Clip of the week: THE ISLAND PRINCESS (1954)

Large scale battle sequence directed by Pietro Francisci, four years before directing HERCULES (1958) and also HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959). The rest of the movie was directed by Paolo Moffa and Carlos Serrano de Osma for this Italian - Spanish co-production. Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Gustavo Rojo and Silvana Pampanini. Mastroianni called the shoot 'hellish.' It's the story of the conquest of the Canary Islands.

New PEPLUM Imagery

I STAND ALONE AGAINST ROME

MEN OF PULP

HD Alert!

Fiorella Mari and Gérard Landry in THE MYSTERIOUS SWORDSMAN (1956)

A beautiful HD print of this rarely seen movie. It was released the same year as ROLAND THE MIGHTY but this one came out in May while ROLAND was released in December, making THE MYSTERIOUS SWORDSMAN one of the earliest PEPLUM productions shot in widescreen from Europe. It stars Gérard Landry, Frank Latimore, Fiorella Mari, and Tamara Lees (below, left). Landry and Latimore look nearly identical. No issues to report. The colours, when there are some in the dark castle setting, are vivid. Streaming in a country in Europe. I received this print a week after publishing BY THE GODS! magazine, which means I didn't get to cover it. Maybe in a future issue.

The movie has a torture scene. What's a PEPLUM movie without a torture scene?

Not Coming Soon...

The first version of the troubled Hollywood production of CLEOPATRA (1963) is rarely mentioned. The film's director was Rouben Mamoulian and Peter Finch was set to play Caesar and Stephen Boyd was to play Mark Anthony. Personally, Finch would have been a better Caesar than Rex Harrison but, imo, Stephen Boyd wasn't up to the task of playing Mark Antony, which was eventually played by Richard Burton. Elizabeth Taylor was to play Cleopatra in both versions. Taylor became sick during the filming. The production was delayed for so long that they eventually moved filming from the UK to Italy (better choice) but Mamoulian resigned as director. Personally, I think Rouben would have made a great film. Oh well...this version will never be coming soon to a theatre near you.

Peter Finch and Harry Baird in a pre-production still of CLEOPATRA (1963). Baird didn't appear in the final film but he would eventually star in a couple of PEPLUM films, including THOR & THE AMAZON WOMEN (1963).

Peter Finch as Caesar.  IMO, a much better choice than Rex Harrison. 

Above and below: Stephen Boyd as Mark Antony. 

Keith Baxter, Stephen Boyd and director Rouben Mamoulian. British actor Keith Baxter was set to play Octavian but was replaced by Roddy McDowall. 

A test shot. 

Musings!

Abbe Kane and Gordon Mitchell are a tumultuous couple in JULIUS CAESAR AGAINST THE PIRATES (1962)

A very pulpy retelling of the actual event in history of Caesar kidnapped by pirates. I wrote about it in the latest BY THE GODS! issue. Directed by the not so subtle Sergio Grieco, this movie has babes that babes and pirates that are hyper masculine. It's very entertaining. I know some people who do not like it. It does seem uneven, certainly during the battle between ships on the sea. The studio sets do not match the actual boats used in the exterior scenes. But even with these discrepancies, and there are a lot, the loud movie keeps my attention. Abbe made two PEPLUM movies during the time she was, along with her soon to be ex-husband, Xavier Cugat, very popular and cool. Everything back then was larger than life and boisterous and hyper feminine and hyper masculine. The complete opposite of today. Abbe died in August of this year. She was 93.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Original Italian poster of MACISTE - GLADIATOR OF SPARTA (1964) 

The scene at the bottom of the poster is not in the movie. The poster is sorta murky looking so I asked AI to clean it up. The result is below. It's more vibrant but it completely changed the look of the actors and the bottom scene, the chariots/horses/men are all scrambled together. There's a centaur now. 😂 I only asked to clean it up, not redo it. 

BY THE GODS! magazine issue 5

Link: https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/3388773

Image of the week!

Atlas (Kirk Morris) tries to keep the winch from moving or else it's certain death to helpless trapped victims in ATLAS AGAINST THE CZAR (1964)

Lobby Cards Set: COLOSSUS OF ROME (1964)

Original Italian lobby cards set of COLOSSUS OF ROME (1964; aka Hero of Rome) starring Gordon Scott. Great set. More of a collage of scenes than specific scenes. The last card is the best one.

Musings!

Joel Joan and Neus Asensi in HEART OF THE WARRIOR (1999)

I always ask myself "Are there still PEPLUM movies left to be discovered?" It feels like they all have been listed and discussed but I'm wrong, of course. Someone posted this title in the comments and, yep, I wasn't aware of this movie. It's a Spanish production. You can view it here. It reminds me of THE NEVERENDING STORY (1984). I need to watch it in English or with English subs.

