''The Last Command'' is a 1955 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Frank Lloyd Frank William George Lloyd (2 February 1886 – 10 August 1960) was a British-born American film director, actor, scriptwriter, and producer. He was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was its president ...

starring

Sterling Hayden Sterling Walter Hayden (born Sterling Relyea Walter; March 26, 1916 – May 23, 1986) was an American actor, author, sailor and decorated Marine Corps officer and an Office of Strategic Services' agent during World War II. A leading man for mos ...

Anna Maria Alberghetti Anna Maria Alberghetti (; born May 15, 1936) is an Italian-American actress and soprano. Biography Born May 15, 1936, in Pesaro, Marche, in central Italy, she starred on Broadway and won a Tony Award in 1962 as Best Actress (Musical) for ' ...

, Richard Carlson,

Arthur Hunnicutt Arthur Lee Hunnicutt (February 17, 1910 – September 26, 1979) was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, and old rural characters. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ...

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...

and

J. Carrol Naish Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish (January 21, 1896 – January 24, 1973) was an American actor. He appeared in over 200 credits during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Naish received two Oscar nominations for his supporting roles in the films '' Sahara ...

based on the life of

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 ...

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 Ant ...

Plot

In 1835,

discovers uneasy disputes between the Mexican government and the American immigrants who've settled in Texas. Dozens of American men, including

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 ...

have been arrested for supposedly igniting rebellions against the Mexican governor

Juan Almonte Juan Nepomuceno Almonte Ramírez (May 15, 1803 – March 21, 1869) was a Mexican soldier, commander, minister of war, congressman, diplomat, and presidential candidate. He was the natural son of José María Morelos, a leading commander during ...

and the Mexican garrisons throughout Texas. Bowie attends a meeting of the

Texian Texians were Anglo-American residents of Mexican Texas and, later, the Republic of Texas. Today, the term is used to identify early settlers of Texas, especially those who supported the Texas Revolution. Mexican settlers of that era are referr ...

malcontents, listens to their arguments but urges calm and patience. When several of the Texians confront Bowie that he is not only a large landowner and he is married to a daughter of a Mexican Lieutenant Governor. Bowie says these things are true. When faced with accusations he is disloyal to the American settlers, Bowie, who has only recently used his influence to free

William Travis William Barret "Buck" Travis (August 1, 1809 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American lawyer and soldier. At the age of 26, he was a lieutenant colonel in the Texas Army. He died at the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. Tr ...

from arrest, leaves. After his departure, Mike "the Bull" Radin, a hot head Texian challenges Bowie to a knife fight. Bowie wins the fight and the respect of Mike. On his return home Bowie is arrested by Mexican soldiers and brought to

General Santa Anna A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...

. Unlike other films depicting the Texas War of Independence, Bowie and Santa Anna are friends and respect each other. Bowie relates the concerns of the Texians and notices Santa Anna has a

Napoleon complex The "Napoleon complex", known informally as small man syndrome, is a syndrome normally attributed to people of small stature. It is characterized by overly-aggressive or domineering social behavior, such as lying about earnings, and carries the ...

. He advises Santa Anna to free the arrested political prisoners and return Mexico to following the terms of the

1824 Constitution of Mexico The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824 ( es, Constitución Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de 1824) was enacted on October 4 of 1824, after the overthrow of the Mexican Empire of Agustin de Iturbide. In the new Fr ...

. The two men agree to disagree but Santa Anna informs Bowie of the real reason his soldiers had brought him to him; Bowie's wife and children have died in a

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

epidemic. Bowie becomes a heavy drinker and a drifter. He eventually sides with the Texians when he meets with Stephen Austin who tells him pacifism is no longer an option. After leading a band of mounted fighters in victory against Mexican dragoons at the

Grass Fight The Grass Fight was a small battle during the Texas Revolution, fought between the Mexican Army and the Texian Army. The battle took place on November 26, 1835, just south of San Antonio de Béxar in the Mexican region of Texas. The Texas Rev ...

, he and his men arrive in

San Antonio de Bexar ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

where he remains with his men. With tempers increasing between Travis and Bowie, both colonels in the

Army of Texas 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 Ba ...

