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. **. 

FIRE MONSTERS AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES

Reg Lewis as Maciste

FIRE MONSTERS AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (aka Maciste contro i mostri/1962). Director: Guido Malatesta.

Aydar (Luciano Marin) and his woman Raya (Birgit Bergen) are menaced by an unconvincing sea monster, and Maciste (Reg Lewis) comes to their rescue, destroying the beast. Aydar is the new leader of the Sun people, a group of nomads who have settled in a valley. The Moon people, who live in dank caves, attack the Sun people, dragging off their women. Maciste leads an attack on the moon people and is aided by Moah (Margaret Lee), a beautiful woman who hates Fuan (Andrea Aureli), the bestial leader of the moon people. Although Maciste gives a good accounting of himself, he still winds up buried up to his neck along with Moah. Unable to free any of his limbs, the situation looks hopeless ,..

Luciano Marin as Aydar

There are actually no "fire monsters" in Fire Monsters, just the aforementioned sea (or lake) monster, underwater fanged snakes, a quick shot of a wandering giant lizard, and a mechanical foam rubber cave beastie that nearly snacks on Maciste and Moah. Fire Monsters is a dubbed Italian peplum film that in its American version is one of the "Sons of Hercules" movies -- they even have their own theme song. The Sun people are depicted as being much nicer than the Moon people, but even they think it's okay to put a woman to death if she doesn't obey her husband. Basically women are treated like garbage. 

Reg Lewis and Margaret Lee

The Moon people try to forge an alliance with the Uma tribe, who are apparently cannibals who snack on their enemies. The best fight scene in the whole movie doesn't concern Maciste, but is the exciting climactic battle between Aydar and Fuan. As for muscle man Reg Lewis, he only appeared in five movies and this was his only peplum film. He was discovered by no less than Mae West and appeared with other body builders in her nightclub act, becoming her frequent escort. 

Verdict: Barely acceptable peplum fare for monster, muscle and Margaret Lee enthusiasts. **1/4. 

HERCULES UNCHAINED

Reeves, Koscina, Antonini

HERCULES UNCHAINED (Ercole e la regina di Lidia/1959). Director: Pietro Francisci.

After the events of Hercules, Hercules (Steve Reeves) has returned to his homeland of Greece with his new bride, Iole (Sylva Koscina), and several of his friends, including Ulysses (Gabriele Antonini). The three of them decide to return to Thebes, but Hercules learns that there have been many changes in his absence. Oedipus the King has given his throne to his two sons with the understanding that they each rule a year and trade off, but Etocles (Sergio Fantoni) refuses to leave Thebes while his brother Polinices (Mimmo Palmara) has gathered together an army of ruthless foreigners to help him take over the city. Hercules agrees  to mediate a peace between the two men, but before he can do so he is kidnapped to the island of Lidia after accidentally partaking of the "waters of forgetfulness."

Evil queen: Reeves with Lopez

On Lidia Queen Omphale (Sylvia Lopez) tries to turn Hercules into the latest in her long line of lovers, all of whom have been preserved, quite dead, in a special underground gallery (this reminds one of developments in Jayne Mansfield's Loves of Hercules). The climax of the film actually brings us back to Thebes, where total war has broken out, but in one of the film's best sequences, the two brothers fight a vivid dual to the literal death with swords. 

Sergio Fantoni with Reeves

Hercules Unchained is a notch above Hercules, with a better story and more action. The dubbed performances all seem adept enough, and cinematographer Mario Bava's often garish color schemes -- reminding one more of neon-lit Las Vegas than ancient Greece --  are as wild as ever. Hercules also has an interesting fight with a creep named Anteo, played by boxer-actor-strongman Primo Carnera. The film includes a ballet, and if that weren't enough, a ditty is sung by Iole as Hercules takes a nap in the back of their wagon. Aside from the waters of forgetfulness, the film has no fantastic elements to speak of. 

Verdict: Surprisingly entertaining bit of "peplum." ***.