Musings!

Rosalba Neri plays the wife of Coriolanus, played by Gordon Scott, in CORIOLANUS - HERO WITHOUT A COUNTRY (1964)

I like this movie. Directed by Giorgio Ferroni, it's a solid movie that's almost a full drama. There are action scenes in it but the focus is more on the drama. I like eveything about it even if, in some scenes, re-used scenes from Ferroni's other films make an appearance. The one part that's disappointing is Rosalba's role. Rosalba is always fun to watch but in this movie, she's barely there and barely used. HERCULES AGAINST MOLOCH (1962), also directed by Ferroni and also starring Scott and Rosalba, is a good film to compare with: Rosalba has a meaty role and she's good in it. I wonder why she would agree to star in this if she was just a wife with nothing to do. She's wasted. Anyone could have played this.

Note: Gordon's uniform differs from all others in the movie: his is much shorter while the majority of others are much longer; most go halfway way down to their knees. This is pretty much the same in all of his movies, or even other actors like Steve Reeves. 

Second note: The screenshot is from a nice HD copy from a streaming service in Italy. The re-used scenes look like second generation clips but the original scenes are crystal clear. It's not available anywhere on Blu-ray. 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Original Italian poster of HELEN, YES...HELEN OF TROY (1973) 

This raunchy PEPLUM comedy was released during the mini PEPLUM explosion in and around 1973.

Image of the week!

Hulina (Anita Ekberg) pleads to Temugin to help her in the climax of THE MONGOLS (1961)

Lobby Cards Set: HELEN OF TROY (1956)

Italian lobby cards set of HELEN OF TROY (1956) starring Rossana Podesta and Jacques Sernas. Nice set but there's four boring scenes. It could have used better scenes from this epic movie.

Musings!

Gabriele Antonini and Gordon Scott, as Mucius, in COLOSSUS OF ROME (1964; aka Hero of Rome)

It's rare in the PEPLUM universe to see the Hero with a visible disability like Scott's character in this movie. The story is based on actual people in history though it definitely takes liberties  to make the story more PEPLUM-like, such as Mucius being able to lift a tree, which in reality wouldn't happen. I like this movie and there are a lot of truly memorable scenes in it even though I feel the overall impression could have been more impactful. Antonini played Ulysses in the HERCULES movies with Steve Reeves. It's fun to watch him work with Scott. I wonder who he liked more, Reeves or Scott. 

Behind-the-Scenes

Yul Brynner arriving at the premiere of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956) in Hollywood.

Clip of the week: HERO OF BABYLON (1963)

Gordon Scott vs Piero Lulli. 

New PEPLUM Imagery!

With a few prompts, new PEPLUM imagery by AI. 

From MEN OF PULP @ X 

RAGE AGAINST THE EAGLE!

HD Alert!

Eddie Cantor and the Goldwyn Girls in ROMAN SCANDALS (1933)

I got a copy of this big hit in HD. As far as I know, it's not available on Blu-ray. How to describe this movie? A comedy/fantasy/musical set in Ancient Rome. Like a lot of PEPLUM comedies, it starts in modern times and the story goes in the past. There are some big musical moments like this one, KEEP YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL, with the Goldwyn girls tricked by Cantor in blackface. It's an impressive number, with Ancient Rome in Art Deco style. Of course, this scene is seen as extremely problematic, not only because of Cantor in blackface but the song's theme. It's definitely pre-code, so the film is naughty in ways rarely seen in post-code Hollywood. 

SIGN OF THE GLADIATOR - US version

SIGN OF THE GLADIATOR (1959) is the US version of SIGN OF ROME. American International Picture (AIP) got hold of the film, re-titled it and added different opening and closing credits. There's a song at the end sung by Bill Lee called Xenobia (or Zenobia). The image quality of the print is fairly poor so it might be hard to see details. 

I hope that this version will be released in pristine HD copy one day. 

We see an altar of sorts with a centre flame and two statues of lions?

The dancer sways her hips around the altar. It's not Chelo Alonso.

The dancer dances around the flame.

We see an abbreviated credits with just the four main actors listed, included its main star, Anita Ekberg.

And Georges Marchal as George.

Remarkably enough, Riccardo Freda is credited for the battle scenes.

 

The script was written and re-written by many, many who are not listed here, including Michelangelo Antonioni. But Sergio Leone is listed as one of the writers.

The credit for the song XENOBIA sung by Bill Lee.

Musings!

Gianna Maria Canale and Moira Orfei in THE QUEEN OF THE PIRATES (1960)

I wonder if Gianna enjoyed making pirate movies. She's either the passive beautiful heroine (COLOSSUS AND THE AMAZON QUEEN), the active beautiful villainess (GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES), or the active beautiful heroine, like this movie. It would make part of a great pirate triple feature with TIGER OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1962) and THE LION OF ST MARK (1963) with Gianna as the active beautiful heroine. There weren't that many pirate movies with the lead being female. She made over a dozen films between 1960 and 1962 and she would soon retire after that. It's great to see her along with Moira. I wish they had made more films together. Additional note: in a drastic change for PEPLUM movies, the good gal has dark hair/brunette and the villainess, played by Scilla Gabel, is blond. It's usually the other way around.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Original Italian poster of SCIPIO THE AFRICAN (1971) 

Fotobusta style poster. A rare PEPLUM release in early 1970s, before the mini-PEPLUM explosions in 1973. 

