27. Santa Fe Trail

As I have said before, I didn't plan on watching any of the films on Olivia de Havilland's day. I thought that I would only enjoy one -- Gone With the Wind -- and it is so long. But I ended up watching three of her films with Errol Flynn that were actually quite entertaining. I didn't plan to watch Santa Fe Trail, but after seeing that it included both Ronald Reagan and Van Heflin, I knew that I would have to suffer through the mangled history lesson.

The film starts out at West Point right before the boys are graduating. It's the eve of the Civil War and J.E.B. Stewart (Flynn), George Armstrong Custer (Regan), and Rader (Heflin) are all getting ready for their commissions. But Rader has some kind of pampflets that insight violence among the boys, and he ends up getting kicked out. Custer and Stewart get off easy -- they are disciplined and sent to somewhere dangerous in the Calvary.

They end up at the Santa Fe Trail -- in Kansas territory where John Brown (Raymond Massey) is sneaking slaves in. It turns out that Rader is part of John Brown's party, so he can try to get his revenge on Custer and Stewart. There is some fighting between the camps, and eventually a girl shows up. Kit (de Havilland) was the sister of one of their classmates, and now she's in Kansas territory to serve as the love interest. Between all the fighting, both Custer and Stewart manage to try courting her, but Kit only likes Stewart.

Eventually, the boys end up back in D.C. to get a commission. Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry occurs, but Rader gives the boys the low down on his plan and they try to stop it. Eventually Kit forsees the Civil War at John Brown's funeral. They all get married on the train -- ah, love! -- and kiss. The train drives off into the sunset and it's the end.

Would I recommend Santa Fe Trail? Definitely not as history! But I have to say that I really enjoy Flynn. He definitely pulled off the debonair swashbuckling hero as no one else really can. (Excepting Douglas Fairbanks, but they are from totally different eras.) Watching Ronald Regan play Custer is pretty entertaining and I love Van Heflin, even if he is playing a bad guy.

FILE UNDER: Classic Film ; 31 Films in 31 Days