The Last Command (1955 film)
| The Last Command | |
|---|---|
 Original Australian film poster |
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| Directed by | Frank Lloyd |
| Produced by | Frank Lloyd/ Republic Pictures |
| Written by | Warren Duff (story by Sy Bartlett) |
| Starring | Sterling Hayden Arthur Hunnicutt Ernest Borgnine |
| Music by | Max Steiner |
| Cinematography | Jack A. Marta |
| Editing by | Tony Martinelli |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1955 |
| Running time | 110 min |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
The Last Command is a 1955 Trucolor film about Jim Bowie and the fall of the Alamo during the Texas War of Independence. Filmed by Republic Pictures, it was an unusually expensive undertaking for the low-budget studio.
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[edit] Production
The film was originally set to be produced and directed by John Wayne[1] but Wayne and Republic Pictures head Herbert Yates wanted Wayne to star, not produce or direct. Wayne left Republic to form Wayne-Fellows Productions. Five years later, Wayne would play Davy Crockett in, as well as direct, the three-hours-plus Todd-AO production The Alamo, released by United Artists that featured many elements of The Last Command in its screenplay.
Max Steiner's theme song for The Last Command , "Jim Bowie", is sung by musical film star Gordon MacRae, who that year (1955) was starring in the smash hit film Oklahoma!, adapted from the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
Released during the Walt Disney Davy Crockett frenzy, the film follows Jim Bowie (Sterling Hayden) who was initially a friend to Generalissimo Antonio López de Santa Anna (J. Carroll Naish) but now sides with the Texians in their bid for independence.
[edit] Cast
- Sterling Hayden – Jim Bowie
- Richard Carlson – William Barret Travis
- Arthur Hunnicutt – Davy Crockett
- Ernest Borgnine – Mike Radin
- J. Carrol Naish – General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana
- Anna Maria Alberghetti – Consuelo de Quesada
- John Russell – Captain Almaron Dickinson
- Virginia Grey – Mrs. Dickinson (Susanna Dickinson)
- Jim Davis – Ben Evans
- Eduard Franz – Lorenzo de Zavala
- Otto Kruger – Stephen F. Austin
- Russell Simpson – The Parson
- Roy Roberts – Dr. Summerfield
- Slim Pickens – Abe
- Hugh Sanders – Sam Houston
- Ben Cooper – Jeb Lacey
[edit] References
- ^ Thompson, Frank Alamo Movies 1994 Republic of Texas Press
