''The Road to Fort Alamo'' ( it, La strada per Fort Alamo) is a 1964

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

film directed by Mario Bava.

Cast

* Ken Clark as Bill Mannerly/"Lieutenant John Smith" * Jany Clair as Janet *

Michel Lemoine Michel Lemoine (1922–2013) was a French actor and film director.Senn p.202 Selected filmography Actor * '' After Love'' (1948) * '' Julie de Carneilhan'' (1950) * ''The Treasure of Cantenac'' (1950) * '' The Crossroads'' (1951) * ''Open Letter ...

as Kid Carson * Andreina Paul as Mrs. Collins * Alberto Cevenini (as Kirk Bert) as Slim Kincaid/"Private Jim Kincaid" * Gustavo De Nardo (as Dean Ardow) as Sergeant Warwick * Antonio Gradoli (as Anthony Gradwell) as Captain Hull *

Gérard Herter Gérard Herter, also known as Gerhard Haerter, Gerard Haerther, Gerald Herter, Gerard Herter, and Gerhard Herter (born 12 April 1920 in Stuttgart, died 6 February 2007 in Munich) was a German actor of the 1950s and 1960s who played many villains ...

(''uncredited'') as Mr. Silver

Background and production

''The Road to Fort Alamo'' was produced before the conventions of the

were established with ''

A Fistful of Dollars ''A Fistful of Dollars'' ( it, Per un pugno di dollari, lit=For a Fistful of Dollars titled on-screen as ''Fistful of Dollars'') is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, a ...

''. European Westerns had become popular when Germany's

Rialto Film Rialto Film is a German motion-picture production company headquartered in Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make ...

bought the rights to

Karl May Karl Friedrich May ( , ; 25 February 1842 – 30 March 1912) was a German author. He is best known for his 19th century novels of fictitious travels and adventures, set in the American Old West with Winnetou and Old Shatterhand as main pro ...

's Western novels, and made several films with director Harald Reinl with his '' Winnetou'' series. Some of the films in that series were international co-productions involving Italian funding. As they became more successful in Italy, Italian investors began producing their own Westerns with four produced in 1964: Mario Costa's ''

Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West ''Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West '' (''Buffalo Bill, l'eroe del far west'') is a 1964 Italian Spaghetti Western directed by Mario Costa. Story Buffalo Bill is sent west by President Ulysses S. Grant to settle an Indian uprising started b ...

'',

Sergio Corbucci Sergio Corbucci (; 6 December 1926 – 1 December 1990) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed both very violent Spaghetti Westerns and bloodless Bud Spencer and Terence Hill action comedies. He is the older bro ...

's ''

Minnesota Clay ''Minnesota Clay'' is a 1964 Spaghetti Western directed by Sergio Corbucci. Plot The year is 1883. Clay, a gunfighter with health problems, is interned in Drunner Labor Camp. He's determined to prove his innocence since he was framed by Fox, the ...

'',

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...

's ''A Fistful of Dollars'' and ''The Road to Fort Alamo''. Mario Bava biographer Tim Lucas described ''The Road to Fort Alamo'' as resembling the ''Winnetou'' films, as opposed to the style Leone developed with ''A Fistful of Dollars''. ''The Road to Fort Alamo'' was filmed at Elios Film Studios in Rome and on location between February and March 1964.

, who had a supporting role in the film, spoke about his work on it with Bava, stating that Bava "was an extraordinary director and he needed all of his talent to get through 'The Road to Fort Alamo'' because it was really difficult. The producers had money problems with that picture, and Bava had to fight constantly". Franco Prosperi, who served as one of the film's script writers and Bava's

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...

, expressed distaste towards it, stating that "Mario was useless at making Westerns; he had no talent for it. I disown 'The Road to Fort Alamo''completely; it was kind of a disaster."

Release

''The Road to Fort Alamo'' was distributed by Comptoir Français du Film in France on March 24, 1965. In that country, it was retitled ''Arizona Bill'' in the tradition of the twenty ''Arizona Bill'' films made in France between 1907 and 1913, starring Joe Hamman. In the United States, it was released by World Entertainment Corporation on July 10, 1966.

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Road to Fort Alamo 1964 films 1964 Western (genre) films Italian Western (genre) films 1960s Italian-language films Films directed by Mario Bava French Western (genre) films 1960s Italian films 1960s French films