The Last Command (1955 film)
Encyclopedia
The Last Command is a 1955 Trucolor
film about Jim Bowie
and the fall of the Alamo
during the Texas War of Independence. Filmed by Republic Pictures
, it was an unusually expensive undertaking for the low-budget studio.
but Wayne and Republic Pictures head Herbert Yates
wanted Wayne to star, not produce or direct. Wayne left Republic to form Wayne-Fellows Productions. Five years later, Wayne would play Davy Crockett in, as well as direct, the three-hours-plus Todd-AO
production The Alamo
, released by United Artists
that featured many elements of The Last Command in its screenplay.
Max Steiner
's theme song for The Last Command , "Jim Bowie", is sung by musical film star Gordon MacRae
, who that year (1955) was starring in the smash hit film Oklahoma!, adapted from the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein
musical.
Released during the Walt Disney
Davy Crockett
frenzy, the film follows Jim Bowie
(Sterling Hayden) who was initially a friend to Generalissimo
Antonio López de Santa Anna
(J. Carroll Naish) but now sides with the Texians in their bid for independence.
Trucolor
Trucolor was a process used and owned by Consolidated Film Industries division of Republic Pictures. Trucolor was originally a two-strip process based on the earlier work of William Van Doren Kelley's Prizma color process. It later became a three-color process.Republic used Trucolor mostly for its...
film about Jim Bowie
Jim Bowie
James "Jim" Bowie , a 19th-century American pioneer, slave trader, land speculator, and soldier, played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution, culminating in his death at the Battle of the Alamo...
and the fall of the Alamo
Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar . All but two of the Texian defenders were killed...
during the Texas War of Independence. Filmed by Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
, it was an unusually expensive undertaking for the low-budget studio.
Production
The film was originally set to be produced and directed by John WayneJohn Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
but Wayne and Republic Pictures head Herbert Yates
Herbert Yates
Herbert John Yates was the founder and president of Republic Pictures, famous for being the home of John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers...
wanted Wayne to star, not produce or direct. Wayne left Republic to form Wayne-Fellows Productions. Five years later, Wayne would play Davy Crockett in, as well as direct, the three-hours-plus Todd-AO
Todd-AO
Todd-AO is a post-production company founded in 1953, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. The company operates three facilities in the Los Angeles area.-History:...
production The Alamo
The Alamo (1960 film)
The Alamo is a 1960 American historical epic released by United Artists. The film was directed by John Wayne, who also starred as Davy Crockett. The cast also includes Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie and Laurence Harvey as William B...
, released by United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
that featured many elements of The Last Command in its screenplay.
Max Steiner
Max Steiner
Max Steiner was an Austrian composer of music for theatre productions and films. He later became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Trained by the great classical music composers Brahms and Mahler, he was one of the first composers who primarily wrote music for motion pictures, and as...
's theme song for The Last Command , "Jim Bowie", is sung by musical film star Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
, who that year (1955) was starring in the smash hit film Oklahoma!, adapted from the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
musical.
Released during the Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
Davy Crockett
Davy Crockett
David "Davy" Crockett was a celebrated 19th century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician. He is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S...
frenzy, the film follows Jim Bowie
Jim Bowie
James "Jim" Bowie , a 19th-century American pioneer, slave trader, land speculator, and soldier, played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution, culminating in his death at the Battle of the Alamo...
(Sterling Hayden) who was initially a friend to Generalissimo
Generalissimo
Generalissimo and Generalissimus are military ranks of the highest degree, superior to Field Marshal and other five-star ranks.-Usage:...
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, known as "the Napoleon of the West," was a Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government...
(J. Carroll Naish) but now sides with the Texians in their bid for independence.
Cast
- Sterling HaydenSterling HaydenSterling Hayden was an American actor and author. For most of his career as a leading man, he specialized in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Later on he became noted as a character actor for such roles as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr...
