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Yesterday was the 150 anniversary of the Civil War.The film that comes to mind is "Gone with the wind"which I will review at a later dateThis film is a sort of prequel to the war if you will.Released in 1940 at 110 minutes. The classic cast includes Olivia de Havilland,who was also in GWTW as 'Kit Carson' Holliday and our former president Ronald Reagan as George Custer and dashing Errol Flynn as Jeb Stuart as well as a stirring manic and quite chilling performance by Raymond Massey as John Brown as well as a host of fine supporting actors including Alan Hale as Tex Bell,Van Heflin as Rader and Moroni Olsen as Robert E. Lee and many others.This is a movie not a documentary and as such fact and fiction merge as in many other movies.Remember that because one of this movies strengths is to make you believe its all true.
There are 2 major themes in the movie.One is the so called classic love of 2 men for one woman in this case as a rich metaphor for the war to come.Jeb Stuart who would go on to fight for the south and George Custer for the north and Kit as the Country to be fought over.And the second which the movie shows as a flash point,slavery, BUT as evidenced by the subtle name of this movie,Santa Fe Trail,IS the real reason for the war to come.
One irony of history and it is portrayed without hesitation is the fact that Robert E Lee leeds the charge to retake Harpers Ferry from John Brown.True he was still in the US Army at the time,but,John Brown was also at the time,the biggest threat to the rising South and Lee's home state of Va.
The film opens with graduation from West Point and a squabble between cadets over abolition and a fight erupts causing disciplinary action sending Custer and Stuart to the wild west of Kansas and the Santa fe Trail. There they come into first hand confrontation with John Brown and meet Kit.From there the film goes on to the raid at Harpers ferry and a very interesting camp fire meeting with a old Indian woman who tells the group of 7 West Point Friends that a dark cloud is coming and the friends will have to fight each other.To which they all laugh and say it can never happen.
I love the film for the fine mixing of fact and fiction but took of the star because it is black and white,the title is poor and it looks like it was made back in the 40's unlike GWTW. But thats a reason GWTW is "arguably "the best film of all time. If you love westerns with a civil war hint,you'll love it.As always the URL to the trailer is below the pix.
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1033700889/
There are 2 major themes in the movie.One is the so called classic love of 2 men for one woman in this case as a rich metaphor for the war to come.Jeb Stuart who would go on to fight for the south and George Custer for the north and Kit as the Country to be fought over.And the second which the movie shows as a flash point,slavery, BUT as evidenced by the subtle name of this movie,Santa Fe Trail,IS the real reason for the war to come.
One irony of history and it is portrayed without hesitation is the fact that Robert E Lee leeds the charge to retake Harpers Ferry from John Brown.True he was still in the US Army at the time,but,John Brown was also at the time,the biggest threat to the rising South and Lee's home state of Va.
The film opens with graduation from West Point and a squabble between cadets over abolition and a fight erupts causing disciplinary action sending Custer and Stuart to the wild west of Kansas and the Santa fe Trail. There they come into first hand confrontation with John Brown and meet Kit.From there the film goes on to the raid at Harpers ferry and a very interesting camp fire meeting with a old Indian woman who tells the group of 7 West Point Friends that a dark cloud is coming and the friends will have to fight each other.To which they all laugh and say it can never happen.
I love the film for the fine mixing of fact and fiction but took of the star because it is black and white,the title is poor and it looks like it was made back in the 40's unlike GWTW. But thats a reason GWTW is "arguably "the best film of all time. If you love westerns with a civil war hint,you'll love it.As always the URL to the trailer is below the pix.
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