Favorite Christmas Movie/Special Moments Part 4

If you haven't seen the other three posts, here are the links:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

#16:

"Squirrel!" from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989, dir. Jeremiah S. Chechik)

This is another movie that has so many quotable and memorable moments that it's hard to pick one. And it's not even just the big moments (sentimental or comedic), there's a bunch of small moments that stick me with me.

But if you had to twist my arm to make me pick one, I'd have to go with...

I don't know what it is about this scene that makes me laugh so much. Maybe it's because I grew up in the country so the idea of a squirrel isn't an "OMG RUN FOR YOUR LIFE" moment.

Maybe it's the fact that they're all acting like a dragon came bursting through the door and started devouring all the kids and... wow my brain went to some dark places there.

But anyway, it's a silly and over the top scene that I can't help but love. 

Honorable mention goes to any moment with Aunt Bethany. 

#17:

Old Man Marley reunited with his family from Home Alone (1990, dir. Chris Columbus)

Another classic from my childhood. While I can certainly remove my nostalgia goggles and see the flaws in it, I still can't help but get a chuckle and a heartwarming feeling when watching.

And there's no scene in particular that brings a tear of joy to my eye than when Old Man Marley (Robert Blossoms) is reunited with his estranged family.

With the snow falling, the heartwarming hug, and of course, John Williams's BEAUTIFUL music always brings a heartwarming tear to my eye.

Honorable mention goes to the legendary scream from Marv (Daniel Stern).

#18:

Any scene with Tim Curry from Home Alone 2 (1992, dir. Chris Columbus)

As for this one... yeah, this one isn't as great. But I still get a kick watching this because it is firmly placed in my nostalgia. 

The best thing about the movie: Tim Curry! Curry gives that 110% performance that he has given in every movie he's been in. 

Whether it's him asking Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) about his "stolen credit card!", his Grinchy smile, the way he pronounces pizza, or how he tells "Kevin's dad" how he loves him. No matter what, we love you, Tim.

And have a lovely day!

#19:

"Marley and Marley" from The Muppets Christmas Carol (1992, dir. Brian Henson)

If you don't like the Muppets... then I would kindly ask that you reassess your life choices. 

The Muppets have always had a firm place in my heart and Jim Henson will always be one of my idols. 

The Muppets have also always been a staple of me and my family's holiday season. Whether its listening to the John Denver-Muppets Christmas album, watching this classic retelling of the Dickens classic, or for me at least, watching Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977, dir. Jim Henson), Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (1978, dir. Jon Stone), or watching the aforementioned Muppet Family Christmas in my honorable mentions.

Sidenote: Cookie Monster's Santa writing saga is an honorable mention for this list. 

But what about Christmas Carol? This was a hard one to narrow down. Originally I was going to list Beaker (performed by Steve Whitmire) giving Scrooge (Michael Caine) his scarf in the Christmas morning segment because it was a sweet scene. 

Then I decided to let my darker side pick and it went with the musical number "Marley and Marley" performed by Scrooge's former partners Jacob and Robert Marley - Statler and Waldorf performed by Jerry Nelson and Dave Goelz respectively. 

It's a great dark little number that is pulled off wonderfully with Paul Williams's eery but humorously haunting tune. 

Credit also has to be given to Nelson and Goelz who truly do a great job with the roles. This is the first time the two would play the characters after the deaths of Jim Henson and Richard Hunt, the original performers (at least the main version, I know Nelson played Statler in The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence pilot). 

Below, you'll also see the extended version which I just discovered. This features dialogue and lyrics you'd hear in the official soundtrack. 

#20:

Mr. Hyunh reunites with his daughter in Hey, Arnold!: Arnold's Christmas (1996, dir. Jamie Mitchell)

If you never watched the show Hey, Arnold!, the basic premise is that it's about a nine-year-old named Arnold and his friends and family. Arnold - voiced by Lane Toran - lives with his grandparents (voiced by Dan Castellaneta and Tress MacNeille respectively) in a boarding house they run. 

