Custer of the West (1967)

George Armstrong Custer's love of the heroic traditions of the Calvary and his distaste with the coming of industrialization leads him to his destiny at the Little Big Horn.

Director:

Robert Siodmak

Writers:

Bernard Gordon, Julian Zimet

Stars:

Robert Shaw, Mary Ure, Ty Hardin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Shaw	...	Gen. George Armstrong Custer
Mary Ure	...	Elizabeth Custer
Ty Hardin	...	Maj. Marcus Reno
Jeffrey Hunter	...	Capt. Benteen
Lawrence Tierney	...	Gen. Philip Sheridan
Marc Lawrence	...	The gold miner
Kieron Moore	...	Chief Dull Knife
Charles Stalmaker	...	Lt. Howells (as Charles Stalnaker)
Robert Hall	...	Sgt. Buckley
Jack Gaskins
Jack Taylor
John Clark
Fred Kohler Jr.	...	(as Fred Kohler)
Bill Christmas
Luis Rivera

Storyline

The story of U.S. Army commander George Armstrong Custer, a flamboyant hero of the Civil War who later fought and was exterminated with his entire command by warring Sioux and Cheyenne tribes at the battle of Little Big Horn in 1876.

---

Plot Keywords:

little big horn | civil war | hero | battle | western hero | 

---

Taglines:

From the fury and chaos of the Civil War to the glory days of the 7th Cavalry ...to the final earth-shaking charge at Little Big Horn!

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War | Western

---

Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

UK France Spain USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 January 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Custer

Filming Locations:

Colmenar Viejo, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinerama Productions Corp., Security Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While this film was still in production, Philip Yordan and his company (Security Pictures) had production designer and special effects expert Eugène Lourié design and shoot special effects footage for Krakatoa: East of Java even though there was no script. This footage would also be shot in large format for Cinerama presentation. Those who were shown the early footage began ignoring this film and asking when "Krakatoa" would be ready.

---

Goofs

When the cavalry chase the Cheyenne through the desert and onto the rocks and the chief "turns into a bird" to escape. The bird is seen to have falconer's jesses (leather straps) on its legs.

---

Quotes

Gen. George Armstrong Custer: [after the Washita River Massacre in 1868] Take a dispatch to General Sheridan. Despite overwhelming odds, a great victory was won here today. Factors contributing to our success were - One, the Indians were asleep, - Two, the women and children offered little resistance, - Three, the Indians are bewildered by our change of policy.

---

Soundtracks

"FOLLOW CUSTER"
Music by Bernardo Segall
Lyrics by Robert Shaw

User Reviews

Despite serious flaws, a movie that can be enjoyed if you go with it.

Okay gang, this is a deeply flawed Custer movie. There is no getting away from that. Yet, if you have any interest at all in the Custer legend (notice I said legend - any relationship to real history and this movie is purely coincidental), and want to see a riveting performance by Robert Shaw, complete with an absurd English accent for Custer, this is a must see movie.

Besides the imaginary history, the geographical locations presented for the story exist only in the minds of the screen writer and director. Despite this, I could not get over how much I liked watching Shaw present his interpretation of Custer. For all the weaknesses in the script, Shaw was given some great speeches to make, demonstrating the tragedy of plains Indians. No matter how ugly the near genocide of them as a people and the total genocide of their culture, and there is no excuse for any of it, they were the victims of events that were pre-determined once Europeans set foot on North America. A point perfectly captured in the movie in the confrontation between Custer and an American actor posing as a representative Indian chief.

For myself, the worst part of the movie, which I was enjoying up to this point, was the Last Stand. Who cares whether it was accurate or not. When was the last time Hollywood ever made any movie about any historical event or person that was not clearly fiction in many aspects? What bothered me, was the fact it was done on the cheap. Custer had around 260 men with him, in the movie, he might have about 50. There is just no drama in watching a big action sequence that falls flat because you were not willing to hire more extras.

Still, I guess this movie is one of my guilty pleasures. If you like action movies or Robert Shaw, give it a look.