Post by cje on Mar 18, 2015 15:26:27 GMT -5
I found it kind of interesting to look about the set of Mr. Wayne's 1960 movie of The Alamo and take note of the placement and use of the various cannon used in his movie. I will concentrate on the Texan cannon for now and may take a look at the Mexican Artillery in a later thread. For reference I have of course recalled the several scenes in the movie itself which I have seen "several times" as well pictures and comments taken from the following.The movie book used to promote the film from Sovereign Publication, Michael Wayne and Donald L. LaCava Publishers. John Wayne's The Alamo, Donald Clark and Christopher Anderson authors, Citadell Press Book publishers. And The Alamo A Visual Celebration of John Wayne's Classic Movie by Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrall, published by Sundown Entertainment, Inc.
If we were to take a walk around John Wayne's movie set of The Alamo and look at the placement of the various cannon in 1960 that were used in the movie, I would of course begin of course with the famous Chapel. From the opening credits we can look on top of the front of the chapel above the palisade that David Crockett defended and see our first view of a cannon in the film. Its placement has a stunning effect visually in the credits as well as throughout various parts of the film. We next see this cannon being raised into its location as Colonel Bowie and his men arrive in the Alamo. Colonel William B. Travis, played by Laurence Harvey is supervising its placement and gives various commands in his "lofty" position. In a following scene Travis is pointing out the cannons of the Alamo from this cannon's position to Bowie and Crockett petting this cannon boasting of having "Five of these six pounders," if I am correct. Immediately afterwards a Mexican delegation demands the surrender of the Alamo and its men commanding them to lay down all of their arms and munitions etc. Travis (Harvey) fires the cannon in a rebel response with great flame belching out from the cannon. Note that for a part of this scene another ground level location was used to film the scene during which time the recoil of the cannon rolled over a foot of Mr. Harvey's foot causing him injury while he played out his scene. Still in another scene, this cannon is fired in reply to the Mexicans firing a single shot at the Alamo at great distance from their huge "Gullivers Travels" giant sized cannon. This shot hits a corner of the Main Gate next to the palisade Crockett (Wayne) would defend. Only one shot is fired by the Mexicans and one can only wonder why if it causes such ruin of the Alamo do not continue additional volleys. But that is another subject for thought and discussion. This cannon on top of the chapel had a gas cylinder hidden underneath it for special effects purposes to create the fire effects in its scenes. Did you catch how the cannon recoiled up when it fired toward the giant Mexican cannon? During the rest of the battle we can see this cannon firing at different times during the battle.
A surprise for me years ago was to discover another cannon was located on top of the chapel walls, in fact just to one side of the little chapel hump beneath the "artistic" cross Wayne had put close to the hump, leaning to one side and not upright. (There is another story to explore.) Not much attention is given to this cannon during the film. As far as I know, these are the only two cannons positioned in the film in the Chapel. I think it should be noted that the real Alamo had three cannon in the rear of the chapel pointing eastward. Of course Hollywood will place its cannon where they are needed for dramatic effect. One might note where the 1960 and 2004 Alamo films placed their cannon vs. where the 1836 Alamo had its cannon located for strategic purposes.
In the yard just in front of the chapel, Wayne placed back toward the connecting wall from the chapel to Hospital Building of the Main barracks two more cannon. These two guns can be seen firing during the raid for cattle. Interesting to me that they are located so far back from the palisade that they would have to fire over the heads of the Tennesseans! During the final attack,as a barrier is quickly placed to fend off the Mexican advance between the area in front of the chapel and the plaza, one of these cannon appear to be wheeling into place with the barrier and fired on the advancing Mexicans to great effect. One also would note in the opening credits that there were two naval type guns positioned just before the chapel.Not quite sure where they went to.
Moving on to the rood of the Main Gate, right above it are two "tubby" cannons that are small in length but wide in body. They have their spotlight in the film during the first attack, raid for cattle, and in the final battle. There is no lunette with cannons in front of the Main Gate as in the 1836 Alamo where two cannon were located in 1836. This was let open I suppose for several scenes in the Wayne Alamo of coming and going of the actors and of course for the cattle from the raid on the Mexicans.
