John Wayne is quoted as saying, "Contrary to what people think, I'm no politician, and when I have something to say I say it through my movie."
This statement perhaps never rang more true than in his 1960 movie The Alamo. Wayne's daughter Aissa said, “I think making The Alamo was my father’s own form of combat. More then an obsession, it was the most intensely personal film of his career.” And Argentinean actress Linda Cristal, the beautiful female lead in The Alamo, said, “John Wayne loved the Alamo like a man loves a woman—passionately.”
John Wayne so believed in the power of the Almo story that he wanted to make it into a film. For years he worked directly with a scriptwriter and ultimately decided to both produce and direct it himself so that his vision of what it should be like would not be changed. In fact, he mortgaged his own home, other real estate and even his family cars, and reluctantly agreed to star in the epic as Davy Crockett in order to bring it to the screen his way. At the time Wayne told the press, “I’ve gambled everything I own in this picture. All my money. And my soul.”
In the end, John Wayne was deeply proud of his passion project. It won the Academy Award for Best Sound and garnered six additional Academy nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song, "The Green Leaves of Summer," and Best Music Score.
I'd never seen The Alamo so I got it from the library. And I ended up watching it three times. It was that good. (If nothing else, this project is giving me something to do when I can't sleep at night.) Given the film technologies of the early 60's I'd even say that the filming itself was spectacular. Does it compare to what filmmakers can do today? Of course not. But in the film, John Wayne successfully saluted American patriotism, gallantry, and sacrifice. He celebrated the bravery and dignity of the common frontier people who settled this country and the innately American sense of unbridled freedom. It easily leaves the politically correct 2004 version in the dust.
My own copy of the DVD is now on order with Amazon.
I found the following clip on YouTube. And I love it for a couple of reasons. First, it starts out with the singing talents of Hank "what happened to your spurs?" Worden. Oh man, it cracked me up. Second, John Wayne himself talks about the movie. About the story of the Almo. About the people of the Alamo. He says, "Living free meant a lot more to them than cowering in security." It gives me goosebumps, I tell ya.
1 movie down. 49 more to go.
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