User reviews

"La strada per Fort Alamo" was shot in Italy, not in Spain like most Italian westerns. Director "John Old" alias Mario Bava was obviously influenced by the John Ford classics such as "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon", all just in a much cheaper B-movie style; it has almost nothing in common with the typical "Django pays for your funeral" kind of western. This movie has a good script with good dialogs; it's about a bandit who has to pose as an army officer after he got caught wearing a stolen uniform. When Indians attack, he gets opportunity to show he is a brave good guy. One word to the disappointed Bava fans: surely the master had to earn a living, too, and this is what he did for it. You don't shoot masterpieces like "Danger: Diabolik" or "Mask of Satan" every week. More important than such comparisons is that "La strada per Fort Alamo" is a good quality western in a traditional way, and if you don't expect more than that, it's well worth watching.

Here Mario Bava , Master of the Macabre goes west in this exciting story dealing with Bill Mannerly : Ken Clark , who comes across a dying Northern Soldier who gives him a document authorizing the payment a large sum of money .The drifter joins some pals and all of them posing as soldiers to take the money at a bank . After that , they join up with US cavalry sent to pacify Indian tribes . Along the way he falls in love for a gorgeous prisoner called Janet : Jany Clair imprisoned in a wagon. Then, there takes places a series of incidents , including Indian attacks , fights , duels , assaults and anything else .The Adventure ...the violence ...of the savage West ¡

This is an ordinary Western about a simple and plain plot in which has great importance the regular confrontation between Cavalry and Indians . This good-natured Pasta Western contains thrills , romance , shootouts , crosses and double-crosses and action enough. It results to be quite entertaining but middling . Stars Ken Clark as an ambitious lone rider falling in love for beautiful Jany Clair and thanks to her he finds redemption, both of whom also starred Agent Secret FX 18 (1964) . Ken Clark was one of many American hunk men as Steve Reeves , Gordon Scott , Reg Park, Mark Forest , Reg Lewis, Dan Vadis , Rock Stevens , Lou Ferrigno, emigrated to Italy to play a Sword and Sandals or Peplum movies , though none of them topped in popularity to Steve Reeves . As Ken Clark getting a certain success in Peplum , and Euro-spy genre . Here Ken Clark is accompanied by a functional support cast , but none of them are known Western secondaries , exception for Gerard Herter who starred some classic Spaghetti Western . I miss the familiar faces regular in Spaghetti/Chorizo sub-genre . In "Road to Fort Alamo" stands out the splendid photography by Ubaldo Terzano and Mario Bava himself , full of brilliant blue and yellow colors, being shot in Elios studios , and exteriors from Lazio , Rome . As well as atmospheric musical score in Spaghetti style by Piero Umiliani.

The picture was regular but professionally directed by Mario Bava. He was the main creator of Italian Giallo genre , Bava (Blood and Black Lace, House of Exorcism, Black Sabbath) along with Riccardo Freda (Secret of Dr Hitchcock) and subsequently Dario Argento (Suspiria, Tenebre , Phenomena) are the fundamental representatives .In fact , Bava and Freda had a long collaboration , as Bava finished two Riccardo's films : Il Vampiri and Caltiki . These Giallo movies are featured by overblown use of color in shining red blood, usual zooms, and regular images-shock. Bava made all kinds of genres , such as Scifi : "Planet of vampires" , Peplum : "Hercules in the Center of Earth" , "Battle of Marathon", Historical : "Erik the Conqueror", "Viking massacre"and Spaghetti Western : "Roy Colt and Winchester Jack", "Ringo From Nebraska" codirected by Antonio Roman and this "Road to Fort Alamo". The movie will appeal to Mario Bava enthusiasts and completists.

