Image of the week!

Salammbo (Jeanne Valérie) stops Mathos (Jacques Sernas) and the Mercenary Chief (Raf Baldassarre) in SALAMMBO (1960)

MUSCLES Inc.

Mark Forest, aka Lou Degni, on the cover of Strength and Health - April 1955.

Musings!

Milton Reid, Gianno Rizzo and Dan Vadis in SPARTACUS AND THE TEN GLADIATORS (1964)

Our hero, Roccia (Vadis), is in a tight situation. It's a fairly regular thing in PEPLUM musclemen features.  He had to be kneeling since he's 6'4" and he would have towered everyone else. I love this movie, even with the plethora of re-used scenes from other movies. The action is fast and the cast is great and, as one can see in this quasi-HD shot, it's nice looking when seen in its original glory. The title is always a problem with the TEN GLADIATORS movies. In my collection, I name it TEN GLADIATORS_SPARTACUS, in order to have all three TEN GLADIATORS movies together. With the title starting with Spartacus, the movie is a hassle to find in my collection. 

Behind-the-Scenes

Director Robert Aldrich going over a scene with Scilla Gabel on the set of SODOM AND GOMORRAH (1962).

Clip of the week: THE MIGHTY URSUS (1961)

The fate of Ursus (Ed Fury) and Doreide (María Luisa Merlo) is in the hands of the goddess Zaas summoned by the Chosen One (Moira Orfei). I love this movie!

Portraits

Richard Harrison as Lucius Crassus in TWO GLADIATORS (1964) 

SPFX DEPT.

Scenes from THE BEASTMASTER (1982)

I believe the scene above is a model and not a matte painting. Very nice work! While below, well, it's obviously a sketch or drawing. It doesn't even look like a painting. The movie has a lot of different type of special effects, not just these optical effects.

Yvonne Furneaux. RIP!

Yvonne Furneaux died last year (summer) at the age of 98! Yvonne made a handful of PEPLUM movie but a couple of them are quite memorable, such as SLAVE QUEEN OF BABYLON (1963; above) and THE LION OF THEBES (1964). I intended to do this retrospective last summer but never got around it. I like her a lot. RIP!

A young Yvonne in IL PRINCIPE DALLA MASCHERA ROSSA (1955). 

Yvonne in THE STORY OF THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (1961) with Louis Jourdan.


 

Yvonne in a prominent role in THE CHARGE OF THE BLACK LANCERS (1961) along with Lorella De Luca. She's very good in this.

 

Probably her most iconic role in a PEPLUM movie: Yvonne as Semiramis in SLAVE QUEEN OF BABYLON (1963). Though the film wasn't very Babylonian, it's still a pretty solid film and a solid performance by the actress. She makes the movie. Below: Yvonne as Semiramis with Renzo Ricci.

Yvonne in another solid performance as Helen of Troy in THE LION OF THEBES (1964) with Massimo Serato (above). Below: Yvonne with Mark Forest in the excellent climax.
 

Yvonne Furneaux 1926 - 2024

Musings!

Giuliano Gemma and José Greci in GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON (1963)

Directed by Michele Lupo, this was the before of his manic SLAVE series a few years later. It has manic scenes in it but not as much as 7 SLAVES AGAINST ROME or SEVEN REBEL GLADIATORS. Love scenes in these type of PEPLUM action films are often odd to watch. The movie is available on DVD in Germany, with only Italian and German audios. I want to buy it. As a collector but also because it's super cheap. If a new PEPLUM style movie is made in Italy, they have to shot a scene at Monte Gelato waterfalls. 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

German poster of SLAVE QUEEN OF BABYLON (1963)

I like this one. Great artwork. Title translates as Slaves of Semiramis.

Image of the week!

Queen Omphale (Sylvia Lopez) inspects the work of the Egyptian embalmers with her entourage in HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959)

Lobby Cards Set: MACISTE IN HELL (1962)

Original Italian lobby cards set of MACISTE IN HELL (1962) starring Kirk Morris and Hélène Chanel. Excellent set. It's missing a few cards but overall, a nice representation of the movie. At least one card with Kirk and Hélène.

Musings!

