“Green Leaves of Summer” was the theme for the film portrayal of the famous Mexican-Texian battle in The Alamo.

The Alamo is a 1960 American historical epic released by United Artists. The film was directed by John Wayne, who also starred as Davy Crockett. The cast also includes Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie and Laurence Harvey as William B. Travis, with Frankie Avalon, Chill Wills, Patrick Wayne, Linda Cristal, Joseph Calleia, Ruben Padilla, Richard Boone, Ken Curtis, Hank Worden, and Denver Pyle. It was photographed in 70 mm Todd-AO by William H. Clothier. The subject is the 1836 Battle of the Alamo. By 1945 John Wayne had decided to make a movie about the 1836 Battle of the Alamo. He hired James Edward Grant as scriptwriter, and the two began researching the battle and preparing a draft script. They hired Pat Ford, son of John Ford, as a research assistant. As the script neared completion, however, Wayne and the president of Republic Pictures, Herbert Yates, clashed over the proposed $3 million budget. Wayne left Republic over the feud but was unable to take his script with him. That script was later rewritten and made into the movie The Last Command.

The score (featuring the song “The Green Leaves of Summer”) was composed by Dimitri Tiomkin (with song lyrics by Paul Francis Webster), and has been released numerous times, including a version of The Green Leaves of Summer by The Brothers Four. The original soundtrack album has been issued on Columbia Records, Varèse Sarabande, and Ryko Records. In 2010, a complete score containing newly recorded versions of Tiomkin’s music was issued on Tadlow Music/Prometheus Records, as conducted by Nic Raine and played by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. This new release contains previously unreleased material. Another known song from this film is Ballad of the Alamo which was covered by Marty Robbins and Frankie Avalon.

By Brothers Four

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rlE6CQwKMw

Lyrics