A special kind of Italian genre cocktail with Hildegard Knef
This full-color Totalscope film, known in Austria as "Alarm im Tunnel" and in the English-speaking world as "Road Of The Giants", offers an amazing mix of elements from historical, adventure and Wild West films. It was produced by the Italian companies Galatea and Tiberius and directed by Guido Malatesta, who also gave Brad Harris his first leading role in "Die Irrfahrten des Herkules / The Wanderings of Hercules" (1961).
We are in Italy in 1859. A railway line is to be built through the mountains between the Grand Duchy of Parma and the Kingdom of Piedmont. This difficult construction project is of course also linked to the emergence of the Italian nation-state. Two years later, the King of Sardinia-Piedmont, Victor Emanuele II, would become King of all Italy. But that's only a side issue for now. As Grand Duchess of Parma, the enchanting Maria Luisa di Borbone (Hildegard Knef) pushes the construction project forward against all resistance, including within her own ranks. She finds support in the brilliant civil engineer Clint Farrell (tall and strong: Don Megowan) from America, who the noblewoman naturally also has her eye on. Change of scene: From the wonderful castle park, which would do honor to any historical ham, we go into the rough mountain world, where a tunnel has to be dug for the planned railway and where rough guys gain respect with shooting clubs in true Western style. During the difficult and strenuous work there are repeated failures and acts of sabotage, which is also linked to the breathtakingly beautiful saloon singer Stella von Kruger (Chelo Alonso). The strapping Clint is soon inflamed with the mysterious stunner, which doesn't make the situation any easier. The situation comes to a head when the jealous Grand Duchess discovers that the beautiful Stella is an agent of the Austrian Emperor who wants to thwart the Italians' national unification. Things take their course...
There's a lot on offer in this film: Hildegard Knef could never be seen as radiantly beautiful in color and in widescreen format as in her two Italian films "Die Furchtlosen von Parma / The Fearless of Parma" and "Catherine of Russia" (1963). She wears breathtakingly beautiful clothes and absolutely lives up to her role as a model aristocrat. Definitely worth seeing and hopefully will be seen more prominently again soon, whether on TV or better yet on Blu-Ray!!!
And then she was presented with a breathtaking competitor in the form of the Cuban actress and dancer Chelo Alonso (1933-2019). In 1959, after appearing as a dancer in Paris, Chelo Alonso hit Rome like a (sex) bomb. In the sandal film "Im Zeichen Roms / In the Sign of Rome" (1959) she effortlessly stole the show even from Anita Ekberg. And with muscle man Steve Reeves she formed a convincing dream couple in two films (Il terrore dei barbari / Hercules, the Terror of the Huns (1959), Morgan il pirata / King of the Pirates (1961)) in which sparks clearly flew. And in this film, Chelo Alonso once again delivers a dance that makes you rub your eyes in amazement and marvel at what passed through the censors in 1960 :-) Her enchanting appearance in the washtub also doesn't allow for anything wish left.
The male object of desire that the two ladies are vying for is, as I said, big and strong and is played by the lesser-known American actor Don Megowan (1922-1981), who, alongside the fabulous Mike Henry, also appeared in "Tarzan und die goldene Stadt / Tarzan and the Golden City" (1966). But Don Megowan does a good job and can let his powerful fists dance in a surprisingly long saloon brawl. In general, there are a lot of action scenes in this film that are definitely worth seeing
By the way, the Swiss actor Paul Muller (born in Neuchatel in 1923) is there as State Secretary Count Monza, who has played supporting roles in many Italian films and can also be seen in the DERRICK episode "Lena" (1979).
It's a shame that this interesting film mix has been somewhat forgotten. It is probably this strange mixture of costume film and western that overwhelmed many viewers. Maybe this film should be recommended as an insider tip. Especially (but not only) for the fans of the unforgettable Hildegard Knef (1925-2002)!
