Dodge City - Star of the month... Olivia de Havilland

'Dodge City' is a 1939 western starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland and directed by Michael Curtiz. 

Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn
in their first Western

The supporting cast includes Ann Sheridan (who had just joined Warner Bros. from Paramount), Bruce Cabot, Victor Jory, Frank McHugh, William Lundigan and of course it wouldn't be an Errol Flynn film without Alan Hale.


This was Errol Flynn's first western, establishing him as a western star in addition to being a swashbuckler.






It is 1806 and the Civil War has just ended. Captain Dodge (played by Henry O'Neill) has arrived to open a new railroad line linking Doge City to the rest of the world. A few years later, Dodge City's crime rate is out of control and being taken over by villains, thieves and gunmen. The town need to worry, as of course Errol Flynn arrives to save the day.


Wade Hatton (played by Flynn) comes to town with Abbie Irving (played by de Havilland). Abbie does not like Wade, as she holds him responsible for her brother's death during a stampede. After being asked to clean up the town and make it safe, Wade initially declines. However after the death of a child he agrees to become Sheriff. 

Dodge City is the place for a premiere

Held in the real town of Dodge City, the premiere for 'Dodge City' was quite an event. Attracting a crowd of over 150,000, the premiere began with over 200 Warner Bros. cast and crew members arriving on an old fashioned steam train. The major Warner Bros. stars then disembarked the train, and mounted a horse for a celebrity rodeo. To cater for the crowds, the film premiered in three different cinemas at the same time.


Watch some footage from the premiere:

Did you know...

• This was the 1st of 8 Errol Flynn western films
• This was the 5th of 9 films co-starring Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn

Closing remarks

A highly enjoyable and entertaining western from the opening credits through to the fiery climax on the train. I think it may be because it contains all the traditional cliched western elements, though it wasn't cliched at the time. The western film genre began to surface and mature in the late 1930s. Prior to this westerns were often very low budget films. As great as this film is, the one thing out of place is Flynn's Australian accent in the wild west. I think the reason why this stood for out for me as I am also Australian, and it sounded a little odd to hear the Australian accent in the American west during 1800s. An outstanding performance by child actor Bobs Watson as the young boy, Harry Cole.

They Died With Their Boots On (1941) - Star of the month... Olivia de Havilland

They Died With Their Boots On is a 1941 western directed by Raoul Walsh, and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland in their eighth and last film together. The supporting cast features Arthur Kennedy, Sydney Greenstreet, Charley Grapewin, Gene Lockhart, Anthony Quinn, John Litel, Regis Toomey and Hattie McDaniel.

Hattie McDaniel with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland

The film tells the historically inaccurate story of George Armstrong Cutler (played by Flynn), beginning with his time spent at West Point Military Academy, meeting and wooing his future wife, Elizabeth Bacon (played by de Havilland), his time in the American Civil War and the Battle of Little Big Horn against native Americans of the Black Hills of Dakota.


Although the film is not a comedy, the first half is staged as a comedy, with lots of humour and laughs. The second half of the film is much darker and dramatic. This can be seen as representative of the maturity of George Cutler.  As he misbehaves immaturely at West Point, the film is comic; when he goes off to war and becomes an inspiring leader, the film becoems more serious.

Did you know...

• This film is sometimes shown on TV in a computer coloured version
• The film was originally meant to be directed by Michael Curtiz, however Errol Flynn had enough of his direction after their previous film 'Dive Bomber'
• Two extras were killed during the filming of Cutler's Last Stand - one untrained rider, George Murphy, died in a fall from a horse; and another Jack Budlong, fell of a horse and was wounded by a prop sword
• The song "Garryowen" played throughout the film was a real favourite song of the real George Cutler
• This was the last of eight films Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn starred together - although they would both later appear in the musical film 'Thank Your Lucky Stars', they did not appear together

Closing remarks

When I first heard this film was a war/western and runs almost 2.5 hours, I was expecting it to be very slow and a little boring. However I was pleasantly surprised to find 'They Died With Their Boots On' a very enjoyable spectator experience.  Playing the first half of the film as a comedy gives the relief the story needs before the war climax picks up. As always, Olivia de Havilland is lovely as Mrs. Cutler and the film features one of Max Steiner's best musical scores. Another actress I would like to mention is the great Hattie McDaniel, who steals every scene she's in as the Bacon's maid.

River of No Return (1954)

Star of the Month... Marilyn Monroe

"If you listen you can hear it call... wailaree... there is a river called the River of No Return..."

Directed by Otto Preminger, 'The River of No Return' is a 1954 western tale of romance and revenge starring Marilyn Monroe, Robert Mitchum, Rory Calhoun and Tommy Rettig. The film is semi-musical with 4 Marilyn songs.

Set in 1875, Monroe stars as Kay Weston, a saloon singer forced to choose between two men, farmer Matt Calder (played by Mitchum) and gambler Harry Weston (played by Calhoun). After Harry steals Matt's horse and rifle, Matt and Kay (with Matt's son Mark) take to what the Native American Indians call, "the river of no return".

On their travels we see Kay and Mark battle against the odds up against a deadly gorge, a mountain lion attack, a Native American Indian ambush, and the most turbulent and wild rapid waters you'll ever see on film.

Shot on location, enjoy breathtaking and spectacular footage of the wild rapids of the Canadian Rockies. Also enjoy Marilyn, stunning as always, and in this fim we are treated to a longer haired Marilyn. Interestingly Marilyn claimed this was her worst film - however I don't think it's quite that bad.

Musical program

With a musical score by Cyril J. Mockridge, the film features 4 songs by Lionel Newman and Ken Darby: "One Silver Dollar", "Down in the Meadow", "The River Of No Return" and the shows topping "I'm Gonna File My Claim". All four songs are performed by Monroe.

Song - "I'm Gonna File My Claim"

Song - "Down in the Meadow"

Song - "One Silver Dollar"

Song - "The River of No Return"

Did you know...

• Marilyn Monroe and director Otto Preminger did not get along, and by the end of the film were no longer on speaking terms

Closing remarks

I am personally not a big fan of westerns - in fact, it's my least favourite film genre, although I must say 'The River of No Return' is one of the most enjoyable westerns I've ever watched, and certainly one of the only westerns I can watch again and again.