Worst Portrayal

[TerryB]

"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." I don't think it got anything right.

 

[Richard Appledorf]

Corman's western Gunslinger revealed the real reason the Confederacy lost the war. According to John Ireland's character one man's cowardice at the battle of Lookout Mountain singlehandedly cost the war. I don't recall that from any of the books I read.

 

[neyankee61]

If you came to an Errol Flynn movie looking for historical accuracy, you were in the wrong place. If you want action, a good story for a movie, and some good acting, then The Santa Fe Trail and They Died With Their Boots On is a good start. Flynn's 1938 Robin Hood is still considered the best portrayal on film. If you look closely at the trench digging training in Sgt. York you will see the blockhouse used by John Brown in The Santa Fe Trail.

 

[SgtDarby8OVI]

I have always contended that They Died With Their Boots On was the Libbie Custer version of George's life and career. In the hands of Hollywood screen writers, her sentimental, quasi-fictional version was perfect cinematic fodder. Once they cast Italian actor Anthony Quinn as Crazy Horse, it was all down hill from there. Then we have Richard Mulligan's unhinged Custer in Little Big Man. As a story that was overwhelmingly told from the skewed point of view of its main character, it was easy to just write off Custer as a complete babbling idiot. It was entertaining, but probably not very accurate. Between the two, Flynn plays a better Custer, though Little Big Man is a better movie.

 

[James Brenner]

The TV series, Yancey Derringer (available on Tubi), has an episode with a very uncomplimentary portrayal of Custer, complete with references to the Washita.

 

[Patrick H]

Actually Pidgeon played a character named Cantrell instead of Quantrill. How's that for history?

I remember that, too. But Quantrill (2 "l"s) Has been pronounced "Cantrell" more than once.

 

[TallTallMan]

We were talking about most historically inaccurate civil war movie in another thread. I'll nominate Brian Donlevy as Quantrill in Kansas Raiders. He's actually a good actor, but there wasn't anything he could do with this particular assignment!

Kansas Raiders and The Desperadoes are the least-accurate ACW movies ever.