This movie is a true classic, and one of the most star studded movies ever. John Wayne wasn’t even top billing, or the romantic lead.
The story is roughly that of a Custer like commander, played by Henry Fonda, whose arrogance and superior attitude prove the downfall of him and a lot of other men.
A lot of great scenes, including the grandest dance scene of all time, albeit a slow dance, in which we are made keenly aware of the impending doom.
Although Custer is not named, he is obviously implied. And the Custer character is not the hero of Flynn, nor the caricature of “Little Big Man”. This Custer is somewhere between, and it is too bad he is not named, because this is probably the best and most realistic portrayal of the historic character.