The Alamo (1960)
The Alamo was a true labor of love for John Wayne. He’d first wanted to make the film back in 1945, but studios were reluctant to make such a big budget picture. By the time he’d actually achieved his dream, he’d spent $1.5 million of his own money and mortgaged everything he owned. Filmed entirely in Texas, Wayne supervised the two-year construction of an Alamo recreation. Fourteen miles of old-style roads were created for authenticity, six wells were drilled, 5,000 acres of horse corrals, and over one million adobe bricks were hand-formed to build the Alamo Mission. At the Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Picture, losing to the charming romance The Apartment; and Wayne was famously snubbed for Best Director. At the Hot Toasty Rag Awards, we delighted in righting the wrongs and rewarding Wayne for his remarkable production; The Alamo won both awards.
Sometimes actors who directed themselves appeared distracted on camera, but not John Wayne. He was present in every moment, and his love for the subject shone through. I loved seeing him and fellow western-veteran Richard Widmark fill the shoes of legendary Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie leading the defense of the Alamo. Laurence Harvey was very good in an against-type role. He didn’t usually get the chance to be vulnerable, but in this movie, the audience was able to feel sorry for him. Richard Boone, another western-veteran, took a small but very important role, and he put a lot of passion into his scenes.
Dimitri Tiomkin’s lovely theme tugs at your heartstrings, and makes you anxious to hold your ground alongside the actors as they send their women and children off to safety before the battle. There’s so much love poured into this movie: love of country, love of lost causes, love of pride and passion, and love of the film itself. It’s a true pleasure to watch it, and if you can get your hands on it, try to find the extended director’s cut. It has an extra forty minutes of footage, and you can really see Wayne’s passion project as he originally intended.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Richard Widmark movies here!
Sometimes actors who directed themselves appeared distracted on camera, but not John Wayne. He was present in every moment, and his love for the subject shone through. I loved seeing him and fellow western-veteran Richard Widmark fill the shoes of legendary Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie leading the defense of the Alamo. Laurence Harvey was very good in an against-type role. He didn’t usually get the chance to be vulnerable, but in this movie, the audience was able to feel sorry for him. Richard Boone, another western-veteran, took a small but very important role, and he put a lot of passion into his scenes.
Dimitri Tiomkin’s lovely theme tugs at your heartstrings, and makes you anxious to hold your ground alongside the actors as they send their women and children off to safety before the battle. There’s so much love poured into this movie: love of country, love of lost causes, love of pride and passion, and love of the film itself. It’s a true pleasure to watch it, and if you can get your hands on it, try to find the extended director’s cut. It has an extra forty minutes of footage, and you can really see Wayne’s passion project as he originally intended.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Richard Widmark movies here!
Hot Toasty Rag Awards:
Best Picture of 1960
Best Director: John Wayne
Hot Toasty Rag Nominations:
Best Supporting Actor: Laurence Harvey
Best Musical Score: Dimitri Tiomkin
Best Original Song: "The Green Leaves of Summer"