Errol Flynn stars as George Armstrong Custer. The film depicts a highly fictionalised version of his life from his first days as a cadet at West Point, through his Civil War heroics (on the Union side), to his time at Fort Lincoln in the Dakota Country, and finally his death at the Battle of Little Big Horn. Raoul Walsh directs the action sequences with a certain amount of panache (lots of extras on horseback) but the film feels overlong and Olivia De Havilland has little to do as Custer's wife (this was her 8th and last pairing with Flynn). As you might expect for this era (1940s), the film has a definite racist streak, particularly when it comes to portraying Native Americans; Anthony Quinn plays Crazy Horse but there are some actual Sioux men who were brought out to Hollywood to serve as extras. Hattie McDaniel also plays a maid who is superstitious in a few scenes to offer some "comic relief". Interestingly, Flynn portrays Custer as a bit of a delinquent who nonetheless is able to lead men in battle; his casting doesn't quite seem right (he belongs in less weighty swashbucklers). Speaking of unusual casting, Sydney Greenstreet appears as a Union General, with only his mutton chops and uniform differentiating this performance from The Maltese Falcon or Casablanca. Jarring. Arthur Kennedy is solid as the main villain. However, you really should look elsewhere if you want to see Flynn at his best (e.g., The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1938).

The story of George Armstrong Custer, with a lot of Hollywood fiction thrown in, starring the great Errol Flynn (who incredibly never got an oscar), in his last movie (of 7) that he starred in with the great Olivia DeHavilland. Great action, a witty script, highly entertaining, and a great love story. With Sydney Greenstreet, and a fantastic musical score.

I thought it was an amazing film. With great leadership ! loved every it of the movie

They Died with their Boots on 1941An Errol Flynn film. A movie about Custer The 7th Calvary. Errol Flynn plays the character with nobility, honor, and loyalty towards the military. The only problem is I think that the real Custer was not a good as portrayed in the film. It has Gene Lockhart. Conspiracy to get Custer out of the picture by saying that there is gold in the part of the West where none existed in order to brake treaties with Native Americans to gain land. I liked the military music and the action. It was a very entertaining story.

A wonderful movie, sure not total factual, but very enjoyable, and Flynn at his best.

150501: When this movie first started I thought it was going to be pure stupidity. Custer is portrayed as an idiot at the beginning but, as we see his luck and tactics for climbing the ranks, the story blossoms to become a classic. Without considering the historical accuracy of this film, I can say it's pure entertainment. Some great acting here from Flynn. Loved the relationship between Custer and Libby. Desperately want to look up details on the life of Lt. Butler. And, there is at least one really cool horse stunt. The only area lacking in my opinion was development of the First Nations characters. Would've been nice to get to know Crazy Horse a bit more. Good film. Well worth a western fan's time.

Starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. This film purports to be a biopic of the enigmatic General George Armstrong Custer. It often distorts the facts beyond recognition and is about twenty minutes too long. But it remains top notch entertainment most of the way. The knowledge that this was Flynn and de Havilland's last film together adds greater poignancy to their farewell scene. Directed by Raoul Walsh.

A very glorified version of the George Armstrong Custer story. But I think one of Errol Flynn's best westerns.

It might leave a little to be desired in the "historically accurate" department, but it's a wonderful film that we keep you entertained the entire time.

Great movie about a great American Hero. I read the book written by General Custer, My Life on the Plains. It was a incredibly well written and captivating account of his time. It proves he was equally intelligent as he was courageous. Where the movie is fictitious, I am sure Custer was better than advertised. History and movie buffs should not fall prey to critics who systematically seek to water down any of the great leaders in American history.

