Sterling Hayden (James Bowie), Anna Maria Alberghetti (Consuela), Richard Carlson (William Travis), Arthur Hunnicutt (Davy Crockett), Ernest Borgnine (Mike Radin), J. Carrol Naish (Santa Anna), Ben Cooper (Jeb Lacey), John Russell (Lieutenant Dickinson), Virginia Grey (Mrs Dickinson), Jim Davis (Evans), Eduard Franz (Lorenzo de Quesada), Otto Kruger (Stephen Austin), Russell Simpson (the parson), Roy Roberts (Dr Sutherland), Slim Pickens (Abe), Hugh Sanders (Sam Houston).Director: FRANK LLOYD. Screenplay: Warren Duff. Story: Sy Bartlett. Photographed in Trucolor by Jack Marta. Film editor: Tony Martinelli. Music: Max Steiner. Art director: Frank Arrigo. Set decorators: John McCarthy Jr, George Milo. Costumes: Adele Palmer. Make-up: Bob Mark. Title credits song, "A Man Six Feet Tall" by Sidney Clare (lyrics) and Max Steiner (music), sung by Gordon MacRae (a Capitol Recording Artist). Special effects: Howard Lydecker, Theodore Lydecker. Trucolor processing and optical effects: Consolidated Film Industries. Technical adviser: Captain John S. Peters. Assistant director: Herb Mendelson. Sound recording: Dick Tyler Sr, Howard Wilson. RCA Sound System. Associate producer: Frank Lloyd. Executive producer: Herbert J. Yates. Location scenes filmed in Texas.Copyright 1955 by Republic Pictures Corp. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 3 August 1955. U.K. release: September 1955. Australian release through 20th Century-Fox: 22 June 1956. 110 minutes. (Cut to 106 minutes in the U.K.).NOTES: Other versions include Man of Conquest (1939), The Alamo (1960).COMMENT: After an extremely dull and talkative start, enlivened only by a knife fight between hero Bowie and heavy-but-soon-to-be-friend Borgnine, "The Last Command" settles down to an extremely dull and talkative middle, relieved only by a spot of action between Bowie's irregulars and a small detachment of Mexican cavalry.While we're waiting for the expected slap-up climax, we've got plenty of time to listen to patriotic speeches and much cornball philosophy about liberty and justice. Unfortunately, all this talk seems even less interesting in the mouths of surly and/or dull players. You can always tell a Republic production by the lack of quality in the support cast. In this one, that lack extends to the principals as well. Borgnine is the only player who manages a bit of charisma — and his role is small. We are left with bores like Richard Carlson, Arthur Hunnicutt, J. Carroll Naish and Eduard Franz. Plus Ben Cooper, one of the dullest juveniles of all time. Plus Miss Alberghetti. It's embarrassing to watch a nice girl trying to make something of the most dreadful dialogue tosh she's handed here. Wait for the scene in which Ben Cooper starts to share some romantic footage with Miss A. and you'll see at least a quarter of the audience leave their seats and walk out. Yes, with players like these, the true critic just knows he's going to be in for a pretty tedious time before the film even starts.Despite the comparatively large-scale budget with lots of uniformed soldiers and location lensing south of the border, Republic's largess didn't extend to decent color. Trucolor with its mismatched grading and unnatural skin colors that vary from deep sun-burnt to the whitest paleface, plus its awful propensity to flood the screen with red and orange, is the least attractive of all non-Technicolor systems.One of the best features of the movie is Max Steiner's music score, though one feels the composer is operating at only half-steam here. Melodic but mild. And as for that atrocious under-the-credits song delivered by Gordon MacRae of all people...As usual, director Lloyd is at his best with the action material. Elsewhere the script lets him down. Badly.OTHER VIEWS: Republic originally wanted John Wayne to star, but Duke wanted to do his own version of the Alamo. All the same, "The Last Command" does have some comparative interest as a scaled-down spectacle. With astute trimming — at least 30 minutes could go — it might even make a halfway passable picture. — G.A.

