Hollywood's made many films about George Armstrong Custer and the Little Big Horn, some good, most forgettable. Custer of the West (1967) is a cheapjack epic, sabotaged by a bad script, chintzy production and a misguided turn by Robert Shaw.George Custer (Robert Shaw) distinguishes himself as a Civil War cavalryman. Eager for action, he accepts assignment to the 7th Cavalry in the Dakotas. He finds tensions between settlers and Sioux and Cheyenne Indians at knife's edge, as white miners probe the Black Hills for gold. Custer tries negotiating with Cheyenne chief Dull Knife (Kieron Moore) while whipping his regiment into shape. Eventually conflict becomes inevitable, leading to Custer's Last Stand.
Produced by Phillip Yordan, Custer of the West outdoes even They Died With Their Boots On in its sloppiness. Besides errors like calling Philip Sheridan (Lawrence Tierney) commander of the Army of the Potomac, it invents a Fourth of July massacre and makes Captain Benteen (Jeffrey Hunter) a peacenik. It conflates Custer's 1868 Washita campaign with his Dakota exploits. There's no pretense of accuracy, making us wonder why the filmmakers didn't choose a fictional story.
Worse, writers Bernard Gordon and Julian Zimet make their protagonist a bore, sternly following orders while grousing about corruption, fairness and mechanized warfare. This doesn't tally with the flamboyant, insubordinate historical Custer and doesn't make a gripping hero. He's victimized by scheming politicians, cowardly officers and faithless Indians before dying gallantly. Poor Custer, butt monkey of the Old West.
To pad its runtime and justify its Cinemascope presentation, Custer of the West indulges in dumb digressions. Useless action scenes involving runaway coaches, log fumes and imperiled trains. A short subplot involves a deserter (Robert Ryan) joining the miners. Custer and Sheridan feud like an old married couple while wife Libby (Mary Ure) anguishes over his safety. It's all just marking time between the Indian battles viewers crave.
Director Robert Siodmak's workmanlike direction does no favors. He stages action scenes competently, though we're amused to see Spanish deserts doubling for Gettysburg and Little Bighorn. Budget undercuts him: outside the 70mm battles, Custer is an overblown B Movie. Phony sets, crummy costumes and weak dialog undermine verisimilitude. Patient viewers are rewarded with a large-scale recreation of Custer's Last Stand, but it's a long slog for a decent finale. Robert Shaw is a holdover from Yordan's Battle of the Bulge, a flaccid movie partly redeemed by Shaw's electrifying acting. No such luck here. Shaw struggles to muffle his English accent while playing Custer as a stiff martinet, bereft of emotion beyond frustrated resolve. Neither a good physical match for Custer nor a compelling protagonist, Shaw flounders.
The supporting cast is wasted. Mary Ure merely frets over her husband, while Ty Hardin and Jeffrey Hunter languish in one-note characterizations. Lawrence Tierney's General Sheridan is a one-note grouch. Robert Ryan rambles about gold and strawberries in a pointless cameo. Kieron Moore is oddly cast as an Indian chief.
Custer of the West fails on every level. Even viewers ignorant of the Little Bighorn can spot a bomb this bad from a mile away.
