Musings!

Wandisa Guida and Mario Petri in REVENGE OF THE CONQUERED (1960) 

This is often overlooked and misunderstood movie which deserves much more attention. The production is excellent, certainly the locations. Probably the most beautiful in any PEPLUM movie. I'm not joking. The location are so dreamy you sorta wonder if it's real and it is. The cast is excellent, including the opera singer turned actor Petri, who towers over almost everyone. He has a fascinating career. In this, he plays the villain and Wandisa's character is forced into a marriage with him. It's  a cliched in these movies. As for Wandisa, she's at the height of her beauty here. She's literary shines in every scene she's in. You sorta wonder why her career didn't become bigger. She's an excellent actress, very natural and unassuming. People like Wandisa make watching PEPLUM movies so much fun to discover. So with so much going for it, why is it so forgotten? The generic English doesn't help but the original Italian title, DRAKUT THE AVENGER, is not very interesting. Who knows. The one thing that's sorta questionable is the storyline. I'm not joking when I say the good guys are as bad if not worse than the bad guys/villains. There's a plot twist in it which still to this day makes my head scratch. Anyway, regardless of this bizarre aspect to the story, I highly recommend this movie.