Legacy of the Battle of the Alamo on myth. In the early 1950s John Wayne began developing a film based on the Battle of the Alamo. When he left his contract with Republic Pictures he was forced to leave behind a partial script. Republic Pictures had the script finished and developed into the 1955 movie "The Last Command". Although the film had its historical inaccuracies, it was the most detailed of the films on the Texas Revolution. Wayne continued to develop an Alamo movie, resulting in the 1960 film "The Alamo", starring Wayne as Davy Crockett. Although screenwriter James Edward Grant claimed to have done extensive historical
The Alamo (1960 film) James Edward Grant. Roberts and Olson describe his direction as "competent, but not outstanding." Widmark complained that Wayne would try to tell him and other actors how to play their parts which sometimes went against their own interpretation of characters. Filming began on September 9, 1959. Some actors, notably Frankie Avalon, were intimidated by rattlesnakes. Crickets were everywhere, often ruining shots by jumping on actors' shoulders or chirping loudly. A bit player, LeJean Ethridge, died in a domestic dispute during filming and Wayne was called to testify at an inquest. Harvey forgot that a firing cannon has a recoil; during