I grew up on Errol Flynn movies. This was one of perhaps a dozen that the local station had in the package they owned and all the neighborhood gang would congregate to watch their movie show whenever Flynn, (or Abbott and Costello) were on. I remember those times fondly and thus am apt to be more forgiving than most toward the historical inaccuracies and dated attitudes. Even 1940 is history now- it's almost been as long since then as it had since the Civil War when the film was made.

Still, you can't ignore the history and the attitudes. The film's premise is that many of the major figures of the Civil War- especially the ones who became "boy generals", were all in the West Point Class of 1854 and that several of them served in "bleeding Kansas" and at Harper's Ferry. Some of what the film depicts is true. Some of it is not. John Brown did raid in Kansas in 1855-56 and then made the raid on Harper's Ferry on 10/16/59. There he was captured and later hung. Raymond Massey, who had played Lincoln the year before, nails his performance as Brown, one of the most memorable in Hollywood history, (he would play him again in 1955's "Seven Angry Men"). One wonders what would happen if Brown and Lincoln had met- would they have recognized each other? Jefferson Davis was secretary of War in 1854, (but not in 1859). Robert E Lee was the commandant at West Point in 1854 and led the relief column at Harper's Ferry. JEB Stuart, (Errol Flynn),graduated from the class of 1854, fought in Kansas and was present at Harper's Ferry. So far so good.

But George Custer, (Ronald Reagan, in a good performance),was part of the class of 1861 and was neither in Kansas or Harper's Ferry and probably never met Stuart. Philip Sheridan was class of 1853, as was John Bell Hood. George Pickett was class of 1846 and James Longstreet class of 1842, (Custer would have been three years old when Longstreet graduated). Stuart married the daughter of Union General Philip St. George Cook, who is not depicted here.

The tenor of the times is surely well represented, with moral confusion and conflict between friends. The most effective scene in the film is the one where the fortune teller, by the light of a campfire, tells all the young officers that they will someday fight one another. Their faces lighted by the flames, they react with nervous astonishment. Hollywood overlaid this confusion with their own ambivalence, stemming form the fact that white southerners were viewed as a more significant market than black audiences. Thus pro slavers are viewed with more sympathy than fanatical abolitionists and blacks are depicted in an absurd, bug-eyed, "feet don't desert me now!" fashion that is unwatchable to modern audiences and should have been to 1940 audiences but apparently wasn't. On top of that, the 1940 nervousness over the coming war is clearly reflected in these character's attitudes toward the coming war of 1861. I agree that the film is not pro slavery so much as it's against fanaticism and the John Brown/bin-Laden comparison some have made seems accurate. (This condemnation of fanaticism takes on additional gravity in light of the 1/6/21 assault on our capitol by deluded Trump supporters. Each generation will find something to relate to in this.)

If you can look past all of that, you will see the film I and my youthful friends saw years ago- another rollicking Warner Brother's adventure film, with many of the same elements in the excellent series of Flynn westerns, such as "Dodge City", "Virginia City", "They Died With Their Boots on", (which features an altogether different view of Custer's career) and "San Antonio". Santa Fe Trail, which is not about the Santa Fe Trail, would make an excellent double feature with Northwest Passage, which is not about the Northwest Passage. (Both are fine films.)

After graduating from West Point, handsome cadet Errol Flynn (as Jeb Stuart) finds romance with lovely Olivia de Havilland (as Kit Carson Holliday),and fights abolitionist Raymond Massey (as John Brown). Along the old Santa Fe Trail, politics is on everyone's mind. Mr. Massey wants to free slaves through terrorism; but, Mr. Flynn believes the "Negro" problem will work itself out peacefully. Ms. de Havilland wonders whether Kansas should join the US as a slave, or free state.

The slaves are frightened.

"Santa Fe Trail" is very nice looking historical fiction. Director Michael Curtiz and company are clearly accomplished filmmakers. The co-starring team is charming, as usual; and, Ms. de Havilland creates a great female characterization, with the limited material given. The best performance is offered by Van Heflin (as Carl Rader); his character grabs the spotlight very early, and never really lets go. Although it would have been out of the question in a Flynn film, it might have been nice to retool the script around Mr. Heflin's duplicitous character. Mr. Massey, a bug-eyed psycho at one point, would play a more flattering Brown in "Seven Angry Men" (1955).

The film plays too fast and loose with facts for comport. Its point of view is not vague: that the South recognized the immorality of slavery, and would have worked it out peacefully; and, that abolitionists practiced unnecessary terrorism.

This film's portrayal of "The Negro Problem" is offensive.

"Santa Fe Trail" only nominally lives up to it's title, serving as a backdrop to it's story of abolitionist John Brown (Raymond Massey) and his zealous mission to ban slavery in pre Civil War America. Most of the action takes place in 'Bloody Kansas', still a territory in 1854 and home of Fort Leavenworth, the U.S. Army's most dangerous outpost. It's where hot headed members of West Point's graduating class of the same year wind up being assigned, including J.E.B. Stuart (Errol Flynn) of Virginia and George Custer (Ronald Reagan) of Ohio. Though the military men would find themselves on opposite sides in the Civil War, the film finds itself in the middle, straddling the line of dedication to duty and leaving matters of policy to civil authority. Depending on one's point of view, that's either noble or a cop out, as the soldiers face no moral quandaries. Their mission is simply to bring John Brown to justice, dead or alive.

It's interesting to reflect on the film from a historical perspective today, some sixty six years after it was made, while only seventy five years after the end of the Civil War. The portrayal of blacks in movies often found single characters in subservient or comedic roles, but here a slave family on the way to freedom is portrayed as human, terrified of confrontation aboard a train bound for still neutral Kansas Territory. Their plight is given even more meaningful resonance later in the film when John Brown finds he must leave Kansas to avoid capture. "Does just sayin' so make us free...?" one of the former slaves wonders, fearing he may not be equipped for that privilege.

Historical inaccuracies aside, I found the film to be exciting and entertaining, assembling many of Warner Brothers' stars and stock players, along with masterful director Michael Curtiz. Flynn and Reagan generally share equal screen time, vying for the attention of Kit Carson Holliday (Olivia DeHavilland),whose father Cyrus (Henry O'Neill) lends credence to the story's backdrop financing the construction of the Santa Fe Railroad. As in the same year's "Virginia City", Flynn is supported by those two flat footed rum-pots, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams and Alan Hale, whose comedic camaraderie is injected at just the right moments. However when the spotlight is on Raymond Massey, it's difficult to turn away; the energy and zeal he brings to the character of John Brown is totally absorbing. His performance is reminiscent of an earlier portrayal, that of the unwavering protagonist Cabal in the 1936 film "Things to Come".

I'm surprised it took me so long to get around to "Santa Fe Trail", since it's a public domain staple and available virtually everywhere as a single film or in compilation with other Westerns. For those who find it enjoyable, I'd also recommend "They Died With Their Boots On", another Errol Flynn feature in which he's cast as General George Armstrong Custer. He gives Custer some of the flamboyance and arrogance that the history books recall, traits not acknowledged in Ronald Reagan's take on the character.