DAVY CROCKETT AT THE ALAMO (1954, TV, Walt Disney, Directed by Norman Foster, starring Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen) Available from most video/DVD outlets.

It seems sacrilegious to criticize this romanticized version of the Alamo story as it was for most of us the first exposure to the moving story of Davy Crockett and his compatriots in their finest hour.

It is a more satisfying experience to watch the complete DAVY CROCKETT AT THE ALAMO episode, instead of its pared down version as edited into the feature DAVY CROCKETT, KING OF THE WILD FRONTIER. Thankfully, Walt Disney studios had the sense to restore the five Davy Crockett episodes to their original format and release them as a set on DVD. This displays the same visionary sense that Walt Disney himself showed when he chose, in 1954, to shoot the Davy Crockett episodes of his TV series on location and in living colour! One must recognize how unusual this was back then. Virtually everything on TV was in black and white and done on a back lot in California. Most people didn’t even have colour TVs, if they even had a TV! Maybe Walt knew something nobody else did…

And it is indeed the vision of old Uncle Walt that we must keep foremost in our minds when we approach this rendering of the Alamo story. This version was made for children. It was made to perpetuate the legend of Davy Crockett and emphasize 1950s values and sentiments. This version of the Alamo is not intended to be historically accurate or even fair to all of the participants. It paints the story in broad strokes and is intended to leave the viewer (particularly children) with a lump in their throat and tears in their eyes. And as such, it is, in some ways, the definitive impression of the Alamo on millions of people. It personifies the legend that Davy Crockett died last, swinging his rifle Old Betsy and never giving an inch.

Disney was not concerned here with anything but entertainment, adventure and larger than life escapades.

There are many things to admire in this scaled-down, bargain basement Alamo. While the battle scenes retain a comic book flavour they do generate excitement. Matte shots and insufficient numbers aside, it conveys the essence of this fierce battle, albeit in a sanitized fashion, suitable for impressionable young minds. One has to accept the innocence of the presentation and appreciate its intent, otherwise it will invariably be dismissed as phony.

Perhaps the biggest thing going for Disney’s Alamo is Fess Parker. Literally. He stands 6’5" and has charisma galore, especially in the glorious colour film stock on which this film was shot. Parker is in many ways the definitive Davy Crockett. Although he was too young for Crockett at this stage in his life (Crockett was 49), Disney simply greyed his hair to make him look distinguishably older. It is precisely this kind of broad stroke that infuses both Parker’s performance and Disney’s interpretation of these colourful events.

Buddy Ebsen plays the fictional Georgie Russell, friend of Crockett’s, with suitable gullibility, faithfulness and flair. The scene in which he turns on Davy for not leveling with him about the gravity of their hopeless situation helps turn the story towards its dramatic conclusion. It is a key moment. Ebsen was originally cast as Crockett and no doubt was disappointed at the change. He nonetheless acquits himself well and seems tailor-made for the part of Crockett’s best friend.

Hans Conried plays Thimblerig, apparently in reality one of Crockett’s Tennessee boys (though here a riverboat gambler). Conried was a brilliant character actor and adapts his eccentric acting style nicely to the style and feel of this period piece. Nick Cravat, Burt Lancaster’s old acrobatic partner from their circus days, appears as a mute Indian named Busted Luck who befriends Crockett and dies alongside Conried in the final battle.

It is essentially pointless to offer criticism of this film. It simply is what it is. It looks beautiful and the story is told effectively.

As such, this is a must-have for Alamo fans. But get the special DVD with the five Crockett episodes. Try not to find fault but let yourself be a kid again. Way to go, Fess! You gave us a Davy Crockett to remember. Along with the Alamo, of course.

Trivia Note: The two Davy Crockett features comprised of the five Walt Disney TV shows were DAVY CROCKETT: KING OF THE WILD FRONTIER and DAVY CROCKETT AND THE RIVER PIRATES. In what other fifties film did Fess Parker appear as Davy Crockett (albeit briefly)? For the answer, see the end of this article.

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THE LAST COMMAND (1955, Directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Sterling Hayden)

Available from most video outlets.

The life of big James Bowie (he preferred ‘James’ to ‘Jim’) is given interesting treatment here in Republic Studios’ 1955 biography. This was the second film to be shot on the Happy Shahan ranch outside of Brackettville. Though it is an Alamo movie, it was not shot at the present location of Alamo Village, although a partial fort was constructed as a temporary set. The Alamo mission was matted in later!

Apparently John Wayne had been badgering Republic Studios’ boss Herb Yates about doing an Alamo movie since about 1944. At one point, Yates even sent out an elaborate press release announcing a forthcoming production. But Yates’ insistence on a restricted budget and the casting of his mistress/wife eventually led to Wayne leaving Republic. Yates may well have concocted this film as a way of stealing big John’s thunder and beating him to the punch. In fact it has been suggested that he made this film specifically to spite the Duke.

Personal politics aside, THE LAST COMMAND is an effective addition to the Alamo story and it in no way diminishes John Wayne’s extraordinary achievement some five years later.

Big Sterling Hayden (like Fess Parker, he was also 6’5") was a decent, sometimes wooden leading man. He is excellent casting as Bowie. Though Hayden hated acting and had a low opinion of his abilities, including the observation that he ‘froze’ when shot in close-ups, the great director John Huston thought he was a brilliant actor who got better with age. Hayden was the same age as Jim Bowie when he starred in this film in 1955.

