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by Frank Showalter

Santa Fe Trail

B+: 4 stars (out of 5)
1940 | United States | 110 min | More...
Reviewed Aug 22, 2004

Fresh out of West Point, officers Jeb Stewart (Errol Flynn) and George Custer (Ronald Reagan) track radical abolitionist John Brown (Raymond Massey) and woo the beautiful Kit Carson Holliday (Olivia de Havilland).

Santa Fe Trail is an interesting picture. The story is set right before the Civil War and follows friends Jeb Stewart and George Custer as they track abolitionist John Brown, but what’s interesting about the movie is the moral stance it takes: The movie seems to play up Stewart’s belief that the South will end slavery on its own, in due time, and that outsiders like John Brown will just end up hurting the South’s pride.

Little thought is given to the slaves themselves and, in fact, when a group are freed they elect to return South to captivity. So far the movie sounds a little racist doesn’t it? But here’s where it really gets interesting: Stewart’s good friend Custer is clearly sympathetic to Brown, as is Stewart’s romantic interest, Kit Carson Holliday. They go along with Stewart because it’s the legal—but not necessarily right—thing to do, leading to a great bit of foreshadowing that Stewart and Custer would end up on opposite sides during the Civil War, and giving another shade to an already morally complex story.

What makes all this even more interesting is that the Santa Fe Trail is a decidedly anti-war movie, but was made in 1940, a year in which Hollywood was already turning out lots of pro-war movies including star Flynn and director Curtiz’s The Sea Hawk, despite the fact that the US wouldn’t become officially involved in the war for another year.

Of course it’s easy to overlook a lot of this as Curtiz’s fast pacing and Flynn’s considerable star power make for an entertaining adventure, not to mention Raymond Massey’s excellent performance as John Brown, but beneath all the drama is an interesting message indeed.

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  • Watched on
    Sun, Aug 22, 2004