The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory

The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory is a 1987 American Western television miniseries later edited into a feature film about the 1836 Battle of the Alamo written and directed by Burt Kennedy, starring James Arness as James Bowie, Brian Keith as Davy Crockett, Alec Baldwin as William Barrett Travis, Raul Julia as Antonio López de Santa Anna, and featuring a single scene cameo by Lorne Greene as Sam Houston. Unlike most other films about the Alamo — the most prominent other exception being the 1955 film The Last Command (which was released during the cultural frenzy created by Walt Disney's Davy Crockett television miniseries) — it focuses on Bowie as the main character rather than Crockett.

The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory
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Genre	Action Adventure Drama History War Western
Based on	Thirteen Days to Glory: The Siege of the Alamo by Lon Tinkle
Written by	Clyde Ware Norman Morrill (as Norman McLeod Morrill)
Directed by	Burt Kennedy
Starring	James Arness Brian Keith Alec Baldwin Raul Julia
Theme music composer	Peter Bernstein
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Stockton Briggle Richard Carrothers Dennis Hennessy
Producers	Bill Finnegan Patricia Finnegan Sheldon Pinchuk
Production location	Alamo Village - Highway 674, Brackettville, Texas
Cinematography	John Elsenbach
Editor	Michael N. Knue
Running time	170 minutes
Production companies	Briggle, Hennessey, Carrothers & Associates The Finnegan Company Fries Entertainment Alamo Productions Orion
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	January 26, 1987 (1987-01-26)

Premise

Against orders and no hope of relief Texas patriots led by Bill Travis (Alec Baldwin), Jim Bowie (James Arness) and Davy Crockett (Brian Keith) defend the Alamo against the overwhelming Mexican forces led by the merciless General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (Raul Julia).

Cast

• James Arness as Jim Bowie
• Brian Keith as Davy Crockett
• Alec Baldwin as Bill Travis
• Raul Julia as General Antonio López de Santa Anna
• David Ogden Stiers as Colonel Black
• Jon Lindstrom as Captain Almaron Dickinson
• Lorne Greene as Sam Houston (in his final film role)
• Jim Metzler as Major James Bonham
• Tom Schanley as Private Danny Cloud
• Fernando Allende as Colonel Alamonte, Santa Anna's Nephew
• Kathleen York as Susannah Dickinson
• Isela Vega as Senora Cos
• Gene Evans as McGregor
• Michael Wren as Juan Seguin
• Hinton Battle as Joe, Travis' Servant
• David Sheiner as Luis
• Noble Willingham as Dr. Pollard
• Eloy Casados as Gregorio
• Tony Becker as George Taylor
• Thomas Callaway as Colonel James W. Fannin
• Buck Taylor as "Colorado" Smith
• Jerry Potter as Jacob Walker
• Grainger Hines as Charles Despelier
• Tom Everett as Major Evans
• Stan Ivar as "Doc" Sutherland
• Ethan Wayne as Edward Taylor
• Jan Tríska as General Wolf
• Gary Kasper as Major Wheelwright
• John Furlong as Zanco
• Jay Baker as Hayes
• Dale Swann as Lieutenant Kimball
• Laura Fabian as Lucia
• Loyda Ramos as Senora Esparza
• Bel Sandre
• Laura Martinez Harring as Santa Anna's Bride
• Nicky Blair as John Jones
• Red West as Cockran (uncredited)

Production

The production was shot at Alamo Village, the Alamo replica built by John Wayne for his lavish 1960 film The Alamo.

Much of the footage of the final battle scene was recycled from earlier films.

External links

• The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory at IMDb
• The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory at AllMovie