CUSTER'S LAST STAND (1936) Rex Lease, Lona Andrea & William Farnum | War, Western | B&W

Custer's Last Stand is a 1936 American film based on the historical Custer's Last Stand at the Little Bighorn River. It was directed by Elmer Clifton, and starred Rex Lease, William Farnum and Jack Mulhall. It was produced by the Poverty Row studio Stage & Screen Productions, which went bust shortly afterwards as a victim of the Great Depression. This serial stars many famous and popular B-Western actors as well as silent serial star Helen Gibson playing Calamity Jane, Frank McGlynn Jr. as General Custer, and Allen Greer as Wild Bill Hickok.

In April of the same year, the serial was edited into an 84-minute feature film, which was released under the same name.

SYNOPSIS
A mystical medicine arrow, the key to a lost gold treasure, is lost in one of many Indian attacks. It is recovered by the only two survivors, a Major and his daughter, who become the targets of those who wish to possess it.

When some men are attacked by Indians, a survivor obtains an Indian medicine arrow. An Indian tells Blade he has found gold but will not tell him where until he has that arrow. So Blade starts killing the survivors of the attack but fails to get the arrow. One of the men he kills is John Cardigan and Kit Cardigan, a Scout for Custer, now starts looking for the killer of his father.

CAST & CREW
Rex Lease as Kit Cardigan and his father John C. Cardigan
Lona Andre as Belle Meade
William Farnum as James Fitzpatrick
Ruth Mix as Elizabeth Custer
Jack Mulhall as Lieutenant Cook
Nancy Caswell as Barbara Trent
George Chesebro as Lieutenant Frank Roberts
Dorothy Gulliver as Red Fawn
Frank McGlynn Jr. as General George A. Custer
Helen Gibson as Calamity Jane
Josef Swickard as Major Henry Trent, MD
Chief Thundercloud as Young Wolf
Allen Greer as Wild Bill Hickok
High Eagle as Crazy Horse
Howling Wolf as Sitting Bull

Directed by Elmer Clifton
Screenplay by George Arthur Durlam, Eddie Granemann, William Lively
Story by George Arthur Durlam, Eddie Granemann, William Lively
Produced by Louis Weiss
Cinematography Bert Longenecker
Edited by George M. Merrick, Holbrook N. Todd
Music by Hal Chasnoff
Distributed by Stage & Screen Productions
Release dates April 3, 1936
Running time 84 min
Country United States
Language English

NOTES
Commenting on the plot, Cline notes that this serial contains several historical characters in a purely fictitious setting. "The story rambled through a series of loosely connected plots and sub plots" leading to Little Big Horn.