THE ALAMO Movie Review
1960 John Wayne
John Wayne's first turn in the director's chair is not his finest moment. For a novice filmmaker—even for a 53-year-old novice—it's not a bad debut, but the director-producer-star lacks sensitivity to the more realistic, human moments on which true epics are based. The large-scale battle scenes work well enough, but the characters never rise above the level of historical caricature. Equal blame on that count must be shared by writer-associate producer James Edward Grant, whose script does no one any favors.
The year is 1836 and the film establishes its political point of view before the action begins with a foreword that refers to the “tyrannical rule” of Generalissimo Santa Anna. Some “Texicans,” as the film calls them, do not want to be a part of Mexico, and Sam Houston (Richard Boone) is leading the fight. “I've been given command of the Armies of Texas,” he says, “but the fly in the buttermilk is there ain't no armies in Texas.” The closest thing he's got is two groups of volunteers, one led by Jim Bowie (Richard Widmark) and a smaller contingent under the command of William Travis (Laurence Harvey). The two men don't like each other to begin with, and when Houston promotes Travis over Bowie, the friction becomes even more intense. Houston orders them to make a stand at a mission called the Alamo while he raises a larger force.
Enter Davy Crockett (Wayne) with a “colorful” crew of Tennessee volunteers, including Beekeeper (Chill Wills, who, incredibly, received a Supporting Oscar nomination) and Thimblerig (Denver Pyle). Crockett maintains an uneasy peace between the other two commanders while other plot elements are introduced, only to be dropped or inconclusively ended. Emil Sande (Wesley Lau), for example, first appears to be a quisling villain but just when he could be developed, he disappears. His only real function is to threaten the lovely Flaca (Linda Cristal), so that Crockett can defend her, but then she makes an early exit, too. In the meantime, Bowie delivers a patronizingly pro-Mexican speech and a few minutes later, Crockett comes up with a variation on the “Domino Theory” to convince his men that if they don't stop Santa Anna there, he'll soon be in Memphis.
It takes two full hours of that malarkey before the film arrives at the actual attack and defense of the mission. The battle scenes involving cavalry, cannon, and musket are clearly laid out and properly paced, but they can't generate any real energy for several reasons. First, the characters simply aren't real. All of them carry soapboxes upon which they stand every time they open their mouths. As often as not, they make campaign speeches. As the situation becomes more intense, their noble self-sacrifice is pretty hard to stomach, and when they hold forth about the one true God, the film turns into a cranky religious tract.
Given that level of writing, it's unfair to be too harsh on the cast. Suffice it to say that singer Frankie Avalon, as the juvenile Smitty, isn't out of place, and Laurence Harvey's Anglo-Southern accent is whimsically bizarre. Hidden deep beneath the gallons of political posturing and the ill-concealed racism—when Jim Bowie frees his slave Jethro (Jester Hairston), Jethro elects to stay and die beside his Massa—lies a decent John Wayne western. During the final attack, he actually knocks down a horse, eerily predating Alex Karras doing the same thing 14 years later in Blazing Saddles.
In the end, though, The Alamo ought to be much better. The battle occupies an important place in American history and it deserves an equally important dramatization.
Cast: John Wayne (Col. Davy Crockett), Richard Widmark (Col. James Bowie), Laurence Harvey (Col. William Travis), Frankie Avalon (Smitty), Richard Boone (Gen. Sam Houston), Carlos Arruza (Lt. Reyes), Chill Wills (Beekeeper), Veda Ann Borg (Blind Nell Robertson), Linda Cristal (Flaca), Patrick Wayne (Capt. James Butler Bonham), Joan O'Brien (Mrs. Dickinson), Joseph Calleia (Juan Sequin), Ken Curtis (Capt. Almeron Dickinson), Jester Hairston (Jethro), Denver Pyle (Thimblerig, the Gambler), John Dierkes (Jocko Robertson), Guinn “Big Boy” Williams (Lt. Finn), Olive Carey (Mrs. Dennison), William Henry (Dr. Sutherland), Hank Worden (Parson), Ruben Padilla (Gen. Santa Anna), Jack Pennick (Sgt. Lightfoot), Wesley Lau (Emil Sande); Written by: James Edward Grant; Cinematography by: William Clothier; Music by: Dimitri Tiomkin, Paul Francis Webster; Technical Advisor: C. Frank Beetson Jr., Jack Pennick. Producer: John Wayne, John Edward Grant, United Artists. Awards: Academy Awards '60: Best Sound; Golden Globe Awards '61: Best Score; Nominations: Academy Awards '60: Best Color Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Picture, Best Song (“The Green Leaves of Summer”), Best Supporting Actor (Wills), Best Original Dramatic Score. Budget: 12M. Boxoffice: 2M. Running Time: 161 minutes. Format: VHS, Beta, LV, Letterbox, Closed Caption.