Looking at the South-western corner that would face San Antonio (Wayne has his town south of the Alamo where San Antonio was located west of the Alamo) is another cannon in Wayne's Alamo. This is where the 1836 Alamo men had located the famous 18 pounder gun. It is funny to me that this gun did not respond to the large Mexican cannon rather than the cannon on the chapel being as it is closer to the Mexican cannon, even if just a bit. But again it is a better artistic shot using the cannon on the chapel.
As we continue our tour of Wayne's Alamo cannon location we take note of a cannon that is fired during the battle, rolls backward off its ramp, and flips! This gun was located on the west wall near where Parson is wounded. What a shot!
Next we move along the western wall where it meets the north wall where Travis, (Harvey) is seen at this corner with a cannon that in the final battle is used until it is fired until the barrel explodes and has to be replaced by a replacement from somewhere in the Alamo Plaza. Notice the pieces of the cannon (balsa wood I would guess to protect the actors). Perhaps the cannon that is seen firing at the opening battle that had been located on the flag pole mound is used to replace it. (I love seeing this cannon firing and watching the shadow of its smoke move across the west wall earlier in the battle!). Other than the one cannon on the north-western wall at Travis' position, I did not note any other cannons facing north or east in Wayne's Alamo.
One final note on cannons used in the film is a very small sized cannon that is fired in the final battle from the plaza near the cattle pen near the north wall, firing over the north wall at the attacking Mexicans. Kind of a motor type. I guess the total cannons to be about 11 cannons used by the Texans inside of Mr. Wayne's Alamo. Please forgive me if I left any cannon scene out in my article. Perhaps readers could share some other insights on the 1960 Alamo cannons in reply.
When I visited the Alamo in 1967 and returning to the airport to leave I was talking about my visit to the Alamo and to the movie film sight with the driver. He had some insight about the cannons used in the 1960 movie saying they had a metal tube inside a wooden barrel. I know that for years, the Alamo Village had at least one cannon on display and that Old Tucson, Arizona had some of the Alamo cannon located there until a fire took them.
In closing I would want to note for reference that wonderfully created talent of Mr Mark Lemon who created a 1/144 scale model of the Alamo and includes in his book: The Illustrated Alamo 1836 A Photographic Journey,State House Press, several pages (Pages 138-143)of the 1836 Alamo artillery and its placement. This detail of the type of artillery used at the Alamo is very insightful as one would compare with both the 1960 and 2004 Alamo films. Today one can visit the real Alamo and see several of the cannon that were used during the actual siege of the Alamo. Enjoy remembering!
If we were to take a walk around John Wayne's movie set of The Alamo and look at the placement of the various cannon in 1960 that were used in the movie, I would of course begin of course with the famous Chapel. From the opening credits we can look on top of the front of the chapel above the palisade that David Crockett defended and see our first view of a cannon in the film. Its placement has a stunning effect visually in the credits as well as throughout various parts of the film. We next see this cannon being raised into its location as Colonel Bowie and his men arrive in the Alamo. Colonel William B. Travis, played by Laurence Harvey is supervising its placement and gives various commands in his "lofty" position. In a following scene Travis is pointing out the cannons of the Alamo from this cannon's position to Bowie and Crockett petting this cannon boasting of having "Five of these six pounders," if I am correct. Immediately afterwards a Mexican delegation demands the surrender of the Alamo and its men commanding them to lay down all of their arms and munitions etc. Travis (Harvey) fires the cannon in a rebel response with great flame belching out from the cannon. Note that for a part of this scene another ground level location was used to film the scene during which time the recoil of the cannon rolled over a foot of Mr. Harvey's foot causing him injury while he played out his scene. Still in another scene, this cannon is fired in reply to the Mexicans firing a single shot at the Alamo at great distance from their huge "Gullivers Travels" giant sized cannon. This shot hits a corner of the Main Gate next to the palisade Crockett (Wayne) would defend. Only one shot is fired by the Mexicans and one can only wonder why if it causes such ruin of the Alamo do not continue additional volleys. But that is another subject for thought and discussion. This cannon on top of the chapel had a gas cylinder hidden underneath it for special effects purposes to create the fire effects in its scenes. Did you catch how the cannon recoiled up when it fired toward the giant Mexican cannon? During the rest of the battle we can see this cannon firing at different times during the battle.
