Heroes of the Alamo (1937) is a low-budget retelling of the events of the
Texas Revolution and the
Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...
. It was produced by
Anthony J. Xydias and reuses the battle scenes of his 1926 silent film ''
Davy Crockett at the Fall of the Alamo
''With Davy Crockett at the Fall of the Alamo'' is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring Cullen Landis, Kathryn McGuire
Kathryn McGuire (December 6, 1903 – October 10, 1978) was an American danc ...
''. About 35 minutes of the latter film is available on the DVD of ''Heroes of the Alamo'', all that remains of the silent film.
Plot
Unlike other Alamo films that concentrate on
Davy Crockett and
Jim Bowie
James Bowie ( ) ( – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American pioneer, slave smuggler and trader, and soldier who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of h ...
, the main protagonists are
Almaron (Bruce Warren) and
Susanna Dickinson (Ruth Findlay) and their daughter Angelina (Marilyn Haslett). The film gives a fictionalised fast moving account of the restriction on American emigration to Texas, the arrest of
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...
by
Santa Anna Santa Anna may refer to:
* Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, United States
* Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas
* Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. ...
(
Julian Rivero
Julian Rivero (July 25, 1890 – February 24, 1976) was an American actor whose career spanned seven decades. He made his film debut in the 1923 silent melodrama, '' The Bright Shawl'', which starred Richard Barthelmess, Dorothy Gish, William Pow ...
),
Sam Houston (Edward Piel) appointed General to build the
Texian Army
The Texian Army, also known as the Revolutionary Army and Army of the People, was the land warfare branch of the Texian armed forces during the Texas Revolution. It spontaneously formed from the Texian Militia in October 1835 following the ...
, and Dickinson's participation in both the
Battle of Gonzales and the
Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...
.
Cast
*
Bruce Warren
The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...
... Capt.
Al Dickinson
*
Ruth Findlay ...
Anne Dickinson
*
Earle Hodgins
Earle Hodgins (October 6, 1893 – April 14, 1964) was an American actor.
Career
Early in his career, Hodgins was active in stock theater, including working in the Ralph Cloninger troupe of Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Siegel Stock compan ...
...
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...
*
Lane Chandler
Lane Chandler (born Robert Clinton Oakes, June 4, 1899 – September 14, 1972) was an American actor specializing mainly in Westerns.
Biography
Early life
Chandler was raised on a ranch near Culbertson, Montana, the son of a horse ra ...
... Col.
Davy Crockett
*
Roger Williams ... Col.
Jim Bowie
James Bowie ( ) ( – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American pioneer, slave smuggler and trader, and soldier who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of h ...
*
Rex Lease
Rex Lloyd Lease (February 11, 1903 – January 3, 1966) was an American actor. He appeared in over 300 films, mainly in Poverty Row westerns.
Biography
Lease arrived in Hollywood in 1924. He found bit and supporting parts at Film Booking ...
... Col.
William B. Travis
*Jack C. Smith ...
William H. Wharton
*Lee Valanios ... Col.
James Bonham
*
Edward Peil Sr. ... Gen.
Sam Houston
*
Julian Rivero
Julian Rivero (July 25, 1890 – February 24, 1976) was an American actor whose career spanned seven decades. He made his film debut in the 1923 silent melodrama, '' The Bright Shawl'', which starred Richard Barthelmess, Dorothy Gish, William Pow ...
... Gen.
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. usually known as Santa Ann ...
*Willy Castello ... Gen.
Martín Perfecto de Cos
Martín Perfecto de Cos (1800–1 October 1854) was a Mexican Army general and politician during the mid-19th century. Born in Veracruz, the son of an attorney, he became an army cadet at the age of 20, a lieutenant in 1821, and a brigadier gener ...
*Paul Ellis ... Gen.
Manuel Fernández Castrillón Manuel Fernández Castrillón (1780s – April 21, 1836) was a major general in the Mexican army of the 19th century. He was a close friend of General and Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna. During the Texas Revolution, Castrilló ...
Release
After producing two 1935 Westerns, Xydias ambitiously announced the production of
epic films about
Buffalo Bill,
Sitting Bull,
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
,
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...
and
Davy Crockett in 1937-1938 that were remakes of his Sunset Productions silent films,
[p.36 Thompson, Frank ''Alamo Movies'' 1991 Woodware Productions] however only the Alamo film was made. Xydias had planned the film as a tie in with the 1936
Texas Centennial
The Texas Centennial Exposition was a world's fair presented from June 6 to November 29, 1936, at Fair Park, Dallas, Texas. A celebration of the 100th anniversary of Texas's independence from Mexico in 1836, it also celebrated Texas and Western Uni ...
but fell behind in his plans.
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
acquired the film for 1938 release
[p.244 Dick, Bernard F. ''Columbia Pictures:Portrait of a Studio'' 1992 University Press of Kentucky] and changed the billing of the actors in the film.
The film featured the song ''
The Yellow Rose of Texas'' being sung by the defenders though it had not been written at that time.
This was the last film Xydias produced. When World War II broke out he was in the Philippines and was interned by the Japanese.
References
External links
*
{{Davy Crockett
1937 films
1937 Western (genre) films
Columbia Pictures films
American black-and-white films
Texas Revolution films
Cultural depictions of Davy Crockett
Siege films
American Western (genre) films
1930s English-language films
1930s American films
Cultural depictions of James Bowie