A slightly flawed epic Probably the first John Wayne movie I ever saw, I was 8 when this hit theaters in 1960. There are numerous criticisms of this movie for being "corny," "reactionary," "racist," etc. But I have to disagree. I think it has to be acknowledged that, for a first time director, and certainly the first time he had starred in, produced and directed a film, John Wayne was quite successful in putting his personal vision on the screen. In the first half of the film we are introduced to characters we come to know, to like, and to care about. Crockett's humor, his hidden intellect, his passion for the Texian's cause, Bowie's recklessness, his short temper, and his conflict over command and strategy with Travis, Laurence Harvey's pompous martinet, Travis, who, nevertheless, displays great courage and nerve, and, ultimately, a plan. The Tennessee volunteers, Bowie's men, Dickinson, Bonham are all well-defined characters, people we come to identify with. In the second half of the movie, the battle scenes are handled with great expertise. They are exciting, chaotic, inspiring, violent-terrific, especially for a first-time director. It is rumored John Ford helped with these scenes, but it is also said that John Ford was sent out to film scenes that were not used, to keep him out of the way. This was going to be Wayne's film, for better or worse. The only scene that truly was a misstep is the birthday scene featuring Wayne's daughter, Aissa. This is truly a corny scene and disturbs the flow of the film. It can only be seen in the director's cut of the film, which is the only version one should see, but should never have been included. Still, even John Ford's masterpiece The Searchers contains moderately corny scenes, and holds up brilliantly. A small flaw like this in The Alamo can easily be forgiven. Is this an epic on the scale of Ben Hur or Spartacus? No, it is not. I wish, for The Duke's sake it was. I know that's what he wanted. But with Dimitri Tiomkin's truly epic, Oscar-worthy film score, a competent script, and some memorable acting, I think John Wayne succeeded in creating his own epic, the one he wanted to make, and one that reflected his vision, his values. Taken in context, this makes The Alamo a successful epic film, and one worth watching more than once. It has always been one of my favorites.