The Alamo (1960) is an
American historical epic released by
United Artists. The film was directed by
John Wayne, who also starred as
Davy Crockett. The cast also includes
Richard Widmark as
Jim Bowie and
Laurence Harvey as
William B. Travis, with
Frankie Avalon,
Chill Wills,
Patrick Wayne,
Linda Cristal,
Joseph Calleia,
Ruben Padilla,
Richard Boone,
Ken Curtis,
Hank Worden, and
Denver Pyle. It was photographed in 70 mm
Todd-AO by William H. Clothier. The subject is the 1836
Battle of the Alamo.
Background
By 1945
John Wayne had decided to make a movie about the 1836
Battle of the Alamo. He hired
James Edward Grant as scriptwriter, and the two began researching the battle and preparing a draft script. They hired Pat Ford, son of
John Ford, as a research assistant. As the script neared completion, however, Wayne and the president of
Republic Pictures,
Herbert Yates, clashed over the proposed $3 million budget. Wayne left Republic over the feud but was unable to take his script with him. That script was later rewritten and made into the movie
The Last Command.
Production
Wayne and producer Robert Fellows formed their own production company,
Batjac.
Set
The movie set, later known as
Alamo Village, was constructed near
Brackettville, Texas, on the ranch of James T. Shahan. Chatto Rodriquez, the general contractor of the set, built of tarred roads for access to the set from Brackettville. His men sank six wells to provide 12,000 gallons of water each day, and laid miles of sewage and water lines. They also built of horse corrals.
Rodriquez worked with art designer Alfred Ybarra to create the set. Historians Randy Roberts and James Olson describe it as "the most authentic set in the history of the movies". Wayne cast Academy Award-nominated actors Richard Widmark as James Bowie and Laurence Harvey as William Barrett Travis. Other roles went to family and close friends of Wayne, including his son Patrick and daughter Aissa. The future western songwriter and stuntman Rudy Robbins had a bit role in the film as one of the Tennessee Volunteers.
Sammy Davis, Jr. asked Wayne for the part of a slave as he wanted to break out of song and dance. Some producers blocked the move, apparently because Davis was dating white actress May Britt.
Direction
Wayne's mentor
John Ford showed up uninvited and attempted to exert undue influence on the film. Wayne sent him off to shoot unnecessary second-unit footage in order to maintain his own authority. Virtually nothing of Ford's footage was used, but Ford is often erroneously described as an uncredited co-director.
According to many people involved in the film, Wayne was an intelligent and gifted director, despite a weakness for the long-winded dialog of his favorite screenwriter, James Edward Grant. Widmark complained that Wayne would try to tell him and other actors how to play their parts, which sometimes went against their own interpretation of characters.
Music
The score (featuring the song "
The Green Leaves of Summer") was composed by
Dimitri Tiomkin (with song lyrics by Paul Francis Webster), and has been released numerous times. The original soundtrack album has been issued on
Columbia Records,
Varèse Sarabande, and
Ryko Records. In 2010, a complete score containing newly recorded versions of Tiomkin's music was issued on
Tadlow Music/
Prometheus Records, as conducted by
Nic Raine and played by the
City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. This new release contains previously unreleased material.
Release
Wayne hired publicist Russell Birdwell to coordinate the media campaign.
In 1960, the world premiere was held at the Woodlawn Theatre in San Antonio, Texas.
Themes
Historical accuracy
The film does little to explain the causes of the
Texas Revolution or why the battle took place. Alamo historian Timothy Todish said "there is not a single scene in
The Alamo which corresponds to an historically verifiable incident". Historians
J. Frank Dobie and
Lon Tinkle demanded their names be removed as historical advisors.
Politics
Wayne's daughter Aissa wrote, "I think making
The Alamo became my father's own form of combat. More than an obsession, it was the most intensely personal project in his career." Many of Wayne's associates agreed that the film was a political platform for Wayne. Many of the statements that his character made were Wayne's own views.
Critical response was mixed, from the New York Herald-Tribune's four-star "A magnificent job...Visually and dramatically, The Alamo is top-flight," to Time Magazine's "flat as Texas." Years later, Leonard Maltin criticized the script as being "full of historical name-dropping and speechifying," but praised the climactic battle scene.
The film is thought to have been denied awards because Academy voters were alienated by an overblown publicity campaign, particularly one Variety ad claiming that the film's cast was praying harder for Chill Wills to win his award than the defenders of the Alamo prayed for their lives before the battle. The ad, placed by Wills, reportedly angered Wayne, who took out an ad of his own deploring Wills's tastelessness. In response to Wills's ad, claiming that all the voters were his "Alamo Cousins," Groucho Marx took out a small ad which simply said, "Dear Mr. Wills, I am delighted to be your cousin, but I voted for Sal Mineo," (Wills's rival nominee for Exodus).
The film's cost, more than poor attendance, was at the root of its initial presumed failure, and indeed, it has retained popularity with many people. The soundtrack album has been in print continuously for fifty years. References to The Alamo show up in spoofs or homages. Mad Magazine had a spoof. The Alamo is mentioned by Vic Fontaine (James Darren) in the episode "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang". The singer describes it as having great battle scenes and nice sets, but with an excessive running time. An American Werewolf in London contains extended dialogue about The Alamo. The movie Viva Max!, shot at the actual Alamo in San Antonio, makes numerous comedic references to the film with the Reynold Brown film poster painting featured.
