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Storyline

After arriving in Texas to escape a scandal back east, lawyer Sam Houston just wants to hang out his shingle, keep a low profile, and stay out of any political intrigue. However, when President Jackson personally orders him to lead the fight for Texan independence, he overcomes his reluctance to become involved and leads his compatriots to a string of victories over the Mexican army.

Released

1956-06-29
Revenue

n/a
Budget

n/a
Runtime

1hr 22m
Genre

History, Western, War
Status

Released
Language

English
0
Production

Walter Mirisch Productions, Allied Artists

Crew

Byron Haskin

Director

Daniel B. Ullman

Screenplay

Keywords:

independence biography president lawyer texan mexican army

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Cast

Joel McCrea

Sam Houston

Felicia Farr

Katherine Delaney

Jeff Morrow

Jim Bowie

Wallace Ford

Henry Delaney

Abraham Sofaer

Don Carlos - magistrate

Jody McCrea

Lt. Baker

Chubby Johnson

Deaf Smith - army scout

William Hopper

William Barrett Travis

Dayton Lummis

Stephen Austin

Rodolfo Hoyos Jr.

Col. Cos (as Rodolfo Hoyos)

Roy Roberts

Col. Sam Sherman

David Silva

General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana

Frank Puglia

Pepe

James Griffith

Davy Crockett

Nelson Leigh

Col. Hockley

Salvador Baguez

Don Juan Veramendi (uncredited)

Carl Benton Reid

President Andrew Jackson (uncredited)

William Tannen

President Jackson's Aide (uncredited)

Nestor Paiva

Priest (uncredited)

Tom Monroe

Lt. Hargrave (uncredited)

Maurice Jara

Pablo Dominguez (uncredited)

Chris Willow Bird

Vendor (uncredited)

Lane Chandler

Col. James Fannin (uncredited)

Paul Fierro

Lopez (uncredited)

Franklyn Farnum

Delegate (uncredited)

Myron Healey

Capt. Martin (uncredited)

George Bruggeman

Texan (uncredited)

Kermit Maynard

Texan (uncredited)

Al Haskell

Texan (uncredited)

Ted Smile

Texan (uncredited)

John Roy

Soldier (uncredited)

Fred Krone

Soldier (uncredited)

Roydon Clark

Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

Art Felix

Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

Fred Aldrich

Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

Sol Murgi

Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

Fred Rapport

Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

Herman Hack

Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

Charles Soldani

Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

Frank McGrath

Mexican Horseman (uncredited)

William Phipps

Lt. Jack LeBlanc (uncredited)

Cosmo Sardo

Delegate (uncredited)

Videos and Photos

Movie Reviews

Reviews for The First Texan

A Review by John Chard 7

Written by John Chard on 2014-06-08

You are foolish Señor, but not lacking in courage. The First Texan is directed by Byron Haskin and written by Daniel B. Ullman. It stars ... read more

You are foolish Señor, but not lacking in courage. The First Texan is directed by Byron Haskin and written by Daniel B. Ullman. It stars Joel McCrea, Felicia Farr, Jeff Morrow, Wallace Ford and Rodolfo Hoyos. A Technicolor/CinemaScope production, cinematography is by Wilfrid Cline and music by Roy Webb. McCrea plays Sam Houston, who after travelling from Tennessee to San Antonio, Texas, starts to shape Texas history in spite of his initial reluctance. OK! So it's no Sam Houston biography of considerable substance or big bucks production values, I mean how was it ever going to be so when it only runs at just over 82 minutes? Yet this is still a very colourful and engaging picture, with the core essence of the Sam Houston story firmly put forward. We are basically watching what Huston was doing as elsewhere The Alamo was playing its part in historical legend. This means that the narrative is given to mostly talky passages as political machinations and power hungry posturings come to the fore. Thankfully, in McCrea's hands Houston comes off as a fascinating and inspiring man, which in the grand scheme of things is objective achieved. There is, perhaps inevitably, a romantic sub-plot, which explains why the gorgeous Felicia Farr is in the movie, sadly it's not only a token characterisation, but also historically suspect to say the least. But again, take it with a pinch of salt and buy into Houston the man and it never hurts the story. It all builds towards the battle of San Jacinto, where spurred on by famous chants about remembering The Alamo, Houston led his forces to victory over General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican army. Financial restraints mean we don't get the big and bold battle that history deserves, but what is on offer is deftly staged regardless, as stunt-men flail about and cannons do roar. Nothing approaching educational class standards here, but with McCrea a strong and rugged presence, and Haskin rising above budget limitations to tell a literary story, The First Texan is as solid as a San Antonio mission built with limestone that has been cemented by a stucco layer. 7/10