Behind-the-Scenes

Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd with a Vespa on the set of BEN-HUR (1959) in Italy. 

Clip of the week: SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD (1961)

Samson (Gordon Scott), treehugger, in SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD. 

Funnies!

Mark Forest in GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON (1960)

HD Alert!

Mark Forest in THE MAGNIFICENT GLADIATOR (1964)

A new HD print from a streaming service in Europe. It's great to see Mark Forest's films in HD. This print is somewhat uneven. Some scenes are spectacularly clear while others it seems average, like the screenshot above and the last one. The screenshot directly below, with Marilù Tolo and Jolanda Modio, is, like the women, gorgeous: vivid colours, sharp details. I don't understand the unevenness but it's still great. More please.

List of PEPLUM movies in HD

 

 

Same dress, different films!

Top left: Delia D'Alberti in HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN (1964)

Top right: Yvonne Furneaux in SLAVE QUEEN OF BABYLON (1963).

Bottom: Marie-Noëlle Arnoult IN NERO AND POPPEA: AN ORGY OF POWER (1982)

The dress was made during the Golden Era of the PEPLUM genre, was saved and re-appeared 18 years later in 1982. Amazing!

Musings!

Christine Kaufmann and Fausto Tozzi, as Hadrian, in CONSTANTINE AND THE CROSS (1961)

Christine Kaufmann was 16 years old when the film was released. She was most likely 15 years old when the movie was made. When she starred in TARAS BULBA (1962) with Tony Curtis, she was 16 during filming and 17 when the film was released. Tony Curtis would marry Christine when she turned 18. She was 14 when she starred in THE LAST DAYS IF POMPEII (1959) with Steve Reeves as her love interest. No one seemed to mind back then about the age difference. It doesn't mean anything happened between the actors but it seems odd that they hired such a young actress. Christine was good in all her roles so it wasn't just her young beauty. In the movie, the two characters are seen in a romantic way but we never seen them kiss, if I recall correctly. Fausto is excellent as Hadrian, a very complex character that's impossible to grasp in a single film.  

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Original Italian poster of BRENNUS - ENEMY OF ROME (1963) 

Nice, colourful poster. It looks like Gordon Mitchell.

PEPLUM Break

I take a break roughly every two months. The last break was in mid-August 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!"

Image of the week!

Perseus (Richard Harrison) fights the Medusa, and its dangerous ray, in PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE (1963; Spanish version)

Lobby Cards Set: MORGAN THE PIRATE (1960)

Original US lobby cards set of MORGAN THE PIRATE starring Steve Reeves, Chelo Alonso and others. Sadly, one of the poorest lobby cards sets I've eve seen. The movie is such a visually rich one and this is what they used? Only one card with a good view of Steve. The card with Chelo dancing is terrible. What a disappointment.

Musings!

Reg Park, as Hercules (Ursus in original version), and Mireille Granelli in HERCULES - PRISONER OF EVIL (1964)

Continuing with Spooky October. This is pretty cool PEPLUM Horror. It takes place mostly in natural settings, like forests or caves, at night. It gives a woodsy horror feel to it, a la FRIDAY THE 13TH. Since I'm a fan of both PEPLUM and Horror, this is right up my alley. Mireille plays a witch/sorceress who transforms men into werewolves-like monsters that terrorize villages and create chaos between feuding factions. Mireille is great in her role. Whatever happened to her? As I wrote in THE DEFINITIVE URSUS earlier this week, this is actually an Ursus movie re-titled as Hercules. It's Reg's only turn as Ursus, the Gentle Giant. Big Reg was definitively a Giant. Makes for a great film to watch on Halloween night.

Behind-the-Scenes

Steve Reeves, Sylva Koscina and Mimmo Palmara on the set of HERCULES (1958)

Clip of the week: TWO GLADIATORS (1964)

Brother vs brother in TWO GLADIATORS (1964). With Richard Harrison and Mimmo Palmara.

Portraits

Rossana Podestà, as Shuah, in SODOM AND GOMORRAH (1962)

HD Alert!

Ed Fury in THE MIGHTY URSUS (1960) 

As I wrote the DEFINITIVE URSUS article below, I came across a copy of THE MIGHTY URSUS in HD! I had sorta forgotten about it but I remember where it came from: from AMAZON PRIME in France. The quality is not the best. Grainy, colour issues. But even so, it's great to see it in a big resolution. Once this movie will get a proper HD transfer, it will be amazing! This movie has so many memorable moments in it. Phew!

Moira Orfei as the supremely evil queen

Ed Fury and Maria Luisa Merlo