SPFX DEPT.

Scenes from WAR GODDESS (1973) 

This movie is about the Amazons. It's directed by Terence Young. It sorta resembles PEPLUM movies of the 1950s and 60s with one big exception. It includes full female nudity, including nude wrestling. The movie suffers from some sort of identity crisis. It's a comedy? It's an accurate portrayal? It's an action movie? It's an adult movie? Anyway, the production appears much higher than the usual for these kind of Sex and Sandal movies from the 1970s. This includes two matte painting shots. The one above is the big one. It's a combo of real set (on the right) and matte painting (on the left). Notice the big tower on the far left side. Below is the tower but it's missing the top. They forgot to add a matte painting or didn't bother matching the look shown in the image above. The third image shows another matte painting, probably the tiniest one I've ever seen. 

Matte work by the excellent Emilio Ruiz del Río.

 

Vintage Article

Extensive article on Steve Reeves in Cinemonde (March 1964). I only included the two first pages. It says 'Steve Reeves Wants To Return To His Ranch.' It includes the measurements of his body with a photo from HERCULES (1958).

Musings!

Chelo Alonso in ATLAS IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS (1961) 

As one can see in this image, Chelo, as Capys, is about to kill someone. It's a ruthless act. But the movie itself tries to portray her in a sympathetic way, and it works. It's different than most portrayal. An Evil Queen who is actually nice. And this is why I like this movie. She doesn't play it in a cartoon character way like many villains are portrayed. She not a good person (she wants a baby to be sacrificed...) but we she that she feels stuck in her position as a ruler. It's fun to watch. I think they succeeded more than most PEPLUM movies. It also helps that Chelo looks great! 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Original Italian poster of SEVEN REBEL GLADIATORS (1965)

It's odd to say this but this poster doesn't make me want to see it. It's nice but it hardly demonstrates the movie's action comedy aspect.

Comments at the blog

I've been doing the blog for 15 years and I heard a ton of stupid shit and posts here in those 15 years. I'm pretty much indifferent to it all at this point. I don't care about trolls. But there are a couple of people who keep commenting stuff, since forever, and it's always bad. This is nothing new. I wrote about this many times. I even wrote a big post detailing what is and what isn't permissible in 2021. I didn't post it because I would have to place that post at the very top of the blog so newcomers could read it before commenting. But most wouldn't even bother reading it anyway, so I decided naw.

But here's the problem: yes, there are trolls and regular posters who are just negative. But here at Blogger, you can't block posters. Most comments are made anonymously. You can't block anonymous comments. At one point, I only had comments from this handmaiden fetish guy who only commented on how or what they would do to such and such kinky scenarios with the ladies in PEPLUM films. This lasted over a decade! Fortunately for me, he moved on. But he was a good reason for me to stop comments. I didn't and endured his stupidity for the longest time.

The thing is I easily recognize who's posting by the usual language they use. I recognize them all the time even when they're anonymous. I could delete the comments but I don't like curating comments. Also, and one of the main reasons I kept comments on, is to show to readers the stupid stuff left in the comments, for all the world to see. It's funny.

There are other reasons which I won't detail here but suffice it to say, the only way to stop these losers is to turn off the ability to leave a comment altogether. It's unfortunate because there have been great comments and some very informative ones but for the most part, few people except the negative folks leave a comment. Last week, the blog broke a new record in views, with over 200,000 views and there were 4 or 5 comments (excluding mine).

Here's part of what I wrote back in 2021. I didn't go through deleting the comments listed below. Like I said, I didn't post this because I realized I don't like curating who says what but also, it's impossible to control them here at Blogger.  

My identity is pretty much anonymous in regards to the blog. But tons of people have contacted me and they know my name. It's not that I want to keep it a secret. My identity is unimportant in regards to the work I do. 

- If a comment was made in bad fate, ie, the comment contradicts everything I wrote...such comments won't be posted anymore. It's not up to me to point out what I wrote when it's already there in black and white. These comments only show that the person didn't read the article properly or at all. They're just nasty comments not worth the time of day. 

- If the comment is repetitive, I won't post it. Many leave the same comments over and over again. It's mind bogglingly bizarre. 

- If the comments are overtly sexual. The blog is followed by many kinky, adult fetish sites. The PEPLUM genre is a sexy genre with tons of beefcake and cheesecake so I get why many enjoy this aspect of the blog. I wrote many articles about this, including 'wardrobe malfunctions'. I don't mind if someone finds an actor or actress hot. But if the only reason someone posts comments is to advertise their fetish for slaves or maidens well those comments won't be posted anymore. 

- If the comment is just a 'drive by' comment trying to correct something that didn't need to be corrected in the first place. Those comments won't be posted anymore. The third fellow I mentioned above recently did this. He never comments on my blog or participates in anything I do but he tried to point out one thing at my WONDERS OF ALADDIN review. It was something I specifically wrote in the review that I didn't have time to do, IE identifying some actresses who played the Amazons, but he wrote a comment telling me I should have done so. Nothing else about the review (is it good or bad). Just that. This time, I didn't post the comment. I truly don't understand people like that.

