Doomed Fort (1964) Poster

(1964)

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5/10
So-so Paella Western about confrontation between settlers and Indian tribes led by Geronimo
ma-cortes6 September 2017
This thrilling Pasta/tortilla Western packs zooms , thrills , shootouts , go riding , noisy action , chases and Indian attacks . A group of cavalry soldiers arrives in ¨Doomed Fort¨ , an old , puny fort in ruins , they find out it has been attacked by Indians and there are several casualties and , suddenly , appearing a wounded insane man shooting and shouting , he is called Paul Driscoll . Paul (German Cobos) is detained , judged and accused by a martial court presided by a judge (Rufino Inglés) and a public prosecutor (Santiago Rivero) . Then Paul tells his previous existence at the fort by means of flashbacks : As Driscoll arrives in Arizona to take possession lands given by the US government and marries a beautiful Saloon singer (Marta May) . Three days later , Paul sets out in wagon train along with a number of settlers , being protected by a small detachment commanded by an Union Lieutenant (Julio Pérez Tabernero) . Across the way they meet a thirsting and injured Sioux Indian (Ethel Rojo) and subsequently take refuge at a scrawny fort . The Indians led by Geronimo attack the fort commanded by the lieutenant who is mortally wounded and then takes command a Southern Sergeant (Hugo Pimentel) .

This average vintage Chorizo Western packs thrills , horse pursuits , action , brawls , assaults and drags at times , balancing in ups and downs . The plot summary is plain and simple : a caravan is attacked by Apache Indians and then they take shelter at a fort , being besieged by Geronimo . It's a low budget film with fine actors , technicians, decent production values and middling results . This moving Tortilla Western blends decent action scenes , shootouts , stirring Indian charges , colorful as well as evocative cinematography and many other things ; all meld together under Jose Maria Elorrieta's mediocre direction . Although the story has been told before , ordinary filmmaking and nice acting win out , but it results in an acceptable Western adventure flick . It is a combination of overwhelming crossfires and full of villainy , romance , fights and heroism . This is one of the few Chorizo Westerns in which appear Indians , including Apache Chief Geronimo , using Spanish people as extras and stunts . Passable Gazpacho Western with a professional Spanish filmmaker , B-actors , a lot of Spanish secondaries and expert technicians . All in all , this film is predominantly a Spanish film rather than an Italian one . It's a utterly Spanish Western , though by that time to be ordinary Spanish/Italian co-productions in which were clearly dominated by the Italian contingent and the traditional leanings of the Spanish producers of the time have their stamp on the entire proceedings . The Spanish westerns of this era were far more likely to try and emulate their American source material than cultivate a distinctive style of their own the way the Italians were doing but their product , if you like traditional westerns remains watchable . Customary Western that doesn't follows the Sergio Leone wake , but it is proceeded in American models . It's an exciting western with overwhelming shootouts and facing off between cavalry and Indians . Fun acting by German Cobos as a settler who uses all kind of shrewdness in order to destroy his enemy well played by Mariano Vidal Molina as Joffren , a gunrunner who attempts to smuggling weapons , rifles , ammunition , and whiskey to Indians . The film is well starred by German Cobos who played a lot of Paella/Chorizo or Tortilla Western filmed in Spain , such as : ¨Hombre De La Diligencia¨ by Jose Maria Elorrieta¨, ¨Valor De Cobarde¨ by Leon Klimowsky , ¨Wanted¨ by Giorgo Ferroni , and ¨Blood calls to Blood¨ by Luigi Capuano . Producer and director took advantage of the atmospheric exteriors from Seseña , Toledo , Colmenar Viejo and Manzanares Del Real , Aranjuez , Madrid and shooting a hastily assembled passable picture . In the movie appears usual support actors of the sixties such as Aldo Sambrell , Jose Canalejas , Julio Perez Tabernero , Guillermo Méndez , José Sancho , Chris Huerta , Rafael Albaicín , Luis Barboo , Frank Braña , Pastor Serrador , Alfonso De La Vega ; all of them performed a great number of Spaghetti/Paella Western .

This is a good-natured Eastmancolor romp with atmospheric cinematography from Pablo Ripoll , though a perfect remastering being necessary because of the film copy is washed-out ; in addition an evocative musical score by Fernando Garcia Morcillo , including catching songs by José Guardiola . ¨Massacre at Fort Grant" or "Doomed Fort" or "Massacre at Fort Perdition" was middlingly directed by José Maria Elorrieta , a hard-working craftsman who had already filmed other Westerns and adventures . He was a writer and director , especially known for Rosa De Lima (1961), Muchachas En Vacaciones (1958) , and made many other films until his early death at 53 . Spanish writer/filmmaker Jose Maria Elorrieta so consistently mixed the good with the mediocre that it became quite impossible to know what to expect from him next . As Elorrieta had prolific career , working from the 40s to 70s he directed all kind of genres such as Terror : ¨Escalofrío Diabólico¨, ¨La LLamada Del Vampiro¨, ¨El Espectro del Terror¨, ¨Las Amantes Del Diablo¨; Western : ¨Los Siete De Pancho Villa¨, "If You Shoot... You Live!", ¨Hombre De La Diligencia¨ , and adventures as ¨La Muchacha Del Nilo¨, ¨Conquistadores Del Pacifico¨, El Tesoro De Makuba¨, ¨La Esclava Del Paraíso¨ and ¨Hawk of Castile¨. Rating : 5 , mediocre Western movie , entertaining stuff that provides audience amusement . Enjoyable but ordinary production packs enough breathtaking fights , tempestuous romance and exciting situations for a good time . It will appeal to Eurotrash fans and Western movies aficionados .
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