Best of the West: The Outlaw/Santa Fe Trail

Starring:Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Raymond Massey, Ronald Reagan, Alan Hale, William Lundigan, Van Heflin, Gene Reynolds, Henry O'Neill, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Alan Baxter, John Litel, Moroni Olsen, David Bruce, Hobart Cavanaugh, Charles D. Brown, Joe Sawyer, Frank Wilcox, Ward Bond, Russell Simpson
Director: Michael Curtiz, Howard Hughes, Howard Hawks
Studio: Sling Shot
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

History lesson sorely needed
Two good films, in good condition.
Rousing but inaccurate adventure movie
Fun Escapism Through a Western Adventure
THIS DVD IS NEWLY REMASTERED

Best of the West: The Outlaw/Santa Fe Trail
Starring: Errol Flynn , Olivia de Havilland , Raymond Massey , Ronald Reagan , and Alan Hale
Director: Michael Curtiz , Howard Hughes , and Howard Hawks
Manufacturer: Sling Shot
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00003ETQF
Release Date: 2000-06-27

Customer Reviews:

History lesson sorely needed.......2007-06-02

How many school children in 21 st century know about John Brown? How many know about the causes of this horrible war that pitted former comrades against one another? Is this movie entirely accurate and does take artistic license with the characters and storyline? Yes and No, but and so do many contemporary films such as 'Saving Private Ryan' or 'Patton' take liberties with actual events. As a number of reviewers have noted, we see events in history through politically correct eyes. My major fault with the movie is that southerners did not have a distinctive regional drawl, especially Errol Flynn's character, Jeb Stuart. Having your children watch this movie will provide them an insight into a forgotten epic American history while at the same time entertaining them with battles and other action scenes. John Brown may have been right in his core principles but he is a prime example of excessive zeal clashing with established law and order.

Two good films, in good condition........2005-11-14

I don't very often write reviews (although I enjoy reading those of others), but I must just tell anyone wondering which version of "Santa Fe Trail" to buy that the Marengo version (the one that includes "Abilene Town" as a bonus) is excellent. I was not familiar with either of these movies before - I don't know why, as they are both really good movies, and better than many others that I have bought individually and paid more money for. "Santa Fe Trail" is a really unusual, and interesting movie. The combination of Curtiz and Flynn gives it something - a depth, or thoughtfulness, perhaps - that most movies just don't have. It is also, IMHO, a better movie than Errol Flynn's other cavalry outing, "They Died With Their Boots On", so I don't know why the former is in the public domain, as if nobody cares about it, with numerous versions available (some of which don't sound very good), while the latter is presumably still owned and guarded exclusively by Warner Brothers, who have recently brought out a lavish DVD version of it, with various "extras" on it.
As for "Abilene Town", that also is a surprisingly good movie, its plot not unlike that of "Dodge City". On a trivial note: it looks to me as if Gary Cooper's famous, iconic "look" in "High Noon" (reproduced in books and posters so often) was in fact inspired by the outfit that Randolph Scott wears in "Abilene Town".

Rousing but inaccurate adventure movie.......2005-07-06

The title may well lead people to expect a Western and indeed this is how the movie has been packaged ,but I would argue it is nothing of the sort .While the Santa Fe Trail is mentioned and the role of the railroad in opening up the West is touched upon the movie is really about the origins of the Civil War .
Flynn stars as J E B Stuart -arguably the most famous cavalry commnader in the Confederate army .We first meet him as a West Point cadet, along with several other men who became prominent in the military in subsequent years chief among them being Custer (Ronald Reagan ) Phil Sheridan ( David Bruce) and George Pickett( Willam Marshall ) .His nemesis at the Academy is "Rader" played by Van Heflin ,a fervent abolitionist and disciple of the firebrand preacher John Brown .The two get involved in a brawl and Rader is sent down for having abolitionist pamphlets in his locker .Already the Civil war is casting its shadows over the military -;we meet Lee and Davis ,men who were to play a key role in events in the following decade .
Stuart ,Custer and Sheridan are sent to "Bloody Kansas" to keep the peace in the face of John Browns agitation for it to become a free state .They clash early on when they foil a gun running bid by Brown and his followers who now number the embittered and mercenary Rader in their ranks (it is made clear he fights for money ,not belief in the cause) .Further confrontations with Brown arise ,culminating in the bloody affray at Harper's Ferry
There is no shortage of movies dealing with the Civil War but very few have adressed its origins which makes this aspect of tghe movie so disappointing .Perhaps mindful of the need not to damage its potential in the South ,scriptwriter Robert Bruckner has come up with an evasive screenplay which sits on the fence politically .Brown is depicted as a fiery psychopath and an irrational madman whose cause is founded on the need for someone to hate rather than any love of the blacks or sense of moral righness ,while the Heflin character is a vain ,envious opportunist who loves only money and betrays any cause he feels does not value his contribution to it .He is shown as interfering in a system which Stuart claims is reforming itself from within ,and by so doing bringing about an avoidable conflict This is a gross distortion of the facts .Thus ,faced with such moral equivocation ,the best thing to do is enjoy it on an action movie level and here it works well .The action is lively and plentiful and the acting is pretty solid .Flynn is ideally cast as the archetypal military man -one who fights nobly for his cause ,despite his own doubts and de Havilland is excellent as the feisty tomboyish Kit Carson Halliday over whom Custer and Stuart bicker .Raymond Massey is hypnotic if hammy as Brown and there is a solid "best friend of the leading man "turn from Reagan ,whose character is allowed a few tentative pro-Brown remarks
One scene stands out -when Custer ,Sheridan ,Stuart and Pickett consult an Indian seeress they are told they will all be generals but will never again all meet as friend ;they react with uneasy laughter but in the scene we see the gathering clouds of the impending war ,
Muddy monochrome photography from the usually dependable Sal Polito does not help while Max Steiner's score is not his best by a long eway
Enjoy it as a vigorous and robust action picture from the great Michael Curtiz and this is okay but as a serious treatment of the issues it is sunk by its own timorousness and refusal to address reality

Fun Escapism Through a Western Adventure.......2005-03-20

Two major strenghts of this film are its character development and plot. Various historical figures are given the "Hollywood" treatment. The storyline unfolds in such a way that the complexity of the pre-Civil War era is addressed. John Brown is the focal point of the forces to be overcome. Harper's Ferry is where the resolution is reached.

Olivia de Havilland's character has to choose between Ronald Reagan's George Custer and Errol Flynn's J.E.B. Stuart. Humor is included in various spots to make for a pleasant occasional break from tension. There's a good flow, nice pacing.

The camera movements are not bad for that era. Since I love the West, I also like the establishing shots. This is a good clean movie for the most part, with the exception of the Indian fortune-teller.

THIS DVD IS NEWLY REMASTERED.......2004-12-25

MARENGO FILMS IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT BOTH TITLES ON THIS DVD HAVE BEEN NEWLY RE-MASTERED. NEW SOFTWARE, MUCH MORE POWERFUL AND HANDY THAN THAT AVAILABLE AT THE ONSET OF DVD HAS BEEN USED BY MARENGO. THE FILMS HAVE BEEN COLOR CORRECTED, AND AN ADDITIONAL SOUND DESIGN HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. WE FEEL UPGRADING THESE WONDERFUL PRINTS WAS WELL WORTH THE COST AND THAT COLLECTORS WILL BE PROUD TO HAVE THEM IN THEIR INVENTORY.

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