It all comes down to this: do I keep comments on but delete the ones that aren't good? Or turn off comments entirely to avoid curating?

This is not a new issue. I've been thinking of blocking comments for a long time but I always thought no. This time it's different. The comments might come back eventually but for now, they're turned off. Maybe have one post per week where people can leave comments for the other posts. BTW, you can leave comments on the Facebook or X accounts (where I can block users 😂).

I'm leaving the comments on for this post.

Image of the week!

The statue of the God of Vengeance tries to crush Goliath (Mark Forest) in GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON (1960)

Lobby Cards Set: KOLOSSAL - I MAGNIFICI MACISTI (1977)

Original Italian lobby cards set of KOLOSSAL - I MAGNIFICI MACISTI starring a ton of PEPLUM stars. This was a dubious 'documentary' that showed scenes from multiple PEPLUM movies therefore everyone is in it. This documentary was used to copyright multiple movies on Youtube by a shady channel even though the channel didn't have rights to any of the movies shown in this doc. They use Maciste in its title but most of the movies are not Maciste movies. Nice cards though.

Musings!

Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn in ATTILA (1954) 

This movie was released in Italy in December 1954. Two months prior, ULYSSES (1954) was released in October. Both films starred Anthony Quinn, among others, and both films were produced by Carlo Ponti and Dino De Laurentiis. Carlo Ponti would marry Sophia Loren twice in bizarre circumstances that would take too long to explain so here's a link. Ponti met Loren when she was 16 at a beauty contest. She hated making the movie. Mainly for a scene with a sandwich Anthony Quinn had to eat in a scene. I like this film. It's directed by Pietro Francisci so there's a certain enthusiasm in it that's characteristic of his films and not in other PEPLUM productions. But the movie is way too short. It's runtime is officially at 80 minutes but all my prints I have, including the rare English print, is 76 minutes long (probably due to the PAL conversion thingy...). It should have been fleshed out more. Sophia eventually became fluent in English but the English dub doesn't use her voice (but Quinn's voice is there) which make watching it odd since her voice when she speaks English is so distinctive. It might be the reason why the English dub has never been released officially on DVD or Blu-ray.

BY THE GODS! magazine issue 4

All BY THE GODS! magazines on sale. It's time to buy for a great deal.

Including New Issue no 4 (below). 

Details at the link below.

https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/3205057 

A reminder as well: I'm not responsible for the publishing and shipping of the magazine. MagCloud is.

Behind-the-Scenes

Samson Burke and Roberto Chevalier, in costume, somewhere odd during the filming of VENGEANCE OF URSUS (1961). I guess this area was close to the studio or the location filming but, yeah, the demolished building is not in the movie. 😂

Clip of the week: THE GOLDEN FALCON (1955)

Rare bathing moment with Massimo Serato. With Anna Maria Ferrero and Carlo Sposito.

New PEPLUM imagery

THE REDS AGAINST THE GREENS

MEN OF PULP

HD Alert!

Scenes from SCIPIO THE AFRICAN (1971; Scipione Detto Anche l'Africano)

Marcello Mastroianni starred as Scipione, or Scipio in English, in this 1970s production. The HD print is absolutely gorgeous. Marcello only made a handful of PEPLUM movies. This one is quite rare since it had limited release. I'm not sure if it was dubbed into English but the print came with English subtitles created by my contact in Europe. He did a great job. I had one previous print which was acceptable. This one is a major improvement. The movie itself has a lot of familiar faces from the PEPLUM genre, which is always fun to see.

 

Silvana Mangano also stars in it with Marcello.

Then & Now: Lesley-Anne Down

Lesley-Anne in THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII (1984); The most recent photo of the actress.

BY THE GODS! magazine issue 4

January 2026 sales were the second best sales period since the first month the first issue went on sale! It's quite amazing. I guess people waited after Christmas to buy it. Again, a big thank you to all who bought the current issue or the previous ones.

New Issue no 4. Details at the link below.

https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/3205057 

A reminder as well: I'm not responsible for the publishing and shipping of the magazine. MagCloud is.

Musings!

Daniela Rocca, leader of the Amazons, is angry at her fellow Amazonian warriors for infighting in COLOSSUS AND THE AMAZON QUEEN (1960)

There's something that stands-out in this shot and it's not the bountiful actresses. It's the background. What do you see? It's a massive painted mural. This is a modest budgeted comedy and the production is quite amazing. Most of the sets and stuff were not actually built for this movie but for SIEGE OF SYRACUSE (1960), directed by Pietro Francisci. Since this comedy is a TWIN PRODUCTION, the sets and settings were reused for this movie as well. It explains the movies quasi-opulent look even if this a goofy comedy. Daniela excelled in comedy. This role and her role in REVENGE OF THE BARBARIANS (1960) puts her on the top of funny female actresses in PEPLUM movies. Anyway, Daniela was a one of a kind actress who lead a tragic life. It's sad to see how things turned out for her. Side note: is it me or she looks like Lady Gaga (no disrespect to Daniela)? 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

US one-sheet poster of GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES (1961) 

This poster is interesting. The artist is Reynold Brown, who basically painted a ton of movie posters in the 1950s and 60s. He's great. But the content in the poster. Of course, there are no creatures like that in the movie. The actor, who doesn't look like Gordon Scott, is wearing a loincloth, like Tarzan. Scott played Tarzan. I guess they wanted to link this film with the Scott's popular Tarzan productions. Dino De Laurentiis' name is on it. And as I wrote last week, and will post soon, this is actually a Maciste film rebranded as Goliath for the US/Canada. The title is different depending on which print. 

