Viva Max (1969)

When his girlfriend tells him that his men wouldn't follow him to a house of ill repute, Max, a general in the Mexican army decides to perform some great act of heroism. He takes his men ... See full summary »

Director:

Jerry Paris

Writers:

Jim Lehrer (novel), Elliott Baker (screenplay)

Stars:

Peter Ustinov, Pamela Tiffin, Jonathan Winters

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Ustinov	...	General Maximilian Rodrigues De Santos
Pamela Tiffin	...	Paula Whitland
Jonathan Winters	...	General Billy Joe Hallson
John Astin	...	Sergeant Valdez
Keenan Wynn	...	General Lacomber
Harry Morgan	...	Chief of Police Sylvester
Alice Ghostley	...	Hattie
Kenneth Mars	...	Dr. Sam Gillison
Ann Morgan Guilbert	...	Edna Miller
Bill McCutcheon	...	Desmond Miller
Gino Conforti	...	Contreras
Christopher Ross	...	Gomez
Larry Hankin	...	Romero
Paul Sand	...	Moreno
Don Diamond	...	Hernandez

Storyline

When his girlfriend tells him that his men wouldn't follow him to a house of ill repute, Max, a general in the Mexican army decides to perform some great act of heroism. He takes his men over the border into Texas and re-captures the Alamo. This upsets the Texans greatly. The Texas National Guard is sent to retake the mission. Normally this would be easy as Max's men have left all of their ammunition back in Mexico, but the State department insists that no one be killed and so the National Guard also goes in with unloaded weapons.

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Plot Keywords:

national guard | texas | mexican army | alamo | texan | 

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Taglines:

Some heroes are born...some are made...some are mistakes

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Viva Max!

Filming Locations:

Alamo Village - Highway 674, Brackettville, Texas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Commonwealth United Entertainment, Landau / Unger

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Alamo gates were filmed very quickly - one or two takes at most. However, the March through San Antonio was organized and roads were blocked off two blocks away once filming began. The actual scene that stopped filming was when a single shot rang out in the Alamo during the ending sequence of the film. This angered some locals, who claimed that the site is a shrine and that no gunfire had been fired there since the original battle.

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Quotes

Mexican Soldier: Halt, who goes there, please?
[to General Hallson on the other side of the door]
General Billy Joe Hallson: John Wayne!
Mexican Soldier: [opens door] Richard Widmark!

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Crazy Credits

"All persons mentioned in this story are completely fictitious except for: Davy Crockett Col. William B. Travis James Bowie John Wayne and Richard Widmark" is the first credit to appear.

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Connections

Referenced in American Sexual Revolution (1971)

User Reviews

Incredibly realistic for a 1969 movie!

What a hoot! Wa-a-a-ay too subtle a depiction of Texas characters for a Scotsman to understand.

Then there's the action: Border crossing? - If only it were this stringent... San Antonio - yep. Mexican Army - Yeah: been there, seen them. State Department characters - figures (in fact, it's rather flattering to our "diplomats".)

Other images: El General riding his horse, while the soldados walk; the "army" riding the bus into San Antonio - PERFECT. John Astin as El Sargente - que bueno!

Then there are the main characters: Peter Ustinov - perfect for the role. Pamela Tiffin - The Baylor coed - exactly as shown.

Thumbs up for Viva Max from a life-long Texan.