Search - Santa Fe Trail on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 10/21/2023...

Extremely poor quality video and sound that makes this close to unwatchable. A young Ronald Reagan is in this if you are a fan.

A four star movie,a 0 star for the bad transfer

John D. Page | usa | 04/17/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"this is one of errol flynn's lesser movies but it is still a great action packed western about john brown before and after his raid to try to start a slave revolt. as history it doesn't come even close to the truth,but it moves so fast and has some great battles so i'm willing to give it a break.

i can not say the same for this transfer! the picture gets so dark at times i had to turn the brightness up all the way just to see some scenes and the audio has a lot of drop outs and pops so that you can't hear it at times. wait til abetter copy comes out as this one is just no good"

Great film...but John Brown was no villain

danger ex machina | Philadelphia, PA | 06/23/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"What a wonderful film. Too bad it isn't an accurate portrayal of events. Errol Flynn and Ronnie Raygun are in fine form as Jeb Stuart and George Custer respectively, but John Massey steals the show masterfully as John Brown. The racism that bubbles under the surface is the only thing keeping me from giving it five stars. So entertaining is this picture that one could easily be lured into its fantasies, especially if you aren't educated in history. John Brown was no villain; he was a true American patriot who dedicated (and ultimately gave) his life to rid our land of genocide. The sense of forboding over the foundation being laid for our Civil War is palpable, but again, the film tends to mislead one into the conclusion that slavery, not preservation of the Union, was the motivating factor. That's acribing too much false nobility to many Unionists who could have cared less about abolishing slavery. So, enjoy the film, yes, but temper it with a heavy dose of those dusty old history books. You may just learn something...and it may just change your opinions of political events unfolding before us today."

Public Domain Masterpiece

Classic Debut | USA | 06/09/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This movie can be bought at most discount stores for $1, however these are very poor copies. Stay away from any movie that lists Ronald Reagan as the star. I recommend you buy the Marengo double feature version. It's been restored and you get two movies for the price of one.



Directed by Michael Curtiz, this movie has an all star cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havalin, Raymond Massey, Van Heflen and Ronald Reagan. This a pre- Civil War movie and not a western. Great acting but a plot that is not considered politially correct. This movie favors the South with Errol Flynn playing the hero, JEB Stuart. It traces his life from when he graduates from West Point to Harper's Ferry. Probably the most glaring mistake historially, is that Stuart graduated from West Point in 1854 and George Custer graduated in 1861, after the Civil War started. Stuart was involved in Bleeding Kansas, and Harper's Ferry, but George Custer wasn't present any of these events and there is no evidence that they were friends. Raymond Massey was brilliant as a crazed John Brown (remember this is a Southern point of view) and some effort was made to make him look like the person. However, there was no effort to make Flynn look like Stuart nor Reagan to look like Custer. JEB has light Austrailian accent (like Flynn). Olivia is very good as Kit Carson Halliday."