They Died with Their Boots On

The EIGHTH and final movie featuring Errol Flynn and Olivia De Havilland is definitely not an accurate History lesson; it is, instead, a retelling of the Custer myth - with the added sheen of magnetic stars, colorful (and even distinguished) character parts and rousing action sequences. Most of the first half of this long movie has a refreshing comic element as Custer bungles and brawls his way through West Point; the start of the American Civil War introduces some well shot and convincing battle scenes; the final part of the picture covers Custer's achievements with the fabled 7th Cavalry in the Dakota Territories. The romantic relationship between Flynn and De Havilland's characters touchingly links the different segments - both were instinctively aware that this was their last picture together and it gave their shared scenes a special poignancy. Throughout the movie, Custer is represented as a noble and heroic figure - so devoid of cunning and guile that he is almost bound to make a less than brilliant strategist. A completely ficticious plot-line turns him into a defender of Native American lands as unscrupulous businessmen conspire to start a war between the USA and the Sioux Nation. Ultimately, Custer and his regiment are forced to intercept the Sioux and their allies. Destiny awaits them at The Little Big Horn.