Now this scene might not seem to be that interesting but it is. First, this mud wrestling scene is totally out of character with the rest of the film, which is pretty tame (there's a surprisingly good number of mud wrestling scenes in PEPLUM films). Second, the actor on the right is Salvatore Borghese, who's not listed anywhere, in the film's credits or at IMDb. Salvatore, or simply Sal Borgese, was one of the TEN GLADIATORS, Nino the mute. He's a very physical actor (does his own stunts, etc), so it's no surprise he showed up in this scene. And third, the fellow on the left might be Emilio Messina, also from the TEN GLADIATORS film, amongst other films. It's difficult to say as he's covered in mud and initially, when he starts the fight, we only see him from a distance. If it's Emilio, he's also not credited. This is odd because the actors who played lead roles in these Marcello Baldi films are less familiar than these PEPLUM actors.
An extra note, a PEPLUM friend, Alan, sent me what appeared to be different versions of this film. 6 movie files in total. I studied then and sorted them out and figured out the differences between versions. It was quite a challenge. This movie was re-edited with other films from a set of Biblical films directed by Baldi. The first film, I PATRIARCHI (1963), then JACOB - THE MAN WHO FOUGHT WITH GOD (1963). SAUL & DAVID (1964) and finally, THE GREAT LEADERS OF THE BIBLE (1965). I PATRIARCHI was never released in English, and scenes from it ended up in some versions of JACOB, while another version of JACOB has no scenes from it. Very confusing. But I figured it out. This Biblical series from Baldi was quite an undertaking. I think it would be cool to view all four productions, edited all together in one long film. It would be EPIC.
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