SPFX DEPT.

Dan Vadis as Hercules in HERCULES THE INVINCIBLE (1964) 

Well, Dan Vadis can be considered a special effect to some, no, the effects is the one that's featured in the banner above with Vadis. It's a rocky drawbridge during the climax of the movie. The effects, made with practical models, is very seamless with the full size set. I really like it. There's more to it, including a river of lava and people running across the bridge. Effects work credited to Eros Bacciucchi.

Academic PEPLUM books

One of the most bizarre aspects of the PEPLUM genre is the prevalence of Academic books. Who actually reads them? I'm not talking about compendium books or books that list movies and reviews them. I'm talking about books who quote Immanuel Kant while talking about Steve Reeves. I'll have more on this subject in the upcoming issue of BY THE GODS!

 

99 pages are available and free to read online so I tried reading part of it. The authors describe Steve Reeves and his faux strength. Dude benchpressed more that the two authors lifted in their entire lives. David Chapman has written more books on the PEPLUM genre than any author and yet he hates PEPLUM movies. He needs to find a different subject. 

😂

I have this book. It lists movies but there are no reviews. The author does write about the PEPLUM genre at the start. It's filled with errors. This book cost me $100 bucks. I like the format though.

 

The author of this book clearly had no prior idea who Maciste was before embarking into writing this confusing book. The acknowledgement section is absurdly long.
 

 

I didn't buy this book because it's extremely expensive but reading the reviews, well, I don't want to buy it. Who reads this stuff?

You can read reviews of books at the permanent blog page. 

Musings!

Lang Jeffries and Rhonda Fleming during the rousing ending in REVOLT OF THE SLAVES (1960)

There's a lot of back story to the making of this film, a lot of it not very positive. Lang was a TV star and Rhonda was a movie star. The two married in 1960 in Vegas, just prior to making the movie. They traveled to Rome and Lang sought the lead male role when he saw that no one was cast yet. Lang was Rhonda's third husband. The two divorced 2 years later. This was Lang's first movie role. It's always difficult for me to watch a movie with the leads are married in real life. I love REVOLT OF THE SLAVES but their on-screen relationship is awkward. Probably the film's biggest liability. There's literally no chemistry between the two even if they were in their honeymoon phase (red flag!). 

I like Rhonda. She had great screen presence. Lang had a solid masculine presence but his acting was limited. 

To make matters worse, the director, Nunzio Malasomma, refused to talk directly to both actors during production which is highly unusual. Because of this, Lang claimed he directed their scenes. Nunzio probably had someone else in mind for the two lead roles. The movie was shot in Spain. I'm not sure if the interior scenes were also shot in Spain. Looks more like Italy. The sets are beautiful. 

Lang eventually retired from acting and went into real estate. Rhonda would marry three more times. Rhonda's film career was pretty much over after this movie, with TV roles in WAGON TRAIN, which I recently saw (it was sad...). Unlike many PEPLUM movies, UNITED ARTISTS retain distribution rights across many countries, not just the US which is usually the case. IMDb claims the movie cost next to nothing but the movie has big, detailed sets and huge crowd scenes, which aren't cheap. Many have dismissed it as being an uninspired remake of FABIOLA (1949). I disagree totally. For example, the catacombs scene is excellent and there's no scene like that in FABIOLA.

Even with all of the negative stuff, I really like this movie. It's very entertaining.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

French poster of MACISTE AGAINST HERCULES IN THE VALE OF WOE (1961)

A comedy, obviously. The identity of the actor playing Hercules in this movie is/was a mystery of sorts. 

Image of the week!

Sinuhe (Edmund Purdom) sets eyes on Nefer (Bella Darvi) for the first time in THE EGYPTIAN (1954)

MUSCLES Inc.

Steve Reeves and Jane Powell on the cover of THE REG PARK JOURNAL with a behind the scenes photo from the ATHENA (1954) movie. This is the cover of the article I posted last week.

Musings!

