They Died With Their Boots On (1941)
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82% of critics liked it
(11 reviews) -
27% want to see it
(2,423 ratings)
Though history is distorted almost beyond recognition in Warner Bros.' They Died With Their Boots On, audiences in 1941 ate it up like cotton candy. In the gospel according to Warners, General George Armstrong Custer (Errol Flynn) is neither an arrogant fool nor a rabid Indian hater. Instead, he… More Though history is distorted almost beyond recognition in Warner Bros.' They Died With Their Boots On, audiences in 1941 ate it up like cotton candy. In the gospel according to Warners, General George Armstrong Custer (Errol Flynn) is neither an arrogant fool nor a rabid Indian hater. Instead, he is a flamboyant but brilliant cavalry officer, who during the Civil War defies his superiors' orders and becomes a hero as a result. After a period of forced retirement in the postwar years, Custer is put in charge of the 7th Cavalry in the Dakota Territory. Here he whips this ragtag group into spit-and-polish shape, and also does his best to extend a neighborly hand to the local Indian tribes. Custer even goes so far as to promise Chief Crazy Horse (Anthony Quinn) that the white man will never set foot in the sacred Black Hills. Alas, Custer is betrayed by greedy gold prospectors, whipped into a frenzy by scheming (and fictional) land speculator Ned Sharp (Arthur Kennedy). Forced by circumstances to do battle against Crazy Horse to prevent tribal retaliation, Custer and his command ride towards a rendezvous with destiny at the Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876. Though some of the historical inaccuracies in the film are real howlers, blame cannot be laid solely at the feet of Warner Bros.; the Custer legend had previously been perpetrated by the general's loyal widow Elizabeth Bacon (played herein by Olivia de Havilland), then eagerly elaborated upon by Eastern news journalists and dime novels. This film represented the final screen pairing of Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, a fact that lends poignancy to their classic parting scene. Though an extremely long film, They Died With Their Boots On is never dull, especially during the spectacular Custer's Last Stand finale. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Raoul Walsh
- Genres
- Western, Drama, Classics
Unrated,
- Studio
- WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A rousing Western.
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Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Powerful, if heavily fictionalized, Western, with dynamic direction by Raoul Walsh.
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Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
suffers from being too long and meandering too much into the minutiae of Custer's love life
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Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
If Custer's beyond-the-grave wish was to protect the Native Americans from corporate cretins, then I'm Errol Flynn.
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Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
Endures as one of the finest Flynn-de Havilland collaborations.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Errol Flynn
as George Armstrong Custer
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Olivia de Havilland
as Elizabeth Bacon Custer
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Arthur Kennedy
as Ned Sharp
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Regis Toomey
as Fitzhugh Lee
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Charles Grapewin
as California Joe
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Stanley Ridges
as Maj. Romulus Taipe
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Gene Lockhart
as Samuel Bacon
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Anthony Quinn
as Crazy Horse
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Walter Hampden
as William Sharp
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John Litel
as Gen. Philip Sheridan
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Joe Sawyer
as Sgt. Doolittle
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Frank Wilcox
as Capt. Webb
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Selmar Jackson
as Capt. McCook
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Minor Watson
as Sen. Smith
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Sydney Greenstreet
as Gen. Winfield Scott
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Hattie McDaniel
as Callie
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Eddie Acuff
as Cpl. Smith
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Tod Andrews
as Cadet Brown
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Irving Bacon
as Salesman
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Walter S. Baldwin
as Settler
- Roy Barcroft
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Hobart Bosworth
as Clergyman
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Virginia Brissac
as Woman
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Walter Brooke
as Rosser
- Lane Chandler
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Spencer Charters
as Station Master
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George Pat Collins
as Corporal
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Joseph Crehan
as Ulysses S. Grant
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Wade Crosby
as Bartender
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Steven Darrell
as Officer
- Joe Devlin
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George Eldredge
as Capt. Riley
- Martin Faust
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Frank Ferguson
as Grant's Secretary
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William Forrest
as Adjutant
- Dick French
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G.P. Huntley
as Lieutenant Butler
- Sol (Saul) Gorss
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John Hamilton
as Colonel
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Carl Harbaugh
as Sergeant
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Weldon Heyburn
as Staff Officer
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Herbert Heywood
as Newsman
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Russell Hicks
as Colonel of 1st Michigan
- Max Hoffman Jr.
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William Hopper
as Frazier
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Edward Keane
as Congressman
- Fred Kelsey
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Joseph King
as Chairman
- Paul Kruger
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Harry Lewis
as Youth
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Vera Lewis
as Head Nurse
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Arthur Loft
as Tillaman
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Ian MacDonald
as Soldier
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Frank Mayo
as Orderly
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Sam McDaniel
as Waiter
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Patrick McVey
as Jones
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Jack Mower
as Telegrapher
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Anna Q. Nilsson
as Mrs. Taipe
- Frank Orth
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Eddie Parker
as Sentry
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Eleanor Parker
as Bit Part (cut out)
- Bob Perry
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Aileen Pringle
as Mrs. Sharp
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George H. Reed
as Charles
- Renie Riano
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Addison Richards
as Adjutant
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John Ridgely
as Lieutenant Davis
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Virginia Sale
as Nurse
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James Seay
as Lt. Walsh
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Hugh Sothern
as Maj. Smith
- Harry Strang
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Ray Teal
as Barfly
- Minerva Urecal
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Dick Wessel
as Staff Sgt. Brown
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Gig Young
as Lt. Roberts
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Francis Ford
as Veteran
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Victor Zimmerman
as Colonel of 5th Michigan
- Charley Grapewin
- George P. Huntley Jr.
- Joseph Sawyer
