The story is about a crazy Mexican, General Santos (Peter Ustinov). He's in command of a few dozen men and tells them they are heading up to Laredo, Texas for a parade. Little do any of them but his second in command (John Astin) know but his plan is to retake the Alamo! Soon, they have secured this National Monument...and the locals are all at odds as to what to do. Little do either side know that their respective troops have no bullets.I remember when I was a little boy that my parents saw this film and talked on and on and on about how funny it was. Now, almost five decades later I'm getting around to seeing it. Overall, I am not so sure why they thought it was so funny. I'm not saying it was bad...but don't quite understand why they loved it so much. Perhaps it was just something about 1969. Now I am not saying it's bad...but I was left wondering why the film wasn't funnier. The premise sure sounded fun.By the way, it would have been nice if perhaps some Mexicans had actually played the Mexicans...such as Cantinflas playing the General or his aide.

In an attempt to win the respect of his girlfriend and father, General Maximilian Rodrigues de Santos takes a group of 100 Mexican soldiers and heads north. Despite the fact that his men are poorly organised and view the General as being unfit to lead a dog, they manage to bluff their way past the bemused border guard. They go through Texas and make for San Antonio, home of the Alamo. They easily manage to capture the tourist attraction and are easily holed up inside, claiming it back on behalf of Mexico. Meanwhile, outside, the Texan authorities scratch their heads and wonder what they are supposed to make of all this.The idea sounds simple and indeed it is – it all depends what you do with it whether or not it is as simple as all that or better. What could you do with it? Perhaps a wacky zany Carry On style jape? Or perhaps an absurd satire with relevant digs at the political systems? Or perhaps a cross between the two? Well, I'm not sure what the makers of this film tried to do with it but to my mind they didn't actually manage to make anything come off that well. At times it has some nice digs and ironies within it but these are very liberally scattered throughout the film rather than being the core of it. For the majority of the film it is surprisingly light on laughs or good comedy; it is roundly amusing but I did want more belly laughs. Funnily enough the best material happens outside the Alamo with some funny portrayals of the Texan response.This leaves Ustinov just trying to mug his way to laughs and, to his credit he makes a good fist of it considering. However, like I said, the better material goes to people like Morgan, Winter, Wynn and a few others who are amusing and benefit from not having the title role on their shoulders to carry. The direction makes reasonable use of the Alamo but somehow still manages to make some parts of it look like it is on a set somewhere.Overall this is a distraction at best; it is pretty amusing and has some nice touches but mainly it doesn't do anything consistent of note. Ustinov tries hard to carry the film but the best material is saved for the support cast playing the American response, meaning that I found myself in the funny situation of not wanting the lead actor/title character to be on the screen. Amusing and distracting at best, certainly no more than that.

This one-joke chestnut seemed hilarious to me at age 14, but hasn't aged that well. Still, Ustinov is wonderful in lead role, and much of the shtick still provokes guffaws despite the lack of subtlety. It's certainly a family film with a sense of American history and some delicious ironies. I gave it 6 out of 10.

If you love Jonathan Winters, Harry Morgan and Peter Ustinov you shouldn't miss this send up to nationalism and its short comings. However, if you find jokes about KKK members, who can't find white sheets because the local merchant only carries flower printed bedding, offensive then maybe this film is not for you.As a former Texan who loves and can still laugh at some of the larger than life historical figures that make up the Texas Mystic, I can only say this was a fun film, and should not be missed even if it never makes it to DVD. I recalled this film fondly when watching the history textbook discussion at the beginning of Lone Star, and during my many viewings of Miss Congeniality too. This one's not only for those who have been to the Alamo, but will be extra fun for those who have.