MovieChat Forums > Little Big Man (1970) Discussion > Why does Custer spare Little Big Man's l...

Why does Custer spare Little Big Man's life, the 2nd or 3rd encounter.

posted 12 years ago by mcintyro
3 replies | jump to latest

Little Big Man serves with Custer as a Mule Skinner, escaping death by telling Custer that the indians had kidnapped him.

However, when Little Big Man ends up in Custer's camp after the big massacre that killed Sunshine, he tries to kill Custer in his tent. Custer tells Little Big Man that he knows he's an indian and knows he was trying to kill him, but does he spares L.B.M.'s life. Is this because he does not think he was a dangerous Indian, I think Apache, or what Chief Dan George was?

[–] castanz 11 years ago

Custer saw Little Big Man as such a minuscule threat he didn't think it was worth his time to prosecute him.

I think the movie was trying to portray a crazy, narcissistic Custer that also liked to toy with death.

[–] EllisGuppy 10 years ago

I always assumed for narrative convenience and story purposes.

[–] masterjedi-2 10 years ago

The General was always quoting that a "Custer order" should never be reversed, which was a good characterization of the real man.

He never wanted to admit that he had made a mistake in sparing Jack's life the first time. And he wanted to prove how superior he was to Jack by constantly berating him. It was all a part of Custer's superiority complex...and pride.