I've only seen each of the 3 Bava spaghetti westerns once (neither among his best work or his preferred genre), but I disagree with many people who considered Nebraska Jim to be a better film. Strictly from an entertainment sense, Arizone Bill (La Strada per Fort Alamo) held my interest noticeably better (though admittedly the copy of Nebraska Jim that I saw had severely distraction issues with audio). While Nebraska Jim seemed like a mostly cookie cutter extended western TV show episode you'd expect to see on American TV, Arizona Bill was more like a 2nd rate Good Bad and Ugly wannabe with its stolen civil war funds plot line and a group of criminals that ranges from a couple of more 'decent' people who are criminals to outright despicable violent ones. It was just slightly different enough to make it more interesting to me and it felt more like a Bava film. Maybe if I rewatch these films a few more times I'll notice things I've overlooked which will explain others' preferences, but I'm a bit skeptical that that will happen.

It's not the greatest or most original film, but it kept me entertained and my biggest complaint is with regards to the 'romantic' subplot and its cheesy accompanying music (at least on the copy I saw, I'm not sure if it was or wasn't the original music used). Bava isn't always at his best when trying to provide romance/love interests to his films. Black Sunday (La Maschera del demonio) is IMHO the quintessential Italian Gothic horror film and a favorite of mine, but even his admirers have to admit that in that great film, the 'undying love' of the young Dr. Gorobec for Katia -- whom he has just met one day previous -- is a bit silly and one-dimensional and at times almost laughably overly melodramatic. I took off one point for the botched romance portions of Arizona Bill, though I did like it overall more than Nebraska which ended up with the same 5/10 score from me.

The copy of the film I saw was an English language widescreen version from an old somewhat glitchy videotape source with a runtime closer to the USA or German cuts. I'm not sure what was excised from the original 90 minute cut listed on IMDb and maybe when TL's big Bava book comes out it will tell us what is or isn't missing from the cut I saw, but I hope one of the cult DVD companies (like Image, Anchor Bay or Blue Underground) pick up both this title and "Nebraska Jim" sometime in the near future to provide Bava's fans with a good legitimate uncut DVD release with the best transfer possible considering whatever film elements exist. I'm sure the underrated director's fans would welcome quality releases of all his films, even the lesser known and hard to find ones where Mario took over directorial duties from a previous director leaving a project.

Italian movie director Mario Bava is best known for his horror movies. But during his career he found time to direct other kinds of movies, including spaghetti westerns, "The Road To Fort Bravo" being one such example. The movie is pretty unknown, and it's easy to see why. Throughout it has the feeling of a slapdash production. The budget was obviously pretty low, so the production values are pretty tacky, from the costumes to the poor special effects. Bava seems unable to show any visual flair on this project, except for a few scenes that take place in caves. But the main problem with the movie is the script. It feels like a first draft, with many scenes feeling rushed or unfinished. This quickie enterprise is capped with a pretty bad musical score by Piero Umiliani, which consists of 60s style music at its worst. The best that can be said of the movie is that its running time is fairly short.

Director Mario Bava usually has a visual flair which helps elevate his movies above their "Grade B" genres. He doesn't seem to have his heart in this project, however. It plays out in a routine fashion and about the only scene which might linger in the memory has the Indians putting dollar bills adrift in a river in order to lure cavalry soldiers out into the open. Ken Curtis, who always deserved better, makes an attractive hero but the script gives him little to work with.

How could so many Indians with so many rifles and bows, and so much time to stage their ambush fire so many bullets and arrows at so few soldiers with so little cover over so long a ride through their gauntlet and fail to hit ANYONE???

If that sort of plotting doesn't bother you, enjoy the movie as much as I wish I could have.

I think the thing that impressed me the most about Mario Bava's first spaghetti western outing here is how utterly pedestrian most of the proceedings were. Another distinguished commentator here has it right: This is the Italo western boys before the spaghetti idiom was truly established dressing up in their snappy cavalry duds & playing cowboys and Indians just like we used to do out at the sandlot near my cousin's summer house, only we didn't have such nice costumes.

