I was once told that the best movie about the Titanic is a now nearly-forgotten B&W film called "A Night To Remember". Surely this must be the case with the Alamo. This movie starring the Duke couldn't possibly have been the only movie made re: this historical event. Was there another, possibly better, now nearly-forgottten version made earlier?
There was the 1937 black-and-white Sunset Productions production Heroes of the Alamo taken over by Columbia and released by Columbia production with some changes in billing, giving Lane Chandler and Rex Lease top listings alongside Earle Hodgins, who played Stephen Austin. Lease portrayed Travis and Chandler played Crockett's part.
The 1955 Republic telling of the Alamo story was The Lost Command, which starred Stirling Hayden as Bowie and Arthur Hunnicut as Crockett. I understand the Disney folks are considering Billy Bob Thornton to play Crockett in this remake, and I don't quite believe that dog will hunt. And they'll be playing the film against Mel Gibson's fourth Mad Max offering and a major WWII story now in preproduction looking for location scenes. They could as easily lose as much money in this production as John Wayne did in the 1960 version.
Do that mean what I think it do?
-archy-/-
I've heard many people say that a 1950s movie called "The Last Command" is the best film ever made about the Alamo. But it's so obscure that I've never seen it.