For Christmas, the tenants hold a Secret Santa gift exchange. Arnold gets Mr. Hyunh (voiced by Baoan Coleman), a Vietnamese immigrant. 

Arnold notices that he looks a bit a sad around this time of year. He goes to ask what's on Mr. Hyunh's mind and... well, I'll let Mr. Hyunh explain. 

So, Arnold decides he wants to track down Mr. Hyunh's daughter for Christmas. Arnold and his friend Gerald (voiced by Jamil Walker Smith) do the last minute Christmas shopping for Mr. Bailey, an employee for the Federeal Office of Information (voiced by the legendary Vincent Schiavelli). Unfortunately, they can't get one item, because of that, Bailey won't help. 

Well, it turns out Arnold's classmate Helga (voiced by Francesca Marie Smith) who is Arnold's bully who has a secret crush on him, gets the item on the list - a pair of highly fashionable boots - but decides to give it to Bailey so they can track down Mai. 

And of course, we get our happy ending. 

Merry Christmas, Mr. Hyunh indeed. And to all the Arnolds and Helgas as well who go above and beyond to help others.

Stay tuned for part five!

Favorite Christmas Movie/Special Moments: Part 3

#11:

Any moment with The Old Man in A Christmas Story (1983, dir. Bob Clark)

I seriously could not narrow this down! Anytime I thought of my favorite moment I then thought, "Oh wait, that was a good one!" And then I realized, all of my favorite moments involve the Dad (the awesome Darren McGavin). Seriously, every time I quote the movie, I quote him or at least a scene with him in it. His battle against the furnace, the major award, and "Sons of bitches! BUMPUSES!"

Darren McGavin is without a doubt one of the biggest reasons why he is so memorable. We've seen the character attempted to be replicated a few times by talented people but NONE have been able to replicate that magic. But then again those projects both sucked. You know what I'm talking about. 

Despite the massive commercial exploitation of this movie, I will always remember and cherish this classic. 

#12:

Tiny Tim's Grave from Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983, dir. Burny Mattinson)

I think this was the first version of the Dickens classic I saw growing up, that or the Muppets version but I'll talk about that later. Despite this being an animated short, they manage to cram in a lot of the original's themes and story in a great way, all the while maintaining an awesome atmosphere. It also has the best Tiny Tim I've seen. Mainly because he doesn't come off as forcefully "pwecious!"

Awwww!

And speaking of Tim. 

The reveal of what happened to Tim in the supposed future is absolutely heartbreaking and brilliant! In the atmospheric graveyard, Scrooge - played by Scrooge McDuck voiced by the late Alan Young - asks the cigar-chomping Ghost of Christmas Future - Pete (voiced by Will Ryan) - what happened to the youngest Cratchit. The ghost points to the mourning Cratchit family.

Without a single word uttered, we see the pain and grief that the family is going through especially for Bob. 

That single tear and the laying of Tim's crutch by his grave sends a big punch in the emotional gut. I won't lie, I find more powerful than what's done in the book.

Of course, it all works out and we get a happy ending but still, this segment packs a lot of emotions and some great storytelling. 

#13:

Scrooge's chat with Fred and Janet from A Christmas Carol (1984, dir. Clive Donner)

One wouldn't think the gruff George C. Scott would be an awesome Scrooge? But, nope, he was great. I guess that shows what a real talent he was. 

His acting ability really shines during a scene where Scrooge takes up his nephew Fred's (Roger Rees) invitation to have Christmas with him and his wife Janet (Caroline Langrishe). 

One of the strongest things about certain versions is that they expand a bit on certain scenes. For example, in this film, we see just how strained Scrooge's relationship is with his father. We've heard about Scrooge's father but we never really saw him or got an idea as to why he was abusive (at least in an emotional sense). In this one, whoa boy, is he a prick. 

Quick note: Hi, Mark Strickson (aka Turlough in Doctor Who) as young Scrooge!

But the scene I want to highlight is the scene I mentioned before. Usually, in the story we have Scrooge arrive and asking if he can join with Fred quickly accepting him. But in this one, yes those events do happen, but we get a bit more. There's a chat between the two lovebirds and the now former miser. Scrooge reminisces about the days when he was in love and even recalls the love of his sister Fan, whom he sees in her son. 