Guy Madison and Rossana Podesta in SLAVE OF ROME (1961) 

This is one of those PEPLUM productions which was filmed almost entirely outside, with few interior sets. No big Roman sets. Just forests and hills. I like it and it's one of those films which fall under the radar as far as the genre goes. The fact that there are few interior sets sorta irks me nonetheless because I love anything Roman, including beautiful sets. The other pet peeve has nothing to do with the movie but with the title. Any title with the word Slave these days is now problematic. AI and censors will automatically downgrade or shadowban anything with that word. It's a sad fact of living in 2025. 

Behind-the-Scenes

Steve Reeves, still in Hercules costume, posing in a jeep on the set of HERCULES (1958). Now in colour.

Clip of the week: GOLIATH AGAINST THE GIANTS (1961)

Goliath (Brad Harris) in action!  With Jose Rubio.

Funnies!

Bella Cortez and Liana Orfei in THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS (1961)

HD Alert!

Nero (Piotr Stanislas) at the pool in NERO AND POPPEA: AN ORGY OF POWER (1982)

I know many don't care for these adult PEPLUM flicks from the 1970s and 80s but I grew up with them so I have to watch them. Besides, these films always include scenes taken from vintage PEPLUM movies, and this one has scenes from THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII (1959) and GOLIATH AGAINST THE GIANTS (1961). It's now on Blu-ray in Germany. It has multiple covers and the prices are exhorbitant. Fortunately, someone provide a full copy of it (including extras) and it's quite the package. English included! Trying to find a scene with no full nudity is difficult which is why I took this one. Directed by the one and only Bruno Mattei.

New ODYSSEY film project

A new major motion picture adaptation of Homer's THE ODYSSEY is in the works. It will be directed by Christopher Nolan, who said that GLADIATOR 2 was the top film of 2024. Hmm... Anyway, I was interested in the project and then the cast was announced and then I wasn't interested anymore. The poster above is not an official poster but made from someone on Reddit. 

Musings!

Michèle Girardon and Kirk Morris in ANTHAR THE INVINCIBLE (1964)

Directed by Antonio Margheriti, this fun Arabian-style adventure is known mainly as ANTHAR, the main character played by Kirk Morris but the movie was also released under Michèle's character, SORAYA. It was known under that title in Belgium, Greece, Spain and Germany. So Michèle was the main star and not Kirk? Anyway, she took her life over a decade later. It's a sad end and not that uncommon with other actors and actresses of the PEPLUM world. This movie was one of the first to be released on Blu-ray.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Italian poster of DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS (1954)

One of several excellent Italian posters of this Hollywood movie. I need this one and others from this release. 

Image of the week!

Sandokan (Steve Reeves) pulls a makeshift raft through a wild river in SANDOKAN THE GREAT (1960)

VHS Covers

VHS covers of 79 AD: THE DESTRUCTION OF HERCULANEUM (1962) starring Brad Harris and others. Sadly, there are few covers.

UK cover. Images all fine. 

French cover and cassette. 

Musings!

Carmen Sevilla and Ricardo Montalban in DESERT WARRIOR (1957) 

Someone contacted me about DESERT WARRIOR. He explained that there are two versions of this film. I didn't know this. This was one of the first Euro films filmed in widescreen but, like THE ROBE (1953), there's also a standard version of it. The standard version, this one in Spanish, is, as you can see, weathered and discoloured. I didn't have time to watch both the widescreen version and this one side by side to spot any differences. I will in the future. If there are any discrepancies, I will note them. This is all quite cool actually. I've written extensively on this and made the first Fan Dub with the widescreen version and it's everywhere now. 

Behind-the-Scenes

Ken Clark, Renata Monteduro and Gerard Landry on the set of THE DEFEAT OF THE BARBARIANS (1962). I can't find a photo without the watermark.

Clip of the week: HERCULES AGAINST THE BARBARIANS (1964)

A big rock is in the way? No problem for Hercules (Mark Forest)!

New PEPLUM Imagery!

With a few prompts, new PEPLUM imagery by AI. 

From MEN OF PULP @ X 

GLADIATOR ANGEL!

SPFX DEPT.

