Santa Fe Trail (1940)

In 1854, Jeb Stuart, George Custer and other graduates from West Point are posted to Kansas to help pacify the territory before railroad construction to Santa Fe can resume.

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writer:

Robert Buckner (original screenplay)

Stars:

Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Raymond Massey

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Errol Flynn	...	Jeb Stuart
Olivia de Havilland	...	'Kit Carson' Holliday (as Olivia De Havilland)
Raymond Massey	...	John Brown
Ronald Reagan	...	George Armstrong Custer
Alan Hale	...	Tex Bell
William Lundigan	...	Bob Holliday
Van Heflin	...	Rader
Gene Reynolds	...	Jason Brown
Henry O'Neill	...	Cyrus Holliday
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Windy Brody
Alan Baxter	...	Oliver Brown
John Litel	...	Martin
Moroni Olsen	...	Robert E. Lee
David Bruce	...	Phil Sheridan
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Barber Doyle

Storyline

The story of Jeb Stuart, his romance with Kit Carson Holliday, friendship with George Custer and battles against John Brown in the days leading up to the outbreak of the American Civil War.

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Plot Keywords:

slavery | american civil war | steam locomotive | graduation ceremony | napoleon bonaparte quotation | 

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Taglines:

They carved a path through the wilderness... then paved it with bullets and lives!

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History | Romance | War | Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Aptly enough, the movie made its world premiere in Santa Fe, NM.

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Goofs

When Jeb Stuart escapes the hanging, he fires eight shots from the stolen six-shooter.

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Quotes

John Brown: I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land can never be purged away but with blood. Aye, let them hang me. I forgive them, and may God forgive them for they know not what they do!

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Crazy Credits

Opening card: "1854, THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY, WEST POINT When the gray cradle of the American Army was only a small garrison with few cadets, but under a brilliant Commandant, named Robert E. Lee it was already building for the defense of a newly-won nation in a new world."

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a computer-colorized version.

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Connections

Featured in In the Shadow of Hollywood (2000)

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Soundtracks

Along the Santa Fe Trail
(1940) (uncredited)
Lyrics by A. C. Audin and Edwina Coolidge
Music by Will Grosz
Played when Jeb and George say goodbye to Kit and when Jeb first kisses her
Waltz version played at the party in Washington
Played at the wedding and during the end credits

User Reviews

In The Tradition of Gone With the Wind

When Santa Fe Trail was released in 1940 it was to general critical acclaim. Though it is in no way a classic like Gone With the Wind, it's view of the coming Civil War is not too dissimilar from the David O. Selznick film that also had Olivia DeHavilland as one of its stars. It was a popularly held view of the time, the abolitionists were well intentioned rabble rousers who brought on the Civil War and as Errol Flynn as J.E.B. Stuart says, the south will settle the slavery issue in its own time.

Back in the day even in A westerns like Santa Fe Trail, liberal use of the facts involving noted historical figures was taken. The fact that Stuart, Custer, Longstreet, Pickett, Sheridan, and Hood would all graduate West Point in the same class was really a minor bending of the rules. The following year with Errol Flynn as Custer in They Died With Their Boots On, they got Custer's graduation class right, but then compounded his life with more errors.

One interesting fact that no one mentions in this film is Henry O'Neill as the real life Cyrus K. Holliday (1826-1900) who considerably outlived just about everyone portrayed in the film. He's of critical importance in Kansas history as having built the Santa Fe railroad. His children neither went to West Point as William Lundigan, did graduating with all these Civil War heroes, nor did his daughter wind up marrying one.

Olivia DeHavilland playing her usual heroine, gets out of the crinoline for a bit as a Calamity Jane type daughter to Henry O'Neill. I have to say she showed quite a bit more spunk than her normal range of leading ladies at the time at Warner Brothers. She certainly Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan as George A. Custer on their toes.

If people remember anything at all about Santa Fe Trail today it is Raymond Massey as the fanatical John Brown. Yet even there, Brown has his hypocritical moments when he's quite ready to let a barn full of recent runaway slaves burn down so he can kill Errol Flynn in it. It doesn't ring true with the character as defined by Massey, I fault the scriptwriters there. Massey repeated his John Brown character in the later Seven Men From Now. Other than Abraham Lincoln it is the role that actor is most identified with.

As an action western though, Santa Fe Trail can't be beat. The battle scene with the army breaking John Brown's siege at Harper's Ferry is well staged. You really do think you are at Harper's Ferry watching a newsreel.

Though it never was history and hasn't worn well in its interpretation, western fans will still like Santa Fe Trail.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 December 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Diary of the Santa Fe

Filming Locations:

Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 93 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System) Mono (Vitasound)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1