It's a very touching scene and a nice bonus.

#14:

Santa's first flight from Santa Claus: The Movie (1985, dir. Jeannot Szwarc)

The best description of this movie is from Bob Chipman (aka MovieBob) in his review. It's basically a combination of two movies: The first half is the critically acclaimed movie that goes into the origin of Santa Claus. The latter half is the crappy sequel.

Personally, I like it. It's not perfect but it's still a pretty enjoyable film and David Huddleston (the Big Lebowski in... well, you know) is a great Santa Claus.

The first part is absolutely amazing. The sets, the atmosphere, it's all spectacular. But the best part comes when Santa makes his first Christmas flight.

The main thing that sells the moment in the music composed by Henry Mancini. Want to know how good it is? He makes "Deck the Halls" sound epic!

It's a solid moment and it always gives me goosebumps!

#15:

"It can't be done that way" from Ernest Saves Christmas (1988, dir. John R. Cherry III)

Here's a movie that enters the realm of guilty pleasures. 

Jim Varney's lovable working-class pitchman Ernest P. Worrall in this outing tries to help Santa (Douglas Seale) get his magic bag back to him while he tries to get his replacement - actor Joe Carruthers (Oliver Clark).

Seale - probably most famous for voicing the Sultan in Disney's Aladdin (1992) - is an absolute delight as Kris Kringle. You can tell his version of St. Nick loves his job but he knows that he needs to pass the torch and when asked why he doesn't just continue his duties he explains it in this speech: 

"...what I'm talking about is a torch; a bright, shining torch, that is carried for a while... and then passed on to another. If it's not passed on, the flame flickers and dies. You know, I've carried this torch for more seasons... than I should have done. Because I loved it so much. But now, I've taken to making notes. Well, you can't do it that way. It shouldn't be done that way. It can't be done that way. It's time for someone new. It's time for you, Joe."

I sadly couldn't find a good clip of the full speech in video format but, trust me, if you heard the speech, it would touch your heart. 

Stay tuned for part four!

In the meantime, check out the other posts, and enjoy Mancini's amazing music. 

Honorable mentions, part 1, part 2. 

Favorite Christmas Movie/Special Moments: Part 2

Let's continue!

If you missed part one click the link.

#6:

"Ringle, Ringle" from Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962, dir. Abe Levitow)

Completely forgot about this special when I made the initial list of entries.

One of the reasons I'm including this is because this is one of my Dad's favorite specials. I like watching this with him when I can and it's always enjoyable to watch. I can tell it makes my Dad happy. 

I actually like how the creative team decided to not make this Christmas Carol but with Mr. Magoo (whose main thing is that he's nearsighted). But they actually did make this a version of the classic story where Jim Backus (also known for being in Gilligan's Island) gets to play Scrooge - at least as Magoo.

A highlight of the special is the enjoyable songs by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill. I picked "Ringle, Ringle" because it's Scrooge's song that highlights his progress as a character. The first version is him as the miser, the reprise is sung by the newly reformed Scrooge. 

#7:

The Grinch's smiles from How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966, dir. Chuck Jones)

Now, I'm sure this is a weird thing to highlight in regards to this classic filled with so many memorable moments. There's no shortage of great moments. The amazing Thurl Ravenscroft singing the iconic song from this, the Grinch's heart growing three sizes, and, of course, Boris Karloff's legendary narration.

But the reason I decided to choose highlight two of the Grinch's smiles: his "wonderful, awful idea" smile and his "maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more" smile. The two in particular kind of summarize the journey the Grinch goes on. That first smile summarizes his intentions inspired by his hatred of Christmas but his smile realizing what Christmas is about shows that it's not impossible for some to change. 

Also, I wanted to highlight these because it shows just how amazing Chuck Jones's animation is and it shows the kind of respect he had with Dr. Seuss, who he had worked with before and since this special.

