A small band of cavalry attempt to warn Custer of an impending massacre. Friction develops when commander of the patrol suspects his subordinate of having an affair with his wife.A small band of cavalry attempt to warn Custer of an impending massacre. Friction develops when commander of the patrol suspects his subordinate of having an affair with his wife.A small band of cavalry attempt to warn Custer of an impending massacre. Friction develops when commander of the patrol suspects his subordinate of having an affair with his wife.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Rodd Redwing
- Cpl. Arika
- (as Rod Redwing)
Dick Paxton
- Pvt. Ralph Hall
- (as Richard Paxton)
Barbara Wooddell
- Margaret Owen
- (as Barbara Woodell)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJohn Ireland's wife, Joanne Dru, was tested for the role of Celie Donlin, which ultimately was played by Marie Windsor.
- GoofsIn the scene where Lt. Haywood is fighting with the Indian, it is easy to see they're using rubber knives.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Head of the Class: Fatal Distraction (1988)
- SoundtracksOn the Little Big Horn
Written by Stanley Adams, Maurice Sigler and Larry Stock
from an original arrangement and recording by Ralph Flanagan
Featured review
A Mission That Could Be Sheer Futility
This western from B picture studio Lippert Productions is one of the best films to come from that small budget outfit. If you're expecting a telling of the defeat of General Custer by the Sioux and Cheyenne at Little Big Horn that would require a far bigger budget than Lippert ever spent on its films.
What this story is about is a small patrol headed by Captain Lloyd Bridges and Lieutenant John Ireland who hear of the big four figure number Indian war party out to meet Custer and they ride hard to try to warn him. A daunting task under normal circumstances.
But these circumstances are far from normal. Lloyd Bridges is married to Marie Windsor who's been two timing Lloyd with Ireland. And everyone knows about it especially those on the patrol and the men are taking sides as well. Doesn't make for a good command structure to say the least. They've even got a sergeant major along in the person of Reed Hadley who thinks he could do better than both of them. He was an officer in the Civil War, but it was one of those brevet promotions and when the army shrunk after the war, Hadley like thousands of others was reduced in rank if he wanted to stay in the army. If you'll recall that happened to both the Henry Fonda and Ward Bond characters in the John Ford classic Fort Apache.
Some others on the patrol include Wally Cassell, Rod Redwing, Jim Davis, and Hugh O'Brian and these guys would not be at home in John Ford's conception of the cavalry. Still they go on this mission which they know may be sheer futility.
In its slightly less than 90 minute running time Little Big Horn gave us lots of action and some of it not for the Saturday matinée kiddie crowd and some finely etched character studies. Since they don't make B westerns any more we can really say they don't make them like that any more. But Little Big Horn is a great example of how to make a good B western.
What this story is about is a small patrol headed by Captain Lloyd Bridges and Lieutenant John Ireland who hear of the big four figure number Indian war party out to meet Custer and they ride hard to try to warn him. A daunting task under normal circumstances.
But these circumstances are far from normal. Lloyd Bridges is married to Marie Windsor who's been two timing Lloyd with Ireland. And everyone knows about it especially those on the patrol and the men are taking sides as well. Doesn't make for a good command structure to say the least. They've even got a sergeant major along in the person of Reed Hadley who thinks he could do better than both of them. He was an officer in the Civil War, but it was one of those brevet promotions and when the army shrunk after the war, Hadley like thousands of others was reduced in rank if he wanted to stay in the army. If you'll recall that happened to both the Henry Fonda and Ward Bond characters in the John Ford classic Fort Apache.
Some others on the patrol include Wally Cassell, Rod Redwing, Jim Davis, and Hugh O'Brian and these guys would not be at home in John Ford's conception of the cavalry. Still they go on this mission which they know may be sheer futility.
In its slightly less than 90 minute running time Little Big Horn gave us lots of action and some of it not for the Saturday matinée kiddie crowd and some finely etched character studies. Since they don't make B westerns any more we can really say they don't make them like that any more. But Little Big Horn is a great example of how to make a good B western.
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- bkoganbing
- Jun 6, 2011
- How long is Little Big Horn?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $183,849 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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