They Died with Their Boots On

They Died with Their Boots On follows George Armstrong Custer from his days as a West Point cadet through the Civil War and into the campaigns against the Plains tribes. Headstrong and quick to defy orders, Custer rises to command the 7th Cavalry. After the war he is posted to Dakota territory, where his dealings with the Sioux and with land-hungry commercial interests bring him into conflict with his superiors. The film builds toward the 1876 battle at the Little Big Horn in Montana, where Custer leads his regiment against the forces of Crazy Horse.

Raoul Walsh directed, working from a screenplay by Æneas MacKenzie and Wally Kline. The film is the fifth of the twenty-three features Walsh directed in chronological order, arriving between Dark Command and High Sierra. Errol Flynn plays Custer opposite Olivia de Havilland as his wife, Elizabeth Bacon. Arthur Kennedy, Charley Grapewin, Gene Lockhart and Anthony Quinn, as Crazy Horse, appear among a credited cast of 121, with 42 credited crew members. Warner Bros. Pictures produced the 140-minute film, which blends drama, romance, war and Western elements.

On IMDb the film holds a rating of 4.4 from 68 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.7 from 124 votes. A critics' rating of 6.2 from 14 reviews places professional assessment above the IMDb figure but below the TMDB one.