By the Gods!

Arturo Dominici, Pilar Cansino, Ettore Manni and Alan Steel (in the background) plot something in HERCULES AGAINST THE MASKED RIDER

This is a screenshot of a copy provided by Alan (thanks!). It's in widescreen (cropped at the sides) from an Italian TV broadcast. So glad this exists. The version available in the US is in 4:3 screen format and poor at best. Fun film with the recently deceased Alan Steel in a showy supporting role.

By the Gods!

Dan Vadis and team in THE TEN GLADIATORS

This screenshot was taken from a HD broadcast of the film in Italy. It's the best looking I've ever seen for this film. Is it true HD? I don't know. The one downside to this HD copy is the edges have been cropped. So It didn't retain the true aspect ratio of the original film. In this image, Ugo Sasso is barely visible on the far left. The other actors are (from left to right) : Arnaldo Fabrizio (short fellow), Emilio Messina, Pietro Torrisi, Giancarlo Bastianoni, Salvatore Borgese, Aldo Canti and Vadis (with the worst haircut in the world!). If the English audio matches the HD image, I'll do a Fan dub.

RIP : Maureen O'Hara

Maureen O'Hara, the beautiful, fiery redhead Hollywood actress, died last Saturday at the age of 95. She starred in mostly family films and costume / period dramas, some of which were PEPLUM-inspired films, either Swashbucklers or Arabian adventures. She recently published a biography which had some juicy tidbits in it. Fiery till the end. It's amazing that she lived such a long life. RIP.

Maureen as Esmeralda in HUNCHBACK OF THE NOTRE DAME (1939). Charles Laughton played Quasimodo.

Maureen with Tyrone Power in THE BLACK SWAN (also first picture)

Maureen was the love interest in SINBAD THE SAILOR starring Douglas Fairbanks jr.

Above & Below : Maureen in BAGDAD, costarring Vincent Price (above)

Maureen with Jeff Chandler in FLAME OF ARABY

The Robe

PEPLUM X Tuesdays

Richard Burton

Queen of Sheba

PEPLUM X Tuesdays

Umberto Silvestri

Ali Baba & the Seven Saracens

PEPLUM X Tuesdays

Gordon Mitchell - Tony Di Mitri

Vengeance of Ursus

PEPLUM X Tuesdays

Livio Lorenzon - Nadia Sanders

Babes in Bagdad

PEPLUM X Tuesdays

Gypsy Rose Lee - Paulette Goddard

Gianna Maria Canale

PEPLUM X Tuesdays

By the Gods!

Setas (Luis Prendes) leads Ursus (Ed Fury) and Doreide (María Luisa Merlo) into a trap in THE MIGHTY URSUS

Setas is one of the best (or worst?) villains in the PEPLUM genre. He's so bad, slimy and stubborn, and yet I can't help but admire him. His villainy, in a film with wall-to-wall bad guys and gals, almost makes the movie. Prendes is excellent and is up to the challenge.

Movie Poster Mondays

French poster for HEAD OF A TYRANT

How to describe this film? A morbid PEPLUM romance?

By the Gods!

Ursus (Yann Larvor), Maciste (Howard Ross), Hercules (Alan Steel) and Samson (Nadir Moretti) in SAMSON & THE MIGHTY CHALLENGE

The PEPLUM genre needed to do more of these mash-ups to stay alive but by the time this came out and HERCULES, SAMSON & ULYSSES were released, the entire genre was dying.

PEPLUM GIF Animation : GLADIATOR OF ROME

Gordon Scott in GLADIATOR OF ROME

This moment is the one I've been using for my blog and other social media outlets. It's sorta iconic and yet Scott misses out on all of the action by being crucified there.

By the Gods!

Massive pageantry scene for Marcus Vinicius' triumphant return to Rome from QUO VADIS

High Priestess : "Venus, goddess of love!"

Crowd : "We worship you!"

Whether you like this film or not, no one can deny that the production values were amazing in this film.

PEPLUM promotion

Massive banner at some cinema somewhere in Asia for THE GIANT OF MARATHON

Hercules against Moloch

PEPLUM X Tuesdays

Pietro Marascalchi

Ali Baba & the Seven Saracens

PEPLUM X Tuesdays

Bruno Piergentili - Bella Cortez

Gladiator of Rome

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Gordon Scott

The Queen of the Seas

PEPLUM X Tuesdays

Lisa Gastoni - Jerome Courtland

Little Egypt

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Rhonda Fleming

Samson & the Slave Queen

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Maria Grazia Spina - Alan Steel

By the Gods!

