Clip of the week: THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII (1959)

Mimmo Palmara plays such a slimy villain! With Steve Reeves, Angel Aranda, Barbara Carroll and others. Carroll is one of a handful of actresses who played Nydia, the blind girl in many adaptations of the novel.

Portraits

Chelo Alonso as Landa in GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS (1959)

SPFX DEPT.

Scenes from WAR GODS OF BABYLON (1962)

Many are not familiar with this PEPLUM movie. It's a solid production and at the end, the city of Nineveh is besieged by a series of disasters, including the burning of the palace, set on fire by a suicidal King. I won't spoil it too much but the effects of the flooding (not shown) and the fire are very good. Antonio Margheriti was responsible for the intricate model work. The top screenshot almost legit looks real. And the temple or palace starts crumbling from the fire (last screenshot). The excellent lighting makes all the difference.

This title is included in the soon to be published BY THE GODS! magazine issue #4.

 

José Greci and Stelio Candelli watch from a distance as Nineveh is destroyed.

 

Issue with the new issue of BY THE GODS! magazine

The new issue of BY THE GODS! magazine was sent to print this past weekend. It's set to arrive by Friday. There's a technical problem with this issue. It has 58 pages, which is the biggest yet. The problem is not the size but the type of print format. I deal with MagCloud and they have two types of printing formats:

Saddle Stitch Binding or Perfect Binding. Link. All previous issue were Saddle Stitch but since the new one has 58 pages, Saddle Stitch is not available since it has to be a variable of 4. 4x 14 = 56. 4 x 15 = 60. Because 58 is not compatible with Saddle Stitch I have to remove two pages or add two pages if I want it to be printed in the Saddle Stitch format. 56 pages or 60 pages but not 58. I like Saddle Stitch so I was gutted by this. I can't remove pages that's for sure. I printed a copy with Perfect Binding and once I'll get it, I'll see if the format is good enough. If I find that I prefer Saddle Stitch, I have to add two additional pages at the last minute and get it printed again.

If this issue is printed in Perfect Binding or Saddle Stitch with two additional pages, meaning it will be 60 pages big, the cost of the magazine automatically goes up either way. 

I have until Friday to figure out what to add in the two additional pages if Perfect Binding is not an option. Perfect Binding is like a glossy magazine. It's more expensive. 

I'll keep you updated on this.

Musings!

A naked Noëlle Adam, Donald O'Connor (back to us) and Vittorio De Sica in THE WONDERS OF ALADDIN (1961)

I challenge anyone to give a short, concise synopsis of this movie. The story is all over the place. It's a comedy and even though there are some funny moments, it's not a laugh a minute comedy. The way Noëlle Adam's character is treated in this family movie is so peculiar. Yes, this is a family movie. So many questionable things in it. The framing of this shot is so odd. Everything about this movie is wonky. It's available in a super clear Blu-ray which has some really nice photography throughout the oddity. I still can't believe this was available in HD and a pristine print of HERCULES (1958) is still nowhere to be found (not counting those abomination of Blu-ray releases from Japan or France). I still can't believe Steve Reeves was set to star in this. They switched Reeves for O'Connor (!!!) and gave Reeves THIEF OF BAGHDAD. Phew.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Original Italian poster of MARS - THE GOD OF WAR (1962) 

A decidedly different poster for a decidedly different PEPLUM movie. Like the movie, this poster is a different style we typically see in regular posters for PEPLUM movies. There's more than one poster for the movie.

Image of the week!

Hercules (Gordon Scott) tries to survive in the claws of the giant Trojan sea monster in HERCULES AND THE PRINCESS OF TROY (1965)

New BY THE GODS! magazine!

The new issue of BY THE GODS! will be available maybe as soon as next week. I need to publish a printed copy and make any corrections first before sending the final version. It can take up to a week for it to be sent, even with express shipping. It's coming. It's just a matter of time. This will be the Fall/Winter issue.

Musings!

