Viva Max!
| Viva Max! | |
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1969 film poster by Jack Davis
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| Directed by | Jerry Paris |
| Produced by | Mark Carliner |
| Written by |
Elliott Baker Jim Lehrer (novel) |
| Starring |
Peter Ustinov Pamela Tiffin Jonathan Winters John Astin Harry Morgan Keenan Wynn |
| Music by | Hugo Montenegro |
| Cinematography | Henri Persin |
| Edited by |
David Berlatsky Bud Molin |
| Distributed by | Commonwealth United Entertainment |
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Release date
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Running time
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93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Viva Max! is a 1969 comedy film starring Peter Ustinov, Jonathan Winters and John Astin, directed by Jerry Paris. The film was written by Elliott Baker and based on a 1966 novel by Jim Lehrer.
Riding a white horse, Brigadier General Maximilian Rodrigues de Santos of the army of Mexico arrives at a United States border crossing with a small company of soldiers on foot. He claims to be leading his men to Laredo, Texas to march in a parade on George Washington's birthday.
The soldiers' destination is actually San Antonio, where the general intends to carry out a quixotic mission to "re-occupy" the Alamo. None of his men are aware of his plans, but without argument they do whatever they are told by Max's devoted Sergeant Valdez.
Disguising himself in an ill-fitting suit as a tourist, Max goes on ahead and takes a guided tour of the Alamo. In the gift shop, he encounters an attractive young blonde, Paula, who, when she isn't selling postcards, is a radical student activist.
He returns to his men and, after racing through the streets of San Antonio, they seize control of the fort, taking Paula and two other Americans as their prisoners. Max places a call to the local authorities, telling police chief Sylvester that the flag of Mexico now flies above this piece of hallowed Texas ground.
Sylvester doesn't take him seriously at first, but quickly discovers that Max is an actual Army general and that everything else he has claimed is true. The chief goes to the Alamo to meet Max in person, using the passwords "John Wayne" and "Richard Widmark" to gain entry. Max instructs him to contact the Pentagon and report the fort to be back under Mexico's control.
As Max will only negotiate with another general, Sylvester calls on Billy Joe Hallson, a brigadier general of the state's National Guard, whose day job is running a mattress store. Max is unimpressed. A low-level bureaucrat from Washington condescendingly promises that if Max leaves quietly the United States will not take this "invasion" too seriously and mocks Mexico as "not exactly the Soviet Union." To which Max announces he will hold the Alamo for thirteen days in response to the snub.
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Wikipedia