They Died With Their Boots On

Probably his last great film (after this Flynns legal problems mounted and Warner Brothers tended to put him in westerns and lower-budget action movies). His last pairing with Olivia Dehavilland as well. The DVD copy is well-restored and it has some nice extras. Too bad no one has restored his other film Santa Fe Trail, with Dehavilland and Ronald Reagan -- the public domain copies out there are appallingly poor.

Certainly a classic. We purchased this for our teenage grandsons who were with us on a trip to Custer National Battlefield. While most will agree that a number of events in this movie are not historically accurate, it gave our grandsons enough of an overview so that, upon arriving at the Battlefield and listening to the Crow and Ranger talks, they were able to separate fact from fiction. They enjoyed it, we enjoyed it so it was well worth the money.

No está entre las mejores películas del oeste pero sigue viéndose con gusto. Quedan excluidos los que buscan rigor histórico.

very excellent movie about Custer

Great old move, bought a second one for my son, a West Point grad.

PRETTY MUCH FICTIOUS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, BUT VERY ENTERTAINING NONE THE LESS. ONLY ERROL FLYNN COULD HAVE PULLED IT OFF.

Errol Flynn at his Best!!!! Olivia as besutiful as ever!!!!

No one doubts that THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON with Errol Flynn is a terrific film. It is the last movie that Flynn shares with Olivia de Havilland, and their chemistry shared over a long film marriage is touching and palpable. Flynns interpretation was to play Custer as a western version of his own hell-raising self, and he dominates each scene in which he appears. He is alternately heroic, funny, sarcastic, haughty, and sacriligious. His co-stars very capably allow Flynn to bounce off them. Against Crazy Horse (Anthony Quinn), Flynn is solemn and candid. Against General Winfield Scott (Sidney Greenstreet), he is properly subservient. Against his Indian hating subordinate officer played by Arthur Kennedy, he is full of righteous fury. The climactic battle at the Little Big Horn is a paean to self-sacrifice and honor. The film does not go wrong internally. Its fault, if one can call it that, is that it bears no relation to historical truth. Every major incident in the film from Custers days in West Point, to his conduct under battle, to his relationship to his wife, and to his role in the annihilation of him and his troopers at the Little Big Horn are either grossly exaggerated or outrageous lies. Especially disturbing is the movies suggestion that Custer sacrificed the lives of the men under his command as a means of political expedience. The literal truth was Custer and all his 7th Cavalry were slaughtered only because of his obstinancy in not believing the reports of his Indian guides.

Just an average, older movie

Fun to watch as an example of the time. Typical Flynn and typical twisting of history. This guy should have studied tactics more at West Point. He was asking for it.