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Alfio Caltabiano and Mario Novelli are not dead in REVENGE OF THE GLADIATORS (1964)

Ok, more Cinematic Confusion. This is the last of the SLAVE series from director Michele Lupo. His films are hyper action, quasi-cartoony PEPLUM movies with hyper masculine characters and massive close-ups. You either like his movies or not. I like them but sometimes they are a bit much. This movie shares the same title of another 1964 PEPLUM called REVENGE OF THE GLADIATORS with Mickey Hargitay. The Italian title for this movie translates as REVENGE OF SPARTACUS (La Vendetta di Spartacus). The story switches from dead serious to slapstick, which is not unusual in Italian PEPLUM movies. In this improbable scene, the villains (Daniele Rocha and Giacomo Stuart Rossi) meet on the beach where there are hundreds of dead bodies. They celebrate that the rebels are all dead. There's a big and obvious problem with this scene. The corpses have no blood. It's obvious they're not dead but just pretend to be dead and boom, they all stand-up and attack the villains and their soldiers. Just look at the people in the background. There's no blood. This climax, as action-packed as it is, is weak. The whole film is sorta forgettable, certainly compared to SEVEN REBEL GLADIATORS and SEVEN SLAVES AGAINST ROME, which are memorable from beginning to end. Lupo lost steam with this production.

Alfio is the stuntman and is often 'Master of Arms' in movies he's not acting in. This stance, with legs wide apart, is his signature stance. If you watch a PEPLUM movie and the actor fight like this, Alfio is involved with the movie.

Behind-the-Scenes

Actor/director John Huston poses with the actual life-size ark on the set of THE BIBLE: IN THE BEGINNING...(1966)

Clip of the week: PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE (1963)

Perseus (Richard Harrison) is whipped into action! With Leo Anchóriz and Anna Ranalli.

Funnies!

Brad Harris in GOLIATH AGAINST THE GIANTS (1961)

HD Alert!

Rhonda Fleming as Semiramis during the climax of QUEEN OF BABYLON (1954) 

This movie is streaming in HD in Italy. I like it. I uploaded a clip last week but it wasn't from this print since the short clip was too big to post anywhere. Even with its faults, it's an entertaining, colorful and grandiose pre-HERCULES PEPLUM. 

Rhonda Fleming (above) and Ricardo Montalban (below). Great sets and production.

Who's more popular on Facebook?

So last week's Thursday and Friday posts got a ton of views on Facebook. All except one. It tells me who's really popular. Of course, newer posts haven't been seen as long as older ones but it's still telling.

Last Fridays posts:

153 likes!

398 likes!

Last Thursday's posts:

12 likes!

 

888 likes!

Musings!

Gloria Milland and Brad Harris in GOLIATH AGAINST THE GIANTS (1961) 

I love this movie and I love Gloria Milland. This is effectively her first starring role (she had minor roles prior to this). But her character is probably the oddest in any PEPLUM movie. She plays Princess Elea (!?). She plays a double spy of sorts. I need to explain the story, or what story the movie has to explain her character. You see, Goliath just won a battle in some distant land. He sets sail back to his homeland which is ruled by an evil ruler, played by Fernando Rey. That's basically the story. His return is the story and once he's back, how he survives the evil ruler he wants to dethrone. 

Anyway, the evil ruler makes a pack with Princess Elea after they heard Goliath was on his way back (how did they know? Carrier pigeon? Telephone?). Princess Elea wants to avenge the deaths of her father and brother and assumes Goliath was responsible for their deaths. So she goes to meet Goliath on his way back to kill him. The problem is: how did she travel so fast to meet him halfway? From the time they learned he was on his way back to the time it took for her to travel to the island, it's almost impossible for the two to have meet. By the time she was on that island, he would have far gone from that island and on his way back in his homeland. This part always gets me. Did she teleport to the island? 

Anyway, so in this scene she explains everything and tells him she wats to kill him but Goliath says he's not responsible and the two fall in love. From murder to love! I love PEPLUM movies! 😂 Anyway, discovering Gloria's career is one of the many fun things I got since becoming a PEPLUM maniac. 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Spanish poster of SINS OF POMPEII (1950) 

This simple poster is an oddity. The movie was released before Steve Reeves was an actor and yet he's on the poster, as the fighting man. What's really odd about this is Steve starred in THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII in 1959. Cinematic Confusion. This tells me this is a re-release and not from the original release. The Spanish title translates as The Buried City.

Image of the week!

Samson (Alan Steel) uses his strength to get out of prison in SAMSON AND THE SLAVE QUEEN (1963)

MUSCLES Inc.

