Heroes of the Alamo
Encyclopedia
Heroes of the Alamo is a low-budget retelling of the events of the Texas Revolution
and the Battle of the Alamo
. It was produced by Anthony J. Xydias
and reuses the battle scenes of his 1926 silent film Davy Crockett at the Fall of the Alamo. About 35 minutes of the latter film is available on the DVD of Heroes of the Alamo, all that remains of the silent film.
and Jim Bowie
, the main protagonists are Almaron
(Bruce Warren) and Susanna Dickinson (Ruth Findlay) and their daughter Angelina (Marilyn Haslett). The film gives a fictionalised fast moving account of the restriction on American emigration to Texas, the arrest of Stephen F. Austin
by Santa Anna
(Julian Rivero), Sam Houston
(Edward Piel) appointed General to build the army of Texas, and Dickinson's participation in both the Battle of Gonzales
and the Battle of the Alamo
.
s about Buffalo Bill
, Sitting Bull
, George Armstrong Custer
, Daniel Boone
and Davy Crockett
in 1937-1938 that were remakes of his Sunset Productions silent films, however only the Alamo film was made. Xydias had planned the film as a tie in with the 1936 Texas Centennial
but fell behind in his plans.
Columbia Pictures
acquired the film for 1938 release and changed the billing of the actors in the film.
The film featured the song The Yellow Rose of Texas
being sung by the defenders though it had not been written at that time.
This was the last film Xydias produced. When World War II broke out he was in the Philippines and was interned by the Japanese.
Texas Revolution
The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...
and the Battle of the Alamo
Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar . All but two of the Texian defenders were killed...
. It was produced by Anthony J. Xydias
Anthony J. Xydias
Anthony J. Xydias was a film producer for such films as Heroes of the Alamo , Devil's Canyon , and Five Bad Men . His career took off after he opened a theater in Dallas, Texas in 1906...
and reuses the battle scenes of his 1926 silent film Davy Crockett at the Fall of the Alamo. About 35 minutes of the latter film is available on the DVD of Heroes of the Alamo, all that remains of the silent film.
Plot
Unlike other Alamo films that concentrate on Davy CrockettDavy Crockett
David "Davy" Crockett was a celebrated 19th century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician. He is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S...
and Jim Bowie
Jim Bowie
James "Jim" Bowie , a 19th-century American pioneer, slave trader, land speculator, and soldier, played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution, culminating in his death at the Battle of the Alamo...
, the main protagonists are Almaron
Almaron Dickinson
Almaron Dickinson was a Texan soldier and defender during the Battle of the Alamo, fought during the Texas Revolution. Dickinson is best known as having been the artillery officer of the small garrison, and for being the husband of one of the only three non-Mexican survivors to live through the...
(Bruce Warren) and Susanna Dickinson (Ruth Findlay) and their daughter Angelina (Marilyn Haslett). The film gives a fictionalised fast moving account of the restriction on American emigration to Texas, the arrest of Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...
by Santa Anna
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, known as "the Napoleon of the West," was a Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government...
(Julian Rivero), Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
(Edward Piel) appointed General to build the army of Texas, and Dickinson's participation in both the Battle of Gonzales
Battle of Gonzales
The Battle of Gonzales was the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution. It was fought near Gonzales, Texas, on October 2, 1835, between rebellious Texian settlers and a detachment of Mexican army troops....
and the Battle of the Alamo
Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar . All but two of the Texian defenders were killed...
.
Release
After producing two 1935 Westerns, Xydias ambitiously announced the production of epic filmEpic film
An epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film...
s about Buffalo Bill
Buffalo Bill
William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a United States soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory , in LeClaire but lived several years in Canada before his family moved to the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for service to the US...
, Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull Sitting Bull Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (in Standard Lakota Orthography), also nicknamed Slon-he or "Slow"; (c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies...
, George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
, Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...
and Davy Crockett
Davy Crockett
David "Davy" Crockett was a celebrated 19th century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician. He is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S...
in 1937-1938 that were remakes of his Sunset Productions silent films, however only the Alamo film was made. Xydias had planned the film as a tie in with the 1936 Texas Centennial
Texas Centennial Exposition
The Texas Centennial Exposition was a World's Fair held at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Texas's independence from Mexico in 1836. More than 50 buildings, for which "George Dahl was director general of a group of architects who designed the buildings ", were...
but fell behind in his plans.
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
acquired the film for 1938 release and changed the billing of the actors in the film.
The film featured the song The Yellow Rose of Texas
The Yellow Rose of Texas
"The Yellow Rose of Texas" is a traditional folk song. The original love song has become associated with the legend of how an indentured servant named Emily Morgan "helped win the battle of San Jacinto, the decisive battle in the Texas Revolution."...
being sung by the defenders though it had not been written at that time.
This was the last film Xydias produced. When World War II broke out he was in the Philippines and was interned by the Japanese.
Cast
- Bruce Warren ... Capt. Al DickinsonAlmaron DickinsonAlmaron Dickinson was a Texan soldier and defender during the Battle of the Alamo, fought during the Texas Revolution. Dickinson is best known as having been the artillery officer of the small garrison, and for being the husband of one of the only three non-Mexican survivors to live through the...
- Ruth Findlay ... Anne DickinsonSusannah DickinsonSusanna Wilkerson Dickinson was one of two American survivors of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution, where her husband, Captain Almaron Dickinson, and 182 other defenders were killed by the Mexican Army...
- Earle HodginsEarle HodginsEarle Hodgins was an American actor. He appeared in over 330 films and television shows between 1932 and 1963.-Selected filmography:* Paradise Canyon * Aces and Eights * Oh, Susanna!...
... Stephen F. AustinStephen F. AustinStephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...
- Lane ChandlerLane ChandlerLane Chandler was an American actor specializing in Westerns.-Early life:He was born as Robert Chandler Oakes on a ranch near Culbertson, Montana, the son of a horse rancher. At an early age, the family relocated to Helena, Montana, where he graduated from high school...
... Col. Davy Crockett - Roger Williams ... Col. Jim BowieJim BowieJames "Jim" Bowie , a 19th-century American pioneer, slave trader, land speculator, and soldier, played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution, culminating in his death at the Battle of the Alamo...
- Rex LeaseRex LeaseRex Lloyd Lease was an American actor. He appeared in over 300 films, mainly in westerns. Lease was accused in 1930 by Vivian Duncan of the Duncan Sisters for assault...
... Col. William B. TravisWilliam B. TravisWilliam Barret Travis was a 19th-century American lawyer and soldier. At the age of 26, he was a lieutenant colonel in the Texas Army...
- Jack C. Smith ... William H. WhartonWilliam H. WhartonWilliam Harris Wharton was an early colonist, political leader and orator in Texas.Wharton was born in Virginia and was raised by an uncle following the deaths of his parents. He graduated from the University of Nashville and was admitted to the Tennessee bar in 1826...
- Lee Valanios ... Col. James BonhamJames BonhamJames Butler Bonham was a 19th-century American soldier who died at the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution...
- Edward Peil Sr. ... Gen. Sam HoustonSam HoustonSamuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
- Julian Rivero ... Gen. Antonio López de Santa AnnaAntonio López de Santa AnnaAntonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, known as "the Napoleon of the West," was a Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government...
- Willy Castello ... Gen. Martín Perfecto de CosMartín Perfecto de CosMartín Perfecto de Cos was a 19th-century Mexican general. He was married to Lucinda López de Santa Anna, sister of Antonio López de Santa Anna.-Background:Cós was born in Vera Cruz in the year 1800, the son of an attorney...
- Paul Ellis ... Gen. Castillion