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.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Original Italian poster of ATLAS AGAINST THE CZAR (1964) 

I love the simplicity of the fotobusta-style poster. 

Stats - 27 October - 2 November 2025

The blog's views in one simple graphic. 111K views. Average: 15,857. Only 6 comments! A lot of silent lurkers.

Image of the week!

Sappho (Tina Louise) and her fellow classmates, including Actis (Susy Andersen; far left) and Dyla (Annie Gorassini, next to Susy) try to save a wounded Phaon (Kerwin Mathews) in SAPPHO - THE VENUS OF LESBOS (1960; aka The Warrior Empress)

Lobby Cards Set: MACISTE IN KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1964)

Original Italian lobby cards set of MACISTE IN KING SOLOMON'S MINES starring Reg Park, Wandisa Guida and others. Great set. The colours are different than the ones in the movie but it's good nonetheless. Card number 2 is the best card.

Musings!

Jason (Roland Carey) is on top of the Cyclops to kill it in THE GIANTS OF THESSALY (1960)

Great film! I have a dozen different versions of this movie and none of them are in fantastic quality. I have two that are decent but I had to do some adjustments to this screenshot to make it look good. It's really sad. It desperately needs a stunning HD transfer. Every Riccardo Freda movie should be in HD by now. This scene is fun to watch and how many different old style techniques they used for special effects. I personally think Roland Carey did a good job as Jason even though there are folks out there who view him negatively. Notice the helmet he's wearing.

Behind-the-Scenes

Charlton Heston plays with his son, Fraser C. Heston, on the set of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956). Fraser played baby Moses while his father played adult Moses.

Clip of the week: THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES (1960)

The rebels trying to save their friend (Mimmo Palmara) from a sacrificial ceremony in honour of the evil ruler who the real villains (led by Conrado San Martin, the fellow who leaves at the end of the clip) want to overthrow the evil ruler before the rebels can. Or something like that. 😂 Great action! With Rory Calhoun, Mimmo Palmara, Angel Aranda, Georges Marchal and too many to mention.

 

Portraits

Ed Fury participating in the US promotional campaign of FABIOLA (1949)

HD Alert!

Gino Cervi, as Nero, and Carlo Tamberlani

Scenes from NERO AND THE BURNING OF ROME (1953)

I got a beautiful HD print of this once hard-to-find movie. I was the first to post about getting the movie from a private collector in Italy 4 years ago. It cost me some money. Now it's streaming in Italy which is great! I uploaded this to the list of titles available in HD at its permanent page. I have to do a list of all the actors who portrayed Nero on screen. It's streaming in Italian but my contact in Europe added English subtitles to it. 

 

I also uploaded an image of A QUEEN FROM CAESAR at the same page.

Then & Now: Pascale Petit

Pascale in A QUEEN FOR CAESAR (1962); a recent photo of the actress

Musings!

Burundai (Orson Welles) has the hots for Helga (Liana Orfei) in THE TARTARS (1961) 

I like this movie but it's missing something. It's missing a third act or the screenplay needed to be expanded. At 83 minutes, it's one short 'epic.' It has everything to make it epic but the story and runtime. Imagine Orson Welles lusting after you. Liana must have been happy and confused. Also with Arnoldo Foà.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Alternate US title of MY SON, THE HERO (1962) 

I personally prefer this title of the goofy MY SON, THE HERO. The original title was THE TITANS ARE COMING or simply THE TITANS, which, in my opinion, should be the actual title in English. 

Image of the week!

Taneal (Helga Liné) condemns her brothers, including Azzur (Tullio Altamura), for going against the wishes of their late father, Nabur the Second, in HERCULES AND THE TYRANTS OF BABYLON (1964)

PEPLUM Movie Quotes

Steve Reeves, Fabrizio Mioni and the cast 

From HERCULES (1958)

Jason: It's the end of us!

Hercules: No, not yet! I should go ashore. I should find the fleece. The people of Jolco will have their rights. I SWEAR BY THE GODS!

Musings!

Richard Harrison, as the Red Wolf, causes mayhem in REVOLT OF THE PRAETORIANS (1964)

The Hero hiding behind a 'scary' mask to cause chaos amongst the evil rulers is pretty much a PEPLUM cliché. In my opinion, the Red Wolf should have been used more in the movie but it serves its purpose. Richard Harrison is pretty good in this movie. It's a solid production but the movie does tend to veer from serious action to slapstick style. This is pretty common in Italian productions but it's always a bit odd to witness. The movie has one of the most crowded casts with over a dozen major characters.

Behind-the-Scenes

Charlton Heston being prepped for a scene on the set of BEN-HUR (1959)

Clip of the week: THREE SWORDS FOR ROME (1964)

Mimmo Palmara, Roger Browne and Mario Novelli in action! 

Blog's 15th anniversary!

October 12 was the official 15th anniversary of the blog! I was on break that day.

So much has happened since and yet I feel it's still not enough!

Original post

SPFX DEPT.

Scene from GODDESS OF LOVE (1957)

This is Praxiteles house. Praxiteles is a famous sculptor played by Massimo Girotti (bottom screenshot). It's a big model. I like the fact that they used a model instead of matte paintings. The trees give it away. This is the only special effects in the entire movie. The model shot is used a couple of times, different times of the day. The courtyard setting is seen below in these shots. Below: Belinda Lee and Jacques Sernas.

 

Vintage Article

Magazine article on THE AFFAIRS OF MESSALINA (1951) in Mon Film publication. It stars Maria Felix.