GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON

Mark Forest as Goliath

GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON (aka La vendetta di ercole/1960). Director: Vittorio Cattafavi.

King Eurystheus (Broderick Crawford of Adventures of Nick Carter) covets the kingdom of Thebes and hopes to get it away from the heroic Emilius, who is popularly known as Goliath (Mark Forest of Goliath and the Sins of Babylon). Goliath objects to his brother Illo's (Sandro Moretti) romantic relationship with Thea (Federica Ranchi) because he believes her parents murdered his own. But Illo is convined that Goliath is in love with Thea despite the fact that the muscle man is  married to Dejanira (Leonora Ruffo). In Eurystheus' court there is a sinisterly conspiring courtier, Tindaro (Giancarlo Sbragia), and an equally conspiratorial slave girl named Alcinoe (Wandisa Guida). Before the soap opera can get too thick, there are brief appearances by a phony, fire-breathing three-headed dog, a kind of winged bat-creature in a costume, and a pitiful stuffed bear that doesn't even appear to be alive. And more.

Broderick Crawford and Giancarlo Sbragia

Goliath must enter the Cave of Horror on two occasions: to get back a blood diamond given to him by the Gods, and to rescue his wife from a dragon. This pathetic dragon, which appears on two occasions, is strictly of the Beanie and Cecil variety, with a couple of brief, crude stop-motion shots that would have had Ray Harryhausen crying "foul!" and a big mock-up of its cranium with limited mobility. An interesting sequence has the king using elephants to crush the heads of his enemies (not shown graphically) and Goliath arriving not only to save his brother -- the next victim -- but to lift up the elephant's leg and topple it to the ground (this actually seems to be done by the muscular Forest without the aid of camera trickery). It's hard to judge the acting in this due to the dubbing -- we don't get to hear Crawford's trademark gravelly voice, nor Forest's Brooklyn-born intonations (he looks great in a beard) -- but everyone seems enthusiastic enough, especially Sbragia. The score for the American version is a real hodge-podge. Gaby Andre of The Strange World of Planet X has a very small role. The original title for this was Hercules' Revenge. 

Verdict: If you're looking for decent monsters in this peplum film, look elsewhere. **. 

GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON

Mark Forest as Goliath

GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON (aka Maciste, l'eroe pui grande del mondo/1963). Director: Michele Lupo.  

Having lost a war to Babylon, the price of peace for the nation of Nefer is to have thirty virgins sent to the Babylonian king where they are to be sacrificed. Maciste (Mark Forest) -- known as Goliath in this dubbed American print -- joins a group of rebels who are going to take the fight back to Babylon. One of the rebels is Xandros (Giuliano Gemma), who is in love with the Neferian princess Regia (Jose Greci), the niece of King Pergasos (Piero Lulli). Another one of the rebel group is the midget Areto (Arnaldo Fabrizio) who makes a better soldier than expected. But can they win against the whole Babylonian army?

Guiliano Gemma and Mark Forest

Goliath and the Sins of Babylon is a somewhat more elaborate Italian "peplum" movie although this doesn't prevent it from being somewhat cheesy at times. Born in Brooklyn, Mark Forest makes a handsome and muscularly impressive Goliath. The best scene has him tied to a massive slab as spears drop from holes in the ceiling, nearly puncturing his mostly naked body. The battle sequences are realistically chaotic. The production values are at times impressive, but the sets still look like they were set up the day before filming. It's hard to judge the acting in this sort of thing, but everyone at least looks the part. A good score by Francesco De Masi. 

Verdict: More than passable peblum with some good action scenes. **3/4.