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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. Written by
Alfred Jingle
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HE LEFT HIS MARK ACROSS THE WEST'S THOUSAND TOUGHEST MILES" From the Red River to the Rio Grande he was hunted and feared...a restless giant in a violent land! (original poster)
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Narrator:
On the first day of December, in 1832, a man rode up to a muddy stream called the Red River. When he crossed this river, he was in Texas. He was a man in search of a new life, because his previous one had left him desolated and sick at heart. He was a man of size and strength and he had history in his hands. His name was Sam Houston.
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Connections
Version of
The Conqueror (1917)
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Soundtracks
"The First Texan"
Written by
Paul Sawtell and McElbert Moore
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Joel McCrea was getting pretty long in the tooth when he made this film about Sam Houston's part in the accession of Texas to the Union. There's something slightly disturbing about him romancing the yummy young Felicia Farr a bit like watching your uncle trying to get off with your little sister and he doesn't really have the vigour his part calls for. I'm not sure how true to reality the movie is not very, probably but it manages to make a fairly dull plod of it anyway. The cast features Western heroes such as Crockett and Bowie, but they're very much secondary characters with their deaths and the fall of the Alamo taking place off-screen. It's a fairly old-fashioned movie, even for the mid-1950s, not helped by an obvious lack of money Houston's army of 300 looks more like 30 and director Byron Haskin's unimaginative use of colour.