Guy Williams, as Damon, is to be killed in DAMON AND PYTHIAS (1962) 

A pretty solid PEPLUM movies which I believe is probably one of the most viewed PEPLUM films because of its accessibility to the general public (kids and adults alike). The production is pretty good: cast, sets, even matte paintings. It does have a kids movie feel to it (the ending is a bit too nice...) but there's too much adult stuff (slow drama) in it to be considered a true kids movie. The movie somehow fell into public domain territory but even so Warner Archive released a great DVD of this. Also known as TYRANT OF SYRACUSE in many countries. An Italian - American co-production. The score by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino is very familiar. A silent movie version of the famous story is also worth checking out.

Behind-the-Scenes

Part of the cast on the set of ANDROCLES AND THE LION (1952), including Jean Simmons, Robert Newton and Alan Young.

Clip of the week: SINBAD OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1989)

A beefy Sinbad (Lou Ferrigno). A slimy monster. A damsel in distress. Lasers. What more can you ask for?

Blog's 15th anniversary: Location: Appian Way (Via Appia)

In celebration of the blog's 15th anniversary, I'll be re-posting old posts. Here's the link to the original post.

Here's a post on the popular location seen in many PEPLUM movie: The Appian Way

The Appian Way is ancient road which date as far back as 312 BC. This historical and picturesque road was used in many PEPLUM films, including QUO VADIS (1951) which actually starts with a voice-over saying "This is the Appian way" as we see a Roman army marching towards Rome. I'd love to go there one day.

Robert Taylor from QUO VADIS riding his chariot on the Appian way.

HD Alert!

Gianna Maria Canale in SLAVES OF CARTHAGE (1956)

I recently posted a clip from this movie with Gianna Maria Canale in a Roman litter. The clip was taken from a nice regular Italian print. But I do have an HD print and I listed it at the blog's list of PEPLUM movies in HD but I made a mistake (I have so many copies of it...). I initially wrote it was from an Italian streaming service when in actuality the only HD print is from a Spanish streaming service. I corrected the information. The print itself is nice but it's not a new print. It looks like a second generation print. This pre-HERCULES (1958) movie was released in English back then but now the English version is MIA. Also known as THE SWORD AND THE CROSS.

GOOGLE AI

I didn't expect to write this post today but after Paul sent me this info, I felt the need to mention why Google Ai can't be trusted.

Regular visitor Paul asked about THARUS - SON OF ATTILA after I posted the peculiar 1980s poster I found at the Livio Lorenzon website. Well, the info is all wrong. Here's a screenshot of the AI overview:

 

First of all, the poster from yesterday was THARUS AND ATTILA. The problem with this title is that Attila is *not* in the movie. Tharus is the SON of Attila. Second, Google AI automatically references my post as reference. Multi-billion dollar company uses my little blog as info. Like a lot out there, people or AI, they take stuff from my blog (i'll post about it soon). At least they credited the blog but, thirdly, the problem is that Paul's query brought 3 errors in the GOOGLE AI overview. These errors are NOT from my blog or me.

It says the KEY ACTOR is Dan Vadis (above left). Dan is not in the movie. The main star is Jerome Courtland (above right). How or where they got that info is a mystery. It's a big mistake. GOOGLE AI could have just read the film's credits to see that Dan is not in it.

The pointless plot synopsis below says that the son battles his father, Attila. As I stated, Attila is NOT in the storyline. Second bizarre error.

And third error or contradiction, is in the first overview above says it's a re-release from the 1980s but below, the second overview states that it was release on VHS. That's not what I wrote. Nowhere does it show in the poster or what I wrote that it's a VHS release. When I write 're-release' it usually means it was re-issued in movie theatres. A VHS release is not the same.

Simple errors like this are reasons why AI can't be trusted.

Musings!

Chelo Alonso is one of her signature dance numbers in GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS (1959)

Chelo's dance numbers are always fun to watch. I enjoy dance scenes in PEPLUM movies. What's a PEPLUM movie without a dance scene? But a lot of people today would probably find these scenes pointless. PEPLUM movies are like a sumptuous buffet: you have a huge variety of scenes with beefy actors and curvaceous actresses doing fun stuff with history that can appeal to anyone, since, like a buffet, there's something for everyone. Of course, not everyone likes a buffet but once you're in the mood, PEPLUM movies deliver like no other. I really love the genre but a lot of people don't seem to get it. I wonder why people back then got it but few today do. The appeal of the exotic, or the violent, the adventurous or spiritual stories seem to be an obsolete thing these days. Long live the PEPLUM genre!

