The Alamo (Dimitri Tiomkin)
(1960)
John Wayne’s first credited directorial role, The Alamo enjoyed a large box office intake upon its release, but due to its production costs it was not considered a particular success. Wayne had originally intended to only direct and produce the film, but his on screen presence was required in order to get funding from the studio, and he therefore took the role of Davy Crockett. Wayne reportedly had to invest personally to provide the funds that the film would require. The massive set of The Alamo alone took two years to construct. Shot over a period of 83 days, the film was released on October 24th, 1960.
To provide the score for the film, Wayne hired the man responsible for the scores to many of the Westerns for which he was known – Dimitri Tiomkin, who would deliver the best score of his illustrious career for the film, and enjoyed particular success with the song “The Green Leaves of Summer” (although Wayne had originally wanted to use Jane Bowers’ “Remember the Alamo”, but was unable to obtain rights). He would also win a Golden Globe for the score, but would lose the Oscar to Ernest Gold’s Exodus. Which score should have won the Oscar that year could be subject to much debate – it was possibly the most competitive year in the history of the category of Best Original Score, with Elmer Bernstein’s The Magnificent Seven, Andre Previn’s Elmer Gantry, and Alex North’s Spartacus also up for the award. My own personal choice would have been Bernstein, but any one of them would have been a deserving winner.
Tiomkin’s score for the film has been in continuous print for many years, but until 2010 it had never been heard in its complete form, when Tadlow Music released a nearly three-hour long album of the complete work, including a vast amount of previously unrecorded material (due to the studio’s cutting of the film from 192 minutes to 162, a large amount of Tiomkin’s finest music for the film was never heard), performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic conducted by Nic Raine. Needless to say, the album is an absolute delight and one of the best releases of the year.
Whilst your average film score might have one or two defining themes, Tiomkin created around eight for The Alamo, which the rest of the score is based around, and all those themes are heard in several wonderful variations. The first two are introduced in the Overture – “The Ballad of the Alamo”, heard through a simple horn rendition. The orchestra then launches into a rousing performance of “Green Leaves of Summer”, a theme that is strikingly similar to Tiomkin’s earlier one for Red River. The Oscar nominated song is later heard with the vocals in the Entr’acte. Tiomkin also makes use of “The Eyes of Texas are Upon You”, which he also extensively used in his earlier score to Giant, and a brief statement of the theme is first heard in “Houston and Travis” as he is told that the future of Texas depends upon him.
Those are, perhaps the three most memorable themes from the score, but they’re certainly not all. The Alamo is a score brimming with numerous wonderful thematic ideas and is one of the finest and most complex motion picture scores ever written. It is my favourite score by Dimitri Tiomkin, and will likely always remain one of my ten favourite scores of all time.
Whilst the previous releases of the score did not really do it justice, this album is one of the best re-recordings I’ve ever heard, and stands alongside the release of Basil Poledouris’ Conan the Barbarian (also from Prometheus / Tadlow) as the best film music album of the year. For anybody who loves western music, the music of Dimitri Tiomkin, or film scores from the Golden Age, this is a dream come true.
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Track Listing
Disc 1
1 – Overture
2 – Main Title
3 – Foreword / Houston’s Arrival / Houston and Travis */ Houston Departs / Bowie’s Hangover *
4 – Bowie’s Men Arrive *
5 – Flag Ceremony */ Meeting in the Mission */ The Seguins */ Adios Juan *
6 – Smitty and the Parson / The Signal */ To The Cantina *
7 – Cantina Music – Here’s To The Ladies *
8 – Cantina Music – “Adelita” and “Pajarillo” *
9 – Plan for the Republic
10 – Emil and Flaca *
11 – Emil’s Demands (aka Cantina Music)
12 – Mr. Tall American *
13 – Emil’s Thugs *
14 – Davy and Jim */ Flaca’s Secrey *
15 – Powder Cache */ Emil Dies */ Someone to Lean On *
16 – Santa Anna’s Troops *
17 – The Letter *
18 – Bowie Blows Up *
19 – Here’s To The Ladies / Flaca Reads The Letter *
20 – Old Buck, Young Doe
21 – Tennesseans
22 – Lancers Arrive at Bejar / Ultimatum / Short Cut to War / Intermission
Disc 2
1 – Entr’acte – The Ballad of the Alamo
2 – The Massing of Troops *
3 – Patrol’s In Trouble */ She’s a Big One *
4 – Over the Wall
5 – You’re Wrong */ Travis’ Plan *
6 – Bowie Stays *
7 – Texas Cattle */ Dragoon Chase *
8 – Untitled (Reel 19) *
9 – Dark Night */ Profound Sympathy *
10 – Flag Raising */ Food Poisoning */ Obvious Course *
11 – The Cattle Raid / The Wait */ Morning Over The Alamo */ Cattle Stampede
12 – The Long Horns *
13 – The He Bull */ Evacuate Non-Combatants */ Exodus */ Three Cheers *
14 – Mexican Bugle Calls */ The First Assault *
15 – The Parson’s Death */ Mexican Wounded *
16 – Bonham Arrives */ Decision to Stay / Close The Gate
17 – Smitty’s Mission */ Untitled (Reel 24) *
18 – The Green Leaves of Summer
19 – I Believe *
Disc 3
1 – The Battle of the Alamo: Marching Field Drums */ Santa Anna’s Mounted Band *
2 – The Charge / Lancer’s Charge / Travis’ Death / North Wall / Death of Crockett and Bowie
3 – Smitty Returns */ Tennessee Babe – Lisa *
4 – Finale – The Ballad of The Alamo *
5 – Exit Music – The Green Leaves of Summer
6 – End Title (Alternative Version) *
7 – The Signal (Original Version) *
8 – Entr’acte – The Ballad of The Alamo (Orchestral Backing Track)
9 – Here’s To The Ladies – Vocal Version (David Shannon) *
10 – The Green Leaves of Summer – Guitar Version *
11 – I Believe – Original Version *
12 – Santa Anna’s Mounted Band – Full Orchestral Version *
13 – Spirit of The Alamo *
14 – Tennessee Babe – Album Version
15 – Finale – The Ballad of The Alamo – Album Version
16 – The Ballad of The Alamo – David Shannon
* Contains previously unrecorded material
Credits
Music Composed by Dimitri Tiomkin
Originally Orchestrated by Herb Taylor, G.A. Emanuel, George Parrish, Maurice DePackh, and Michael Heindorff
Score Reconstructed by Patrick Russ, Paul Henning, and Warren Sherk
Conducted by Nic Raine
Performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra & Crouch End Festival Chorus
Album Produced by James Fitzpatrick
Awards
Academy Award for Best Original Score (nominated)
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score (Winner)
Insert Notes
Contains extensive notes about the film, the score, and the recording.
All images and artwork are Copyright (C) Prometheus Records