A number of fictitious events are woven into the fabric of historical events told from Bowie’s perspective, While the sub-plots are rather dated, there are some fine features in this film. J. Carroll Naish, the brilliant linguist and character actor plays a convincing and well-rounded Santa Anna. Though not as ruthless as the President undoubtedly was, Naish’s portrayal is by no means weak. Naish was an American of Irish origin and though he played virtually every ethnic type imaginable, he never played an Irishman! My one complaint about his Santa Anna was script related. He kept calling Jim Bowie ‘Jimmy’ (they were familiar). It sounded rather humourous. In reality, Bowie preferred to be called ‘James’.

Arthur Hunnicutt is in some ways the most convincing Davy Crockett yet seen on film. While a secondary character in this telling of the story, Hunnicutt conveys the backwoods essence of Crockett mixed with an inherent toughness and resilience that Crockett surely possessed. He is quite moving when he says good-bye to Bowie with the comforting words, ‘They’ll eat snakes before they get in here, Jim’. He mirrors our reaction when he hears the chilling sound of the de guello, the Mexican bugle call signifying ‘no quarter’. The de guello originally was a series of four cavalry calls. Santa Anna chose the fourth as his signature warning that he intended no mercy to be shown to his enemies. The brilliant composer of the music for THE LAST COMMAND, Max Steiner, ignores the real de guello and creates a piercing, descending bugle call that suggests all the foreboding and dread of this psychologically compelling call to arms.

The final battle is very exciting with some terrific choreography and convincing carnage. It is little wonder that some of this footage was incorporated into THE ALAMO: THIRTEEN DAYS TO GLORY and again in TEXAS. Surely if the tight-fisted Herb Yates could cough up the dough to shoot these memorable scenes, so could the producers of later Alamo films.

Crockett’s death scene is similar to John Wayne’s in THE ALAMO in that he blows up the powder magazine. Also, a parson character seems to pave the way for Hank Worden’s man of the cloth in the Duke’s film. Worden brings much more sensitivity to the part than Russell Simpson in THE LAST COMMAND. Simpson was a severe looking actor who always played the same type, though he made well over 200 pictures in his career, which began in the early days of silent films.

Ernest Borgnine plays an interesting role, first as a rival of Bowie’s, then later as a fast friend who also dies bravely at the Alamo.

THE LAST COMMAND was the best version of the Alamo story until John Wayne’s film. It is a staple of any Alamo collection and deserves rediscovery, especially in light of the disappointing TV versions of recent years.

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THE FIRST TEXAN (1956, Directed by Byron Haskin, starring Joel McCrea and Jeff Morrow) Available exclusively from Comet Video.

While this movie does not show any Alamo footage, it deserves mention as it is another look at the life of Sam Houston. Heavily watered down in a ‘50s, Technicolor sort of way, the story is designed as a vehicle for Joel McCrea and as such presents Houston as a pretty straight-forward hero.

And that’s ok, because McCrea is likeable and heroic without straining credibility. Films that take historical events as their starting point are not compromised by focusing on creative licence to make the story more palatable for its intended audience. One simply has to be aware of the intent and the time in which the film was made. THE FIRST TEXAN is not that far from Disney’s Davy Crockett in that regard.

The battle of San Jacinto is reasonably well portrayed, with perhaps less pre-battle discontent among Houston’s troops than there really was, but again this is not intended as a psychological study of the man or these events, it’s simply entertainment.

While I wouldn’t place it high on the list of ‘must haves’ for Alamo collectors, taken for what it is, THE FIRST TEXAN is enjoyable and warrants a look if only for its passing references to the subject matter so many of us love to see dramatized.

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THE SPIRIT OF THE ALAMO (1960, TV, Directed by Seymour Robbie, starring John Wayne and the cast of THE ALAMO) Unavailable. Several clips from this special appear in the documentary JOHN WAYNE’S THE ALAMO.

THE SPIRIT OF THE ALAMO is unavailable for purchase, much to the frustration of John Wayne fans. Perhaps when and if the restored ALAMO ever makes it to DVD (see below) included will be not only the full 60-minute version of JOHN WAYNE’S THE ALAMO, the documentary that was released in a truncated 40-minute version on video with the restored ALAMO a few years back, but also this television special that served as a TV tie-in with the release of John Wayne’s glorious film.

All that is generally available from THE SPIRIT OF THE ALAMO at the present time is a number of tantalizing clips that are used in the above mentioned documentary. This shows what is undeniably a collector’s item rather than a program with wide appeal today, but isn’t that what extra features on DVDs are supposed to specialize in?

THE SPIRIT OF THE ALAMO was the first time video tape was used on location, and the result looks very flat and technically ancient. However, the tape includes appearances from all the stars of the movie and that alone will make it of interest to ALAMO fans. In fact, the technology that we consider so old was so new at that time that John Wayne wasn’t even aware of it. Following one take he was asked if he wanted to see the playback. He assumed the technicians meant a sound playback. Upon retiring to the control van and actually seeing the playback he wanted to know if he could use the same technology in tandem with his Todd-AO cameras. It wasn’t possible then, but of course has since become industry standard.

THE SPIRIT OF THE ALAMO was an hour-long TV special, sponsored by Pontiac, which, when broadcast on the ABC network on Monday, November 14, 1960, captured the majority share of the viewing audience. Apparently in one scene, Laurence Harvey reads Travis’ famous letter calling for reinforcements. It is interesting that of all the Alamo films, from Disney’s Davy Crockett to the recent documentaries, Travis’ letter is the one common thread. It is quoted, at least in part, in virtually every version.

Let’s hope that some day THE SPIRIT OF THE ALAMO will be available for the enjoyment of all Alamo fans everywhere.

Jon Ted Wynne