Clip of the week: SWORD WITHOUT A COUNTRY (1961)

Evil Duke doing evil stuff in SWORD WITHOUT  A COUNTRY (1961). With Claudio Gora. 

Funnies!

Dan Vadis in SPARTACUS AND THE TEN GLADIATORS (1964)

SPFX DEPT.

Scenes from A QUEEN FOR CAESAR (1962)

Two excellent matte paintings, the one below which appears roughly 15 minutes in the movie and the one at the top at the very end. I like them. Very effective. No one is credited, of course. These are not the only matte works in the film.

 

The confusing Maciste movies...part 2

List of Maciste films, retitled and the actors who played the character. This is excluding the silent movies. I'm listing the Maciste movies by actors. This makes it much simpler.

Muscular lead actors who played Maciste: 

Mark Forest - Gordon Mitchell - Gordon Scott - Kirk Morris - Samson Burke - Ed Fury - Reg Lewis - Alan Steel - Reg Park - Howard Ross - Iloosh Khoshabe - Mario Novelli - Mimmo Palmara

Muscular lead actors who didn't play Maciste: 

Steve Reeves, Richard Harrison, Dan Vadis, Peter Lupus, Ken Clark, Joe Robinson, Mickey Hargitay, Jorge Rivero, Pietro Torrisi, and Brad Harris.

I don't consider Ivica Pajer, Lang Jeffries, Roger Browne, Ricardo Montalban, Lex Barker, George Ardisson, Pierre Brice, Mike Lane, Giuliano Gemma, Massimo Girotti, Henri Vidal, Kirk Douglas, Willi Colombini, Rory Calhoun, Tony Russel, Victor Mature, Georges Marchal, Jacques Sernas as muscular actors. Athletic, yes, but not bodybuilders. 

Bodybuilders Nadir Moretti, Paul Wynter, Giovanni Cianfriglia, Frank Gordon, Serge Nubret and Harry Baird didn't play Maciste but they were not lead actors.

Previous MACISTE article


Permanent page: WHO PLAYED THE DEFINITIVE PEPLUM ROLES?



MARK FOREST

Mark is often cited as being the favourite Maciste since he's the one who brought the character back and is one of two actors who made more Maciste movies than anyone else. 


SON OF SAMSON (1960) - Mark Forest

Maciste nella valle dei re / Maciste in the Valley of the Kings


MOLE MEN VS THE SON OF HERCULES (1961) - Mark Forest

Maciste, l'uomo più forte del mondo / Maciste, the Strongest Man in the World


COLOSSUS OF THE ARENA (1962) - Mark Forest

Maciste, il gladiatore più forte del mondo / Maciste, the World's Strongest Gladiator

GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON (1963) - Mark Forest

Maciste, l'eroe più grande del mondo / Maciste, the World's Greatest Hero

HERCULES AGAINST THE MONGOLS (1963) - Mark Forest

Maciste contro i mongoli / Maciste Against the Mongols


HERCULES AGAINST THE BARBARIANS (1964) - Mark Forest

Maciste nell'inferno di Gengis Khan / Maciste in Genghis Khan's Hell


THE TERROR OF ROME AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1964) - Mark Forest

Maciste, gladiatore di Sparta / Maciste, Gladiator of Sparta



KIRK MORRIS
 

Kirk Morris made as many Maciste movies as Mark. Some say his output is not as good as Mark's but I disagree. I'll explain at the end of the article.


TRIUMPH OF THE SON OF MACISTE (1961) - Kirk Morris

Il trionfo di Maciste / The Triumph of Maciste


HERCULES IN THE VALE OF WOE (1961) - Kirk Morris

Maciste contro Ercole nella valle dei guai / Maciste Against Hercules in the Vale of Woe


THE WITCH'S CURSE (1962) - Kirk Morris

Maciste all'inferno / Maciste in Hell


COLOSSUS AND THE HEADHUNTERS (1962) - Kirk Morris

Maciste contro i cacciatori di teste / Maciste Against the Headhunters


ATLAS AGAINST THE CZAR (1964) - Kirk Morris

Maciste alla corte dello zar / Maciste at the Court of the Czar / Giant of the Lost Tomb / Samson vs the Giant King


HERCULES OF THE DESERT (1964) - Kirk Morris

La valle dell'eco tonante / Valley of the Thundering Echo / Maciste in the Valley of the Thundering Echoes

MACISTE - AVENGER OF THE MAYANS (1965) - Kirk Morris

Maciste il Vendicatore dei Mayas / Maciste, Avenger of the Mayans

GORDON SCOTT

Gordon Scott only played Maciste twice. Both films are great but there's not much of Maciste in GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES, as I already noted recently. So that leaves SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD. I love both films but it's not enough, imo.

GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES (1961) - Gordon Scott

Maciste contro il vampiro / Maciste Vs. the Vampire

SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD (1961) - Gordon Scott

Maciste alla corte del gran khan / Maciste at the Court of the Great Khan



ALAN STEEL

The great Alan Steel only made two Maciste movies, both re-titled for the US market. Both are great fun.


SAMSON AND THE SLAVE QUEEN (1963; above) - Alan Steel

Zorro contro Maciste / Zorro Against Maciste


HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN (1964) - Alan Steel

Maciste e la regina de Samar / Maciste and the Queen of Samar



The following actors played Maciste only one time.

Gordon's turn as Maciste is pretty solid. One of the best Maciste movies made in the 1960s. It was re-titled as Atlas for the English market.

ATLAS IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS (1961) - Gordon Mitchell

Maciste nella terra dei ciclopi / Maciste in the Land of the Cyclops

Samson Burke only film as Maciste was an extremely broad Toto comedy. Never dubbed in English.


TOTO VS MACISTE (1962) - Samson Burke

Totò contro Maciste / Toto vs. Maciste

Ed Fury only made this Maciste movie, re-titled as Samson for the English market. It's not a very Maciste movie so re-titling it wasn't a big deal, in my opinion.


SAMSON AGAINST THE SHEIK (1962) - Ed Fury

Maciste contro lo sceicco / Maciste Against the Sheik


 

Bodybuilder Reg Lewis' only film is a Maciste movie. With Margaret Lee (above). Re-titled as COLOSSUS in the UK. In the movie itself, he calls himself Majestus. 


FIRE MONSTERS AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1962) - Reg Lewis

Maciste contro i mostri / Maciste Against the Monsters / Colossus of the Stone Age


 

Big Reg Park only played Maciste once. It's a pretty good one. Though it's often referred as SAMSON the only English print available is titled Maciste, making it one of the few Maciste movies that kept the name.


SAMSON IN KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1964) - Reg Park

Maciste nelle miniere de re salomone / Maciste in King Solomon's Mines


 

Howard Ross is a familiar face in the PEPLUM genre.. He appeared in many movies but this is only Maciste role. It's a comedy.


SAMSON AND THE MIGHTY CHALLENGE (1964) - Howard Ross 

Ercole, Sansone, Maciste e Ursus: gli invincibili / Hercules, Samson, Maciste and Ursus: The Invincible

Iloosh Khoshabe (right) and Mario Novelli both played brothers named Maciste with Iloosh being 'Elder Maciste' and Mario being 'Younger Maciste.'


THE INVINCIBLE BROTHERS MACISTE (1964) - Iloosh Khoshabe - Mario Novelli

Gli invincibili fratelli Maciste / The Invincible Maciste Brothers / The Invincible Gladiators

Mimmo Palamara as a Maciste-type is fun since he almost always plays villains. Even though his name is Sandok, the Italian title referred to him as the 'Maciste of the Jungle.'

SANDOK (1964) - Mimmo Palmara

Sandok, il Maciste della giungla / Sandok - Maciste of the Jungle

------------------

So who's the definitive Maciste? 

It's really a fight between Mark Forest and Kirk Morris.

My favourite and definitive Maciste is Kirk Morris. MACISTE IN HELL (above) and TRIUMPH OF MACISTE are classic PEPLUM movies. 

A close second is Mark Forest. His Maciste movies are all very good, certainly SON OF SAMSON, MACISTE - THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD, and MONGOLS and BARBARIANS. All excellent.

Maciste movies re-titled list:

5 films re-titled as SAMSON.

