Flynnfest Classic - They Died With Their Boots On

Ah, the classic - They Died With Their Boots On. One classic western, and perhaps Errol's most famous. Staple of many a Saturday afternoon matinee on Channel 9. Famous for it's classically inaccurate history, cartoonish portrayal of Native Americans, elaborate horse killing cavalry charges, and Errol's last movie with Olivia DeHavilland. One of the definitive Errol Flynn epics.

In retrospect, however, not as good a movie as some of his others, after some analysis. But quintessential Errol Flynn. Certainly not his best western - Rocky Mountain is easily a superior all-around western. The history is preposterous. Other than there was a guy named Custer, he fought in the civil war, married a woman named Elizabeth, and died at the Little Big Horn, that's pretty close to the extent of the historical accuracy of the story. As for the Indians? Well, let's start with Crazy Horse being played by Anthony Quinn. Considering Quinn was a Mexican-American, he spent a good part of his career playing Native Americans, Greeks, Hawaiians, Filipinos, Chinese, and Arabs, it's surprising that he ever got to play a Mexican (Viva Zapata, 1952). And for the big Indian war party scenes, the studio couldn't find an actual Native Americans, so they brought in 16 actual Sioux Indians from the Dakotas (used in close-ups), and used Filipino extras for the rest. Huh? "Please, white man - come sit with me a share peace pipe and lumpia."

Oh, caveat. I picked up this on DVD at the Des Moines library. Cool. And it's the original B&W version, though They Died With Their Boots On has since been colorized. Unless I can't locate the film otherwise, the Flynnfest watches B&W films in the original B&W. Not that I'm against colorization. Just not for the Quest. It's a purist thing, I guess.

Flynn was at the top of his acting game at the time. The irony - his weakest acting in the movie is when he plays Custer as a drunk after the end of the Civil War. Actually, multiple ironies. First, at the tail end of his career, Flynn made a serious comeback (The Sun Also Rises, etc), playing almost exclusively guys with alcohol problems. Second, though Flynn is thouroughly unconvincing playing a drunk Custer, he was actually pretty hammered during most of the filming, as by this point in his career we was drinking pretty heavily on the set on a daily basis. Finally, the actual Custer neither drank nor smoked.

Surprisingly good stuff in TDWTBO - makeup, for one. Flynn and DeHavilland play young teenage lovers who age together through middle age. Ordinarily, in their movies together, Errol and Olivia were made up to look as attractive (that is, young) throughout the movie. In this film, in their final scene together (as Errol is about to depart for the Little Big Horn), their makeup is such as to try to make them appear as a middle aged couple. Oh, and another Errol singing role - he sings "Garryowen" with actor GP Huntley. Double irony - GP Huntley plays a British character - though he was born in Massachusetts. Flynn, a British citizen until 1938, plays the All American hero. And in the movie, British Huntley tells American Flynn that Garryowen is a British song. Or perhaps Australian. It's actually Irish, and in reality Custer heard it from Irish soldiers serving in the Union Army during the Civil War. Confused? Hooray for Hollywood.