The Man from the Alamo

Glenn Ford plays the only survivor of the Alamo -- not a very popular man in Texas. Of course, the story gives him a good excuse -- he drew lots with some other Alamo soldiers to see who would go west to defend their homes from Texan bandits hired by the Mexicans, but the families were already dead when he gets there -- but nobody wants to believe him, except one lovely woman on the wagon train he sets out to defend. Only problem is his strategy of siding with the bandits to get into their confidence puts him in a nearly impossible situation.

A well-made film, with convincing action and gritty characters. Unlike other Boetticher westerns, here the scale of the film is "epic" as the future of the West hangs in the balance. Ford makes a surprisingly good substitute for Randolph Scott or John Wayne.

Drawing straws (or in this case beans) Texas patriot Glenn Ford is picked to leave the Alamo in order to evacuate his and his neighbor's families, only to find them all dead at the hands of marauders and himself branded a coward.

Starting with a fairly colorful, low-budget Alamo siege (shot on a sound-stage!), this is pretty compelling all the way, with an excellent, hard-boiled performance from Ford and nice direction from the great Budd Boetticher, one of the best unsung western filmmakers ever.

This is almost as good as Boetticher's later collaborations with Randolph Scott. My only problem is that this wasn't shot in widescreen.

As far as the supporting cast goes, Chill Wills is always fun to watch, while the incredibly beautiful Julie Adams is always fun to look at, and Neville Brand delivers some great, macho, swaggering villainy that easily overshadows the more subdued Victor Jory.

On the other hand, I can't quite understand the Golden Globe win by Hugh O'Brian. He's okay, but slightly bland as Ford's main accuser.

Budd Boetticher made several films for Universal Pictures before going to Columbia studios. His movies were westerns and adventures movies. Universal standard, where the bull fighter director could only show his professional skills but maybe nothing more. Anyway, I guess that served him for his later Columbia westerns starring Randolph Scott. This one surprised me because the presence of Glenn Ford, a Columbia star borrowed by Universal. I am sure it was the only one, knowing that later Ford will "emigrate" towards MGM. So this movie shows something rather unusual, related to Alamo battle, something surprising. A man falsely accused of cowardice instead of a murder, yes, very interesting. But the rest is predictable; good, effective but predictable. See for instance SPRINGFIELD RIFLE, more or less same plot and scheme.

Texas , when General Santa Anna seized the Presidency of Mexico. They were them faced with the prospect of military government of war. General Sam Huston was entrusted with the task of mapping a course of action that would determine the future of Texas. 1836 a soldier called John Stroud, Glenn Ford, is sent from The Alamo during its last hours to get help, but then he is branded as a coward and a deserter. As he struggles to clear his name. Stroud infiltrates Wade's band led by Victor Jory. As The Alamo mission became a fortress and the fortress that became a shrine.

Well acted and colorful film, this one will satisfy those with a taste for action. Furthermore, here shows up some historic roles from The Alamo such as Col. Travis , Davy Crocket and Jim Bowie. Stars Glenn Ford and Julie Adams give acceptable interpretation. While support cast is pretty good, such as Chill Wills who played in El Alamo by John Wayne, Neville Brand as a rebel, Hugh O'Brian and special mention for Victor Jory as leader of a gang of renegades turncoats supporting Mexicans. And Guy Williams , before his successful series playing El Zorro.

It displays a glimmer and brilliant cinematography by Russell Metty, Universal Pictures regular . And a moving as well as charming musical score by the classic composer Frank Skinner. The motion picture was well directed by Budd Boetticher who was a Western expert. His first Western was in 1949 called The Wolf Hunters, following Cimarron Kid , Bronco buster, Horizons West, Seminole, and Wings of the hawk . In 1956 with 7 Men From Now starts his collaboration with Randolph Scott, along with producer Harry Joe Brown and writer Burt Kennedy , including prestigious titles as Tall T, Decision at sundown, Buchanan rides alone , Ride lonesome, Comanche station , among others. Rating 6. 5/10 . His last Western was in 1969 titled A time for dying with Audie Murphy. The movie witll appeal toWestern aficionados and Glenn Ford fans

There is always something interesting and just a bit different in this Director's Movies. This one is no exception. It is replete with thought provoking ideas like cowardice, bigotry, loyalty, and other values only found in the better Westerns.

This is an action filled Film with guns blazing, galloping Horses, Wagon Trains, bushwhackers, Mexican impersonators, fist-fights and all that is expected in this type of thing. But the difference here is the intelligence. The injection in a popular genre some things that rose above the material.

Budd Boetticher, Anthony Mann, and sometimes John Ford and Howard Hawks always gave more than the raw material. This is a modest effort from one of the Greats with an OK cast and a Production that looks so much bigger than it was. That was Boetticher, he was always so much bigger and better than what he was allowed.