#:

"A choo-choo" from Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1970, dir. Arthur Rankin Jr. & Jules Bass)

When I was a kid I loved watching these Rankin-Bass specials, I thought they were some of the best Christmas things out there. As an adult, well I've started to notice the cracks and such. But regardless, I still enjoy watching them, if not just for the nostalgic feeling I get watching it. 

With Comin' to Town we get our first of many performances of Mickey Rooney as Santa and it's incredibly iconic. His optimism and generosity are on full display. These notions don't just apply to the kids, he also extends it to the adults as well, at least three of the main characters. Each one is memorable but the one I'm highlighting is the one with the menacing Winter Warlock (voiced by the legendary Keenan Wynn). 

One would think he'd be one of the main antagonists for Kris Kringle but through a simple gesture, he melts the icy heart of this warlock. 

The other two are memorable, the first was to his future wife Jessica (voiced by Robie Lester), the second was a more comedic moment with the main antagonist the Burgermeister Meisterburger (voiced by Paul Frees) getting a yo-yo. 

But the Warlock getting a "choo-choo" shows that sometimes a simple thing like a gift can change someone and mean something significant to them. 

This also leads to a great optimistic number with "Put One Foot in Front of the Other" which always puts a smile on my face.

#9: 

"I Hate People" and "I Like Life" from Scrooge (1970, dir. Ronald Neame)

This is a version of A Christmas Carol that I enjoy watching mainly because of the atmosphere and the songs written and composed by Leslie Bricusse, who has written some many memorable songs they deserve their own post. 

The two songs I highlighted kind of summarize two moods I find myself not only at Christmas but throughout all the year.

"I Hate People" sung by Scrooge (Albert Finney) as he collects money from clients and after being asked for donations from the two gentlemen (Derek Francis and Roy Kinnear respectively). I try to maintain a level of optimism in my life but the way things are nowadays it is hard and I find myself channeling Scrooge some days. 

On the opposite end, we have "I Like Life" sung by the Ghost of Christmas Present - portrayed by the amazing Kennet More. This mood, in particular, comes out during the holiday season despite the troubles and such. 

#10:

"I Could Be Santa Claus" from A Years Without a Santa Claus (1974, dir. Arthur Rankin Jr. & Jules Bass)

I think out of all the Rankin-Bass specials this one has the biggest cult following of these movies. Or at least the Miser Brothers do. While I do enjoy their song - sung by Dick Shawn and George S. Irving respectively - the moment I want to highlight is Mrs. Claus's song.

Mrs. Claus - voiced by Shirley Booth in her final acting role before retirement - has a cute little number where after putting on the Santa hat she feels she could take the reigns, since her hubby is not feeling up to it (mainly because of that a-hole Doctor. Seriously, what was up with him? Tell me he still doesn't work there.)

Oscar-winner Booth brings a great sense of merriment and optimism when it comes to the idea or doing the legendary Christmas ride... unfortunately the special drops this aspect and they go on a way more complicated message.

Well, maybe in the future we'll have Mrs. Claus take up the mantle. Or maybe there's a special I don't know about. But we at least have this cheerful tune. 

Favorite Christmas Movie/Special Moments: Part 1

Let's get this list started!

#1:

"I want to live again!" from It's a Wonderful Life (1946, dir. Frank Capra)

I know it's cliched to pick something from the final part but I'd bet you're surprised I picked this moment. 

I, of course, love the final scene at George Bailey's (James Stewart) house and the "Atta boy, Clarence!" scene. But I love the beginning of George's new lease on life at the bridge. In particular, I love when his face is down, the snow starts to fall, and the music cuts off. Those small moments really help solidify how he got his life back. It's a great happy moment that leads to some of the happiest moments in film history. 

#2:

Speaking Dutch/Signing in Miracle on 34th Street (1947, dir. George Seaton) (1994, dir. Les Mayfield)

I seriously couldn't decide which of these I loved more so I picked both. They both similar and get the same point across - Kris Kringle will find a way to make a kid's day. 

the 40s version is very fitting for the time with Kringle - played by Edmund Gwenn in an Oscar-winning performance (yes, Virginia. Santa has an Oscar)- has him meeting a Dutch refugee who doesn't speak English but knew that Santa would be able to talk to her. And she was right. This scene is also special because it can easily resonate with today's audience. 

