Santa Fe Trail (film)

Santa Fe Trail
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael Curtiz
Written byRobert Buckner
Produced byHal B. Wallis (executive producer)
Starring
CinematographySol Polito
Edited byGeorge Amy
Music byMax Steiner
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • December 13, 1940 (1940-12-13) (Santa Fe, New Mexico, premiere)
  • December 20, 1940 (1940-12-20) (New York City)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,115,000
Box office$2,533,000

Santa Fe Trail is a 1940 American historical drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn (as J. E. B. "Jeb" Stuart), Olivia de Havilland, Raymond Massey (as John Brown), Ronald Reagan (as George Armstrong Custer) and Alan Hale. Written by Robert Buckner, the film focuses largely on the abolitionist John Brown and his controversial campaign against slavery before the American Civil War. In a subplot, Jeb Stuart and George Armstrong Custer—who are depicted fictionally as friends from the same West Point graduating class—compete for the hand of de Havilland portraying a fictional character called Kit Carson Holliday.

The film ranked among the higher grossing films of the year and was the seventh Flynn–de Havilland collaboration. Its content has little relevance to the actual Santa Fe Trail, and the script took multiple liberties with the historical record.