I take a break roughly every two months so it's that time again.
So stay tuned!
I'll leave you now with King Leonidas (Richard Egan) from THE 300 SPARTANS (1962), saying "From this wall, we do not retreat!"
Monday, August 17, 2026
PEPLUM Break
I take a break roughly every two months so it's that time again.
So stay tuned!
I'll leave you now with King Leonidas (Richard Egan) from THE 300 SPARTANS (1962), saying "From this wall, we do not retreat!"
Peplum Public Discussion
Comments are open in this post. You have something to mention about this week's posts? Or something else. This is the only place you can voice your opinion. Comments are curated therefore any bad comment won't be published! Be respectful!
PEPLUM Break
I take a break roughly every two months so it's that time again.
So stay tuned!
I'll leave you now with King Leonidas (Richard Egan) from THE 300 SPARTANS (1962), saying "From this wall, we do not retreat!"
Friday, August 14, 2026
Image of the week!
Catherine (Hildegard Knef) plays Venus in a play, helped by Count Poniatowski (Giacomo Rossi Stuart), who is after her, in CATHERINE OF RUSSIA (1963)
Thursday, August 13, 2026
Musings!
Brad Harris shows his mettle in 79 AD: THE DESTRUCTION OF HERCULANEUM (1962)
Even when a PEPLUM movie doesn't have a super strong Hero in it, like 79 AD, it doesn't mean it can't have a boatload of PEPLUM clichés in them, like Feats of Strength. The Superhuman Hero throwing or tossing a boulder is a familiar cliché but this movie doesn't have a super strong Hero. I recently posted a clip of Gordon Scott in GLADIATOR OF ROME with such a scene. The character Brad Harris plays is strong but he's more a regular man. So, in this case, he and his fellow friends all helped in pushing these boulders over the cliff. Voila! Feat of Strength, of sorts. I love it when PEPLUM movies are resourceful such as this.
Behind-the-Scenes
Dinner party of the premiere of ULYSSES (1954) with Silvana Mangano, director Mario Camerini, Kirk Douglas and his wife Anne Buydens, and Anthony Quinn. Very nice.
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Clip of the week: THE ARENA (1974)
Pam Grier dances in THE ARENA. With Margaret Markov, Daniele Vargas and many other actors. And a donkey.
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
HD Alert!
Scenes from THE SARACENS (1963)
The new HD print of THE SARACENS is astounding. The image is so crisp it's incredible. Now a lot of people are not familiar with this fun Richard Harrison (above) film. It's a pirate movie that mostly takes place on land. It's enjoyable movie with a fantastic score. The fact that this movie has an excellent HD print while HERCULES (1958) and HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959) still have sub-par HD prints is bizarre. Thanks to the one who provided this to me.
Added to List of PEPLUM Movies in HD
The clarity is wow!
Updates to two permanent pages!
Hercules (Steve Reeves; below) meets Oepidus (Cesare Fantoni) and his son, Polyceines (Mimmo Palmara). Full of mysticism.
MINI FOTONOVOLAS
Kirk Morris in TRIUMPH OF MACISTE (1961)
Monday, August 10, 2026
Musings!
Rossana Podesta and Pier Angeli in SODOM AND GOMORRAH (1962)
For a movie about the most wicked place in existence, the movie itself was sorta short on babes (I'm trying not to be sexist here...lol!). The movie starts with Scilla Gabel, who is a babe, but her role is short. It also has Anouk Aimée. I assume some find her desirable back in the day but she's a villain and to many, that's a no. So, the two actresses were basically the only real 'hot' ones. There's also Claudia Mori but she's always in the background. And some dancers. But only 2 for a movie on Sodom and Gomorrah? I like this movie. I've watched it many times but I admit it has several issues. I already wrote extensively on it here in the past 16 years doing the blog. But this issue surfaced while writing issue #4 of BY THE GODS! magazine. The movie is filled with hunks...to the point that it's sometimes difficult to tell who's who, as they wear the same clothes and have the same beards, etc. It's a boatload of hunks. I could write down their names from memory. But only two babes? Hmm...
