Revenge for the Alamo
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Revenge for the Alamo |
| Original title | Man of Conquest |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1939 |
| length | 100 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | George Nichols Jr. |
| script |
Jan Fortune , Wells Root , Edward E. Paramore Jr. |
| music | Victor Young |
| camera |
Joseph H. August , Ernest Miller , Frank Redman |
| cut | Edward Mann |
| occupation | |
| |
Revenge for the Alamo is a US American biopic from 1939. It tells the life story of the US politician and General Sam Houston , who was a key figure in the Texan War of Independence .
action
Sam Houston , who grew up with Cherokee Indians , joins the US Army. Under General Andrew Jackson , he takes part in the battle at Horseshoe Bend and is injured. The bravery that Houston showed in battle earned him the friendship of Jackson. When Jackson is elected President of the United States, Houston becomes Governor of Tennessee . On the eve of his re-election, he married Eliza Allen. But it soon turns out that the hesitant Eliza cannot cope with the impetuous and wild character of her husband. She leaves him, which causes a scandal.
Houston is forced to step down as governor. He moves to the Cherokees with his friend Lannie Upchurch. He travels to Washington as a negotiator for the Cherokees. There he meets Margaret Lee at a presidential ball. After President Jackson approves the Indian demands, Houston travels to Texas with Margaret. During the journey by carriage, the two fall in love. Houston, however, first turned to political tasks. He wants to help the state of Texas separate from Mexico. He meets Stephen F. Austin , who seeks a peaceful solution.
News soon arrives that General Santa Ana is murdering and pillaging his troops across the country. Austin now also realizes that a war cannot be prevented. Jackson assigns Houston to fight the Mexicans and appoints him commander in chief of the Texas forces. Houston moves with his army to the Alamo garrison near San Antonio . However, the garrison has already fallen. Houston withdraws from the approaching Mexicans. It comes to the battle of San Jacinto , in which Houston wins over the troops of Santa Ana. The victory paves the way for independence from Texas. When Texas later joins the Union, the dying president thanks his old friend for his fight for Jackson's foundations of democracy.
background
The US premiere took place on April 28, 1939. In Germany, the film first appeared in cinemas on December 12, 1950.
The budget for the Republic Pictures production was approximately one million US dollars. This made the film one of the most expensive in society, which is also due to the expensive advertising campaign. The costumes were made by Adele Palmer and Edith Head , who later became an eight-time Oscar winner and is mentioned in the credits for the first time in this film. Among others, Yakima Canutt was responsible for the stunts .
Other small supporting roles include George Montgomery as a young lieutenant, Robert J. Wilke as a Texan and the former Olympic champion in all-around athletics, Jim Thorpe as Cherokee. Chief Thundercloud, cast member of a Cherokee warrior, was born as Victor Daniels. He belonged to the Cherokee and also had Irish, Scottish and German ancestors. Often used as an Indian, he was best known as Tonto, Lone Ranger's Indian friend.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films found that Sam Houston "is presented here as a kind of western hero and experiences corresponding adventures."
Frank S. Nugent of the New York Times described the film as not exactly tactful, but as remarkably good, colorful, passionate and dramatic.
Awards
In 1940 the film was nominated three times for an Oscar, in the categories of best film music , best production design (John Victor Mackay) and best sound (Charles L. Lootens).
Web links
- Revenge for Alamo in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Production costs on imdb.com
- ↑ Vengeance for the Alamo. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ cf. nytimes.com