An really Excellent Western with Sterling Hayden as the Best Version of Jim Bowie. The Last Command is competent and exciting story of the battle of the Alamo with a fine cast. Definitely worth watching more than once.
It's interesting to compare this with the Alamo heroics film with John Wayne. He played Davie Crocket. In this version, the central character is Jim Bowie. Crocket is in a minor role here. The film is very good and gives a fine account of the defenders. It's the acting of Sterling Hayden, conveying the stoicism of Bowie that garners additional praise.
I have watched this countless times since I was a child (especially because I am crazy about Anna Maria Alberghetti)!! But my FAVORITE version of the "ALAMO" will ALWAYS be the one with JOHN WAYNE!!
John Wayne directed The Alamo, but you can easily pick out which short shots John Ford directed, when he dropped by the set. Wayne should have directed more films,, he was good.
I have watched this countless times since I was a child (especially because I am crazy about Anna Maria Alberghetti)!! But my FAVORITE version of the "ALAMO" will ALWAYS be the one with JOHN WAYNE!!
2024 I have watched this countless times since I was a child (especially because I am crazy about Anna Maria Alberghetti)!! But my FAVORITE version of the "ALAMO" will ALWAYS be the one with JOHN WAYNE!!
Hollywood revisionism. Sam Houston had told the Alamo group that it was suicide at best, but its futility stalled Santa Ana, while Houston gathered a Tejano army, which did defeat Santa Ana about 6 weeks later. Remember, this was not a US-Mexico conflict; this was the Texas Revolution.
John Wayne must have watched this film as he put some of the scenes from it in his own film, re-filmed for his own Alamo film and, in some ways, this is a more accurate film as that March was the coldest, wettest spring in San Antoine for many years and Travis was shot in the head at the north wall.
Well, I actually have 2 completely different Westerns called the Last Command! Well, I'm definitely going to be looking for this one! I have a few Alamo movies, Silent Alamo, Heroes of the Alamo, Man from the Alamo, Davy Crockett, John Wayne Alamo, and the most recent one as well as Gone to Texas and others. I have several hundred Westerns divided into different subcategories; John Wayne Pre Civil War to Civil War Post Civil War Cavalry vs Indians TV and Compilations Always looking for more and this is definitely on my radar now!
Bowie was adept at fighting. From some of what I have read, he may well have been less than honest in some real estate dealings around Alexandria Louisiana? We are all multifaceted. Courtesy of Half Vast Flying
When you read the history of Jim Bowie, it becomes apparent that he was a real hustler, & wheeler-dealer. Not exactly ethical, but very clever & ambitious. This guy would turn himself in to claim the reward.
