My recent acquisitions: summer 2019

My last haul of PEPLUM stuff was back in May. I've waited some time to do another haul since I was waiting for stuff which took some time to arrive. It seems to be a lot, and it sorta is but it's stuff from over 4 months. I've also purchased some digital books which aren't shown in the pile.

Blu-rays, DVDs, books, posters, magazines, etc.

First, posters and movie memorabilia...

Lotsa stuff. I got most of it on the cheap which to me is mind boggling.

US / Canada movie poster of THE MIGHTY CRUSADERS (1958). It's amazing condition. The movie was released in 1960 in Canada. $20.00 Canadian. Cheap!

Pressbook of GOLIATH & THE VAMPIRES (1961). It's huge! $10 bucks.

Above and below: Incomplete US lobby cards set of THE MONGOLS + a gorgeous Italian fotobusta. The print quality is out of this world for such an old movie. Only 4 Euros for it! The lobby cards set: $7.99 US!

Incomplete lobby cards set for SIGN OF THE GLADIATOR. Only $7.99 US. 

Incomplete US lobby cards set of HERCULES AND THE TYRANTS OF BABYLON. I'm still wondering if these are (very well preserved) authentic prints or reprints. In any case, I like them.

Complete lobby cards set of QUEEN OF SHEBA. The most expensive thing listed here. Beautiful set.

 Complete US lobby cards set of LEGIONS OF THE NILE (1959). Only $30.00 US. 

Incomplete lobby cards set of THE CENTURION aka CONQUEROR OF CORINTH. I believe the title card is missing. Excellent set.

Above & below: Incomplete lobby cards set of REVENGE OF THE BLACK EAGLE (1951), from Canada. Though the French title was painted over the original English title I still think they're cool. Very rare. And only $18 bucks.

Some cute Danish movie programs. They're very tiny. The titles: DUEL OF THE TITANS; VENGEANCE OF HERCULES (aka original version of Goliath & the Dragon); URSUS IN THE VALLEY OF THE LIONS; GIANT OF MARATHON; THEODORA SLAVE EMPRESS and THE SEVEN REVENGES.

Two US programs (SLAVE GIRLS OF SHEBA and WOMEN OF DEVIL'S ISLAND from Rob Craig) + tons of German movie programs. Very inexpensive. 2 Euros each! There are even more programs in the slips. Too many titles to list. The design inside them is very cool. 

German poster of HERCULES AGAINST THE MONGOLS. The artwork is excellent but Mark looks like Anthony Steffen. Only $21.00 US. A steal!

 Half sheet of ERIK THE CONQUEROR. In amazing condition.

 Startling fotobusta of HERCULES AGAINST MOLOCH. Cheap: 4 Euros.

 Gorgeous fotobusta of QUEEN OF THE PIRATES.  Again, only 4 Euros!

Fotobusta of NERO & THE BURNING OF ROME. I have yet to see the movie but at least I've got this nice poster.

HERCULES poster from Lebanon. Only $24.00 US. Very cool and it's authentic not a reprint.

Blu-rays and DVDs:

I bought a couple of DVDs and Blu-rays. I already mentioned the HERCULES and HERCULES UNCHAINED Blu-rays from Japan. This HERCULES Blu-ray is my favourite home release of all time. I have more on the DVDs in future reviews. THE CONQUEROR was only $3.00. 

Vintage muscle magazines:

 A bunch of bodybuilding/physique magazines.

I'm not a fan of bodybuilding magazines in general and the content of most of these magazines are pretty much dry and outdated. Some of them feature articles on the PEPLUM genre or a specific bodybuilder who became a star but for the most part, the covers are usually the best thing about them.

 Two magazines with Mark Forest (Lou Degni) on the cover. I got a great deal on these.

Above & below: a bunch of magazines with Steve Reeves on the cover. Most of these are very good since they have articles on Steve inside. The Physique Pictorial below is interesting for the cover: it's a photo of Steve from HERCULES UNCHAINED but it was published in late summer 1959, when HERCULES was being released in the US.

Ed Fury on the cover. Only $5.00!

This tiny magazine is cool. It's the British edition. Imagine: pocket size Steve. Got this one on eBay from a seller in Romania!

Books and other publications: 

I purchased a bunch of recent and vintage publications. There's a mysterious graphic novel/comic book based on HERCULES UNCHAINED. I wrote about this at BY THE GODS! I also got a Fanzine type called PEPLUM by Mirek Lipinski, who follows me at Facebook. He was kind enough to mention my blog/content in it. A colorful publication.

Above & below: I'm still not sure what this is. I think it's a movie program for HERCULES (1958) but the seller on eBay wrote that it was a magazine printed in 1959. This magazine's content only covers HERCULES and nothing else. Hmm... It's in Chinese (anyone out there reads Chinese?). From a seller in Singapore. Very nice.

Another vintage magazine from Singapore with Steve Reeves on the cover. They credited the wrong movie for the cover. The publication is in English. I wish there were more magazines from the past with PEPLUM content.

This publication was sent to me for free. Thanks, David. It has reviews / overviews of PEPLUM movies. It's available at Amazon.

 HERCULES - THE FIRST SUPERHERO. I'll be reading this soon enough. 

DICTIONNAIRE DU PEPLUM. Oh boy...I have so much to say about this publication. 

I bought this digital book from Amazon: Hércules: y los hombres fuertes del cine épico. It's in Spanish. The good thing about this digital book is that I can copy/paste the text, translate it online. The book, like so many out there, is sorta dismissive of the genre. I bought it because Steve was on the cover!

I also bought 'THE NEW PEPLUM: Essays on Sword and Sandal Films and Television Programs Since the 1990s' via Kindle.

And last but not least...

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PICTURES - A comprehensive filmography by Rob Craig.

Rob was kind enough to send this hefty book to me, for free. Rob had contacted me while he was writing the book. He needed a bunch of photos from PEPLUM movies to be identified. I helped him with the task. He wrote a special personalized note inside. He also sent a stack of photos along with the book. Amazon has it.

I read it and recommend it. AIP was important in the distribution of PEPLUM movies in the US/ Canada, at cinemas, drive-ins or TV. Thanks, Rob.

That's it for now.