In the '94 version, we have a deaf girl and Kris (Richard Attenborough) speaks to her through sign language. Different kind of language barrier but the charm of the scene still stands. By the way, I love hearing stories of actual mall Santas signing to kids.

It doesn't matter where you're from or what language you speak, Santa loves you. 

#3:

Scrooge's Second Chance from Scrooge (1951, dir. Brian Desmond Hurst)

When it comes to tellings of A Christmas Carol this version reigns as one of my favorites and features one of my favorite portrayals of the old miser - Alistair Sims. 

One of the reasons why I love his portrayal is how he acts on Christmas morning. The sheer giddiness on display from him is amazing! And my favorite moment is when he just randomly goes, "I must stand on my head!"

By the way, what I'm about to say applies to all black and white movies and such: Do not get the colorized version! Colorized versions of black and white movies look butt ugly and should not exist!

#4:

The ending monologue in The Twilight Zone: The Night of the Meek (1960, dir. Jack Smight)

My words aren't needed for this. Listen/read Rod Serling's words and be ready to have your heart touched. 

"A word to the wise to all the children of the twentieth century, whether their concern be pediatrics or geriatrics, whether they crawl on hands and knees and wear diapers or walk with a cane and comb their beards. There's a wondrous magic to Christmas and there's a special power reserved for little people. In short, there's nothing mightier than the meek."

#5:

"Maybe it just needs a little love!" from A Charlie Bown Christmas (1965, dir. Bill Melendez)

I know people like to choose Linus's speech about the meaning of Christmas but for me, this is a great moment because it summarizes a lot of what the season is about. Just give a little love especially to those that may need a little extra.

Stay tuned for part two! 

Honorable Mentions here

Follow me on Twitter @DocJohn90 and follow the blog on Facebook.

Favorite Christmas Movie/Special Moments: Honorable Mentions

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Like, many out there, I love a good holiday movie/special. Those movies/specials feature moments that give me that special festive tingle in my soul. Or maybe that's heartburn.

But anyway, throughout the month of December leading up to Christmas, I'll be sharing posts listing off 25 of my favorite moments. I'll be listing them off in chronological order because there was no way I could give them a good list order. Also, I'll be listing them off in five posts with five moments every five days starting on Dec. 1. 

Before the official list starts, I want to share two specials. These two are things that I love watching because of the overall feelings they give off while watching them.

First, is Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964, Dir. Nicholas Webster). 

I love watching the so-good-they're-bad movies and I love that there's plenty of these movies to watch for the holidays. I picked Martians because it's kind of the poster child for these kinds of movies.

I mean, come on, just read the title!

But I do also think there are some good things about it, mainly John Call's charming portrayal as Santa Claus. One of the best things about the movie is that it's in the public domain, so it's easy to find! 

I also recommend the riffings of this movie by Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Rifftrax. They've riffed other holiday movies and shorts of this quality and I can't recommend them enough. I also recommend Linkara of Atop the Fourth Wall's take on the comic book version of it. Yes, seriously there was a comic adaptation of it. 

The other honorable mention goes to A Muppet Family Christmas (1987, dir. Peter Harris). 

It has this magnificent cheesy family Christmas special vibe that they just don't make anymore. But then again, I'm not sure anything can top this when it comes to the feel and the crossover spectacle! 

Seriously, before the latest Avengers movie, this was the most daring crossover! 

Thankfully there are some lovely people who've uploaded it to Youtube.

So there's the beginning of this crazy list. Stay tuned for me. 

In the meantime, enjoy this compilation of classic holiday commercials. 

Thanks for reading. Follow me on Twitter @DocJohn90 and like the blog on Facebook. 

Favorite Movies: The Alamo (1960) - The Director's Cut

Since I've decided to restart writing on this blog I'm going to do a series where I talk about my favorite movies. So let's start off with the movie that got me into movies.

