The Road to Fort Alamo/La strada per Forte Alamo (1964)

‘Over there are bewildered horses.’

A drifter who has lost everything in the American Civil War falls in with a band of outlaws. He has a plan to rob a bank, but the gang double-cross him after the successful heist and leave him for dead. Found by an Army patrol still wearing the uniform he used as a disguise in the robbery, he joins their outfit who are escorting officer’s wives through Indian country to Fort Alamo…

Italian Western adventure directed by John Old that follows the familiar story of a disparate group’s dangerous journey through hostile territory. Sergio Leone’s redefinition of the genre ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ (1964) had only hit Italian screens a month earlier, so this film follows the standard American template, both in plot and style, rather than displaying any of the flourishes that came to characterise the Spaghetti Western. Why is it of interest here? Because John Old was none other than the Maestro of Horror himself, Mario Bava.

It’s been a rough few months for farmer Bud Cassidy (Ken Clark). Not only have Yankee troops burnt his farm to the ground and requisitioned is livestock, all he is left with is a worthless promise of reimbursement. A bitter, disillusioned drifter, he has wandered West and fetches up in a one-horse town in the land of the Osage Indians. On the way there, he finds a slaughtered Yankee patrol. The dying Sergeant hands him an important paper ordering a hefty payment to the army from a bank. Later, in town, he helps out young gun Slim Kincaid (Alberto Cevenini) who is being hustled at cards and two flee with the local Sherrif on their heels.

Cevenini introduces Clark to some friends of his, an outlaw gang run by loose cannon, Kid Carson (Michel Lemoine) and Clark realises that the opportunity for the perfect crime has fallen right into his lap. Dressed in the uniforms of the dead patrol, they present the letter at the local bank. All goes well until the violent and unstable Lemoine guns down one of the customers, but the gang escape back to their hideout. Clark advocates an immediate split, but Lemoine disagrees, with the result that Clark and Cevenini are knocked out and left for the Indians. Staked out to die, a genuine army patrol led by blowhard Captain Hollis (Antonio Gradoli) rescue the duo and, believing Clark to be a Lieutenant because of his uniform, they are added to his command.

Gradoli’s mission is to ferry a group of officer’s wives to Fort Alamo, but the way leads through the Osage territory. In a foreshadowing of the kind of military incompetence highlighted by Sergio Leone in ‘The Good, The Bad and the Ugly’ (1968), Gradoli is a ‘by the book’ officer who won’t accept any advice, least of all from Clark, despite his comprehensive knowledge of the enemy. Old hand Sergeant Carter (Gustavo De Nardo) immediately suspects that Clark is an imposter, but lets it go because he realises that the outlaw is a much better option when it comes to the troop surviving the journey. Of the ladies, Clark finds himself drawn to outcast firebrand Janet (Jenny Clair) who is being taken to the Fort for trial after killing an officer. The fact that he was attempting to rape her at the time is apparently not likely to be a factor in the upcoming judgement. Then they come across the stolen money, courtesy of the slaughtered outlaws, survivor Lemoine turns up looking for it, and the Indians start to close in…

Although it might be surprising to encounter the Maestro of Horror behind the megaphone for such a project, the fact is that his films were never successful enough in his own country to allow him artistic autonomy. For much of his career, he was a ‘gun for hire’ and returned to the Western twice more over the next few years. Given his expertise with Visual Effects, mood and lighting, opportunities to showcase his skills were obviously limited here and yet there are some signs of his genius. The opening conflict in the cheap saloon is shot and cut with impressive rhythm and invention, and the later scenes of the army camp at night are exquisitely lit and photographed. Yes, they are fairly obviously filmed in a studio, but there’s a depth and quality to the image that resonates far more than the way contemporary American films would have presented such material.

Those looking for echoes of Sergio Leone’s work are likely to be disappointed. The locations are far too lush and green to bear comparison with the now-familiar desert-scapes of the Spaghetti Western, or even Hollywood backdrops such as Monument Valley and the somewhat less spectacular Californian foothills. There is a similarity in the notion of an anti-hero as the main protagonist, though, and the depiction of the town where most of the early action takes place is pleasingly run-down, underpopulated and dirty. However, that was likely down to budgetary limitations.

In terms of the story and performances, it’s generally unremarkable. The principal cast members aren’t given a lot to work with, but Clark does make for a stoic lead, and his interactions with Clair and De Nardo are appealing. Lemoine also provides good value as the slightly unhinged villain, and the action is lean and well-paced, even if the fight choreography leaves a little to be desired at times. The low-budget does show through on occasion, though it’s to Bava’s credit that the audience may only notice how few wagons and combatants there are toward the finale and not before.

Clark began his career on American television in the 1950s and even played supporting roles in a couple of major studio pictures, ‘South Pacific’ (1958) and ‘The Shaggy Dog’ (1959). However, his only leads were in micro-budgeted affairs such as Roger Corman’s ‘Attack of the Giant Leeches’ (1959), and dire science-fiction bore ’12 To The Moon’ (1960). Relocating to Italy, his impressive physique and handsome features brought him success in Peplum such as ‘The Defeat of the Barbarians’ (1962) before he transitioned to playing secret agents in several Eurospys as the fad for muscleman movies waned. In between, he worked with Bava again on the Maestro’s second Western ‘Savage Gringo’ (1966). He acted only sporadically after the 1960s and remained in Italy, although he did take a couple of small bit parts on US TV in the 1990s before his death in 2009.

Frenchman Lemoine acted in various Italian and French productions from the late 1940s but only came to prominence in the lead of ‘The Planets Against Us/I pianeti contro di noi’ (1962). Major supporting roles in early Gialli such as ‘Death On The Fourposter/Delitto allo Specchio’ (1964) and ‘Run Psycho Run’ (1968) followed, as well as Eurospys ‘Agent 3S3, Massacre in the Sun (1966) and ‘Mission spéciale à Caracas’ (1965). He also had a role in Jess Franco’s controversial ‘Succubus’ (1968). If all this seems a little underwhelming, Lemoine was more interested in working behind the camera, delivering the censor-baiting ‘Marianne Bouquet’ (1972) which he wrote and directed as well as taking the male lead. Indeed, later project ‘Seven Women for Satan’ (1976) was banned in his homeland outright, and he later transitioned into the adult film industry.

Clair does not have extensive credits but also appeared with Lemoine in ‘The Prisoner In The Iron Mask’ (1961), ‘The Planets Against Us/I pianeti contro di noi’ (1962), historical drama ‘Arms of the Avenger’ (1963), and ‘Hercules Against Moloch/Ercole contro Moloch’ (1963). Without him, she appeared as the female lead in two Eurospys featuring secret agent Francis Coplan: ‘FX18/Agent Secret FX 18’ (1964) where Clark played the title role, and ‘Coplan FX 18 casse tout’ (1965) opposite Richard Wyler. She was also memorable as the sexy evil Queen in ‘Hercules Against The Moon Men/Maciste e la Regina di Samar’ (1964) opposite Sergio Ciani, billed as Alan Steel. Although, it’s worth noting that he was actually playing strongman Maciste, not Hercules.

This is not an excellent picture by any means, and it lacks the impact made by Sergio Leone’s work of the same period, but it is still an efficient, pacy Western with a real mark of quality in certain areas.