The Battle of the Little Big Horn is without doubt one of the most screen depicted battles in American history. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the battle so it’s as good a time as any to run down 10 of the major productions that have depicted Custer and the 7th Cavalry’s last stand!
Fascination with the battle began almost as soon as news of the defeat broke but in the years that followed it became a focal point for popular Wild West shows which toured the US and the world in the 1880s-1920s. General Custer himself has become a character of tragic fascination and has been played on screen by actors ranging from Errol Flynn to Robert Shaw and even Ronald Reagan (in Santa Fe Trail)!
Custer’s Last Fight (1912)
The first major film to depict the battle came in 1912, Custer’s Last Fight arrived at the height of the Wild West shows’ popularity and as cinema exploded. Directed by Francis Ford, elder brother of film director John Ford, the film also stared Ford as Custer. Its just under an hour long and you can easily find it online. Featuring impressive scale for the time the last stand scene cemented the depictions regularly seen in Wild West shows. The film was rereleased in the 20s and 30s.
General Custer at Little Big Horn (1926)
General Custer at Little Big Horn, directed by Harry L. Fraser, capitalised on the 50th anniversary of the battle releasing in 1926. It starred popular leading man Roy Stewart as Lem Hawks, a scout, while Custer was played by John Beck. It was the last of the silent films about the battle.
Custer’s Last Stand (1936)
Entering the era of the Talkie, 1936’s Custer’s Last Stand was a film serial played out over 15 chapters covering more than 300 minutes, culminating with the battle. It was also eventually edited down into an 80 minute feature film. Frank McGlynn Jr. appeared as General Custer and despite being full of historical inaccuracies it was popular with audiences.
They Died with their Boots On (1941)
Starring Errol Flynn in one of his best roles, 1941’s They Died with their Boots On is a Western classic which intriguingly rounds out Custer’s back story more than all previous films – dramatising Custer’s meteoric rise through the ranks during the US Civil War. They Died with their Boots On sees Flynn once again team with director Raoul Walsh and sees a young Anthony Quinn play Chief Crazy Horse. The film while far from being historically accurate features the great action set-piece sequences you’d expect from Walsh and marks the the eigth and final film collaboration between Flynn and Olivia de Havilland (as Mrs Custer).
Little Big Horn (1951)
The battle acts as backdrop for Charles Marquis Warren‘s Little Big Horn, which follows Lloyd Bridges as an officer leading a patrol rushing to warn Custer of his impending doom. The battle itself isn’t depicted!
Sitting Bull (1954)
J. Carrol Naish plays Sitting Bull in Sidney Salkow’s 1954 film characterised by relatively sympathetic (for the day) portrayals of the Native American characters and perspectives. It’s notably the first film to depict the battle in colour! Filmed in woodland in Mexico means Custer (played by Douglas Kennedy) and the 7th Cavalry’s last stand isn’t the most accurate depiction and that’s before President Ulysses S. Grant randomly turns up.
7th Cavalry (1956)
Randolph Scott leads a band of misfits and military prisoners into Indian territory to recover the bodies of Custer and his men. The battle itself isn’t depicted nor is Custer but the film is an interesting take on events around and after the battle.
The Great Sioux Massacre (1965)
The Great Sioux Massacre, made a decade later, sees director Sidney Salkow again tackle the battle. The film begins as a courtroom drama with Major Reno defending his actions during the battle before slipping into a flashback to depict the events around the battle. The film reuses some footage from 1954’s Sitting Bull.
Custer of the West (1967)
With a strong cast including Robert Shaw as Custer, Robert Ryan, Ty Hardin, Jeffrey Hunter, and Mary Ure Custer of the West is an interesting film which takes a revisionist view of the conflict, but crams in unnecessary b-plot. While not a success on its release Shaw’s performance as Custer (complete with blonde hair and fringe jacket) is an intriguing one. In this depiction Custer is literally the last man standing.
Little Big Man (1970)
A western firmly in the revisionist trend of the late 60s and 70s, Little Big Man is a comedy that sees Dustin Hoffman play ‘Little Big Man’ a man who grew up with Native Americans. Arthur Penn’s comedy is a meandering story that culminates with the battle. Richard Mulligan plays Custer.
Son of the Morning Star (1991)
In 1991 US tv network ABC premiered ‘Song of the Morning Star‘ a two-part series that recounts the story of the battle from Custer (played by Gary Cole) and Kate Bighead (Kimberly Norris Guerrero) perspectives. Its depecition of the battle draws on the contemporary understanding of the events and tries to include small but significant details such a command and control issues and problems with jamming carbines. It’s probably the most expansive depiction of the battle.
Crazy Horse (1996)
5 years after Son of the Morning Star another tv network, TNT, explored the battle. Coinciding with the 120th anniversary of the battle, John Irvin (director of Hamburger Hill) portrayed the battle from Crazy Horse’s perspective (played by Michael Greyeyes). Intriguingly it depicts elements and events that are often absent from other onscreen depictions including events like the Fetterman Massacre and Custer being wounded early in the battle.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007)
Most recently, in 2007, HBO released Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee directed by Yves Simoneau based on Dee Brown’s book of the same name. Impressive scale and use of CGI captures the battle and compliments a strongly character-driven production with a great cast.
So there we have it – 10 (or so) on screen depictions of the Battle of Little Big Horn. Ranging from comedies to revisionist epics the battle holds a unique place in American cultural memory that has seen the story revisited more than almost any other conflict in US history. Each of the films on the list reflect the era they were made in and tells us just as much about the time and people who made them as they do about the battle they depict.
One Response
Interesting. I didn’t know there was that many films about the event. My late father had a very well thumbed copy of the book Son of Morning Star. I may have bought it for him. He read it so many times. Similarly he had a copy of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee; I read that when I was a young teen. It might a tremendous impression upon me. Ten, fifteen years ago National Geographic did a big feature on an archeological study of the battlefield. Revealing as I recall. Of the films I think I have only seen They Died With Their Boots On. I vaguely recall thinking it was like all westerns of the era, toot.