The Alamo (1960) - Director's Cut
D: John Wayne
W: James Edward Grant
S: John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey, Frankie Avalon, Patrick Wayne, Linda Cristal, Joan O'Brien, Chill Wills, Joseph Calleia, Ken Curtis, Veda Ann Borg, Denver Pyle, Richard Boone. 

Academy Award Wins:
Best Sound

Academy Award Nominations:
Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor - Chill Wills
Best Color Cinematography
Best Film Editing
Best Original Song "The Green Leaves of Summer"
Best Dramatic or Comedy Score


I remember back when I was little boy, between the ages of 8-9 years old, I had this gigantic and strange fascination of anything Davy Crockett related. This can be traced back to me watching the two Disney produced Davy Crockett movies. Those movies being Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier and the prequel Davy Crockett and the River Pirates. Both films starred the late Fess Parker as the titular Crockett and the almost Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, Buddy Ebsen as his sidekick. I'll go into detail about these films for another post but rest assure those movies are just a barrel of fun and if you have kids I strongly recommend you show them these movies. But back to my main point, I was obsessed with the Davy Crockett mythos. I was so obsessed with him that one year for Halloween I dressed up as him for Halloween. A friend of my mother's made me a costume and I freaking loved it! On Trick or Treat night I marched proudly in my fake buckskin suit and imitation Raccoon skin cap. I went up to the first house, knocked on the door, said "Trick or Treat!" and the little old lady at the door said, "Oh how cute! You're Daniel Boone." And that happened at every house I went to that night. I was devastated. Of course I understand now why they thought that, seeing as I'm from Ohio and Ohioans know more about Boone than Crockett. Also at the time I didn't know Fess Parker played Boone on a tv show in the 1960s. To keep a long story short (Too late) I was obsessed. 

One night when I was about 9, my dad was watching the Turner Classic Movie channel and he said to me, "Hey, want to watch this movie with me? It's about Davy Crockett and stars John Wayne." And I'm probably one of the only people of my generation who knew of John Wayne at the age of 9. I of course said, "YES!" That movie was the 1960 John Wayne directed epic, The Alamo. I sat down with my father on the couch and watched and fell in love. 

This film was a passion project of John Wayne's for a long time, and it clearly shows. He and James Edward Grant had gotten a script put together and Wayne pitched the project to the Republic Studios. They essentially took the script and made it a thing of their own. A film called The Last Command (1955, Dir. Frank Lloyd) which more of Jim Bowie movie than an Alamo movie. I haven't been able to prove this but I'm willing to bet that this was made mostly to compete with Disney's Crockett franchise. Bowie even gets his own theme song. 

The film at the time was the most expensive film Republic Studios had made, and a lot of it probably had to do with them basically building their own Alamo set. But the movie bombed essentially and Republic Studios closed down. I've seen the film and their are many similarities between this film and Wayne's Alamo but there isn't much to the script. Despite its larger scale it is just a basic Western B-Movie. The only reason I would say check it out is if you're a big Ernest Borgnine fan like me, or you're obsessed with Alamo stuff... like me. Actually, I do own a copy of the VHS. I couldn't resist. 

Anyway, on with the main topic. John Wayne's The Alamo. What exactly made me like this movie, what made me LOVE this movie? So much so that I would name it my favorite film and site it as my main influence when it comes to film making and storytelling? Well it involves many of the things I love when it comes to stories and movies, it doesn't apply to ALL the stories and movies I like but having these elements doesn't hurt. First of all, the music is superb. Academy Award Winner Dimitri Tiomkin composes, in my opinion, one of the best scores for a movie. Every piece of music fits perfectly with every scene. The film's most notable track is the song  The Green Leaves of Summer. 

But some of you may have heard this song through Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.

But this is where the song popped up first. You hear bits and pieces of the song throughout the soundtrack, but the first time you hear the actual lyrics is the night before the final battle. It fits beautifully with the scene. As the defenders begin to think about their lives and what they've done with said lives. The dialogue that best summarizes the moments between Davy Crockett (Wayne) and one of his men Thimblerig the Gamber (Dukes of Hazzard's Denver Pyle).

"What are you thinkin' about, Davy?"

