WI/AHC: John Ford or Howard Hawks directs the 1960 film "The Alamo" instead of John Wayne

who should be the better director?

  • John Ford

    Votes: 2 100.0%
  • Howard Hawks

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    2
The Alamo was John Wayne's dream project. he chose to both produce and direct the film. The film however was not a hit with the critics. It is also famous for being historically inaccurate. What if John Wayne is convinced to let someone else direct the film?

John Ford: The Duke's mentor. He actually went to Texas to help Wayne with the movie. The Alamo could have been the last hurrah of the John Ford Stock Company (Ward Bond died in 1960).

Howard Hawks: This film could be the follow up to Rio Bravo. Hawks directed Wayne in two of his greatest westerns Red River and of course Rio Bravo.

The challenge part is to make The Alamo a hit with the critics. An Academy Award nomination for best picture would be nice. alternate casting is welcome. Here are my recommendations for fixing the script:

-Keep the movie more historically accurate. Lon Tinkle wrote The Alamo: 13 days to Glory in 1958. The material was there just put it in the script.
-have Crockett prefer to be called "David Crockett" instead of Davey. (In real life he always signed his name David). This can also distance this film from Disney's version of Crockett. Cut out the love affair between Linda Cristal's character Flaca and Crockett.
-Add in the story of the 32 volunteers from Gonzales. Have someone read Travis' "to the people of Texas" letter in the Gonzales scene.
 
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