. Mike suggests the garrison of the Alamo vote for their commander with Bowie winning and Travis becoming his second in command. The command expect reinforcements that never come. When Colonel

Davy Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...

arrives, rather than the tales of his one thousand men, Crockett only has 29 fighters. Santa Anna's army besieges the Alamo, and though allowing the women and children to leave in peace, Captain Dickinson's wife and Consuelo de Quesada, who loves Bowie refuse to go. During the siege Santa Anna and Bowie meet one more time under a flag of truce with each man understanding the other's view that events have spiralled out of control. Bowie refuses to surrender the Alamo or to sit out the battle as Santa Anna's prisoner. Later Bowie is severely injured when seizing a Mexican cannon and bringing it back to the Alamo; his increasing ill health leads Bowie to grant full command to Travis. By now the two have come to respect each other.

Cast

as Consuelo de Quesada * Richard Carlson as

William Barret Travis William Barret "Buck" Travis (August 1, 1809 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American lawyer and soldier. At the age of 26, he was a lieutenant colonel in the Texas Army. He died at the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. Tr ...

as Mike Radin *

as Gen.

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

Ben Cooper Ben Cooper (September 30, 1933 – February 24, 2020) was an American actor of film and television, who won a Golden Boot Award in 2005 for his work in westerns. Stage Cooper appeared on Broadway in ''Life With Father'' (1939). He debuted in th ...

as Jeb Lacey * John Russell as Capt.

Almaron Dickinson Almaron Dickinson (1800 – March 6, 1836) was a Texian soldier and defender during the Battle of the Alamo, fought during the Texas Revolution. Dickinson is best known as the artillery officer of the small garrison, and the husband of one of th ...

Virginia Grey Virginia Grey (March 22, 1917 – July 31, 2004) was an American actress who appeared in over 100 films and a number of radio and television shows from the 1930s to the early 1980s. Biography Grey was born on March 22, 1917, in Edendale, Calif ...

as Mrs. Dickinson * Jim Davis as Ben Evans *

Eduard Franz Eduard Franz Schmidt (October 31, 1902 – February 10, 1983) was an American actor of theatre, film and television. Franz portrayed King Ahab in the 1953 biblical low-budget film ''Sins of Jezebel'', Jethro in Cecil B. DeMille's ''The Ten C ...

as Lorenzo de Quesada *

Otto Kruger Otto Kruger (September 6, 1885 – September 6, 1974) was an American actor, originally a Broadway matinee idol, who established a niche as a charming villain in films, such as Hitchcock's ''Saboteur''. He also appeared in CBS's ''Perry Mason'' a ...

* Russell Simpson as The Parson *

Roy Roberts Roy Roberts (born Roy Barnes Jones, March 19, 1906 – May 28, 1975) was an American character actor. Over his more than 40-year career, he appeared in more than nine hundred productions on stage and screen. Life and career Born in Tampa ...

as Dr. Summerfield *

Slim Pickens Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens transitioned to acting and appeared in dozens of movies and ...

as Abe *

Hugh Sanders Hugh Howard Sanders (March 13, 1911 – January 9, 1966) was an American actor, probably best known for playing the role of Dr. Reynolds in the movie ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. Biography Born in Illinois, Sanders graduated from Northwestern U ...

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

* Charles Stevens as Villager (uncredited) *

Ken Terrell Kenneth Jones Terrell (April 29, 1904 – March 8, 1966) was an American western and action film actor and stuntman best known for playing Joe Marcelli in the 1956 film ''Indestructible Man'' and Jess in the 1958 film ''Attack of the 50 Foo ...

as Defender (uncredited)

Production

John Wayne

The project first emerged at Republic Films in 1948 as ''The Alamo'', written by Patrick Ford, John Ford's son as a vehicle for the studio's biggest star, John Wayne. In 1950 it was announced Wayne would produce, direct and star in the film. The project was going to be filmed after Wayne did ''

The Quiet Man ''The Quiet Man'' is a 1952 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by John Ford. It stars John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond and Victor McLaglen. The screenplay by Frank S. Nugent was based on a 1933 '' Saturday ...

