James Arness is Jim Bowie, Alec Baldwin is Col. Travis and Brian Keith is Davy Crockett in this version of the Alamo story.
As the film begins, Davy is regaling troops with tales about his frontier experiences while Travis and Bowie argue about the wisdom of defending the Alamo and how quickly Santa Anna can mount an assault on the mission.
But they all agree on one thing: Without assistance, the troops and volunteers inside the Alamo are going to be vastly outnumbered when the Mexican Army arrives.
So dispatches are sent to Sam Houston and Col. Fannin, urging them to come to the Alamo’s defense as soon as possible.
Houston says he has no army to send and blames politicians for that fact. Fannin fears risking the only real army in Texas.
Small morale victories — the destruction of Mexican artillery, the successful arrival and departure of scouts — help lift the spirits of the men inside the Alamo.
But eventually, everyone is confronted with the grim reality: Help isn’t coming. And Santa Anna can attack with an overwhelming force whenever he wants.
In fact, the only thing slowing him down is a determination to make sure his family name isn’t tarnished by military failure.
So he wants to know precisely where the other rebel forces are and what he faces inside the Alamo before he’ll launch an assault.
When the final attack comes, it’s accompanied by the playing of The Degüello, indicating no mercy will be shown to the defenders of The Alamo.
James Arness as Jim Bowie, in another disagreement with Col. Travis in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
Alec Baldwin as Col. William Barrett Travis, realizing the odds his men face in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
Review:
Like the defenders of the Alamo, the producers of this film faced overwhelming odds in attempting to tackle such an epic battle on a TV miniseries budget.
So why try? Well, 1986 marked the 150th anniversary of the battle. And a movie about it hadn’t been released since the John Wayne version in 1960.
The result: A film in which part of the battle footage is lifted from 1955’s “The Command,” in which the new battle footage isn’t very convincing and in which some of the action is laughable.
An entire battery of Mexican artillery would fire their guns, destroying them because they didn’t notice that the barrels had been packed full of mud the night before by men from the Alamo? Really? They wouldn’t have to load those guns first?
Casting doesn’t help. While their Western creds must have been appealing, Brian Keith was 65 portraying 49-year-old Davy Crockett and James Arness was 63, portraying 40-year-old Jim Bowie. Their appearance on the screen depicting “heroes” of the Alamo generates an immediate sinking feeling about what’s to follow.
Alec Baldwin seems much more fitting as Col. Travis. And filmmakers deserve credit for attempting to give viewers some insight into Santa Anna, played here by Raul Julia as a pompous, womanizing commander who demands complete loyalty from his lieutenants.
And the film isn’t without its moments. One of the best: Susannah Dickinson, having insisted on staying with her husband, finds him sleeping on the parade ground the night before the attack. She settles in beside him, covers them both with a blanket, then silently begins to weep.
Brian Keith as Davy Crockett, knowing the time for battle is approaching in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
Raul Julia as Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, delivering another bit of military wisdom in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
Directed by:
Burt Kennedy
Cast:
James Arness … Jim Bowie
Brian Keith … Col. Davy Crockett
Alec Baldwin … Col. William Barrett Travis
Raul Julia … Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
David Ogden Stiers … Col. Black
Jim Metzler … Maj. James Bonham
Tom Schanley … Pvt. Danny Cloud
Gene Evans … McGregor
Michael Wren … Juan Seguin
Jon Lindstrom … Capt. Almeron Dickinson
Kathleen York … Mrs. Susannah Dickinson
Hinton Battle …. Joe, Travis’ servant
Fernando Allende … Col. Alamonte, Santa Anna’s nephew
Isela Vega … Senora Cos
David Sheiner … Luis
Noble Willingham … Dr. Pollard
Elroy Casados … Gregorio
Tony Becker … George Taylor
Thomas Callaway … Col. James W. Fannin
Lorne Greene … Gen. Sam Houston
Buck Taylor … Buck Smith
Jerry Potter … Jacob Walker
Grainger Hines … Charles Despeller
Laura Fabian … Lucia
Loyda Ramos … Senora Esparza
Laura Harring … Santa Anna’s Bride
Runtime: 140 min. / 170 min.
Jon Lindstrom as Capt. Almeron Dickinson, trying to convince his wife to flee for safety in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
Kathleen York as Susannah Dickinson, insisting on staying with her husband in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
Memorable lines:
Davy Crockett: “I’d rather let the Texan business to you Texans. I’ll know my duty when I see it.”
Col. Travis: “Maybe you did wrestle that grizzy bear after all.”
Davy Crockett: “Nah, I never did that. I just tickled him some and he fell off a cliff. Damnedest bear I ever seen.”
Buck Smith, watching the Mexicans advance during a scouting mission: “Holy, sweet Jiminy.”
Second scout: “There ain’t that many people in all of Texas.”
Col. Travis: “What are you fighting for?”
Jim Bowie: “More like the old life, I guess. Like it used to be. Like it is in America, where the people own the government. See, Santa Anna, he thinks he owns the people. I don’t like bein’ owned. I’m kinda particular about that kind of thing.”
Danny Cloud: “Death in the name of liberty, does not make me shudder, colonel.”
Col. Black, of Santa Ana: “He’s mad. That’s what he is. We, gentlemen, are commanded by a madman.”
Santa Anna to his subordinates: “Victory or death. Let me make it clearer: My victory. Or your death.”
Santa Anna, ordering a subordinate, having found the remains of Col. Travis and Davy Crockett, to locate the body of Jim Bowie: “I will dip my fingers in their blood.”
Tom Schanley as Pvt. Danny Cloud, explaining his plans for a future in Texas to Lucia in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
Laura Fabian as Lucia, planning to consumate her relationship with Danny Cloud on the eve of the battle in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
David Ogden Stiers as Col. Black, a British officer and advisor to Santa Anna in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
Fernando Allende as Col. Alamonte, responsible for arranging trysts for his uncle Santa Anna in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
Michael Wren as Juan Seguin, providing information on Santa Anna’s strength with Jim Bowie in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
Michael Wren as Juan Seguin, providing information on Santa Anna’s strength with Jim Bowie in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
Buck Taylor as “Colorado” Smith, dispatched to bring reinforcements to the Alamo in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
Jim Metzler as Maj. James Bonham, urging haste to help the defenders of the Alamo in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
Lorne Greene as Gen. Sam Houston, listening to a plea for help from Maj. Bonham in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
Thomas Callaway as Col. James W. Fannin, explaining why he won’t rush to the Alamo’s defense in The Alamo, Thirteen Days to Glory (1987)
){kind=link}