They Died with Their Boots On

They Died with Their Boots On is a 1941 American Biographical western film from Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by Hal B. Wallis and Robert Fellows, directed by Raoul Walsh, that stars Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. 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. Plot George Armstrong Custer (Flynn) arrives at West Point in an outlandish uniform he had designed himself, which makes him appear to be a visiting foreign general. Following the misunderstanding, he signs as a cadet and begins to stack up demerits for pranks and a general disregard for rules while at the Point. When the Civil War breaks out, Custer is at the bottom of his class.