Wayne provided a clip of the film for use in How the West Was Won. Despite being anachronistic (How the West Was Won begins in 1839 and the Alamo fell in 1836), the clip occurs near the beginning of the second half of the film, as Spencer Tracy narrates the events that led up to the American Civil War.
Different versions
The Alamo premiered at its 70mm roadshow length of 202 minutes, including overture, intermission, and exit music, but was severely cut for wide release. UA re-edited it to 167 minutes. The 202-minute version was believed lost until a Canadian fan, Bob Bryden, realized he had seen the full version in the 1970s. He and Alamo collector Ashley Ward discovered the last surviving print of the 70mm premiere version in Toronto. It was pristine. MGM (UA's sister studio) used this print to make a digital video transfer of the roadshow version for VHS and
LaserDisc release.
The print was taken apart and deteriorated in storage. By 2007 it was unavailable in any useful form. MGM used the shorter general release version for subsequent DVD releases. The only version of the original uncut roadshow release is on digital video. It is the source for broadcasts on Turner Classic Movies. The best available actual film elements are of the 35mm negatives of the general release version.
A restoration of the deteriorating print found in Toronto is underway; its completion is currently dependent upon the current fate of MGM/UA.
The overture and musical intermission in the film are usually omitted from TV broadcasts.
Cast
John Wayne as Col. Davy Crockett, a larger-than-life legend from Tennessee who arrives at the Alamo bringing a band of fellow adventurers to the fight.
Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie, a legendary figure like Crockett, who shares command of the Alamo with William Travis, but bears ultimate authority only over his volunteer group.
Laurence Harvey as Col. William Travis, who shares command of the Alamo garrison with Bowie, but has ultimate authority over the regular soldiers.
Frankie Avalon as Smitty, the youngest of the Alamo defenders, and one of Crockett's Tennesseans.
Patrick Wayne as Capt. James Butler Bonham, a Texan officer sent out with an appeal for help.
Linda Cristal as Graciela Carmela Maria 'Flaca' de Lopez y Vejar, a young woman whom Crockett saves from forced marriage.
Joan O'Brien as Mrs. Sue Dickinson, wife of Captain Almeron Dickinson and cousin of Col. William Travis, who refuses to leave the fort with her young daughter.
Chill Wills as Beekeeper, one of Crockett's colorful Tennesseans.
Joseph Calleia as Juan Seguin, a San Antonio political figure who leads Mexican volunteers to help defend the Alamo.
Ken Curtis as Capt. Almeron Dickinson, Travis's aide-de-camp.
Carlos Arruza as Lt. Reyes, an officer of Santa Anna's army, sent to demand the surrender of the fort.
Jester Hairston as Jethro, Jim Bowie's loyal slave.
Veda Ann Borg as Blind Nell Robertson, the wife of Alamo defender Jocko Robertson.
John Dierkes as Jocko Robertson, Nell's husband, and a Tennessean, though not one of Crockett's band.
Denver Pyle as Thimblerig (the Gambler), one of Crockett's Tennessee volunteers.
Aissa Wayne as Lisa Dickinson, the daughter of Almeron and Sue Dickinson.
Hank Worden as Parson, one of Crockett's Tennessee volunteers.
William Henry as Dr. Sutherland, the garrison physician. (billed as Bill Henry)
Bill Daniel as Col. Neill, an officer in the Texas army, and an adviser to Sam Houston.
Wesley Lau as Emil Sande, a corrupt San Antonio businessman who attempts to force Flaca into marriage.
Chuck Roberson as a Tennessean, one of Crockett's volunteers.
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams as Lt. 'Irish' Finn, one of Bowie's volunteers. (billed as Guinn Williams)
Olive Carey as Mrs. Dennison, one of the women evacuated from the Alamo prior to the battle.
Ruben Padilla as Generalissimo Antonio Miguel Lopez de Santa Anna, the dictatorial president of Mexico and leader of the army intent on putting down the Texas revolution.
Richard Boone as General Sam Houston, leader of the Texas army, who hopes the stand at the Alamo will gain him time to gather troops to repel Santa Anna's forces.
Footnotes
See also
List of American films of 1960
The Alamo: other uses
The Alamo (2004 film)
References
Additional reading
Clark, Donald, & Christopher P. Andersen. John Wayne's The Alamo: The Making of the Epic Film (New York: Carol Publishing Group, 1995) ISBN 0-8065-1625-9
Farnsworth, Rodney. "John Wayne's Epic of Contradictions: The Aesthetic and Rhetoric of Way and Diversity in The Alamo" Film Quarterly, Vol. 52, No. 2 (Winter 1998-1999), p. 24 - 34
"Dust to Dust" by Robert Wilonsky. Dallas Observer, August 9, 2001
External links
Alamo Sentry: The Popular Culture of The Alamo
Category:1960 films
Category:American films
Category:English-language films
Category:Epic films
Category:War epic films
Category:1960s Western films
Category:Batjac Productions films
Category:Films shot in 70mm
Category:Films shot in Todd-AO
Category:Films directed by John Wayne
Category:Texas Revolution films
Category:United Artists films
Category:Films shot in Texas
Category:Films set in San Antonio, Texas
