The Alamo (1960 film) The Alamo (1960 film) The Alamo is a 1960 American historical epic war film about the 1836 Battle of the Alamo produced and directed by John Wayne and starring Wayne as Davy Crockett. The picture also stars Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie and Laurence Harvey as William B. Travis, and the supporting cast features Frankie Avalon, Patrick Wayne, Linda Cristal, Joan O'Brien, Chill Wills, Joseph Calleia, Ken Curtis, Ruben Padilla as Santa Anna, and guest star Richard Boone as Sam Houston. The motion picture was photographed in 70 mm Todd-AO by William H. Clothier and released by United Artists. The
The Alamo (1960 film) was chosen because Wayne admired British stage actors and he wanted "British class". When production became tense, Harvey spoke lines from Shakespeare in a Texan accent. Other roles went to family and close friends of Wayne, including his son Patrick and daughter Aissa. The future western songwriter and stuntman Rudy Robbins had a bit role in the film as one of the Tennessee Volunteers. John Wayne had made "Rio Bravo" (1959) with singer Ricky Nelson in a support role to attract teen audiences. It had worked, so he hired Frankie Avalon to perform a similar function. According to Avalon, "Wayne