Mark Forest on the cover of an Italian sports/health magazine. It's a photo from HERCULES AGAINST THE SONS OF SUN  (1964). That's Anna-Maria Pace from the movie. One of the articles listed is about the TRIUMPH OF THE TEN GLADIATORS.

Musings!

Arnold Stang and Arnold Schwarzenegger, as Hercules, in HERCULES IN NEW YORK (1970)

A cute, amiable film with a fantasy story of Hercules, with a thick Austrian accent, ending up in modern day New York. The plot is not that important. It's mainly a showcase for Arnold. Decades later, his acting remained the same. Critics disapproved of Steve Reeves' acting when HERCULES (1958) was released but I thought he was pretty good, certainly when you factor in the language barrier. Young Arnold is physically impressive but dude can't act. At all. IMO, Arnold Stang saved the movie. Putting these two together was genius. 

Behind-the-Scenes

Steve Reeves relaxing on the set of HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959). Hercules is carried by soldiers to Omphale.  

Clip of the week: QUEEN OF BABYLON (1954)

Rhonda Fleming, as Semiramis, in a spectacular dance/sacrificial ceremony. With Roldano Lupi and Tamara Lees.

New PEPLUM Imagery

With a few prompts, new PEPLUM imagery by AI. 

MEN OF PULP @ X

THE RISE OF HANNIBAL

SPFX DEPT.

Scenes from SLAVE OF ROME (1961) 

Looking at these scenes and you wouldn't think there were matte paintings but there are.The one above is a bit more apparent but the one below is seamless except for the horse riders disappearing behind the matte painting that was positioned close to the camera. In the GIF below, you can see a horse rider on the right disappear behind the painting. Part of this complex scene was re-used in other movies.
 

Twin Temples Dedicated to Hercules and Alexander the Great Found in Iraq

This is quite interesting. They found a coin with Hercules that resemble Alexander the Great on one side and Zeus on the other. In Iraq!

2023 Article:

Archaeologists have discovered two temples, one buried atop the other, in the ancient megacity of Girsu in Iraq. One temple is linked to Hercules and Alexander the Great.

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Remnants of the older, Sumerian temple were found buried "on the exact same spot" as the newer construction, which was dedicated to the "Greek god Hercules and his Sumerian equivalent, the hero god Ningirsu [also known as Ninurta]," Sebastien Rey, an archaeologist and curator of Ancient Mesopotamia at the British Museum who led the excavation, told Live Science in an email.

The fact that a temple was raised on the same site where one stood 1,500 years earlier was no coincidence, and the site must have held some significance to the people of Mesopotamia, the researchers said.

"It shows that the inhabitants of Babylonia in the [fourth] century B.C. had a vast knowledge of their history," Rey said. "The legacy of the Sumerians was still very vibrant."

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While exploring the dual temple site, archaeologists discovered a silver drachm (an ancient Greek coin) buried beneath an altar or shrine, as well as a brick with the two brothers inscription.

The inscription itself is a nod to Zeus, the Greek sky god, who is often symbolized by a lightning bolt and an eagle. Both of these symbols can be found on the coin, which would've been struck in Babylon "under Alexander the Great's authority," Rey said. "It shows Hercules in a youthful, clean-shaven portrait that strongly recalls conventional representations of Alexander on one side, with Zeus on the other."

Link

Musings!

Greg Morris, Jocelyn Lane and Peter Mann in THE SWORD OF ALI BABA (1965)

By 1965, most films used some sort of widescreen aspect ratio. When I watch this movie for the first time, the first thing that struck me was the fact that it was in Academy format, or 4:3. I thought that was odd until I realized the movie was re-using scenes fro ALI BABA AND THE 40 THIEVES, from 1944. There was no widescreen movies back then. So they had to shoot in the same format as the 1944 film. This is what I remember mostly of it. I saw it on Drive-In Classics, a now defunct Canadian channel. I remember very little of it except for Gavin MacLeod, of THE LOVE BOAT, hamming it up as the villain and Jocelyn or Jackie Lane, who had already appeared in a good number of PEPLUM movies before this. In fact, the only reason to watch this oddity is for Jocelyn. I'm not familiar with Peter Mann and looking at IMDb profile, I know why. He had a short-lived career. Greg Morris would star in the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE TV series. I still don't have this movie in my collection. Just the trailer.