5 films re-titled as HERCULES.

3 films re-titled as COLOSSUS

2 films re-titled as GOLIATH

2 films re-titled as ATLAS.

Only two Maciste movies known/released in English: MACISTE IN KING SOLOMON'S MINES and THE INVINCIBLE BROTHERS MACISTE.

TOTO VS MACISTE and MACISTE - AVENGER OF THE MAYANS were not released in any English market.

-----------------------

Not included are the 'adult' Maciste films of the 1970s.

MACISTE VS THE QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS

Maciste contre la Reine des Amazones


THE EROTIC EXPLOITS OF MACISTE IN ATLANTIS 

Les exploits érotiques de Maciste dans l'Atlantide

Musings!

Ruth Roman and Arnoldo Foà in THE SINNER (1957) 

This is one of the most wanted films on my list. It's basically impossible to find. Not even a trailer or anything. The movie is an Italian - US co-production and was the last film released by RKO under the silly title DESERT DESPERADOES, which makes it sound like a Western. The movie was released in Italy in 1957 but in the USA it was in 1959. The original Italian poster says it's in FerraniaColor but since there's not actual trailer or clips, it's hard to say since all the material available is in B&W. The Italian title is LA PECCATRICE DEL DESERTO, which translates as THE SINNER OF THE DESERT. A 16mm print was available for sale 15 years ago, and someone bought it, but nothing came out of it. I translated the French fotonovela and you can read it at this link. It's a rough translation so don't come after me. I like Ruth. She made Jungle movies or serials early in her career, but I believe this is her only PEPLUM movie. From the fotonovela, it looks like it mainly consists of desert scenes and inside tents. 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Japanese poster of KNIGHT OF 100 FACES (1960)

A simple photo montage. I like it but something is wrong about the colours of this very colourful film, as seen in the HD Alert! post of last week.

Last Week's Views!

Views are maintained in and around 15k to 24k a day. Amazing!

AI PEPLUMTV

SPARTA, GO!

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!

Roccia (Dan Vadis) hangs for dear life in SPARTACUS AND THE TEN GLADIATORS (1964)

Lobby Cards Set: SANDOKAN - PIRATE OF MALAYSIA (1964)

Original Italian lobby cards set (fotobusta) of SANDOKAN - PIRATE OF MALAYSIA (1964) starring Steve Reeves and Mimmo Palmara. Also known as Pirates of Malaysia. Great set. Very colourful. Steve is in all of them. I like it. I'm currently analyzing this movie at the Lascivious Look permanent page.

Musings!

Mark Forest, as Kindar, and Rosalba Neri in KINDAR THE INVULNERABLE (1965)

I give this movie a 9 out 10. The first time I saw it was 'meh' but then there were things which drew me back to it, like the stunning locations. Mind you, this was the old public domain print, which is almost unwatchable. When I saw it in its original widescreen, colourful format, I realized my first impression was really incorrect and now it's one of my favourites PEPLUM movies ever. Mark Forest's films are very solid, even the goofy GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON (1960) but this one is extra good. There's so much going for it. One of the best things about it is having Mark and Rosalba together. Well, they're not love interests. The role played by Dea Flowers is Kindar's love interest. Rosalba pines for Kindar but she's a bad girl so of course she can't have him. But their chemistry in this movie really works. The also worked together in THE LION OF THEBES (1964) but there were no sparks between the two. In my opinion, the casting of this pair in this film is almost as good as Steve Reeves as Hercules and Sylva Koscina as Iole in HERCULES (1958). Oddly enough, since Rosalba is a bad girl, she's also paired with Mimmo Palmara, who's the villain, and their pairing also works. There is a HD print in my collection but it's not full HD. 

Behind-the-Scenes

Nadia Sanders in her Queen Gaia costume on the set of THE GIANTS OF THESSALY (1960). Below: Nadia with Roland Carey as seen in the movie.
 

Clip of the week: HERO OF BABYLON (1963)

Wrestling brings out the worst in Nippur (Gordon Scott). With Piero Lulli and Moira Orfei.

Portraits

Steve Reeves, as Hercules, in HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959)

HD Alert!

