enjoyable, I'd also recommend "They Died With Their Boots On", another Errol Flynn feature in which he's cast as General George Armstrong Custer. He gives Custer some of the flamboyance and arrogance that the history books recall, traits not acknowledged in Ronald Reagan's take on the character.
It's interesting to reflect on the film from a historical perspective today, some sixty six years after it was made, while only seventy five years after the end of the Civil War. The portrayal of blacks in movies often found single characters in subservient or comedic roles, but here a slave family on the way to freedom is portrayed as human, terrified of confrontation aboard a train bound for still neutral Kansas Territory. Their plight is given even more meaningful resonance later in the film when John Brown finds he must leave Kansas to avoid capture. "Does just sayin' so make us free...?" one of the former slaves wonders, fearing he may not be equipped for that privilege.
Historical inaccuracies aside, I found the film to be exciting and entertaining, assembling many of Warner Brothers' stars and stock players, along with masterful director Michael Curtiz. Flynn and Reagan generally share equal screen time, vying for the attention of Kit Carson Holliday (Olivia DeHavilland), whose father Cyrus (Henry O'Neill) lends credence to the story's backdrop financing the construction of the Santa Fe Railroad. As in the same year's "Virginia City", Flynn is supported by those two flat footed rum-pots, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams and Alan Hale, whose comedic camaraderie is injected at just the right moments. However when the spotlight is on Raymond Massey, it's difficult to turn away; the energy and zeal he brings to the character of John Brown is totally absorbing. His performance is reminiscent of an earlier portrayal, that of the unwavering protagonist Cabal in the 1936 film "Things to Come".
I'm surprised it took me so long to get around to "Santa Fe Trail", since it's a public domain staple and available virtually everywhere as a single film or in compilation with other Westerns. For those who find it enjoyable, I'd also recommend "They Died With Their Boots On", another Errol Flynn feature in which he's cast as General George Armstrong Custer. He gives Custer some of the flamboyance and arrogance that the history books recall, traits not acknowledged in Ronald Reagan's take on the character.