The Man from the Alamo
During the war for Texas independence, one man leaves the Alamo before the end (chosen by lot to help others' families) but is too late to accomplish his mission, and is branded a coward. Since he cannot now expose a gang of turncoats, he infiltrates them instead. Can he save a wagon train of refugees from Wade's Guerillas?
Director(s)
Budd Boetticher
Tom Shaw
Cast & Crew
Details
Reviews
John Chard
He's just an unlucky guy. As the war for Texas independence heightens, the Alamo has become a critical point of time buying interest. Fearing that their families will perish under the might of the marauding Mexican army, the men of the Alamo draw lots to see which one of them will flee the Alamo battle to steer their respective families out of harms way. John Stroud is the man faced with the task, but upon reaching his destinations he finds he's too late to save anyone. However, this is just the start of his worries as he finds he has been branded a coward for leaving the Alamo, where all have now perished! While his attempts to avenge the murder of his family are beset with problems at every turn. In truth, no great shakes in the Western genre here, and certainly not even close to being amongst the better work of director Budd Boetticher (The Tall T & Comanche Station) or Glenn Ford (The Big Heat & Blackboard Jungle). It's also not high on production value and doesn't have location vitality to give it an earthy sheen, it still, however, manages to be an entertaining piece putting an interesting offshoot to the Alamo legend. Glenn Ford is an ever watchable star and he manages to keep this picture afloat by putting a bit of cool bravado urgency into the role of John Stroud. With dashes of emotional fortitude, his relationship with the young, recently orphaned Carlos, gives the film its emotional weight, and when that sits alongside the usual array of shoot them up sequences it makes for good honest Western fare. Of the supporting cast, Chill Wills and Neville Brand put in some fine work, while there has been far far worse female leads in this genre than the radiant Julie Adams. Of Boetticher's direction? It's just about adequate, where working within the confines of the lot and the lowly budget origins, he manages to pull it through, but in truth probably himself cringed at some of the final night time sequences in the cut. He of course, a couple of years down the line, would go on to direct some of the best genre pieces on the market, so he owes the genre fan very little all told. So good and bad here folks, with the good far outweighing the technically bad deficiencies on offer. But come on now, if you can't enjoy Ford having a good old punch up on the brink of a waterfall? Well you're probably better off not watching a 50s "B" Western in the first place then. 6.5/10
The Man from the Alamo FAQs
The directors of The Man from the Alamo are Budd Boetticher and Tom Shaw.
The cast of The Man from the Alamo includes John Daheim as Cavish, Glenn Ford as John Stroud, Alberto Morin as Trooper (uncredited), Frank Mills as Alamo Soldier (uncredited), Robert F. Hoy as Soldier (uncredited), Guy Wilkerson as Rifleman (uncredited), Marc Cavell as Carlos, Brett Halsey as Courier (uncredited), Stuart Whitman as Orderly (uncredited), Neville Brand as Dawes, Jack Mower as Texas Patriot at Meeting (uncredited), Frank Wilcox as Texas Patriot at Meeting (uncredited), and more.
The duration of The Man from the Alamo is 1h 19 mins.
The Man from the Alamo was released on 07 Aug 1953.
The Man from the Alamo is listed under Western on Fanbiz.
The Man from the Alamo has 1 review on Fanziz, with an average rating of 7.0/10. One reviewer wrote: "He's just an unlucky guy. As the war for Texas independence heightens, the Alamo has become a critical point of time buying interest. Fearing that their families will perish..."
