''Custer's Last Fight'' (also known as ''Custer's Last Raid'') is a 1912 American silent short

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film. It is the first film about

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...

and his final stand at the

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota people, Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Si ...

. Francis Ford, the older brother of director

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

, directed the two-reel short and also starred in the title role. It was shot principally in " Inceville" at Santa Ynez Canyon in

Pacific Palisades, California Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside Los Angeles, Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of downtown Los Angeles. Throughout January 2025, the majority of Pacific Palisades was severely affec ...

. The film was re-released in 1925 and 1933.

Cast

* Francis Ford as

Grace Cunard Grace Cunard (born Harriet Mildred Jeffries; April 8, 1893 – January 19, 1967) was an American actress, screenwriter and film director. During the silent era, she starred in over 100 films, wrote or co-wrote at least 44 of those productions ...

as Mrs. Custer * William Eagle Shirt as

Sitting Bull Sitting Bull ( ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota people, Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against Federal government of the United States, United States government policies. Sitting Bull was killed by Indian ...

* J. Barney Sherry as James McLaughlin *

Art Acord Arthemus Ward "Art" Acord (April 17, 1890 – January 4, 1931) was an American silent film actor and rodeo champion. After his film career ended in 1929, Acord worked in rodeo road shows and as a miner in Mexico. Early life and career Acord ...

as a Trooper *

Ann Little Ann Little (born Mary Hankins Brooks; February 7, 1891 – May 21, 1984), also known as Anna Little, was an American film actress whose career was most prolific during the silent film era of the early 1910s through the early 1920s. Today, mos ...

* Lillian Christy * Charles K. French *

Snowball A snowball is a sphere, spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands and pressing the snow together to compact it into a ball. Snowballs are often used in games such as snowball fights. A snowball may also be ...

as a horse

References

External links

* *
re-edited version on DVD
1912 films 1912 short films 1912 Western (genre) films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films American biographical films American black-and-white films American Indian Wars films Battle of the Little Bighorn Biographical films about people of the American Old West Cultural depictions of George Armstrong Custer Cultural depictions of Sitting Bull Films about Native Americans Films directed by Francis Ford Films set in 1876 Films shot in Los Angeles Mutual Film films Silent American Western (genre) short films Surviving American silent films English-language Western (genre) short films {{short-silent-film-stub