A surprise for me years ago was to discover another cannon was located on top of the chapel walls, in fact just to one side of the little chapel hump beneath the "artistic" cross Wayne had put close to the hump, leaning to one side and not upright. (There is another story to explore.) Not much attention is given to this cannon during the film. As far as I know, these are the only two cannons positioned in the film in the Chapel. I think it should be noted that the real Alamo had three cannon in the rear of the chapel pointing eastward. Of course Hollywood will place its cannon where they are needed for dramatic effect. One might note where the 1960 and 2004 Alamo films placed their cannon vs. where the 1836 Alamo had its cannon located for strategic purposes.
In the yard just in front of the chapel, Wayne placed back toward the connecting wall from the chapel to Hospital Building of the Main barracks two more cannon. These two guns can be seen firing during the raid for cattle. Interesting to me that they are located so far back from the palisade that they would have to fire over the heads of the Tennesseans! During the final attack,as a barrier is quickly placed to fend off the Mexican advance between the area in front of the chapel and the plaza, one of these cannon appear to be wheeling into place with the barrier and fired on the advancing Mexicans to great effect. One also would note in the opening credits that there were two naval type guns positioned just before the chapel.Not quite sure where they went to.
Moving on to the rood of the Main Gate, right above it are two "tubby" cannons that are small in length but wide in body. They have their spotlight in the film during the first attack, raid for cattle, and in the final battle. There is no lunette with cannons in front of the Main Gate as in the 1836 Alamo where two cannon were located in 1836. This was let open I suppose for several scenes in the Wayne Alamo of coming and going of the actors and of course for the cattle from the raid on the Mexicans.
Looking at the South-western corner that would face San Antonio (Wayne has his town south of the Alamo where San Antonio was located west of the Alamo) is another cannon in Wayne's Alamo. This is where the 1836 Alamo men had located the famous 18 pounder gun. It is funny to me that this gun did not respond to the large Mexican cannon rather than the cannon on the chapel being as it is closer to the Mexican cannon, even if just a bit. But again it is a better artistic shot using the cannon on the chapel.
As we continue our tour of Wayne's Alamo cannon location we take note of a cannon that is fired during the battle, rolls backward off its ramp, and flips! This gun was located on the west wall near where Parson is wounded. What a shot!
Next we move along the western wall where it meets the north wall where Travis, (Harvey) is seen at this corner with a cannon that in the final battle is used until it is fired until the barrel explodes and has to be replaced by a replacement from somewhere in the Alamo Plaza. Notice the pieces of the cannon (balsa wood I would guess to protect the actors). Perhaps the cannon that is seen firing at the opening battle that had been located on the flag pole mound is used to replace it. (I love seeing this cannon firing and watching the shadow of its smoke move across the west wall earlier in the battle!). Other than the one cannon on the north-western wall at Travis' position, I did not note any other cannons facing north or east in Wayne's Alamo.
One final note on cannons used in the film is a very small sized cannon that is fired in the final battle from the plaza near the cattle pen near the north wall, firing over the north wall at the attacking Mexicans. Kind of a motor type. I guess the total cannons to be about 11 cannons used by the Texans inside of Mr. Wayne's Alamo. Please forgive me if I left any cannon scene out in my article. Perhaps readers could share some other insights on the 1960 Alamo cannons in reply.
When I visited the Alamo in 1967 and returning to the airport to leave I was talking about my visit to the Alamo and to the movie film sight with the driver. He had some insight about the cannons used in the 1960 movie saying they had a metal tube inside a wooden barrel. I know that for years, the Alamo Village had at least one cannon on display and that Old Tucson, Arizona had some of the Alamo cannon located there until a fire took them.
In closing I would want to note for reference that wonderfully created talent of Mr Mark Lemon who created a 1/144 scale model of the Alamo and includes in his book: The Illustrated Alamo 1836 A Photographic Journey,State House Press, several pages (Pages 138-143)of the 1836 Alamo artillery and its placement. This detail of the type of artillery used at the Alamo is very insightful as one would compare with both the 1960 and 2004 Alamo films. Today one can visit the real Alamo and see several of the cannon that were used during the actual siege of the Alamo. Enjoy remembering!
