They Died with Their Boots On (1941)

A highly fictionalized account of the life of George Armstrong Custer from his arrival at West Point in 1857 to his death at the battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876.

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Wally Kline (original screenplay), Æneas MacKenzie (original screenplay)

Stars:

Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Arthur Kennedy

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Errol Flynn	...	George Armstrong Custer
Olivia de Havilland	...	Elizabeth Bacon
Arthur Kennedy	...	Ned Sharp
Charley Grapewin	...	California Joe
Gene Lockhart	...	Samuel Bacon, Esq.
Anthony Quinn	...	Crazy Horse
Stanley Ridges	...	Maj. Romulus Taipe
John Litel	...	Gen. Phil Sheridan
Walter Hampden	...	William Sharp
Sydney Greenstreet	...	Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott
Regis Toomey	...	Fitzhugh Lee
Hattie McDaniel	...	Callie
G.P. Huntley	...	Lt. 'Queen's Own' Butler (as George P. Huntley Jr.)
Frank Wilcox	...	Capt. Webb
Joe Sawyer	...	Sgt. Doolittle (as Joseph Sawyer)

Storyline

A highly fictionalized account of the life of George Armstrong Custer from his arrival at West Point in 1857 to his death at the battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876. He has little discipline at the academy but is prepared to stand up to the senior cadet, Ned Sharp, who makes his life miserable. While there he catches the eye of the commandant, Col. (later General) Phil Sheridan and also meets his future bride, Elizabeth Bacon. Graduating early due to the Civil War, it is only through a chance meeting with General Winfield Scott that he finally gets assigned to a cavalry regiment. He served with distinction during the war and when he is promoted to Brigadier General in error, he leads his troops in a decisive victory. He has little to do after the war turning down lucrative positions in private industry and it's his wife who arranges with Gen. Scott for him to be appointed a Lt. Colonel and given command of the 7th Cavalry. He is depicted as a friend of the Indians who will fight for...

---

Plot Keywords:

deception | george armstrong custer character | ulysses s. grant character | chief crazy horse character | mexican actor playing american character | 

---

Taglines:

A STORY OF UNDYING FAITH! (original ad - all caps)

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance | War | Western

---

Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

In real life, Custer and Libby had an extremely passionate relationship. Their correspondence shows pages filled with double entendres written by both Custer and Libby. In one such letter, Libby wrote of wanting to "sit tomboy (astride) for a ride" and of "a soft place on somebody's carpet." Custer's letters were filled with promises of where he would kiss Libby if he were with her. He even mentioned how desperate he was to "for a ride" but that he wasn't "fond of strange horses" so would just have to wait til he got home. Custer eventually had to tell Libby to tone it down after some of his letters were stolen by the Confederate Army. Decorum for an officer was very important and he didn't want his wife to be seen as anything other than a lady.

---

Goofs

During the final battle a trooper struggling with an Indian is shot in the back with an arrow by another Indian. The outline of the square block under his clothes into which the arrow was fired can be clearly seen.

---

Quotes

Lt. General Winfield Scott: This Custer of yours is insubordinate alright-thank God for it. He's not marching on Round Top. He's attacking Stuart at Hanover!
Maj. Romulus Taipe: He's attacking! He's attacking a whole Corps! Rather than hold his ground the mad fool's attacking!

---

Alternate Versions

When shown om Swedish TV (TV1) in the mid 90s there was an additional scene between the scene where Custer, California Joe and Lt Butler leaves Custer's tent on the night before the final battle and when Custer subsequently frees Sharpe at the wagon where he is held "kidnapped". It contained two shots, first an Indian banging a drum, then a shot of Crazy Horse, on a hill overlooking the Indian camp, addressing the spirits. The scene is missing in present DVD copies, and was not seen on previous Swedish TV showings.

---

Connections

Referenced in Bones: The Cowboy in the Contest (2015)

---

Soundtracks

My Country Tis of Thee
(uncredited)
Music written by Henry Carey (1744)
Played as part of the score

User Reviews

In the Midst of the Fantasy...

Naturally, along with everyone else, I was primed to expect a lot of Hollywood fantasy revisionism in THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON over the legend of Custer. Just having someone like Errol Flynn play Custer is enough of a clue that the legend has precedence over the truth in this production. And for the most part my expectations were fulfilled (in an admittedly rousing and entertaining way).

Yet even in this obviously biased (and much criticized) retelling of the Custer story, I was struck by some of the points made in this movie that, sometimes subtly but nevertheless solidly, seemed to counter the typical clichés of manifest destiny and unvarnished heroism usually found in Westerns of the early 20th century.

For instance, even while this film attempted to whitewash it's hero, certain scenes still suggested the more flawed and foolish character of the real-life Custer:

1) His initial entrance at the West Point front gate, in which his arrogance and pompousness is a clear aspect of his character.

2) His miserable record at West Point, which seems to be attributed as much to Custer's cluelessness about the demands of military service as any other factor; there are moments in the way Flynn plays Custer at West Point where he seems downright stupid.

3) Custer's promotion to General is not only presented as a ridiculous mistake, but it plays out as slapstick comedy. I half-expected to see the Marx Brothers or Abbott and Costello wander into the scene.

4) Custer's stand against Jeb Stuart at Gettysburg is not whitewashed as brilliant military tactical leadership, but is presented as reckless and wildly lucky.

5) Custer's drinking problem is certainly not ignored.

And although the music and some of the ways the Indians were shown in this film were certainly reinforcements of the racist stereotype of the ignorant savage, it still came as a surprise to me that the movie actually went into some detail as to why the Indians were justified in attacking the whites who were moving into their land, and fairly explicitly laid the blame for the battles in the Black Hills squarely at the foot of the white man. In fact, no one can argue that the clear villain of the piece is not Anthony Quinn as Sitting Bull, but Arthur Kennedy & Co. as the white devils making the false claim of gold in the Black Hills. Sure, that part of the story is true, but I didn't expect to see it portrayed quite so unequivically in a movie like this.

And one other thing: usually in these films it is the Indians who are portrayed en masse as drunken animals seemingly incapable of the basic common sense to avoid getting falling down drunk any time they get near alcohol. In this movie, it is actually the troops of the 7th Cavalry, and not the Indians, who in at least two scenes are portrayed this way.

All in all, this movie slips in some surprising moments in the midst of the Hollywood bunk.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 January 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

To the Last Man

Filming Locations:

Lasky Ranch, Agoura, Los Angeles County, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min 133 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1