Custer's Last Fight (1912) User Reviews

Fascinating!

[JoshsDad · 7/10 · 26 March 2007]

I enjoyed this film when I recently viewed it on DVD. Good production values and an easy to follow narrative make this a satisfying way to spend your time. The views re Indians/settlers may be a trifle simplistic but at least Custer is not portrayed as a murdering bastard. Most films about Custer make this error. It is fascinating to see these famous events portrayed a mere 36yrs after they actually happened. The myths of The West are already in place and are still being rolled out even today ... 95 yrs later. Let's hope it is not another 95yrs before someone has the guts to make a 'real' film about Custer, one that portrays the Civil War hero and not just the defeated soldier of Little Big Horn.

The greatest Indian frontier spectacle ever shown!

[rijim2001 · 5/10 · 28 October 2009]

The 1925 re-edited version (with new scenes, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Little Big Horn) of Custer's Last Fight, the 1912 Thomas Ince cowboy western. It was described on handbills as, "The Big, New, and Only Original Frontier Spectacle of the Celebrated Battle of Little Big Horn"; "The Battle of No Survivors"; "Educational - Every School Boy and Girl Should See It"; "A Picture All Should See - Man, Woman, and Child"; "On The Screen In Its Full Glory!"; "Supendous Colossal Gigantic"; "A picture that 'hews to the line,' letting the chips fall where they may"; "The Greatest Wild West Feature Ever Filmed"; "COMING!! The Mighty Epic Spectacle of the Old-Time West"; "Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Battle at Little Big Horn"; "The greatest Indian frontier spectacle ever shown"; "Dedicated to the Spirit of the American Pioneer"; "Famous Indian Uprising in 1876 Under the Bloodthirsty SITTING BULL"; "Taken in the Black Hills. Over a Year in the Making" starring Francis Ford, Grace Cunard and Charles K. French. In 1926 (the 50th Anniversary of the Massacre at the Little Big Horn, known as "Custer's Last Stand") , the original movie was re-cut and some new footage was shot and the movie was re-presented with new posters and lobby cards printed. The ones you see sold as art for your walls are reproductions of the 1925 re-release. There are no 1912 posters or advertising known to exist.

Custer's Last Fight review

[JoeytheBrit · 5/10 · 25 June 2020]

Custer is perhaps predictably depicted as a hero in this, one of the first films to tell the tale of the Battle of Little Big Horn, while Sitting Bull is described as a cunning coward. Director Francis Ford, who also plays Custer, fills the screen with action, but it's shot from too low an angle for the audience to understand what is going on. This means a large amount of intertitles are used - although these may have been added to the longer 1925 re-release I watched rather than the 1912 original.

Dynamic early western, worth seeing!

[bristolsilents · 8/10 · 13 January 2002]

This film was directed by Francis Ford (John's brother) who also stars as Custer. The film opens with Rain-in-the-face, a bloodthirsty killer, an Indian of course in striking close-up killing two white men, he is overheard boasting of this and is imprisoned. On his escape he joins the other sioux who are forced to move from their reservations due to hunger. The rest of the film builds towards a spectacular (for the period) battle. This culminates with a powerfully visual scene with Custer, his brother and officers engulfed with heavy fire and falling one by one . A horse moves in from the left and collapses, very immediate for cinema in this period . Although hardly progressive in its attitudes towards native Americans it is less offensive than say the dog eating indians portrayed in Griffith's Battle at Elderbush Gulch two years later(1914). The film runs approx 20mins, I saw the re-released version (1922) on 16mm of the 1912 film which I believe is the only version that exists. Overall this is very good example of building narrative and visual style form the silent period and highly enjoyable.

Great early western picture

[bristolsilents · 8/10 · 16 January 2002]

This film was re-released in 1922 which is the copy I saw on 16mm. Directed by and starring Francis Ford as Custer this is a very well conceived film for it's time. The drama builds from the powerful close up of the Sioux Indian at the opening as he kills 2 'innocent white men' to the climatic scene where Custer and his brother battle against the. odds as one by one they fall. The attitude towards the native American Sioux is as expected for this period but is certainly less offensive than say Griffith's portrayal of Indians as' dog- eaters' in The Battle of Elderbush Gulch released two years later in 1914. Overall the action sequences are fine and the film running approx. 20mins holds the attention well. Recommended

Good period piece

[captnemo · 12 September 2000]

This is directed by the brother of John Ford, who was also making films by 1917. The last stand is the centerpiece of the film, but the events on each side are fascinating. The first part shows the slow but steady movement of settlers into Indian territory. At first there is peace, but soon blood is shed. Things come to a head when gold is discovered in the Black Hills, leading to bloody confrontations spreading westward. Custer is caught up in this and winds up killed. After his death, scenes are shown of the fate of the Sioux and Sitting Bull in particular. Overall, a very satisfying early film. Rating: 5 out of 10.

An Expanded Version of a 1912 Thomas Ince Production

[briantaves · 31 October 2011]

CUSTER'S LAST FIGHT, was cobbled together posthumously but still credited with producer Thomas Ince's personal supervision. Quality Amusement Corp. released the new version of his 1912 Bison movie, which had been expanded from three to five reels. Spectacular in its own time, the new version may have included footage already shot for THE LAST FRONTIER, incomplete at the time of Ince's death—as noted in my Ince biography. THE LAST FRONTIER would ultimately be completed in 1926.

Whether there was actual new photography for CUSTER'S LAST FIGHT is uncertain; it is not listed on Ince production charts. Among the original scenes in this version were an opening of bison and some glimpses of Buffalo Bill near the end. Other footage added included a fort under siege, skirmishes with Indians, troop movements, an Indian village and dances, and an extensive postscript on the fate of Sitting Bull. All of this provided an element of spectacle undercut by the lack of expected stress on the personalities of individuals, yet this simultaneously enhanced the factual tone, with intertitles providing dates, military movements, and the names of historical individuals.

Running Time

[dstenhouse · 8 November 2003]

My copy of this film (a Grapevine VCD) runs for 54 minutes. I agree with the previous reviewer's comments - this is a surprisingly vigorous western, very easy to watch, except for Custer being portrayed as a saintly hero.