Personally, I think Goliath is more suited than Maciste. There's nothing really Maciste about this film. The modern Maciste was almost always seen as alone, without family and community. In this, Maciste lives in a village, has girlfriend, family, etc. 

Last Week's Views

Nearly 200,000 views last week! Amazing new record.

AI PEPLUMTV

ATTENTION, SPARTAN!

Image of the week!

Astra (Gianna Maria Canale) tells Guja (Leonora Ruffo) that she'll use her to control Goliath in GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES (1961)

The Lascivious Look

There's no question that PEPLUM movies, from Hollywood or Italy, had a lot of beefcake and cheesecake. But the emphasis was centered on men and their bodies, which is why so many bodybuilders and physique models where cast in leading roles. The success of HERCULES (1958) confirmed this. In a subtle, or not so subtle way, not only were these movies focused on muscular bodies and quickly became a selling point but the characters within the movies also enjoyed the muscle. This page will spotlight these moments.

Reminder: I didn't create these scenes. They are there to be seen in the movies themselves. And I've already written posts on this for specific movies (such as SANDOKAN - PIRATE OF MALAYSIA) already, which I'll repost here. It's not a new topic for the blog.

For example, CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1982) made a point of this in the scene below, which I wrote about 13 years ago: the friendly Priest (Jack Taylor) takes an admiring look at chest/body of Conan (Arnold). The pretext was to verify if Conan had any tattoos of the cult but its played more on a lascivious level.

Priest: Afraid to bare yourself? Why? You're so big and so well grown. You should be proud of your body. How do you expect to reach emptiness without knowing your own body

The scene toyed with the mainly male crowd's innate distrust of any other man attracted by the obvious physical beauty of men. But it's a statement on how the filmmakers perceived old PEPLUM movies: a pretext to ogle attractive men's physiques, which the director, John Milius, clearly stated he was against while filming the movie. Milius failed spectacularly since people went to watch the movie to check out Arnold's 'impressive' sculptured body. This scene was uploaded to Youtube (oops...video was removed) and the comments prove this point. The Priest is killed by Conan (he is a barbarian after all) for admiring Conan's body all the while the mainly male audience in theatres are safe as they admire Arnold's physique.

The perception of PEPLUM movies from Hollywood was made fun of for years, certainly after the hilarious AIRPLANE (1980) scene in which the pilot (Peter Graves) asks a kid if he loves gladiator movies. The obvious subtext was anyone who watches these movies is sus.

Fortunately, the stigma, even it's still there to a certain extent, was dismissed gradually after the huge success of GLADIATOR (2000) and certainly 300 (2006) and the SPARTACUS TV series, which all unabashedly displayed male physiques.

There are many such 'lascivious look' scenes in PEPLUM movies, no matter how brief they are. They're like Rorschach tests: how a person perceives a scene. Many won't see it. But to others, like me, they are quite obvious. Also, it's not all about physiques and muscles even if it's the predominant and obvious aspect. There are plenty of scenes which the Hero is fully clothed and they still draw attention.

The correct word to describe this subject would be 'homoerotic' since most of the attention our beefy Heroes get are from other men even if some of this attention also came from women as well, certainly with love-starved evil Queens and rulers (which I'll be including), but it doesn't compare. I won't use that word because I find it silly.

This is an on-going article and I'll be updating it from time to time at its permanent page: link.

This is a companion piece with THE REAL PEPLUM X and WARDROBE MALFUNCTIONS. 

Musings!

Kin Khan (Nadir Moretti) is being crushed by HERCULES (Mark Forest) in HERCULES AGAINST THE MONGOLS (1963)

As you might know, I like PEPLUM movies. But one thing I don't like is how many action scenes are too short. Like this scene between Kin Khan and Hercules (originally Maciste). The rivalry started earlier in the movie and the hatred they have for each other is one of the best in any PEPLUM movie. Matching up Nadir with Mark was great. This scene at the end should have lasted much longer, IMO. It's annoying when action are too drawn out but they're annoying as well well they end too quickly. The scene is still good and this movie is one of my favourites but it's slightly frustrating during the high points!

Behind-the-Scenes

Brigitte Bardot on the set of HELEN OF TROY (1956). Brigitte died late last year.

Clip of the week: QUEEN OF SHEBA (1952)

Balkis, Queen of Sheba (Leonora Ruffo) vs Prince Rehoboam (Gino Leurini) vs Kabaal (Franco Silva) in a contest on horseback. Beautifully directed by Pietro Francisci.

Portraits

Arthur Walge, as Croton the wrestler, in QUO VADIS (1951)