Wednesday, May 26, 2010

CUSTER OF THE WEST

Custer, l’homme de l’Ouest – French title
La última aventura del General Custer – Spanish title
General Custers sidste kamp – Danish title
Custer l’eroe del West – Italian title
Kenraali Custer - Lännen suuri taistelija – Finnish title
Big Horn – ein tag zum Kampfen – German title
Slaget vid Little Big Horn – German title
Ein Tag zum Kämpfen – German title
I Istoria grafetai stin Dysi – Greek title
Slaget vid Little Big Horn – Swedish title
Kaster sa Zapada – Yugoslavian title
A Good Day for Fighting – English title
Custer – U.S.A. title
Custer of the West – U.S.A. title

A 1967 U.S.A., British, French, Spanish co-production [Cinerama Releasing Corp., Security Pictures, Inc. (Hollywood)]
Producer: Philip Yordan, Louis Dolivet
Director: Robert Siodmak
Screenplay: Bernard Gordon, Julian Halevy (Julian Zimet)
Cinematography: Cecilio Paniagua (Cecilio Rodriguez) [Technicolor, Super Technirama]
Music: Bernard Segall
Running time: 146 minutes

Cast:
General George Armstrong Custer - Robert Shaw
Elizabeth Custer - Mary Ure
Lieutenant Benteen - Jeffrey Hunter (Henry McKinnies, Jr.)
Major Marcus Reno - Ty Hardin (Orton Hungerford, Jr.)
Lieutenant Howells - Charles Stalnaker
Sergeant Buckley - Robert Hall
General Philip Sheridan - Lawrence Tierney
Chief Dull Knife - Kieron Moore (Kieron O’Hanrahan)
gold miner - Marc Lawrence (Max Goldstein)
Mulligan - Robert Ryan
man in flume - John Clarke
with; Bernabe Barta Barri, Clemence Bettany, Bill Christmas, Jack Cooper, John Dillon, Jack Gaskins, Dennis Kilbane, Fred Kohler, Jr., Ken Miller, Carl Rapp, Robert Reynolds, Luis Rivera, Bud Strait, Jack Taylor (George Randall), John Underhill, Joe Zboran


Filmed in Cinerama this is a historical fiction version of the life of General George Armstrong Custer's adventures after the American Civil War. With no better offers to be had, famous upstart officer George Armstrong Custer takes charge of the Western Cavalry maintaining the peace in the Dakotas. He soon learns that the U.S. treaties are a sham, that Indian lands are being stolen and every excuse for driving them off their hunting grounds is being encouraged. With his wife Elizabeth Custer, he goes in and out of favor in Washington, while failing to keep wildcatting miners like his own deserting Sergeant Mulligan from running off to prospect for gold in the Black Hills of the Indian country. After trying to humble the prideful Indian warrior Dull Knife, Custer leads the 7th Cavalry into one of the biggest blunders in American history.

3 comments:

  1. Jess Franco told me during our interview that he was Robert Siodmak's "personal assistant" (not assistant director) on this big production. He showed up on the set and offered to help Siodmak simply because he admired the older director. He also said that Siodmak wanted Sterling Hayden for the lead role of Custer and was not happy with actually getting Robert Shaw, who he felt was miscast and had difficulty directing.

    I do agree that Hayden would have probably made a better Custer on this troubled production, which I saw at the drive-in during the summer of 1968. Not the best place to see a CINERAMA movie.

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  2. Thanks Robert for the additional information. I can't see Hayden as Custer but Shaw was also not a good choice.

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  3. While the movie was produced by the Cinerama Corporation, it was not filmed in the three-camera Cinerama process.

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