THE BEST OF 2008: MICHEL LEMOINE in LA STRADA PER FORT ALAMO

Directed by "John Old" The bare shoulders of Jany Clair, fetish queen in a glittering mise-en-scene Miles Deem was the Art Director! Gerard Herter [eaten by CALTIKI, THE IMMORTAL MONSTER] gets caught cheating at cards "I have done well..." Michel Lemoine in ROAD TO FORT ALAMO. Thanks to Squonkmatic I just caught up with another of the best DVD's of 2008, Koch Media's R2 disc of Mario Bava's rarely seen first foray into the Spaghetti Western genre, LA STRADA PER FORT ALAMO (1964). Viewed in its 2.35:1 OAR the Totalscope compositions of Ubaldo Terzano and Bava are stunning. Given it's a cardboard western spray painted with phosphorescent liquid plastic, filmed in Italy on absurd, Ulmeresque sets, Art Direction by minimalist Eurowestern auteur Demofilo Fidani!, with a corny theme song by Piero Umiliani! which is beyond my ken, it's something of a wonderment. Then there are the bare shoulders of frequent CFFP queen Jany Clair... And Michel Lemoine, the Demon from Jess Franco's SUCCUBUS, as the psycho-villain... Clair and Lemoine also appeared together in the essential PLANETS AGAINST US (1962). There's a scene in this where Lemoine freaks out and guns down an old lady during a bank robbery. It's the film's wildest moment in terms of unpredictability and Euro-bis energy. Actually there's a similar scene in Fidani's first western, STRANGER MAKE THE SIGN OF THE CROSS (1968), which is kind of a crazier remake of this with BLOOD AND BLACK LACE actor Massimo Righi as the robber freaking out during a wild west bank heist. I should also mention that Eurospy favorite Ken Clark (THE TIFFANY MEMORANDUM) is the lead "Bud Massedy", a nice guy gone bad. You get it. Look for Gerard Herter, the mad archaeologist who got his arm eaten by the titular CALTIKI, IL MOSTRO IMMORTALE, in an uncredited bit as a card shark. Always good to see this impressive actor who got so convincingly devoured by the blob in that 1959 Riccardo Freda-Mario Bava B sci fi memory! You can watch this in original Italian with English subs and there's a featurette with Lamberto Bava wo English language options. Highly recommended for collectors of obscure Spaghetti Westerns/Mario Bava titles. Definitely worth checking out for Lemoine, those shoulders of Jany Clair and the incredibly fake looking settings which seem to shimmer with negative capacity. Co-produced by CFFP: Comptoir Francais du Film Production (Paris)! Remember, this blog remains dedicated to reviewing all the films of Michel Lemoine and all the CFFP/Robert De Nesle productions. [Der Ritt nach Alamo Koch Media (July 11, 2008) (76mins) 2,35:1 anamorphic widescreen, PAL German (some scenes in It. w/ German subtitles), Italian Subtitles: German, English options Featurette with Lamberto Bava, film historian Antonio Tentori-13m Italian trailer, Gallery] (c) Robert Monell 2009