PEPLUM Movie Poster
Original Italian poster of THE IRON CROWN (1941)
Yes, this is a movie poster. Very stylish with gorgeous colours.
Last Week's Views
411k views last week. Nearly 173k last Wednesday. And 153k last Saturday. Wild! And zero comments.
Friday, August 7, 2026
Peplum Public Discussion
Comments are open in this post. You have something to mention about this week's posts? Or something else. This is the only place you can voice your opinion. Comments are curated therefore any bad comment won't be published! Be respectful!
Image of the week!
Hercules (Alan Steel) fights Roman soldiers during a wedding ceremony in HERCULES AGAINST ROME (1964)
Lobby Cards Set: AVENGER OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1962)
Original Italian lobby cards set of AVENGER OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1962) starring Richard Harrison, Michèle Mercier and Roldano Lupi. Nice set. Very colourful. Italian lobby cards are a collection of montages, of more than one scene per card. It makes the movie look busy. It's missing the man-eating plants though.
Thursday, August 6, 2026
Musings!
Gloria Milland and Mimmo Palmara are evil in GOLIATH AND THE REBEL SLAVE (1963)
It always makes me chuckle a bit when evil characters in movies, PEPLUM or not, look evil. I like both Gloria and Mimmo and both of them have had their share of good and bad characters. Gloria is good in playing an evil person but I prefer her when she's good. On the other hand, Mimmo, even though he has played good characters, has almost been cast as some nefarious character. This movie is no exception. They're good but it's played a bit on the cliched side. The clothes Mimmo wears in this movie is a bit much, sometimes it even doesn't fit him (he was really buff in this film). What Gloria is wearing leaves no doubt that she ain't a nice person. Fun film with some really quotable lines.
Behind-the-Scnes
Deborah Kerr on the massive set of QUO VADIS (1951). This is the bull scene with Buddy Baer.
Wednesday, August 5, 2026
Clip of the week: GLADIATOR OF ROME (1962)
Gordon Scott...gladiator or landscaper? With Wandisa Guida in GLADIATOR OF ROME (1962)
Tuesday, August 4, 2026
HD Alert!
Geneviève Grad, Philippe Hersent and Ettore Manni in ATTACK OF THE NORMANS (1962)
I recently got a ton of HD copies of 29 or so titles from two sources. I will be going over these one by one until I've covered them all. I really like ATTACK OF THE NORMANS and I was happy I got a quasi-HD print (not 720p but not 1920p either). The image clarity is amazing. It's such a great film made even better now. It's from a streaming source in Italy. My source in Europe added the English audio to it. I have no idea if it will ever be released on Blu-ry but it should.
Added to permanent page: List of PEPLUM movies in HD
Monday, August 3, 2026
Musings!
Mark Forest and Anna Maria Pace in HERCULES AGAINST THE SONS OF THE SUN (1964)
Is a love story important in a PEPLUM movie? Personally, I don't mind it if it actually adds a lot to the story. In most cases, such as this one, it's often just padding. I'm not familiar with Anna Maria Pace. I looked her up at IMDb and according to the film's profile at the website, she only appeared in 4 movies. She was also in BRENNUS - ENEMY OF ROME (1963). I don't think she's awful in it and I actually don't mind the love angle here but this movie, which I love and have watched many times, is filled with padding. It has not one but two major dance scenes, and there's this love story. There's at least 30 minutes of padding. No, I'm not exaggerating. I still love it because it's so colourful and entertaining. It's one of the most original PEPLUM films to come out of the PEPLUM explosion, but I call it as it is. The script spends such an inordinate amount of time on the friendship between Forest and Giuliano Gemma that anything else seems superfluous. In my view, removing the love story in the case wouldn't have made any difference.
