Despite the name, the movie Santa Fe Trail has nothing to do with the the actual historical trail or the west.  This movie represents a overly simplistic "retelling" of the story about abolitionist legend John Brown.  The events leading up to the climatic confrontation between John Brown and the United States Army at Harper's Ferry, Virginia are treated in a neutral, even-handed manner.  It is as if both sides of the slavery debate are being weighed and arguements furthered as the dialogue progresses throughout the film.  There is a goodly amount of discourse between West Point graduates Jeb Stuart and George Armstrong Custer over the slavery question.  This occurs while both officers are carrying on a rivalry over a character named Kit Carson Hallisday.  Despite this films ambivalent perspective, Santa Fe Trail is worthwhile entertainment and from a historical perspective covers an important event in America's past that takes place just prior to the Civil War.  Starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Ronald Reagan among others.  Full screen in black and white.  Released in 1940.  Runtime 109 minutes.