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Poster of unknown origin of THARUS - SON OF ATTILA (1962)

This poster is a mystery. It's definitely a re-release from the 1980s but which country? Also, this title doesn't make sense. I got it here. I like it though even if it's nothing like the movie.

Stats - week 21 September - 27 September 2025

Views surpassing 120,000 for the first time!😎 Never thought the blog would have so many views! Thanks everyone

9/21/25 - 25080

9/22/25 - 16202

9/23/25 - 21667

9/24/25 - 18491

9/25/25 - 17313

9/26/25 - 12049

9/27/25 - 11651

Total: 122,453

Daily average: 17493

Daily average before was 1000 to 2000!

Image of the week!

Ursus ( Dan Vadis) uses a tree trunk as a weapon in URSUS - THE REBEL GLADIATOR (1962)

Lobby Cards Set: HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN (1964)

Original Italian lobby cards set of HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN (1964) starring Alan Steel and Jany Clair. Great set. Every card is a thumbs up. It highlights all the action of the movie. 

Musings!

Gordon Scott and Ombretta Colli in GLADIATOR OF ROME (1962)

I've written a lot about this movie and I still have stuff to say about it. The most interesting aspect is the fact that it was released the same day as COLOSSUS OF THE ARENA in Italy. I can't imagine being around a time with movie theatres filled with amazing PEPLUM movies like this. As I've said before, I like this movie (hence, the many times I've written about it...) but the story itself is not that compelling. And during the ending, Scott is put in a passive situation which is not that interesting even though the image of him being on a cross is very iconic. The other odd aspect is his love interest. As we can see here, Ombretta is his love interest and yet, in the movie, he spends very little time with her (she spends more time with Roberto Risso) but Scott spends a lot of time with Wandisa Guida but she's not his love interest. I'm still scratching my head over this. Gordon was in his best shape for this movie, better than any of his other PEPLUM movies, even better than his Tarzan movies. 

Behind-the-Scenes

The exterior set of SON OF SAMSON (1960)

Clip of the week: SLAVES OF CARTHAGE (1956)

Gianna Maria Canale riding in a Roman litter. With Jorge Mistral, Marisa Allasio. No English track available.

FUNNIES!

Kirk Morris in SAMSON AND THE SEA BEAST (1964)

SPFX DEPT.

Scenes from ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (1966)

This movie is known for two things: Raquel Welch in a fur bikini and the dinosaurs effects by Ray Harryhausen. But the movie also has one of the best disaster endings ever: a volcano erupts and complete mayhem ensues. The destruction is pretty thorough. The volcano shot above is obviously a model thanks to the painted background but the shot below is spectacular. 

Vintage article

Article from REG PARK JOURNAL magazine about 'year of fulfilment' while using a photo of Steve Reeves, Edmund Purdom from ATHENA (1954). I'll post the cover under a MUSCLES Inc. post.

Musings!

Sonia (Ombretta Colli) is about to nurse Atlas (Kirk Morris) back to health in ATLAS AGAINST THE CZAR (1964)

A common plot point in PEPLUM movies: the Hero being nursed back to health, mainly by a woman, but it also happens with a man, usually some elderly man or High Priest. In this, Atlas (or Maciste in the original) was poisoned and Sonia got an antidote from a...shaman-type of man who lives in a cave. So two plot points in one. Of course, Atlas comes back stronger than ever to wreak havoc on those who tried to kill him. I like this movie. To some, the title might be odd but it doesn't matter. It's a colourful and entertaining PEPLUM. 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

 Original Italian poster of SANDOKAN THE GREAT (1963) 

Gorgeous poster. This movie has some amazing posters. Sandokan looks like Steve Reeves alright. In Techniscope.