They Died With Their Boots On

In bare outline this fine picture may seem reasonably true to the career of the boy general George Armstrong Custer. But on the whole one cannot take the plot seriously. If, however, one looks upon it as a great spectacle, a wonderful show, the rewards are plentiful. Many of Custers personal traits were well within the grasp of Errol Flynn, and the late actor turns in one of his finest performances. Olivia De Havilland is very good as Custers faithful wife, and their final scene, in whitch Custer says goodbye to his wife, is very touching and well acted. The action scenes are very good, but not up to similar ones in The Charge Of The Light Brigade, an earlier Flynn epic with a story line very much like the one we get in Boots. I would have awarded this picture with 5 stars if it wasnt for the fact that its a little bit too long. Some of the comedy segments may have worked well in the past, but to a modern audience they may seem a little ridicilous. This is especially notable in the first half of the picture. That first half is merely good, the second half is masterfully achieved. In fact, its almost as watching two different movies. In the final analysis, Boots is still a beautyful picture to watch and hear, but honestly speaking, a little uneven.

wonderful film from my childhood

TRIED HARD TO GET THIS FROM THE TELEVISION NOW IVE GOT THE COLLECTION

My mother loved this movie and I had not seen it in years. Its kinda hokie in places and nowhere near historically correct. However, its a fun movie to watch.

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I dont care if the film is historically inaccurate. Errol Flynn may not have been an ideal figure in real life but the movies he was in, well, I was raised with the 30s and 40s films and his films always gave me a hero to look up to and how things should have been done. They inspired me and taught me right from wrong and how to treat people fairly. Along with my Dads guidelines, I was better for it. Thats all I care about, not whether it was historically accurate. Mr. Flynn, even in real life, was a chip off the old block. I love this film. I grew up with it and it still gets an emotional rise out of me when I view it. Its what Custer should have been in my opinion and as a young boy watching this for the first time, influenced me for the rest of my life. Errol Flynn was my hero after I saw this and his WWII Burma movie. Its a shame hes gotten a bad shake from the critics whether now or in the past.

Great movie

Excellent!

A great film. Even better colorized (even though I usually detest the colorization of old films). Historically, it has two major flaws (and lots of little ones). First, Custers cavalry charges at Gettysburg did not save the Union, as the film depicts. They were incredibly brave but foolish and wasteful, but they did take place. Second, Custer of course did not sacrifice himself and his men at Little Bighorn to expose corruption in the Government. This ending is insulting to history. The reality was fascinating enough - why does Hollywood feel compelled to alter historical drama? The rest of the film largely tracks Custers chronology - West Point; Monroe, Michigan; his meeting with Gen. Scott; Gettysburg; the Indian wars; and his troubles with the Army. But its a well-acted, dramatic period piece. Custers farewell scene with Libby is very touching. See it!!!

Old western movies are great. This is one of the best. I would recommend this movie to any one who enjoys westerns.