You always were a great one for glory.George Armstrong Custer is a rebellious teen with delusions of grandeur. He attends Westpoint where he remains on the brink of getting kicked out. A huge war breaks out over the plains between the white man and the Indians and captains are in short supply. Out of an act of desperation, Custer is anointed Captain of a key regimen in the mid west. The story of Custer and his affairs with the Indians historically unfolds."You little, fat, pipsqueak!"Raoul Walsh, director of Objective Burma, High Sierra, White Heat, The Roaring Twenties, They Drive by Night, and Band of Angels, delivers They Died with their Boots On. The storyline for this picture is just okay. The character development and subplots are pretty good and I enjoyed the acting, but the overall film felt kind of average to me. The cast includes Errol Flynn, Arthur Kennedy, Olivia de Havilland, Charley Grapewin, Anthony Quinn, and Gene Lockheart. "No white man will set foot on sacred soil."I grabbed this movie off Turner Classic Movies (TCM) when I discovered it starred Errol Flynn. I generally enjoy his classics but I found this to be just okay. Custer was presented in a very interesting and compelling way but the overall direction of the picture is kind of bland. Overall, I'd see this once but wouldn't go out of my way to see this picture."I don't think your stay will be very long with us, Mr. Custer."Grade: B-

I've read Elizabeth Custer's book, and this movie is right in the tradition of her propaganda. It's a brilliant Thru the Looking Glass treatment of Custer's life and history. Strange and compelling. It was too long, but both Flynn and DeHavilland are great. Quinn racks up another ethnic credit, but is in no way memorable - not that there was a lot to his role.The horse scenes in this movie are fantastic. Does Hollywood still have enough men to get 200 guys on horseback at the same time? Can they move a regiment worth of horses thru their paces together? I love the scene where Custer rides into the ambush and you see the Indians horses riding out of the trees in the background. The timing and staging of the scene is really well done. And the stunts in the finale are amazing. In one of them an Indian rides into the group of soldiers, past a bunch of men laying on the ground, gets shot, falls off his horse, gets his foot caught in the stirrup, the horse wheels and drags him off into the distance. That's just one of dozens of stunts that are happening simultaneously. Very impressive work.I picked it up because I was researching Garryowen after the scouts at my son's summer camp sang it. This has a very different version of Garryowen, but it's very well done here. The many different versions spread throughout the film really tie all the different scenes together.I can't give the film more than 3.5 stars due to the shockingly off story, but the film making is really top notch.

This movie was a lot of fun and very entertaining. It has a faster more modern pace then a lot of the movies at this time. Errol Flynn does a great job walking the line between insubordinate underachiever who you would follow to the end of the earth for his charm and confidence. When Custer is not leading an charge or fighting for his conviction's he's making us laugh. I am no historical scholar but it seems they took more than a few liberty's with the truth, I am guessing were supposed to look past that and just enjoy is has a half fiction. The epic final stand made the battle at little big horn seem like a courageous strategic sacrifice instead of a military blunder. Great job with the size and scope of the Calvary battles, enough arrows flying and solders falling off horses to satisfy an action fan. This mostly lighthearted movie it gets a little deep at times with Custer in a one man fight vs. the military industrial complex, and a line stating that the Indians were "the only true Americans". One problem I have with this movie as I do with a lot of older films is there seems to be this recurring theme of a man and woman meeting and deciding after a 2 min conversation that they're going to get married. I guess it's supposed to be romantic, "love at first sight" but I just find it goofy and hard to believe. Having said that I would marry Elizabeth bacon in a second, she's the classic good wife. The best thing I can say about this movie is that usually when I hear 40's and western I think slow and boring, but this movie kept me entertained the whole time.

An Epic, simple, informative, yet enjoyable film about the life and death of the civil war hero general Custer. It was a bit long, but I still enjoyed the melodrama, the cheesy comedy and the numerous extras of the black and white film. It included many from the cast of gone with the wind. It might have been better to have cut the whole ending war. Anthony Quinn makes an appearance as walking horse, and Indian. There'd is a great song ingary Owen.

Powerful, if heavily fictionalized, Western, with dynamic direction by Raoul Walsh.