Ernest Borgnine’s passing brought to mind The Last Command (1955) — Republic’s version of the Alamo story, made after John Wayne left the studio. (Yates strung Wayne along for a while, then turned the project down as too expensive. Once his contract expired, Wayne never worked for Republic again — and made his own The Alamo in 1960.)
Above, Sterling Hayden and Borgnine on the set.
Ernest Borgnine (from his book Ernie): “Sterling Hayden was a great Jim Bowie… I died with a bayonet stuck in me, in a pool of my own blood. It was a pretty dramatic death — but they cut it out because the picture was too long.”
Next, a model of the mission set.
Cast and crew working on that set.
Richard Carlson outside the mission in costume (as Col. Travis) and sunglasses.
Interested to see this film, if only for the Hayden – comparing it to Wayne’s THE ALAMO, I’ve never been able to shake the feeling that both Wayne and Widmark don’t really fit their roles… but I’m never able to suggest anyone else who really would fit the bill. Thinking about it, Hayden kind of does.