Review of Santa Fe Trail (1940) by Allan C — 18 Dec 2013

One of the many Michael Curtiz directed Errol Flynn/Olivia de Havilland films from Warner Brothers. This time Flynn in the pre-Civil War old west, competing for the love of de Havilland with President Ronald Reagan (playing George Armstrong Custer!).

Other familiar faces show up, like Alan Hale, Ward Bond and Van Heflin, but the film is somewhat of a mess. Most of the film swirls around abolitionists trying to end slavery through terrorist-like actions, but the film seems to have a hard time deciding who it wants the audience to root for, which is odd to say the least.

The film also can't seem to decide which storyline it really wants to follow. However, the film does deliver some good action and Flynn and de Havilland are always easy to watch onscreen together.