Custer's Last Fight
About Custer's Last Fight
The two-reel Western follows George Armstrong Custer, played by Francis Ford, through the campaign that ends at the Little Bighorn. Sitting Bull is played by William Eagle Shirt. Grace Cunard plays Mrs. Custer. The last reel is the fight itself.
Cast & crew
More about Custer's Last Fight
Francis Ford directed and starred. Richard V. Spencer wrote it. Thomas H. Ince produced it. Ray Smallwood photographed it. Mutual Film released the two-reeler in 1912. It was shot mainly at Inceville, in Santa Ynez Canyon. J. Barney Sherry plays James McLaughlin. Art Acord plays a trooper. It was re-released in 1925 and again in 1933. It is the first film of Custer's last stand.
Themes
Background
The picture is the first film of Custer's defeat at the Little Bighorn, thirty-six years after the 1876 battle.
Making
Ince staged the cavalry and the village at Inceville rather than on the Little Bighorn. Ford played Custer and directed the fight.
Look
Ray Smallwood shot the two reels at Inceville, including the last stand staged in Santa Ynez Canyon.
Music
Silent.
Preservation
A print survives. The short was re-released in 1925 and 1933.
Notes
- Also known as Custer's Last Raid.
- William Eagle Shirt, a Lakota actor, plays Sitting Bull.
- Ann Little, Lillian Christy, and Charles K. French are in the cast. A horse named Snowball is credited.
- Ford was John Ford's older brother. John was not yet directing.
- The 1925 and 1933 reissues kept the 1912 picture in circulation after features had replaced two-reelers.
- A print survives.
Scenes
- The last reel stages the fight at the Little Bighorn with Ford as Custer.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Custer's Last Fight (1912).webm)