Scenes from COLOSSUS OF THE STONE AGE (1962; aka Fire Monsters against the Son of Hercules)

There are a number of monsters in this movie, including these underwater creatures. It's hard to explain what they are. Snakes? Dragons? As for special effects, are they puppets? Or animatronics? Hard to say. The scenes takes place underwater so the action is slow. The actor fighting with the monsters is not Reg Lewis. I don't dislike them but they don't seem ferocious. 

 

Musings!

Gianna Maria Canale in GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES (1961) 

When Gianna retired from acting, she claimed her career didn't go exactly in the direction she wanted. I wonder if starring in movies like this one is what she meant by that. Don't get me wrong, I love this movie and her performance but these movies were considered back then as a B movie and she probably thought she'd had a career like Sophia Loren instead. It's a shame though. She was great! It's sad she never did an interview after retiring. But she basically retired almost on time: by the mid-1960s, PEPLUM movies were out.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Belgian poster of CONSTANTINE AND THE CROSS (1961) 

Usual colourful poster art from Belgium. The background art is a bit grim and funny.

Image of the week!

Constantine (Cornel Wilde) saves a kid in the arena in CONSTANTINE AND THE CROSS (1961)

At the movies...

DAVID AND BATHSHEBA (1951) at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

Musings!

Hercules (Dan Vadis) is wakened up by the Annoying Sidekick (John Simons) in HERCULES THE INVINCIBLE (1964)

It's also known as HERCULES IN THE LAND OF DARKNESS and that title is so apt. The movie looks grim. I'm not saying the movie is grim. It's not. It's fun and quite elaborate. But the setting (caves) and the weather. It looked like the a cold and bleak shoot. Whatever they were paid, it wasn't enough. Anyway, in this scene Hercules is knocked out not by some wine laced with a sleeping potion but by some incense and its smoke, which is refreshingly different. The Annoying Sidekick (see article) is played by John Simons which is not his name. In this movie, Dan really showcases his athletic abilities. I really like this. Side note: the new banner for the blog for 2025 is from this movie.

Behind-the-Scenes

Rossana Podesta poses with the trojan horse on the set of HELEN OF TROY (1956). The latest issue of BY THE GODS! magazine covers it all on movies about Troy!

Clip of the week: SIGFRIDO (1957)

Sigfrido (Sebastian Fischer) fights a dragon! Also known as The Dragon's Blood.

Portraits

Marina Berti as Eunice in QUO VADIS (1951)

HD Alert!

I got the Spanish Blu-ray of HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959) and sadly this print is identical to the RAI TV HD broadcast, the Japanese Blu-ray release, which aren't that good. Passable but not a new print. The quality of the image seems more compressed than the Japanese BD. 

Above is a screenshot of the Spanish Blu-ray. It's ok but once you see how the actual widescreen image should be (below; from a German DVD), the image is cropped. Everything outside the red box is not there. The framing is all wrong. In some scenes, it's quite awful. Some apparently don't mind this but I don't think it's acceptable. Hopefully, the Artus Films prints from the British Film Institute will be correct. 

 

Not coming soon!

Scarlett Johansson was set to star in a movie as a female gladiator. The project was legit and the actress mentioned it but the project never was made. Image above is an Ai image of Scarlett as a gladiatrix. 

Link

Musings!

Demetrius (Victor Mature) is seduced by Messalina (Susan Hayward) in DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS (1954)

A rare case where the sequel is better than the first film. THE ROBE (1953) was the first movie and I like it but this sequel is more entertaining and engaging. Victor Mature is no replacement for Richard Burton but the he's believable as a slave/gladiator. Susan's version of Messalina is a bit too chase (it was made in the 1950s) but she's quite fun to watch. One of the problems with the relationship between Demetrius and Messalina is it's a bit undefined. She corrupts him and his beliefs, which to be expected but aside from that and the obvious physical attraction, it doesn't go deeper than that. This screenshot is from the US Blu-ray. Aside from the resolution, it's the same as the DVD. No big upgrade.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Italian poster of AWARA ABDULLA (1963) 

This is a Dara Singh movie, heavily influenced by the PEPLUM genre. Dara was a professional wrestler and also did other genre movies, including versions of HERCULES and SAMSON. The movie is on Youtube.