Ken Clark is a decent enough he-man leading heroic noble Shatterhand type, apparently roaming the west looking for trouble to straighten out. He finds it when a young novice finds himself taken by a card shark (the priceless Gerard Herter, Max from CALTIKI) and the two have to fight their way out of town & take up with a band of rogues who are targeting a bank to knock over. For reasons that escape me they find themselves mistaken for cavalry officers and join up with a U.S. Army element sent to the region to pacify the local Indian tribes so that the nice Caucasian people can build towns, railroads, brothels, and prosper without having to take the local Natives into consideration.

It's pretty much the usual stuff for a low budget early 1960s western and indeed the story is decidedly lacking on the traditional spaghetti western histrionics, which many fans may be disappointed by. I however got a kick out of seeing Mario Bava constrained to a pretty straight forward story, complete with a heroic ride to the rescue at the end with the bugles & everything. If it sounds like a let down, students of Bava's unique visual style will actually be pleased with a series of nighttime scenes obviously filmed on a sound stage with that traditional Bava artsy minimalism emphasizing color and texture over rugged authenticity. This was made in the period before Sergios Leone and Corbucci more or less invented the spaghetti aesthetic, qualifying it more as a Euro western than a proper spaghetti outing. The film is also somewhat unique in that like Joe Lacey's FURY OF THE APACHES it actually involves the Native American peoples -- albeit somewhat clumsily and in a stereotypical fashion -- rather than swarthy Pistoleros shooting at Clint Eastwood's mule.

I found it to be a fascinating movie perfect for a snowed in Saturday afternoon, though some may question how convinced Bava was of his own artistic vision for the movie. It's more sort of a compromise between his KILL BABY KILL cinematics and traditionalist Oater mentalities, with some truly stunning shots framed when seen in the proper widescreen ratio. The one thing I kept thinking is that here is a surprisingly ordinary low budget western that's been photographed like a Gothic study in spots, and the rather bloodless nature of the goings on mean that it's a rare example of an Italo western that was meant for all ages rather than a grim cartoon for adults. I kind of like it, and found it a much more rewarding viewing experience than Bava's 1970 final spaghetti ROY COLT & WINCHESTER JACK, though fans of the genre will probably prefer his NEBRASKA JIM.

6/10

First of all I am a fan of Italian films but "the road to Fort Alamo" is one of the worst Italian western that I've seen. It was shot without means. The interiors have a fictitious background with a blue light and fictitious cactus so as to simulate the desolate and barren moorlands of Texas or Arizona, but any clever viewers can note that the real vegetation is made of oak (Q. pubescens) and other plants typical of European climate. Some shots (cowboys that are riding) are accelerated, Bud, the leading actor, cannot ride, therefore he was always replaced by a double. The Indians are awkward, always shot at a distance. I admit the shots are the only thing which make this movie credible, but the others contemporary films like "le pistole non discutono", "preparati la bara" are masterpieces compared with this one.

I give it 4 out of 10.

This is my second time watching the first of Bava's infrequent (and most atypical) ventures into Western territory. Coming at the start of the genre's idiosyncratic "Euro" (and, in the long run, highly influential) overhaul, it obviously feels the least like your typical "Spaghetti" Western – even if, truth be told, MINNESOTA CLAY from the same year (on which Bava is reputed to have worked but which is credited to one of the formula's undisputed masters i.e. Sergio Corbucci) is more successful in this regard!

Anyway, the movie under review is considered among Bava's minor efforts – and rightly so; yet, it is nowhere near as bad as some make it out to be and, to my mind, preferable to his comedy-oriented last entry in the field, namely ROY COLT AND WINCHESTER JACK (1970; with which, as it happens, I will be re-acquainting myself presently). As I said, the film mainly looks to the American model – albeit following its more routine examples – for inspiration, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Interestingly, Bava starts off proceedings with an inconsequential 'prologue' (featuring favourite "Euro-Cult" villain Gerard Herter) involving a crooked card game and an amusingly sleepy bartender. Rugged (and immensely hirsute) hero Ken Clark – who would return for the recently rewatched SAVAGE GRINGO (1966), which Bava helmed albeit without credit – is a Southern landowner who lost everything to a Northern onslaught during the Civil War, and whom he now plans to get back at by posing as a Union officer and 'withdraw' a cache of money from the bank destined to the enemy forces! Unluckily for him, the associates he picks up for the job – led by another familiar face, Michel Lemoine – prove greedy and leave him and his closest ally for dead…or, more precisely, at the mercy of the marauding Osage Indians!