– Jim BowieJim BowieJames "Jim" Bowie , a 19th-century American pioneer, slave trader, land speculator, and soldier, played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution, culminating in his death at the Battle of the Alamo... - Richard Carlson – William Barret Travis
- Arthur HunnicuttArthur HunnicuttArthur Lee Hunnicutt was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, old rural characters...
– Davy CrockettDavy CrockettDavid "Davy" Crockett was a celebrated 19th century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician. He is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S... - Ernest BorgnineErnest BorgnineErnest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
– Mike Radin - J. Carrol NaishJ. Carrol NaishJoseph Patrick Carrol Naish was an American character actor born in New York City. Naish was twice nominated for an Academy Award for film roles, and he later found fame in the title role of CBS Radio's Life With Luigi , which was also on CBS Television .Naish appeared on stage for several years...
– General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana - Anna Maria AlberghettiAnna Maria AlberghettiAnna Maria Alberghetti is an Italian-born operatic singer and actress.Born in Pesaro, Marche, she starred on Broadway and won a Tony Award in 1962 as Best Actress for Carnival! .Alberghetti was a child prodigy. Her father was an opera singer and concert master of the Rome Opera Company...
– Consuelo de Quesada - John RussellJohn Russell (actor)John Lawrence Russell was an American actor, and World War II veteran, most noted for playing Marshal Dan Troop in the successful ABC western television series Lawman from 1958 to 1962....
– Captain Almaron DickinsonAlmaron DickinsonAlmaron Dickinson was a Texan soldier and defender during the Battle of the Alamo, fought during the Texas Revolution. Dickinson is best known as having been the artillery officer of the small garrison, and for being the husband of one of the only three non-Mexican survivors to live through the... - Virginia GreyVirginia GreyVirginia Grey was an American actress.She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of director Ray Grey. One of her early babysitters was movie star Gloria Swanson. Grey debuted at the age of ten in the silent film Uncle Tom's Cabin as Little Eva...
– Mrs. Dickinson (Susanna Dickinson) - Jim DavisJim Davis (actor)Jim Davis was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap Dallas, a role which he held up until his death in April 1981.-Biography:...
– Ben Evans - Eduard FranzEduard FranzEduard Franz , born Eduard Franz Schmidt, was an American actor of theater, film, and television. Franz portrayed King Ahab in the 1953 biblical low-budget film Sins of Jezebel, Jethro in Cecil B...
– Lorenzo de ZavalaLorenzo de ZavalaManuel Lorenzo Justiniano de Zavala y Saenz was a 19th-century Mexican politician. He served as finance minister under President Vicente Guerrero. A colonizer and statesman, he was also the interim Vice President of the Republic of Texas, serving under interim President David G... - Otto KrugerOtto KrugerOtto Kruger was an American actor who began his career in 1915. His career was most prolific during the 1930s and 1940s.-Career:...
– Stephen F. AustinStephen F. AustinStephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,... - Russell SimpsonRussell Simpson (actor)Russell McCaskill Simpson was an American character actor.Born in San Francisco, California, Simpson is best known for his work in the films of John Ford and, in particular, for his portrayal of Pa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath in 1940.Simpson reportedly prospected for gold in Alaska in his youth,...
– The Parson - Roy RobertsRoy RobertsRoy Roberts was an American character actor. Over his more than 40-year career, he appeared in more than nine hundred productions on stage and screen.-Biography:...
– Dr. Summerfield - Slim PickensSlim PickensLouis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...
– Abe - Hugh SandersHugh SandersHugh Sanders was an American actor. Born in Illinois, Sanders was a guest star in several series, including The Lone Ranger, Highway Patrol, Four Star Playhouse, Playhouse 90, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Bonanza, Zane Grey Theater, and Bat Masterson.-...
– Sam HoustonSam HoustonSamuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of... - Ben CooperBen CooperBen Cooper is a retired American actor of film and television, who won a Golden Boot award in 2005 for his work in westerns.-Early films:...
– Jeb Lacey