# San Antonio (1945 film)
**San Antonio** is a 1945 American Technicolor Western directed by David Butler for Warner Bros., starring [Errol Flynn](https://www.edgepedia.org/errol-flynn) as a Texas cattleman who returns from Mexico with documentary proof that a leading [San Antonio](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-antonio) businessman heads a well-organized gang of cattle rustlers.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/24562) • [2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/87893/san-antonio) It was one of the top twenty highest-grossing films of 1945 and received two Academy Award nominations, for Best Art Direction in a color film and Best Original Song.[3](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038048/awards/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Premiered in New York on December 28, 1945; U.S. theatrical release December 29, 1945[5](https://www.blu-ray.com/San-Antonio/335619/) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/24562) |
| Runtime | 110–111 minutes (AFI); other listings give 104 to 111 minutes[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/24562) |
| Principal cast | Errol Flynn (Clay Hardin), Alexis Smith (Jeanne Starr), S.Z. Sakall (Sacha Bozic), Victor Francen (Legare), Paul Kelly (Roy Stuart), Florence Bates (Henrietta), John Litel (Charlie Bell)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/24562) |
| Key crew | Producer Robert Buckner; writers Alan Le May and W.R. Burnett; cinematographer Bert Glennon; editor Irene Morra; music Max Steiner, Ray Heindorf, and M.K. Jerome[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/24562) • [2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/87893/san-antonio) |
| Oscar nominations | Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color (Ted Smith, Jack McConaghy); Best Song, "Some Sunday Morning"[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038048/awards/) |
| Filming | September to December 1944, mostly at Warner Bros.' Calabasas Ranch, California[3](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/) • [2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/87893/san-antonio) |
| Box office | Among the top twenty highest-grossing films of 1945; Warner Bros.' second-highest grosser of the year, behind Saratoga Trunk[3](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The story is set in Texas in 1877, when cattle rustling has driven many ranchers off the range.[6](https://moviesanywhere.com/movie/san-antonio) Rancher Clay Hardin (Errol Flynn) has been hiding in Mexico, recovering from injuries, when the lawman Charlie Bell (John Litel) crosses the border to warn him that his life has been threatened by the rustlers.[6](https://moviesanywhere.com/movie/san-antonio) • [7](https://www.classicfilmguide.com/index6e49-2.html/) Hardin carries a tally book, or bills of sale, showing that Roy Stuart (Paul Kelly), a saloon owner and the richest man in Texas, has been selling stolen cattle, including some bearing brands that are not his, in Mexico.[7](https://www.classicfilmguide.com/index6e49-2.html/) • [8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/san_antonio)
Hardin sneaks back into town on a stagecoach carrying Jeanne Starr ([Alexis Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexis-smith)), a performer from New York who is to sing at the saloon owned by Stuart and his partner Legare (Victor Francen).[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/san_antonio) Both Hardin and Stuart compete for the affections of the dance hall singer, raising the stakes between them.[9](https://mrqe.com/movie/san-antonio-m100016575/) The film builds to a shootout at the dance hall and a final gun duel in the deserted Alamo.[10](https://scottsmoviereviews.com/san-antonio-1945/) • [11](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/san-antonio/)
## Production
**Origins.** In the early 1940s Warner Bros. wanted the Western writer [Max Brand](https://www.edgepedia.org/max-brand), the creator of Dr. Kildare, to write a Western for Errol Flynn. Brand produced a story the studio judged to lack action; he left to become a war correspondent and was killed in 1944. Producer Robert Buckner and writers W.R. Burnett and Alan Le May then revised Brand's story into a screenplay titled after the Texas city where it is primarily set.[3](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/) [Pre-production](https://www.edgepedia.org/pre-production) press releases preserved at the AMPAS Library state that [Raoul Walsh](https://www.edgepedia.org/raoul-walsh) was scheduled to direct and that the former Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe was to play an Indian chief; in May 1944 Walsh was chosen to direct but was assigned to other projects, and in July the studio assigned David Butler, known mainly for comedies and musicals such as *Caught in the Draft* (1941) and *Road to Morocco* (1942).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/24562) • [3](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/) Robert Florey and Raoul Walsh both served as uncredited co-directors on the film's more action-oriented scenes.[3](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/)
**Casting.** The role of Clay Hardin was always intended for Flynn, then one of Warner Bros.' biggest stars, who had earlier Westerns for the studio in *Dodge City* (1939) and *Virginia City* (1940).[3](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/) W.R. Burnett's first choice for Jeanne Starr was [Marlene Dietrich](https://www.edgepedia.org/marlene-dietrich), but studio head Jack Warner declined to pay her fee, and Alexis Smith was assigned in July 1944; she had co-starred with Flynn in *Dive Bomber* (1941) and *Gentleman Jim* (1942).[3](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/) [Raymond Massey](https://www.edgepedia.org/raymond-massey) and [Zachary Scott](https://www.edgepedia.org/zachary-scott) were considered for Roy Stuart before Paul Kelly was cast.[3](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/) According to a September 25, 1944 Hollywood Reporter news item, Harry Carey was released from the film at his own request because he was dissatisfied with the sidekick role he was to have played.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/24562)
**Shooting.** Filming began in September 1944 and wrapped in December.[3](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/) Exterior scenes were shot on sets at Warner Bros.' Calabasas Ranch in California, where the crew built what Butler called "probably the longest street that was ever built for a Western at Warners"; interiors were shot at the Burbank studios.