Custer's Last Stand is a 1936 American film serial based on the historical Custer's Last Stand at the Little Bighorn River. It was directed by Elmer Clifton, and starred Rex Lease, William Farnum and Jack Mulhall. It was produced by the Poverty Row studio Stage & Screen Productions, which went bust shortly afterwards as a victim of the Great Depression. This serial stars many famous and popular B-Western actors as well as silent serial star Helen Gibson playing Calamity Jane, Frank McGlynn Jr. as General Custer, and Allen Greer as Wild Bill Hickok.
Custer's Last Stand | |
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Directed by | Elmer Clifton |
Screenplay by | George Arthur Durlam Eddie Granemann William Lively |
Story by | George Arthur Durlam Eddie Granemann William Lively |
Produced by | Louis Weiss |
Starring | Rex Lease Lona Andre William Farnum Ruth Mix Jack Mulhall |
Cinematography | Bert Longenecker |
Edited by | George M. Merrick Holbrook N. Todd |
Music by | Hal Chasnoff |
Distributed by | Stage & Screen Productions |
Release dates | January 2, 1936 April 3, 1936 (film) |
Running time | 15 chapters (328 min) 84 min (film) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
In April of the same year, the serial was edited into an 84-minute feature film, which was released under the same name.
The serial follows multiple plot threads, centering on a Medicine Arrow taken in battle and a secret gold mine, in the lead up to the Battle of Little Big Horn.
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Commenting on the plot, Cline notes that this serial contains several historical characters in a purely fictitious setting. "The story rambled through a series of loosely connected plots and sub plots" leading to Little Big Horn.[1]
Custer's Last Stand was well received by action fans, regardless of its historical inaccuracies.[1]
Source:[2]