All unfinished scenes were completed when the company relocated to Rome, Italy. Most of the key scenes needed that could not be completed in Rome were those showing the backdrop of the Alamo, filmed by second-unit crews in the street. The scenes in front of the Alamo and were shot early Sunday mornings, unbeknownst to local authorities. Several locals walking the streets early that morning were startled by police cars, National Guardsmen and soldiers rushing the Alamo across the Cenotaph Memorial.
Due to protests from locals when they found out about the film's plot--the Mexican army recapturing the Alamo--production was halted, although some major scenes had already been shot inside the Alamo. These keys scenes were The Tour, The Climbing of the Barrack Wall, and the Sacristy. The company was only allowed to film scenes up to the front gate after production was halted. The scene where John Astin replaced the flag was filmed on a Hollywood business street. The scene in CBS Television's city back lot was also used in The Omega Man.
Refers to the John Wayne film The Alamo by showing a painting of Wayne as Davy Crockett defending the Alamo. Normally there is a disclaimer that states "all characters depicted in this motion picture are fictitious," etc. In this film, the disclaimer reads "all characters depicted in this motion picture except John Wayne are fictitious..."
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.
The Rome (Italy) location was chosen because Pamela Tiffin had already signed a movie deal for numerous films with an Italian production company once she had completed this film. Since production had been halted due to local protests about the film's plot, the only way to complete scenes requiring Tiffin's presence was to shoot them in Rome, where she would be shooting her other films. In addition, Jonathan Winters also had upcoming commitments with The Dean Martin Comedy Hour.
Written by well-known American news anchor Jim Lehrer.