"Not thinking. Just remembering."

Now this scene isn't in its entirety. But I'll get to that in a little bit.

But what else do I love about the film? Well it has a great cast and practically each one fills the role perfectly. As I stated above this was John Wayne's passion project, he was the director and the producer and he originally wanted to take the role of Sam Houston. He wanted the role because it was a smaller part and he wanted to concentrate on directing, but the financiers wanted him in the lead role so he took it, and Wayne's Davy Crockett is as of right now my favorite incarnation of the legendary pioneer. When it comes to judging the performance of Crockett I approach very similar to how Doug Walker (aka The Nostalgia Critic) judges the performances of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings films. I have to able to buy the fact that Crockett is both a Frontiersmen and a Congressmen. To get my reference point check out his video LOTR Animated vs LOTR (http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/9754-lotr). Fess Parker's version from the Disney films of the 1950s, but Wayne's comes in a very close second. 

Probably Wayne's best scene (or second best if we're talking about the theatrical cut. Again, I'll get to that) is his Republic Speech. 

Another great casting choice was Laurence Harvey as William Travis and Richard Widmark as James Bowie. These actors fit their roles perfectly and the arc between the two characters is helped out a lot by their performances. Throughout the film the two conflict with each other in ideals about how to command the fort, and the slow progression of respect shows up when Santa Anna's army arrives at the fort. A cavalry officer gives delivers a message saying they have the opportunity to surrenders, but before the message is finished Travis fires off a cannon thus starting the siege. When asked by Crockett what he thought about it, Bowie replies with,

"I hate to say anything good about that long winded jackanapes, but he does know the short way to start a war."

Travis's arc is displayed visually displayed in a very clever way. Throughout the film we see Travis giving orders and talking down (literally) to the other men. We get an idea of his character from a speech he gives where he says in the privacy of his office to one of his officers, Capt. Dickinson (Ken Curtis),

"I am better than that ramble down there."

As the film grows closer and close to the final battle Travis starts to gain more respect for the men. His arc is completed when he announces to the other men of the fort that no help is coming. He does this on the ground level and looking up at them. Alamo - No Retreat. The first to join him is Bowie, and slowly each defender gets off their horse and joins him. 

And during the final battle, as the enemy is swarming in, he casts aside his saber's scabbard and changes on into them sword fighting them. Before he dies (I'd say this is a spoiler but people if you know about the battle you know what happens) he breaks his sword in half and tosses at them, symbolizing how he'll never surrender. I sadly can not find a picture or video of this so PLEASE go and watch the film. 

But of course every film has their flaws and so does this film. The biggest actual flaw of the film, outside of some continuity issues, is Frankie Avalon. He is clearly the weakest link in this cast of greats. No I'm not picking on him because he's young or because he's a singer. There are plenty of singers who have done great in acting. Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra are the biggest examples (both have won Oscars for acting). But, he is extremely out of place. He does have one pretty good acting moment. At the very end of the film, after the final battle, Smitty (Avalon) was sent out as a courier to get help he tries to ride back so he can help but he is obviously too late. As the music plays we see him slowly take off his cap honoring his fallen comrades. Very simply, very subtle, and very moving. Actually that about summarizes the ending as well. 

But the saddest thing about the film is that the version I feel in love with, the film that made me love movies, isn't available on DVD. The Director's Cut (or Roadshow version) is only available on VHS... which of course I own. I'm still not really sure why they can't convert this to DVD. Thankfully, we have a saint on Youtube who posted the scenes. Many of these scenes add so much more. 

Now the final battle is beyond words. The build up, the sounds, the sights, and action is superb. I know my words won't do it justice so I again insist on getting the film. Here's a few still shots I found just to give you an idea.

I could go on and on about this film but I want you to experience it. Hopefully you'll enjoy. If you've seen it share your thoughts. Also, don't be surprised if you see me post a lot about this movie, at least on my Facebook page. Which you 'Like' right here. John's Film Reviews

What better way to end this is to quote the movie's Sam Houston (Richard Boone)

"I hope they remember. I hope Texas remembers." 

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