Custer's Last Stand (serial)

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Custer's Last Stand
Custer's Last Stand FilmPoster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Elmer Clifton
Screenplay by George Arthur Durlam
Eddie Granemann
William Lively
Story byGeorge 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 (1936-01-02)
  • April 3, 1936 (1936-04-03)(film)
Running time
15 chapters (328 min)
84 min (film)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

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.

Contents

In April of the same year, the serial was edited into an 84-minute feature film, which was released under the same name.

Plot overview

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.

Cast

Production

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]

Stunts

Release

Theatrical

Custer's Last Stand was well received by action fans, regardless of its historical inaccuracies. [1]

Chapter titles

  1. Perils of the Plains
  2. Thundering Hoofs [sic]
  3. Fires of Vengeance
  4. The Ghost Dancers
  5. Trapped
  6. Human Wolves
  7. Demons of Disaster
  8. White Treachery
  9. Circle of Death
  10. Flaming Arrow
  11. Warpath
  12. Firing Squad
  13. Red Panthers
  14. Custer's Last Ride
  15. The Last Stand

Source: [2]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Cline, William C. (1984). "3. The Six Faces of Adventure". In the Nick of Time . McFarland & Company, Inc. p.  39. ISBN   0-7864-0471-X.
  2. Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time . McFarland & Company, Inc. p.  217. ISBN   0-7864-0471-X.