VIVA MAX! (1969) ** Splendid-no less than splendid-Mexican general Peter Ustinov's leadership qualities are (offscreen) mocked by the town hooker, and so he quite naturally undertakes the re-taking of The Alamo. Now this has a special personal meaning to me, given that I was entirely underwhelmed by that edifice (no offense to the brave men who so heroically defended it--I understand that the big deal is really the spirit of the thing). And that's the kind of stuff that the movie trades on: Sheriff Harry Morgan's horror at the sight of the Mexican flag, Alice Ghostley's (Esmerelda in Bewitched!) conspiracy theory that the Mexicans are really "Red Chinese," Keenan Wynn's ineffectual military madness...it's all good fun, and the punches are such that you probably won't be offended even if you're a conspiritorial law enforcement official with military-envy. John Astin's best of all as the spirit and embodiment of a certain variation on the perfect soldier...a matador moustache, an ironic smile and particularly mobile eyebrows probably aren't even on the recruiting officer checklist, but after this they should be.
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