'' for Republic; Paul Fix and

James Edward Grant James Edward Grant (July 2, 1905 – February 19, 1966) was an American short story writer, screenwriter and film director, who contributed to more than fifty films between 1935 and 1971. He collaborated with John Wayne on twelve projects, start ...

had reworked the script. "I've always wanted to direct ever since I came into pictures", said Wayne, who had just begun producing with '' The Bullfighter and the Lady''. He planned to make the film in Tucana, Mexico. Robert Clarke was announced for a key role. However Republic Pictures head

Herbert Yates Herbert John Yates (August 24, 1880 – February 3, 1966) was the founder and president of Republic Pictures, who had western stars John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers under contract. Between the years 1935 and 1959, Republic, under Yates' l ...

and Wayne clashed. Wayne wanted to film the project in Mexico but Yates wanted to shoot it in Texas. Wayne was also unhappy that Yates wanted the actor to make the film for Republic, instead of making it for Wayne's company and distribute through Republic. It resulted in Wayne leaving Republic, an association that had existed since 1935, despite the fact that Wayne had a contract to make three more films for the studio. "Yates will have to make me a darned good offer to make another picture with him. I'm fed up with him", said Wayne.Actor Wayne Finally Splits With Republic By Bob Thomas. The Washington Post 17 Nov 1952: 2. Five years later Wayne would play

in, as well as direct, the three-hour-plus

Todd-AO Todd-AO is an American post-production company founded in 1953 by Mike Todd and Robert Naify, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. For more than five decades, it was the worldwide leader in theater sou ...

production '' The Alamo'', released by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

, that featured many elements of ''The Last Command'' but was also flawed with historical inaccuracies in its screenplay.

Shooting

Yates decided to rework the Alamo project with other actors. Republic were not making many films in 1954 but the Alamo project was key to the year. The movie was also known as ''The Unconquered Territory'', ''The Texian'', ''The Alamo'' and ''San Antonio Bexar''. Frank Lloyd became attached to direct. Filming started February 1955.

William Witney William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serials: ''Dick Tracy Returns'', ''G-Men vs. the Black ...

shot the battle scenes near

Fort Clark, Texas Fort Clark was a frontier fort located just off U.S. Route 90 near Brackettville, in Kinney County, Texas, United States. It later became the headquarters for the 2nd Cavalry Division. The Fort Clark Historic District was added to the National ...

. San Antonio's Sol Frank Uniform company made uniforms for the extras depicting the Mexican Army. For the foot soldiers 260 uniforms in sky blue, a color designed for the benefit of the Trucolor cameras, with red facings and 160 red uniforms with blue facings for the mounted soldiers.

Soundtrack

Max Steiner Maximilian Raoul Steiner (May 10, 1888 – December 28, 1971) was an Austrian composer and conductor who emigrated to America and went on to become one of Hollywood's greatest musical composers. Steiner was a child prodigy who conducted ...

's theme song for ''The Last Command'', "Jim Bowie", is sung by musical star

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals ''Oklahoma!'' (1955) and ''Carousel'' (1956) and who pl ...

, who that year was starring in the smash hit film ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

'', adapted from the famous

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popu ...

musical. Steiner's score also re-imagines ''

El Degüello The Degüello (Spanish: ''El toque a degüello'') is a bugle call, notable in the United States for its use as a march by Mexican Army buglers during the 1836 Siege and Battle of the Alamo to signal that the defenders of the garrison would receiv ...

'', the Mexican song of

no quarter The phrase no quarter was generally used during military conflict to imply combatants would not be taken prisoner, but killed. According to some modern American dictionaries, a person who is given no quarter is "not treated kindly" or "treated ...

as a

bugle call A bugle call is a short tune, originating as a military signal announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. Historically, bugles, drums, and other loud musical instruments were used fo ...

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "an exciting, vigorous attraction".Hayden Heads Vigorous Cast in "Last Command" Scott, John L. Los Angeles Times 13 Oct 1955: B15.

References

Turner Classic Movies article

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Command, The 1955 films 1950s English-language films 1955 Western (genre) films Films scored by Max Steiner Films directed by Frank Lloyd Texas Revolution films Republic Pictures films Cultural depictions of Davy Crockett Siege films Films set in 1835 Films set in 1836 Trucolor films American historical films 1950s historical films American Western (genre) films 1955 drama films 1950s American films Cultural depictions of James Bowie