Mexican army general Maximilian Rodrigues de Santos (Ustinov) is a buffoon. Even his girlfriend tells him his men wouldn't follow him into a house of ill repute. Stung, he decides to perform a great act of heroism: He'll retake the Alamo for Mexico! And with his ragtag crew, he does. This annoys the Texans greatly, and the Texas National Guard is called out. Retaking the Alamo should be an easy job, since the Mexicans left all their ammunition at home, but the State Department insists on no bloodshed, so the Americans show up with unloaded weapons too! Winters plays General Billy Joe Hallson, and Astin is Max's (semi-)level-headed aide, Sergeant Valdez. This good-natured and silly 1969 family film has a witty sense of history, and the supporting cast features plenty of "oh yeah" comic actors, including Keenan Wynn, Harry Morgan, Alice Ghostley, and Kenneth Mars. Based on a novel by Jim Lehrer, anchor of the Public Broadcasting television news show, which he wrote in his early 30s.
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The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus
