The Alamo (1960)

October 6, 2018

1,630 2 minutes read

Film and Plot Synopsis

In 1836, General Santa Anna and his Mexican troops sweep across Texas to bring the fledgling republic to its knees. General Sam Houston needs time to get his troops ready, so he orders Colonel William Travis to defend a small mission along the Mexicans’ route at all costs. Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett arrive with some men to aid Travis’ small troop, but as the odds grow against their survival Travis lets it be know that there will be no shame if they leave while the getting’s good.

‘The Alamo’ Movie Summary

The summary below contains spoilers.

The Alamo is John Wayne’s epic film directorial debut about the famous the Battle of the Alamo. Sam Houston is in charge of a Texican army looking for its independence from Mexico, and he entrusts Colonel William Travis in defending the Alamo against General Santa Anna’s larger, better equipped, and better trained army. While Travis only has a few 100 men at his disposal, Jim Bowie is there to help with his knife and militia, and Davy Crockett is there with his Tennessean renegades.

Santa Anna’s troops lay siege to the Alamo for a total of 13 days, but one night, Bowie raises a white flag, and tries to take out the biggest Mexican canon Santa Anna’s army has. The Texicans are under the impression that reinforcements are on their way to help, but Colonel Fannin and his men fail to show up.

Crockett, sends the boy, Smitty, to Sam Houston to ask for help when it looks more and more the Mexican army will soon attack them.

While Smitty is gone, Santa Anna orders his men to attack the Texicans. They are repelled with little losses, but Bowie is injured in the melee. While this small victory gives the men at the Alamo a boost of confidence, those hopes are soon crushed when they get a report that Fannin’s troops have been killed in battle, and there will be nobody to help them.

Crocket and Bowie realize it’s pointless to defend the Alamo, and prepare to leave with their men, but Travis convinces them to stay and fight to the very end.

On day 13, Santa Anna orders his men to attack from all sides, and all the Texican defenders heroically die except for Mrs. Dickinson, her little girl, and a black slave boy. Santa Anna allows them to walk off into the sunset where they meet Smitty who has returned from Sam Houston’s camp; too late to die with the others in battle. Not a necessarily historically accurate account of the events, but that is John Wayne’s epic tale, The Alamo.