The Alamo (1960) – Encore Review 2

“So many times every day you stop and give thanks, but mostly I don’t catch on what you’re thanking the Lord for. I mean, there’s nothing special.” – Smitty

“I give thanks for the time and for the place.” – Parson

“The time and the place, Parson?” – Smitty

“The time to live and the place to die. That’s all any man gets. No more, no less” – Parson

Number of Times Seen – Between 5-10 times (12 Feb 2000, DVD, 21 Jan 2014, 9 May 2022 and 21 Apr 2023)

Link to original review – Here and Here

Brief Synopsis – A group of volunteer soldiers try to stop General Santa Anna from thwarting Texas from declaring independence in 1836

My Take on it – Amazing dramatization of the heroes that chose to put themselves in the way of the Mexican Tyrant Santa Anna in order to buy time for the Texas to declare its independence. The feeling of altruism by the characters is always quite apparent here and despite knowing their probable fate, I love the way that these men never bat an eyelash due to their courage and their belief in all that they are doing. The battle scenes are done really well and even for 1960, the effects used make things look quite realistic the whole way through. The film also knows how important it is to throw in some humor during such a powerful and poignant story and that helps lower some of the tension as things play out in such an amazing way. This was a personal project for John Wayne that took him many years to bring to the screen and he does an superb job giving off the feel that such a momentous event was a game changer in the fight for freedom nearly 2 centuries ago. Loved seeing Richard Widmark, Frankie Avalon and Laurence Harvey in important supporting roles.

Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The climactic battle scenes involved 7,000 extras, 1,500 horses and 400 Texan longhorn cattle. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10) (no change from original review)