[3](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/) • [2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/87893/san-antonio) The production was delayed by illness on both sides: Smith was absent for much of the shooting, first to complete *The Horn Blows at Midnight* (1945) and then because of a viral ailment that dragged on for weeks, and Flynn caught the flu in the damp outdoor shooting and was out for an extended period.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/87893/san-antonio) He returned still sick to shoot the climactic free-for-all fight four months after production began, many of his shots had to be doubled, and the sequence took 12 days to film with much of it redone before release.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/87893/san-antonio) Despite this, Flynn arrived on set promptly with his lines memorized, which led production manager Frank Mattison to note, "We'd better not slap him on the back, because it may not happen again."[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/87893/san-antonio)
## Music and songs
The film contains three songs. Flynn learned to play guitar for the ditty "Put Your Little Foot Out," which he performed on screen.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/87893/san-antonio) "Some Sunday Morning," with music by Ray Heindorf and M.K. Jerome and lyrics by Ted Koehler, received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/87893/san-antonio) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038048/awards/) Written for the movie, it went on to become hit records for singers of the 1940s including [Frank Sinatra](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-sinatra), Helen Forrest, and [Dick Haymes](https://www.edgepedia.org/dick-haymes).[12](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038048/) Smith's singing of the nominated song was dubbed, despite her later Tony Award for singing on Broadway.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/87893/san-antonio) Although Heindorf and Jerome were on hand, the studio chose to recycle [Max Steiner](https://www.edgepedia.org/max-steiner)'s theme music from Flynn's earlier Western *Dodge City*.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/87893/san-antonio)
## Reception and legacy
Warner Bros. waited a year after primary filming wrapped in December 1944 before releasing the film.[3](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/) Variety gave it a positive review and correctly predicted box office success; the film placed among the top twenty grossers of 1945 and was the studio's second-highest grossing film of the year, behind only the romance drama *Saratoga Trunk*.[3](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/) At the 1946 Academy Awards the film's color art direction nomination went to Ted Smith and Jack McConaghy, and the award went to *Frenchman's Creek* (1945).[13](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1946) • [2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/87893/san-antonio) Flynn won a Photoplay Award as Best Performances of the Month (February) in 1946.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038048/awards/)
Later critical opinion has been mixed. Dennis Schwartz, the film critic of Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews, graded the film B- and called it a formulaic Western with high production values, Bert Glennon's photography, and Max Steiner's score, but an underwhelming direction and a cliché-filled script, while conceding that the final gun duel at the deserted Alamo is spot on.[11](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/san-antonio/) Matt Brunson of Film Frenzy gave it 2.5 out of 4, writing that Flynn is typically fine but that this is not one of his best Western efforts.[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/san_antonio) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a Tomatometer score of 62 percent from two reviews.[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/san_antonio) A retrospective review describes it as a beautiful but unusual studio Western that favors romance and cartoonish comedy over action, saved by Flynn's charisma, lavish sets, and rich color-saturated cinematography, with S.Z. Sakall memorable as Jeanne's Hungarian manager.[10](https://scottsmoviereviews.com/san-antonio-1945/)
Flynn and Smith were paired again in two more pictures after this one, including the Western *Montana* (1950).[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/87893/san-antonio) A home-video release in the Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray line appeared on December 16, 2025.[14](https://engine.cherry3d.com/homemedia/releases/misc/warnerarchive)
## Trivia
Two lines in which S.Z. Sakall's character calls riderless horses "empty horses" are read as an inside joke on director [Michael Curtiz](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-curtiz), who during the battle scenes of *The Charge of the Light Brigade* (1936) told his horse wranglers to "bring on the empty horses"; Flynn, who disliked Curtiz, and [David Niven](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-niven) found the phrase hilarious, and Sakall and Curtiz were both [Hungarians](https://www.edgepedia.org/hungarians).[3](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/)
## References
1. [San Antonio (1945), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/24562)
2. [Rob Nixon (2005). San Antonio, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/87893/san-antonio)
3. [San Antonio (1945), Classic Golden Age Films](https://classicgoldenagefilms.com/2025/05/san-antonio-1945/)
4. [San Antonio (1945) – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038048/awards/)
5. [San Antonio (1945), Blu-ray.com](https://www.blu-ray.com/San-Antonio/335619/)
6. [San Antonio, Movies Anywhere](https://moviesanywhere.com/movie/san-antonio)
7. [San Antonio (1945), Classic Film Guide](https://www.classicfilmguide.com/index6e49-2.html/)
8. [San Antonio, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/san_antonio)
9. [San Antonio, MRQE](https://mrqe.com/movie/san-antonio-m100016575/)
10. [San Antonio (1945), Scott's Movie Reviews](https://scottsmoviereviews.com/san-antonio-1945/)
11. [Dennis Schwartz (2023). San Antonio review](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/san-antonio/)
12. [San Antonio (1945), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038048/)
13. [The 18th Academy Awards (1946), Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1946)
14. [Warner Archive Collection release list](https://engine.cherry3d.com/homemedia/releases/misc/warnerarchive)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Westerns before 1980 › Released 1930 to 1960*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license