Santa Fe Trail (1940): watch the full film free, legally

West Point, Kansas and John Brown

Santa Fe Trail is a 1940 American historical drama directed by Michael Curtiz and written by Robert Buckner. Errol Flynn plays James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart, with Olivia de Havilland as Kit Carson Holliday, Raymond Massey as John Brown and Ronald Reagan as George Armstrong Custer. The film places Stuart and Custer in the same West Point graduating class and depicts them as friends, a fictional arrangement. It focuses largely on Brown’s campaign against slavery before the American Civil War, while its content has little relevance to the actual Santa Fe Trail.

In 1854, West Point cadet Carl Rader distributes anti-slavery pamphlets and instigates a brawl among the cadets. Rader, an agent of Brown, is dishonorably discharged. Stuart and Custer become second lieutenants and are assigned to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas Territory, described as the most dangerous duty in the Army. They welcome the posting. On the journey to Kansas, they meet Cyrus K. Holliday, who is building a railroad to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Kit, his daughter. Both officers fall in love with her.

Stuart's pursuit of Brown's forces

Kansas Territory is depicted as bloodstained and war-torn amid Brown’s crusade against slavery. Rader has become a mercenary and military adviser in Brown’s army, which is terrorizing the countryside and freeing slaves. When Brown’s men attack a freight wagon protected by the United States Army, Stuart and Custer capture Brown’s wounded son Jason. Before dying, Jason tells them that his father is hiding at Shubel Morgan’s ranch in Palmyra.

Stuart enters Palmyra in disguise. Brown’s men identify his horse by its Army brand, capture him and take him to Brown. Stuart tries to escape but becomes trapped in a burning barn. Custer leads the cavalry to his rescue, driving Brown into exile. Three years later, in 1859, the federal government believes Brown’s force has been broken, and Stuart and Custer are promoted and sent to Washington, D.C. At a formal ball, Stuart proposes to Kit. Brown, however, is planning to raid the arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, and raise an army of freed slaves. When Brown refuses to pay Rader for his military advice, Rader rides to Washington to alert Stuart to the plan.

Flynn and de Havilland's seventh pairing

The film was the seventh collaboration between Flynn and de Havilland, and ranked among the higher-grossing films of its year. Warner Bros. records state that it made a profit of $1.48 million, taking $1,748,000 domestically and $785,000 abroad. It was released in France in 1947, where it recorded 2,147,663 admissions.

Randolph Scott was mentioned for the lead at one stage, but by April 1940 the project had become a vehicle for Flynn and de Havilland. Massey signed to play Brown in June. John Wayne was mentioned as a possible Flynn costar, while Dennis Morgan was announced as Custer before being replaced by Reagan prior to filming. Van Heflin, cast as the villain Rader after success on Broadway in The Philadelphia Story, made his first film since 1937. The script took multiple liberties with the historical record.

Film details from the Wikipedia article “Santa Fe Trail (film)”. Text adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0.