Image of the week!

Paris (Massimo Serato) introduces his former love, Enone (Cathy O'Donnell) to Helen (Hedy Lamar) in THE FACE THAT LAUNCHED A THOUSAND SHIPS (1953) which also part of THE LOVES OF THREE QUEENS (1954)

I wrote about this film and other movies based on TROY in the last BY THE GODS! magazine, which you can buy here.

At the movies...

QUO VADIS playing at the Astor Theatre on Broadway in 1951.

Musings!

Ed Fury and Rod Taylor having fun in COLOSSUS AND THE AMAZON QUEEN (1960)

Of all the PEPLUM comedies, this one seems to draw the most ire. Italian PEPLUM comedies never translated well into English and this one is no exception but I like it and watched many times (and will watch it again...). It is well reported that emerging Hollywood star Rod Taylor, who did THE TIME MACHINE around this time and would become a regular star in the 1960s, was asked why he did this movie and the simple answer is that he was reportedly dating Anita Ekberg, who made many movies in Italy during this period. Both Ed and Rod are clearly not taking this production seriously and their goofy demeanour makes it that more fun to watch. The question is: how much were they paid? 😆 

A TWIN PRODUCTION with SIEGE OF SYRACUSE (1960).

Behind-the-Scenes

Marcello Mastroianni on the set of SCIPIO THE AFRICAN (1971)

Clip of the week: DAUGHTERS OF DESTINY (1954)

Quick and efficient restraint of Raf Vallone. With Martine Carol. 

 

Portraits

Steve Reeves as Hercules in HERCULES (1958)

SPFX DEPT.

Dagoth (André René Roussimoff) tries to kill Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger), with Zula (Grace Jones) trying to help her friend, in CONAN THE DESTROYER (1984)

So what do you think of Dagoth? Personally, I thought the monster belonged more in INFRA-MAN movie than a Conan story. For me, the built-up to this was a letdown. The monster was designed by Carlo Rambaldi, who previously made many monsters seen in the PEPLUM genre that were much better than this. The film is somewhat entertaining in parts but also cringe in other parts. A decidedly uneven movie. 

Then & Now: Ornella Vanoni

Ornella in DUEL OF THE TITANS (1961); a recent photo of the actress

Musings!

Gordon Scott and Ornella Vanoni in a crucial scene in DUEL OF THE TITANS (1961)

While on my break, I watched several movies, including this one. I examined the German Blu-ray and discovered that this scene, which is quite important and long, was cut in the German version. On the Blu-ray, the scene plays but the language switches to Italian. There was no German audio. If you make a MP4 file, the scene with the Italian audio is not even included. It's programmed to cut it. German releases are so odd. It's not the first time I've seen this. The entire Sybil scene in HERCULES (1958) was also removed from the German version. I wonder why this scene was cut from DUEL OF THE TITANS? Was Ornella showing too much? There is a Wardrobe Malfunction in it. I should add it in the permanent page of the blog.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Original Italian poster of THE QUEEN OF THE PIRATES (1960)

Very nice poster. Gianna Maria Canale looks good but her expression is not flattering.

PEPLUM Break!

I take a break roughly every two months so this is that time again. I will be back soon. 

So stay tuned!

I'll leave you now with King Leonidas (Richard Egan) from THE 300 SPARTANS (1962), saying "From this wall, we do not retreat!"

-----

Note: some are expecting me to review the new Artus Films editions of HERCULES and HERCULES UNCHAINED. You can go to BY THE GODS! to read what I think of them.

Buy BY THE GODS! magazine

Buy BY THE GODS! magazine.

Image of the week!

The brothers Maciste (Iloosh Khoshabe and Mario Novelli) help build a house in THE INVINCIBLE BROTHERS MACISTE (1964)

Lobby Cards Set: CONQUEROR OF ATLANTIS (1965)

Original Italian lobby cards set of CONQUEROR OF AtLANtIS (1965) starring Kirk Morris, Hélène Chanel and others. Great set. Very colourful. There's one card that doesn't belong there though. Card number 4 is from MACISTE IN THE VALLEY OF THE THUNDERING ECHOES (1964), also with Kirk and Hélène. This was a strange but standard practice in Italian posters/lobby cards.

Musings!

A wounded Agi Murad (Steve Reeves) is transported to his enemies in THE WHITE WARRIOR (1959)

This is the only film Steve did with director Riccardo Freda, who was a great director. I wished the two had done more films together. It's one of the many What If... the PEPLUM genre is riddled with. The scene previous to this one is one of the best scenes Steve acted and was involved with. Steve was solid when paired with a great director. The screenshot is from yet another HD copy of this movie I just got today! Why this film is not on Blu-ray I'll never know. All of Steve's films should be available on Blu-ray. 

