The Last Command (1955)

[Greg C.]

Starring:

Sterling Hayden ... Jim Bowie
Anna Maria Alberghetti ... Consuela de Quesada
Richard Carlson ... William B. Travis
Arthur Hunnicutt ... Davy Crockett
Ernest Borgnine ... Mike Radin
J. Carrol Naish ... General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana
Ben Cooper ... Jeb Lacey
John Russell ... Lt. Dickinson
Virginia Grey ... Mrs. Dickinson
Jim Davis ... Ben Evans
Eduard Franz ... Lorenzo de Quesada
Otto Kruger ... Steven F. Austin
Russell Simpson ... The Parson

Review from IMDB

Frank Lloyd's career stretched back to the silent era--he was a major director and made films for the top studios in Hollywood. Winding up at a B studio like Republic would seem to be a step down the career ladder, but this film is actually one of Lloyd's best and one of the best to ever come out of Republic.

The studio didn't often get the services of directors of the calibre of Frank Lloyd--although John Ford and Fritz Lang had occasionally made films there--and it spared no expense on this one. The subject matter demanded a big budget, and Republic didn't stint. Thousands of extras, big sets, spectacular action scenes, robust performances--all combined to make a first-rate action picture. Sterling Hayden makes a good Jim Bowie, the always underrated Arthur Hunnicutt personifies Davy Crockett, and the cast is filled with familiar character actors--Roy Roberts, Slim Pickens, John Russell, Jim Davis--who contribute much to the overall atmosphere of the film. The setpiece of the movie, though, is the final siege of the Alamo itself, and it is spectacular. It compares well to the John Wayne version made five years later, and ranks right up there with the final battle scene in 1964's "Zulu"--expertly edited with top-notch stunt-work and special effects. Very highly recommended.

[seguin]

The battle scenes were great! And Athur Hunnicut played a believable Crockett.
I gave it a 3 but now I think I should have given it a 4! After all, it´s among the three best Alamo films in my opinion. The other two are of course The Alamo 1960 & 2004...

[Alamo Al]

I love Arthur Honeycutt. If you've ever seen 'The Big Sky', he's just great. I hardly even noticed that his Crocket had a beard.

It's easy to see that this movie was mostly the original script that Wayne had for the Alamo when he was at Republic Pictures. There is enough to be compared to with his 1960 version. I think the LC Alamo is roughly in the same place as the Waynamo.

Notice the lighter blue coatees the Mex. Inf wears. Nice touch! Looks good. I wonder how much of the color scheme influenced a particular re-enactor that influenced Tom Feely's original conception of the grenadier's in his "Crockett's Last Stand" diorama?

[seguin]

alalamo said:

It's easy to see that this movie was mostly the original script that Wayne had for the Alamo when he was at Republic Pictures. There is enough to be compared to with his 1960 version. I think the LC Alamo is roughly in the same place as the Waynamo.

Yes, some scenes are almost identical and in both movies Crockett meets a girl but they never become a couple. There are many similarities between the two movies...

[Greg C.]

Bowie has a much larger role though which makes sense being that Wayne didn't even want to act in the Wayneamo.

[neferetus]

I love LAST COMMAND for it's trying to tell the back story of the events leading up to the Texian revolution, for once.

Arthur Hunnicutt is my favorite Crockett, hands down. (But that's another thread!)

One thing that really hurts LAST COMMAND is it's lack of an Alamo church. Even a crummy looking facade would've been better than that one glimpse of that lousy looking matte painting. Movie makers need to realize that the Alamo church is every bit a star and character in an Alamo film as are Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and Col. Travis.

[Greg C.]

Nef, that is one of the things that irked me about this film. I judge Alamo movies based on the set, and the set for The Last Command was poor and incomplete.