Josef Roesler (madwand6) The acting in this movie is atrocious and it is a wonder that Sam Elliot ever became a star after this. But it is a wonderful story of early American fortitude, so for that, it is worth a watch. Just expect a cringefest along the way.

ftsam16 Saw this over the weekend. The story of the founding of the Republic of Texas (the Battle of the Alamo, the Battle of San Jacinto) and all the real people who were involved is extremely dramatic in itself. Therefore, no matter how it is treated, it is always going to look "over the top"; in the light of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, that "drama" will seem hokey. But Sam Elliott deserves an acknowledgement of at least trying to portray Sam Houston was an actual human being (Houston was a true statesman- one who looked at the future consequences); Sam Elliott did the same sort of "humanizing" for Wild Bill Hickock, another person who can easily be overdone because that was how he was. Katharine Ross did well as Mrs. Dickinson, the woman who was buried with the sobriquet: The Only Survivor of the Alamo. Maybe someday, people will also know the importance of Emily Morgan (the real Yellow Rose of Texas). Factually, this was a correct filmplay, not as bloody as it could have been. Somewhat cheesy, but all-in-all, not too bad.

Robert J. Maxwell Sam Elliot is one tough pecan in this movie. He snarls, shouts, is shot off his horse (twice), and defies all dissenters whether superiors or subordinates. His is the only memorable face or performance. The names of some of the other characters are familiar from other sources -- Bowie, Travis, and Crockett and Deaf (pronounced "deef", as in the peanut butter) Smith -- but the actors are background whether than figures in this inexpensively made film. (Katherine Ross does what amounts to an uncredited cameo.)I can't comment on the historical accuracy of the story but it seemed convincing enough to a complete outsider. Well, not complete. I once saw Sam Houston's signature on the register of an inn in Monterey, now converted to a museum. I also had something of a problem keeping the movement of the various forces straight. When Houston orders a certain bridge to be "cut down" I only know that this will hinder any possible retreat of his own men because one of his staff tells him so. I don't know where the bridge is, or where Santa Ana is in relation to it.But I suspect the battle scenes are at least as realistic as in John Wayne's "Alamo." In the Wayne movie all of the usual conventions of the old-fashioned Western are adhered to. (One of our men can kill five of theirs, etc.) Here, at least, the viewer learns what scholars have known for years from diaries kept by ordinary Mexican soldiers that happened to surface after the battles. Not all the Texicans fought to the last man at the Alamo. Some surrendered and were executed, including possibly Davey Crockett. And the wounded were bayoneted to death by the victorious Mexicans. It was a hard war. Early on, when one of Houston's staff reveals that he paroled several hundred Mexican soldiers with a promise never to fight against Texans again (it was a common practice at the time), Houston chews him out and declares they'll be back again behind Santa Ana. We presume that what Houston is saying is that the Mexican prisoners should have been executed. At the final battle of San Jacincto, Houston's forces defeat Santa Ana's and take hundreds of prisoners, but we see plenty more fleeing Mexicans being deliberately shot and bayoneted, including an unarmed teen-aged drummer boy. As Robert E. Lee was supposed to have said at Frederickburg, a quarter of a century later, it is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we might come to love it. Fewer John Wayne's dying heroic deaths and more harmless teen-agers deliberately executed might remind us a bit more accurately of what war was (and is) all about.

viewerschoice The American West has produced more than its share of legends, but none greater than the true-life story of Sam Houston. Sam Elliott is the frontier hero and statesman whose bravery and vision led to the creation of Texas! 1829-Sam Houston's career as the popular governor of Tennessee ends in disgrace and heartbreak. He treks back to the happy place of his boyhood among the Cherokee Indians.Houston finds love with a part-Cherokee and honor as he negotiates peace among warring tribes. Yet the U.S. Government destroys his triumph by coldly seizing the Cherokee land.In despair, he heads to the Mexican territory of Texas to join his old friend Jim Bowie in an epic fight for the liberation of what will one day be the state of Texas.