Side note: Yesterday I got the Artus Films French Blu-rays of HERCULES (1958) and HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959). I'll have more on this in the future.

Behind-the-Scenes

Alan Steel (Sergio Ciani) and Luisella Boni pose for a photo on the set of SAMSON (1961)

Clip of the week: HERCULES THE INVINCIBLE (1964)

Hercules (Dan Vadis) doing all sorts of action, including the infamous human kebab.  With Ugo Sasso and Mario De Simone.

Funnies!

Brad Harris and Mara Lane in 79 AD: THE DESTRUCTION OF HERCULANEUM

Recent Acquisitions!

There's so much stuff is going on right now I can't keep up. I'll post most of my recent acquisitions (even though there's more)

 

- SIGN OF THE GLADIATOR (1959)

AIP release. I finally got a copy of this rare US print. The quality is not that good but it's good enough to watch. I'll have a more detailed post on this release. 


I bought Blu-rays of the following titles:

- COLOSSUS OF THE STONE AGE (1962) - German release. 
- TIGER OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1962) - German release

- 79 AD: THE DESTRUCTION OF HERCULANEUM (1962) - German release

- PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE  (1963) - French release
- THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF GUERRIN MESCHINO (1952) - French release
- THE MASKED MAN AGAINST THE PIRATES (1964) - German release
- SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD (1961) - German release
- FIRE OVER ROME (1965) - German release
- HERCULES AGAINST THE MONGOLS (1963) - German release
- HERCULES AGAINST THE BARBARIANS (1964) - German release

I also got a digital copy of NERO AND POPPEA: AN ORGY OF POWER (1982) from a German Blu-ray release which are expensive.


I also bought DVD from Germany:

- CAESAR THE CONQUEROR (1962) - English audio included.
- GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON (1963) - German audio.
- TWO GLADIATORS (1964) - Great print but only German audio.

- HERCULES THE INVINCIBLE (1964) - Nice print. German and Italian audios.

German DVD pack (above):

- THE TROJAN HORSE (1961)
- COLOSSUS OF ROME (1964; Hero of Rome) 

- THE CENTURION or Conqueror of Corinth (1961).

English audio included in all of those three titles. The pack is uneven.

 

- THE LAST ROMAN (1968) - part 1 and part 2. Only German audio.

For more info, you can check out BY THE GODS!


I got these titles trading with someone:

- SON OF ZORRO (1973) - in HD. Spanish and English audios. Fan Dub.
- THE BLACK INVADERS (1962) - In Italian with English subs
- SHADOW OF ZORRO (1962) - in HD - Fan Dub in English and Spanish.

- HERCULES OF THE DESERT aka MACISTE IN THE VALLEY OF THE                         THUNDERING ECHOES (1964). So many different prints of this one!

And from different sources:

- THEODORA - SLAVE EMPRESS (1954; above) - Stunning HD copy from a streaming service in Italy. First real HD print of this great movie. With Gianna Maria Canale and Renato Baldini.

- SANDOKAN - PIRATE OF MALAYSIA (1964) with Steve Reeves - in HD (below). I don't remember where I got this one! Italian and French audios.

Steve Reeves and Leo Anchoriz in a beautiful print of SANDOKAN - PIRATE OF MALAYSIA

And lastly:

- SEVEN SLAVES AGAINST ROME (1964) which I've posted about yesterday.

More to come!

Blog notes

Views for the bog skyrocketed recently. Over 13 thousand views on Feb 24. And Over 7000 views. The blog has never been more popular.


 

First look at Matt Damon as Odysseus in the upcoming THE ODYSSEY production set to be released next summer. Additional actors were added to the already problematic cast making it even more problematic. I can't take this seriously. 

 BY THE GODS! magazine at 20% off through March 7!

code: 20MARCH2025

Buy BY THE GODS! magazine.

Musings!

Roger Browne and Scilla Gabel in SEVEN SLAVES AGAINST ROME (1964; Seven Slaves Against the World)

So many things happening right now. The HERCULES (1958) and HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959) Blu-rays from France and Artus Films have been shipped. I should get them soon. I can't wait to see how good these transfers will be. I also got hold of more super rare stuff. Included in all of this is the English version of SEVEN SLAVES AGAINST ROME, which was only available in Italian since forever. Someone got the UK VHS tape, transferred it digitally and made a Fan Dub with the recent HD version (it's only available in HD from streaming in Europe). I've watched this movie in Italian for soooo long that it's odd to watch it in English. I also have the super rare US version of SIGN OF THE GLADIATOR! More on this in the future.

So, 2025 looks like a promising year. 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Italian poster of THE GIANTS OF THESSALY (1960)

Very odd poster. It looks nothing like the movie. With so many amazing scenes in that movie and this is what they come up with? At least there are multiple other posters for the movie which are great.