I saw "The Last Command" twice in my hometown at the theater in 1955. In the 70's, I saw it several times on the late movies. In the 80's, I copied off the air and have watched it lots of times. My kids, (born in the "70's"), as a rule don't like "Westerns". The three exceptions to that point of view, are three truly great movies: "The Last Command", "Rio Bravo" and "Big Jake"...in any order you choose.In 1997, I bought the commercial video of "The Last Command" and still have it. Almost immediately, you "fall in love" with the simple melodies in the film. And later, the lush orchestrations of those simple melodies are even more beautiful. And the color, it's just marvelous. Another movie of about the same vintage (1954) with astounding color is "The Far Country" . You've never seen Alaska and the Canadian Rockies any better unless you've been there. Beautiful "Blues" and Intense "Greens"...real "sunshine". Both films are well done."The Last Command" pays great honor to our "Texas heroes". Jim Bowie, David Crockett, General Santa Anna: all would have adored this film.

This is a version of the Alamo story often overlooked mainly because it focuses on Jim Bowie as opposed to Davy Crockett as the central character. Sterling Hayden in one of the many roles he truly hated before escaping to the seas is a stalwart and heroic Bowie.As I said though in another review of a film with Bowie as the central character, Jim Bowie was anything but heroic. He was a land swindler, slave dealer, no good con man who very few people had anything nice to say about. He was a tough guy though, no question about that and the famous Bowie knife was made to his specifications.Bowie was married into the Mexican aristocracy and did suffer the horrible tragedy of having his wife and children taken in an epidemic of the plague. We never see them here or in the John Wayne film or in the new Disney epic.Possibly the best acting honors do go to Arthur Hunnicutt who was more the backwoods character that Davy Crockett was then John Wayne. Billy Bob Thornton in the 2004 Alamo was probably the best Davy Crockett ever put on film and the most accurate.Probably too much is now known for the general public to appreciate a film like The Last Command. The principals at the Alamo were three dimensional characters and not the cardboard cutouts they are here.

'The Last Command' is a film with a better backstory than the film itself! First batted around Republic Pictures as a potential vehicle for John Wayne, the production was put on the back burner when Wayne decided he wanted total creative control, and decided to produce and direct his own version, with a budget Republic couldn't match.Republic DID, however, have an arsenal of talent available, and a shooting script, and eventually brought in veteran director Frank Lloyd, who had just come off a ten-year hiatus with 'The Shanghai Story', in 1954. Sterling Hayden, fresh from the cult classic 'Johnny Guitar', and a featured role in Fox's lavish 'Prince Valiant', signed to play Jim Bowie ("I needed the money to refit my boat," he joked). Richard Carlson, whose 'Creature from the Black Lagoon' had just been released by Universal (becoming a big hit) was tapped to play Alamo commander William Barret Travis. Ernest Borgnine, whose 'Marty' was garnering rave reviews (and would earn him an Oscar) took on the showy supporting role of Bowie adversary/friend Mike Radin and starlet Anna Maria Alberghetti, in her first non-singing role, became the female lead. Two veteran character actors rounded out the major cast: J. Carrol Naish, as a sympathetic yet decisive Santa Anna, and, in an offbeat but inspired casting move, bearded Arthur Hunnicutt as a rustic Davy Crockett (who would very nearly steal the film!).The production was very modestly budgeted, so much so that the number of extras serving as the Mexican army was limited, but director Lloyd and cinematographer Jack Marta were old hands at making more out of less, and with some judicious editing by Tony Martinelli, the illusion of thousands of Mexican soldiers was achieved. Set design was minimal, as well, and the famous 'look' of the church/fortress was often achieved through mat paintings.Scored by the legendary Max Steiner, with a theme sung by Gordon MacRae, 'The Last Command' seemed to teeter at the edge between 'B' movie and 'A' status; ultimately, the pedestrian script, by Sy Bartlett and Warren Duff, did the movie in, as there was too much time spent on an unnecessary love triangle, which slowed much of the film to a crawl. Despite an unforgettable final battle, audiences avoided the film, and it quickly faded from sight.Unfortunately, John Wayne didn't learn from 'The Last Command', and he added a love story to his 'Alamo', with the same lethargic result; Crockett's explosive demise (historically inaccurate, but rousing!) must have impressed him, as well, as he staged an even bigger version of it in his film.'The Last Command' is a curio, but is enjoyable, for the most part, and the spectacular final assault makes it a must for any action fan's collection!