Eventually, the two men are saved by a Southern Army wagon train bound for the titular outpost so that they are forced to keep up the military disguise; ironically, they are soon joined by Lemoine himself, the sole survivor of the renegade gang who also had a brush with the redskins but is still in possession of half the stolen sum. Clark, whose uniform bears the higher rank, now delights in rubbing his treacherous ex-partner the wrong way – but, in fact, neither has given up on the loot and each intends making off separately with it at some point. However, the Osage come down en masse on the small unit (which includes a by-the-book Colonel, a wily Second-in-Command soon in on Clark's ruse but willing to keep it to himself, the priggish wife of the Colonel at the fort and even a female prisoner – earthy redhead Jany Clair naturally comes to fall for the brawny charms of, and senses a misfit kinship with, our protagonist – being escorted there for trial) and they have to stay on and fight it out! A nice touch has the Indians make flower arrangements via the 'confiscated' paper money (which to them is useless) and send them floating down river in order to lure avaricious soldiers out into the open and slay them; this idea then comes into play again at the inevitable showdown between Clark and Lemoine.

While Bava was clearly ill-at-ease within this particular genre (unflatteringly billed in this instance as John Old), here at least he incorporates his recognizable colour palette to effective use; Carlo Savina's score, then, includes the token ballad warbled over the opening credits and, surprisingly, cues which bear an uncanny resemblance to those composed for the soundtrack of the 1957 Mexi-Horror classic THE VAMPIRE!

A lone rider comes across a dying soldier, the victim of an Indian attack, who gives him a paper authorizing the payment of $150,000 to the U. S. Army. The rider gathers some colleagues who disguise themselves as soldiers and who take the paper to a bank. They get the money but a shoot-out occurs, an old woman is killed, and the gang acrimoniously splits up. Later some members of the gang meet up with some real U. S. Cavalry soldiers.

Ken Clark stars in this Spaghetti Cavalry western which has more in common with the American western. Clark's character goes through some transformation during the course of betrayal, double crosses and romance. It's a serviceable western, well shot with some decent action and drama, but it can also plod and meander. Dull moments do appear, but the characters and action keeps things going.

The Road to Fort Alamo (1964)

** (out of 4)

Solo rider Bud Massadey (Ken Clark) comes across a Calvary massacre. A dying man gives him a paper payment of $150,000 that is to be paid to the U.S. Army. Bud teams up with a gang to get the money but he's double crossed by a card cheat. Soon Bud and his partner are rescued by another Calvary and sure enough he eventually catches up with the cheat.

Mario Bava's THE ROAD TO FORT ALAMO is a pretty bland and boring Spaghetti Western that really doesn't have too much going for it. The Italian director was hitting a very high mark during this point of his career and it's easy to call this the least entertaining movie he made during this period. It's really too bad that this movie seems to have been a "director-for-hire" project as there's just not too much life here.

Technically speaking, the film is certainly well-made and it appears that Bava got the job done. That job was getting the film completed without it going over budget. The film was obviously shot with a shoe-string budget and the director at least manages to make it look very professional. I thought the costumes were terrific and Bava at least managed to make the atmosphere seem as if you were back in this era.

With that said, the story itself was just rather boring and none of the characters were all that interesting either. Heck, I'd go even further and say that the entire film was just rather bland to the point where you didn't care about anything that was going on. The performances were okay for the most part but none of them really jumped off the screen to grab your attention.