The Alamo

Sprawling, ponderous history lesson that re-creates the defense of the Alamo in 1836 Texas, when 187 Americans and Texicans held off Santa Anna's army of 7,000 men for 13 days. The major focus is on Colonels William Travis (Laurence Harvey), Davy Crockett (John Wayne), and Jim Bowie (Richard Widmark). Wayne, whose Batjac Productions spent some $15 million mounting THE ALAMO (shot in 91 days, with $1.5 million spent re-creating the fort), produced, starred, and directed, with uncredited second-unit assistance from good friend John Ford. The result is an old-fashioned patriotic movie and a rousing epic that performed poorly at the box office, perhaps because it chron...