Lex Barker in KNIGHT OF 100 FACES (1960)

I just got a new HD print of this movie and it's a beautiful print. The colours are gorgeous and vibrant! Some scenes just pop out and I said 'Wow!' This is only available in streaming in Spain. I have a German, Spanish, French, English (VHS) prints and a nice Fan Dub print in English and this one blows them away! Thanks to my source in Europe.

Liana Orfei!

 

Beautiful colours!

Then & Now: Alice Krige

Alice Krige in KING DAVID (1985); a recent photo of the actress.

Musings!

Wandisa Guida and Gordon Scott in GLADIATOR OF ROME (1962) 

I've written extensively about this movie. I like it but it does have flaws. They're not enough for me not to like the movie but they're there and they are sorta annoying. One of the annoying things is the fact that Wandisa is not the love interest of Gordon Scott's character. I don't know if it's an Italian thing but the two here spend almost all the time together but Wandisa's character is with someone else and the same with Scott's character. This is not the only movie that does this. Wandisa is also in HERCULES AGAINST ROME (1964) with Alan Steel as Hercules and they spend loads of time together, he aves her, etc. But she ends up with Mimmo Palmara. I'm like huh? I understand that PEPLUM movies love to portray Heroes unattached and on a solo journey sans wife and children but this is, certainly with this movie, odd. The romance stuff can be fun, to a certain point, but it can also hinder a movie (see COLOSSUS OF RHODES and Rory Calhoun romancing...which stops the movie dead in its tracks). Maybe this is the case but usually when the Hero saves the lady, he ends up with her. 

There's also the fact that kids hate romantic stuff. But these kind of 'the Hero not interested in the ladies' further fuelled the idea of gay subtext about the genre, which I'm covering at THE LASCIVIOUS LOOK permanent page.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Pakistani poster of GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS (1959) 

To me, it looks more like a poster from the 1970s or 80s but the seller says it's from 1959. Pretty cool poster even if the lady below, behind Steve Reeves, is not in the movie. I believe this is my first Pakistani poster.

Last Week's Views

I didn't monitor the views on a daily basis last week since I was so busy but the stats are around 130,000! 

Side note: Views on March 5 were over 40,000 when I was on break. 😂

AI PEPLUMTV

SPEAR & SHIELD

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!

Spartacus (Massimo Girotti) saves Amitys (Ludmilla Tchérina) in the arena in SPARTACUS - SINS OF ROME (1953)

MUSCLES Inc.

PEPLUM Star Steve Reeves on the cover of the Spanish edition of Mr Universe magazine.

Musings!

Kirk Morris, as Maciste, uproots a haunted tree to access Hell in MACISTE IN HELL (1962)

In my opinion, this is the best Maciste film of the 1960s revival. Directed by Riccardo Freda, it creates an incredible tapestry of moments, images and a world rarely seen in movies. Not to my surprise, a lot of people hate it. I've come across many comments about it and a lot of it is negative. The US public domain print might be a reason, under the title THE WITCH'S CURSE, but I've also seen such comments from people in Europe. Regardless of what people think, it's a solid, unique film that seen in original widescreen format is something else. The film is replete with symbolism so that might be another reason why some hate it. In this scene, Maciste has access to Hell from a haunted/cursed tree that, among other things, stood next to where a witch was burned. Remarkably enough, there's a legend in Rome of a church cursed by a walnut tree filled with demons. Nero was buried there. It's the Santa Maria Del Popolo church. 

"As the story goes, after his suicide Nero was buried in the mausoleum of his paternal family, the Domitii Ahenobarbi, at the foot of the Pincian Hill. The sepulchre was later buried under a landslide and on its ruins grew a huge walnut tree that "was so tall and sublime that no other plant exceeded it in any ways." The tree soon became the haunt for a multitude of vicious demons harassing the inhabitants of the area and also the travelers arriving in the city from the north through Porta Flaminia: "some were being frightened, possessed, cruelly beaten and injured, others almost strangled, or miserably killed." Source.

There's more to this story, including an exorcism. I think this scene was definitely inspired by the Santa Maria Del Popolo legend. I'll have more on Maciste in a future article on the many Maciste movies.