His last command (1941)

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Movie
German title His last command
Original title They Died with Their Boots On
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1941
length 80 (original 140) minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Raoul Walsh
script Aeneas MacKenzie ,
Wally Kline
production Hal B. Wallis
music Max Steiner
camera Bert Glennon
cut William Holmes
occupation
synchronization

His last command (Original title: They Died with Their Boots On ) is an American biopic about the life of the American cavalry general George Armstrong Custer . The western , directed by Raoul Walsh in 1941, was released in German cinemas on November 14, 1952 in a version shortened by just under an hour.

action

A group of recruits come to West Point Military Academy in 1857 . Among them is a remarkably well-dressed man with long hair. His name is George Armstrong Custer, who wants to gain fame in battle. When Abraham Lincoln is elected US President , the American Civil War breaks out. Custer wants to graduate and take part in the war. He meets Elizabeth Bacon, known as Libby, with whom he has an appointment. But even before the planned meeting, Custer is ordered to Washington, DC after graduation to wait for orders there. Waiting becomes an agony for him. He turns to Lieutenant General Winfield Scott , who then transfers him to the 2nd US Cavalry Regiment .

On July 21, 1861, he took part in the Battle of Bull Run . Custer does not obey his orders, but attacks the enemy directly. He is wounded and later receives a medal. Custer finally wants to visit Libby, but on the way there he gets into an argument with a man. When Libby arrives, she is delighted to see him again and wants to introduce him to her father, Samuel Bacon. Custer recognizes in the father the man with whom he quarreled. Mr. Bacon throws Custer out of the house. Libby and Custer must now meet in secret. He promises to marry her when he becomes a general.

Custer returns to his regiment. He was promoted to general in the Michigan Brigade through a mistake. At the Battle of Gettysburg , Custer again acts on his own initiative. He loses many men, but he can push the opposing unit away. Custer continues to work hard for his success. After the war ends, Libby agrees to marry Custer. The now unemployed Custer is offered by a former cadet friend, Ned Sharp, the participation in a company which is to develop the Dakota territory . Custer realizes that he is only supposed to serve as a figurehead and refuses.

Again it is General Scott, this time at Libby's instigation, who relieves Custer from his waiting. Scott orders him to Fort Abraham Lincoln in Dakota. The fort is in dire condition. Sharp opened a bar there. The soldiers are mostly drunk, and rifles are sold to Indians from the trading post. Custer closes the bar and trading post and disciplines his soldiers.

The Indians, Sioux under their chief Crazy Horse , consent to leave the country if they are allowed to keep the land of the Black Hills , which is sacred to them. The Sharps, however, plan to build a railroad through the Black Hills to compensate for their losses in the fort. They also want to get rid of the uncomfortable custer. Custer accuses Major Taipe of making a hoax about gold discoveries in the mountains, and he is suspended from duty. When the Indians prepare to fight, Custer is reinstated as commander of the 7th US Cavalry Regiment .

On June 25, 1876, the Battle of Little Bighorn takes place , in which Custer tries to attack an Indian village. The Indians under Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull defeat Custer and his regiment. Libby is able to show a letter from her husband that he wrote to her before he died. In this letter he renews the charge against Taipe. Taipe is deposed, the Indians return to the Black Hills.

background

The film marks the last joint film appearance of Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, who worked together in a total of eight films. For Sydney Greenstreet it was the second role in a movie. Eleanor Parker made her film debut in an undisclosed minor role. Also not mentioned in the credits were the appearances of Francis Ford , brother of the director John Ford , as a veteran and of Gig Young as Lieutenant Roberts. A small role was the Olympic champion in five and decathlon at the 1912 Summer Olympics of Stockholm , Jim Thorpe , half-Irish, half-Indian.

The later director Don Siegel worked behind the scenes as a set designer. The musical director of the film was Leo F. Forbstein , the orchestra was directed by Hugo Friedhofer and Bernhard Kaun . Military adviser was Lieutenant Colonel JG Taylor of the US Army.

Warner Bros.'s production budget was $ 2.2 million. Two stuntmen died while shooting the Battle of Little Bighorn. One of them, George Murphy, was shown to have been severely drunk when he fell from a horse. The other, Jack Budlong, also fell from a horse and unfortunately fell into his saber. Only 16 of the Indian extras were real Sioux . The other performers of the Indians were Filippinos.

Historical inaccuracies

  • Custer and Elizabeth Bacon did not meet at West Point, but only later in 1862.
  • At the Battle of Bull Run, Custer was a messenger rider, he did not command any troops.
  • Custer was never honored with medals. His brother Thomas Custer, who did not appear in the film and who had served under him for most of the time, was the most decorated soldier of the Civil War.
  • Sabers were not used in the Battle of Little Bighorn .
  • Almost all Indians in the final battle wear a chief's headdress.

Reviews

"Historically contestable, heroically romanticizing Western biography with monumental battle scenes and patriotic sentiments," said the lexicon of international films . Cinema came to a similar conclusion: "Raoul Walsh's film is generous with history, but the action is superb."

The Rheinische Post described the film as an “epic that is less interested in reality than in the creation of legends”. Nevertheless, the "director and western specialist Raoul Walsh succeeded in creating a gripping portrait of the Northern States general". He was also "skilfully embodied by Hollywood warrior Errol Flynn like a shining knight". Furthermore, “the elaborately staged battle scenes” are outstanding.

German version

The first German dubbed version was created in 1952 by Deutsche Mondial Film GmbH. A second dubbing was made for television in 1998.

role actor Voice actor 1952 Voice actor 1998
George Armstrong Custer Errol Flynn Axel Monjé Sigmar Solbach
Elizabeth Bacon Olivia de Havilland Bettina Schön Katharina Lopinski
Ned Sharp Arthur Kennedy Erik Ode Fritz von Hardenberg
California Joe Charley Grapewin - Alwin Joachim Meyer
Samuel Bacon Gene Lockhart - Klaus Abrahamowski
Crazy Horse Anthony Quinn - Reinhard Brock
Lt. butler George P. Huntley Jr. - Hans-Rainer Müller
Major Taipe Stanley Ridges Siegfried Schürenberg Joachim Höppner
General Sheridan John Litel Wolfgang Lukschy Erik Schumann
William Sharp Walter Hampden - Alexander Allerson
General Scott Sydney Greenstreet - Herbert Weicker
Fitzhugh Lee Regis Toomey - Ulrich Bernsdorff
Callie Hattie McDaniel - Eva Yellow

literature

  • John Phillip Langellier: General Custer. History and film. Reinhard Weber - specialist publisher for film literature, Landshut 2002, ISBN 3-9802987-6-0 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Business on imdb.com
  2. ↑ See Trivia on imdb.com
  3. ↑ His final command. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  4. ↑ His last command on cinema.de
  5. ↑ See rp-online.de
  6. ↑ His final command. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on April 4, 2017 .
  7. ↑ See synchrondatenbank.de
  8. ↑ His final command. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on April 4, 2017 .