They Died with Their Boots On

They Died with Their Boots On
Directed byRaoul Walsh
Screenplay by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBert Glennon
Edited byWilliam Holmes
Music byMax Steiner
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • November 21, 1941 (1941-11-21) (United States)
Running time
140 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,358,000[1][2]
Box office$4,014,000 (worldwide rentals)[1]

They Died with Their Boots On is a 1941 American biographical western war film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Arthur Kennedy. It was made and distributed by Warner Bros. and produced by Hal B. Wallis and Robert Fellows,

The film's storyline offers a highly fictionalized account of the life of Gen. George Armstrong Custer, from the time he enters West Point military academy through the American Civil War and finally to his death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Custer is portrayed as a fun-loving, dashing figure who chooses honor and glory over money and corruption. The battle against Chief Crazy Horse (played by Anthony Quinn) is portrayed as a crooked deal between politicians and a corporation that wants the land Custer promised to the Native Americans.

The film was one of the top-grossing films of 1941. They Died with Their Boots On was the eighth and final film collaboration between Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland in starring roles, although the two would guest star together in Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943). The supporting cast features Arthur Kennedy, Sydney Greenstreet as Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, Anthony Quinn as Crazy Horse, John Litel as Gen. Phillip Sheridan, Regis Toomey as Fitzhugh Lee, Joseph Crehan as President Ulysses S. Grant, and Hattie McDaniel.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ReferenceA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Appendix 1: Warner Bros. Financial Data". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 15 (sup1): 1–31. March 1995. doi:10.1080/01439689508604551.