Hercules (Dan Vadis) battles villain (Ken Clark) in HERCULES THE INVINCIBLE

I like this film even if it's sorta pokey. The really only annoying part (aside form the sidekick) is Clark's role, and subsequent fight between Vadis and Clark. This photo is a publicity shot of a moment that doesn't exist in the final cut. They actually fight outside but it's very brief and it's very disappointing that there's no drawn out "Rock 'em - Sock 'em" moment between two big beefy giants. It should have been one of the highlights but instead it's just an after-thought. Another missed opportunity.

Movie Poster Mondays

Spanish poster for THE ROBE

This is a poster for its re-release in 70MM

By the Gods!

Kirk Morris watches a belly dancer Semira in FALCON OF THE DESERT

This is Kirk's last PEPLUM film. I like. The dancer's name is Erika Jones. She's good. An entertaining auctioneer, the type they don't make anymore.

By the Gods!

Maciste (Mark Forest) tries to turn the big thingamajig all by himself in MACISTE AGAINST THE MOLE MEN (aka Mole Men vs the Son of Hercules)

I wonder what happened to this big prop. No CGI here. It's all on screen. This is one of Mark's best films even if his toga is not very flattering.

Who wore it best?

Carlo Tamberlani from COLOSSUS OF RHODES or this fellow in FURY OF HERCULES, which was slightly altered.

(it's an ugly costume, either way)

Maciste in the Land of the Cyclops

PEPLUM X Tuesdays

Gordon Mitchell - Paul Wynter

Colossus & the Amazon Queen

PEPLUM X Tuesdays

Gianna Maria Canale

Spartacus & the Ten Gladiators

PEPLUM X Tuesdays

Ursula Davis - Romano Giomini

Sinbad and the Caliph of Baghdad

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Sonja Wilson - Robert Malcolm

Goliath & the Rebel Slave

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Serge Nubret - Massimo Serato

Hercules & the Tyrants of Babylon

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Peter Lupus

By the Gods!

Hercules (Alan Steel) tries to prove his innocence to his love, Rosita (Rosalba Neri) in HERCULES AGAINST THE BLACK PIRATES

The beautiful Rosalba plays a good girl in this film. She usually plays temptresses or bad girls so her character here is sorta dull. I think she realized it while filming the scene. She's often just on the verge of laughing out loud, even during serious scenes like this one. The love story between them is ok but not that memorable. Aside from that film is mucho fun!

Movie Poster Mondays

Italian poster for THE SWORD OF EL CID

The artwork is not like the movie at all! Still good. 

By the Gods!

Gabriele Antonini and Roland Carey run away from Roman soldiers in REVOLT OF THE BARBARIANS

A little PEPLUM film that can do. I like it. It's much better looking in its original format (above) than the ugly faded one available this side of the Atlantic. Is it a great film? Not really but for those who love PEPLUM films, it's very entertaining and I can watch it over and over again. Antonini (Ulysses in the Reeves' HERCULES films) and Carey (from THE GIANTS OF THESSALY, amongst others) made a great duo. I wished they had made more films together.

PEPLUM GIF animation : SLAVE OF CARTHAGE

Gianna Maria Canale gets the royal treatment in SLAVE OF CARTHAGE (aka The Sword and the Cross)

By the Gods!

Steve Reeves, as Emiliano, in GOLIATH & THE BARBARIANS

Emiliano is a simple 'woodcutter' who is actually a one-man-army set out to destroy the Barbarians who killed some of his people. That tree trunk plays a major part in the story : he hides weapons in a hole under it. An HD print of this would be welcomed.

Behind-the-Scenes

Scilla Gabel and Erno Crisa play around during a break from filming COLOSSUS OF THE ARENA

Hercules Unchained

PEPLUM X Tuesdays

Steve Reeves

The Buccaneer

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Yul Brynner

Theodora - Slave Empress

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Gianna Maria Canale

Androcles & the Lion

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Samson & Delilah

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Hedy Lamarr

Goliath & the Vampires

PEPLUM X Tuesdays

Gordon Scott