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Post by Rich Curilla on Aug 19, 2009 23:30:27 GMT -5
I showed "Davy Crockett at the Alamo" to my high school students for many years: in 1975 and from 1977 to 2002. Back in the nineties, my friend, who was a 4th. grade teacher in Del Rio (she now teaches GT), asked me if I thought John Wayne's The Alamo would be appropriate for the whole 4th. grade class to watch in the auditorium. She was concerned about content and had not seen the movie in years. I gave my high reccommendation, saying that Wayne's publicity on the roadshow in 1960 advertised, "A Movie for the Whole Family." With that encouragement, she ran the film for the assembly. (4th. grade in Texas schools is the first year they teach Texas history.) Suddenly, the lights came back on and the film was turned off. The principle came out and cancelled the showing over her protests. Seems like he thought it inappropriate material to show kids because Widmark says "d**n" in the scene with Travis.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Aug 20, 2009 10:53:20 GMT -5
Oh, dear. As I used to say during my school days, it wasn't the schooing I objected to so much; it was the principal of the thing!
AW
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paul
Full Member
Posts: 48
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Post by paul on Aug 20, 2009 14:10:18 GMT -5
Well, hell. I heard Widmark say "d**n" in 1961 when I saw The Alamo. I was seven years old. Ruined me for life. That principal sounds like a PC-lovin' twerp. But it's probably on the school district's list of Thou Shalt Nots.
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Post by Kevin Young on Aug 20, 2009 15:04:20 GMT -5
Well, hell. I heard Widmark say "d**n" in 1961 when I saw The Alamo. I was seven years old. Ruined me for life. That principal sounds like a PC-lovin' twerp. But it's probably on the school district's list of Thou Shalt Nots.I wonder what the principal would have thought of some of the Spanish the Mexican troops are using in the battle scene?
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Post by Paul Sylvain on Aug 28, 2009 6:28:54 GMT -5
Seems like he thought it inappropriate material to show kids because Widmark says "d**n" in the scene with Travis. And I imagine that in the wee hours of March 6, the Alamo defenders were all thinking, " Aw, shucks, here come those sweet Mexicans."
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Post by Paul Sylvain on Sept 27, 2009 10:56:54 GMT -5
AMC aired the Wayne Alamo yesterday (Saturday), but as luck would have it, I was out running the stores with my missus. The DVD I have doesn't even have the Overtured and Intermission breaks. I do have a version of VHS but no player.
Guess I'll have to try again later ...
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jan 12, 2010 12:54:48 GMT -5
I came across an amusing quotation in Jon Meacham's bio of Andrew Jackson, American Lion. In the fall of 1835, as the fighting in Texas commenced, Anthony Butler was serving as U.S. charge d'affaires in Mexico City and attempting to arrange a U.S. purchase of Texas, at Jackson's behest. Butler had even suggested bribing the Mexican government, which Old Hickory did not overtly endorse, but did not really seem to object to either. He had written to Butler "I scarecely ever knew a Spaniard who was not the slave of avarice, and it is not improbable that this weakness may be worth a great deal to us, in this case."
Butler reported to Jackson that Santa Anna was in a fury over the Texan rebellion, was convinced that the United States had fomented it, and told a gathering of diplomats that he "would in due season chastise us. . . . Yes, sir, he said chastise us."
I have to wonder if James Edward Grant saw Butler's communique to Jackson.
Allen
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jan 16, 2010 16:33:12 GMT -5
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Post by Paul Sylvain on Jan 16, 2010 17:10:43 GMT -5
Interesting read, Allen. I would love to see this film brought back to its original form and length. The DVD version I have is pathetic compared to my old VHS version (I have no player for that, now).
Sounds like quite a project either way, but I would definietly buy it once completed and released.
Paul
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jan 16, 2010 22:17:59 GMT -5
Paul,
I, too, would love to see "The Alamo" fully restored, despite its many shortcomings. It's still an iconic moment in the Alamo of pop culture and had a real impact on those of us who saw it as youngsters or high schoolers. Combined with Disney's earlier "Davy Crockett" series, it may well have been the force behind our life-long search for more and more information about the Alamo and its major figures.
I have the DVD, which is lacking on many counts, not the least of which is its being the truncated, shortened version of the film, missing many scenes. I still have two VHS editions that include the full, original print; one is a full-widescreen version; the other a partial widescreen. I'm not getting rid of either of them. Let's hope they can do a good job with a new, fully restored DVD version (and in the not-too-distant future).
Allen
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Post by rickyhollis on Feb 27, 2010 16:40:36 GMT -5
Is there any way a person could now visit either Bracketville or Dripping Springs? I was lucky enough to visit Brackville several years ago, but never found out how is visit Dripping Srings.
Also, what's the status on developing the Alamo Plaza?
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paul
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Post by paul on Feb 27, 2010 17:38:20 GMT -5
Is there any way a person could now visit either Bracketville or Dripping Springs? I was lucky enough to visit Brackville several years ago, but never found out how is visit Dripping Srings. Also, what's the status on developing the Alamo Plaza? Since Alamo Village closed some months ago, it's now apparently only open on special occasions to large groups that request visits well in advance. And it's not cheap. The set used in the 2004 film is on private property (Reimer Ranch) near Dripping Springs and is not open to the public. My visit during HHD 2005 came from knowing somebody who knew somebody who was organizing a group visit. The organizer set it up with the Reimer family in advance. I was tremendously lucky to be included. You kind of have to make it known on this site and others that you'd love to be included if any plans are being made for a visit. That's what I did. Still, film crews with re-enactors have shot there in recent years. The sets are rapidly deteriorating. The only thing I know about the Alamo Plaza project is what I read on this site.
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Post by Paul Sylvain on Feb 27, 2010 20:06:48 GMT -5
After seeing the condition of the Dripping Springs set during the recent documentary featuring Bill C. from here, I've kind of lost my desire to visit it. Alamo Village is quite another story.
I hope that some day the set will be reopened to the public. I did visit it back in 1995. I remember thinking it was pretty cool to walk the grounds and stand in places where John Wayne and the others did back in 1959. Even then, the movie was so well etched in my memory, I remembered certain scenes as if I was there.
Paul
PS -- I just found and scanned some of the Bracketville photos. They're posted in the "Images" area.
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Post by Kevin Young on Feb 21, 2011 15:45:49 GMT -5
Rudy Robbins, who played the Tennessean "It do" has passed away today after a long illness.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Feb 21, 2011 17:37:09 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that. R.I.P.
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