Portraits

Rossana Podestà, as Shuah, in SODOM AND GOMORRAH (1962)

BY THE GODS! magazine issue 5

WITH FIRE & SWORD

It's all about Swashbucklers, pirates, heroes in breeches! The subject is huge so there's a lot of stuff to cover. There are two categories: Land Adventures and Seven Seas Adventures. I wrote that there are two movies that influenced each individual category. 

Click on the link below for the latest issue 5.

https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/3388773

HD Alert!

Ed Fury in THE MIGHTY URSUS (1960) 

As I wrote the DEFINITIVE URSUS article below, I came across a copy of THE MIGHTY URSUS in HD! I had sorta forgotten about it but I remember where it came from: from AMAZON PRIME in France. The quality is not the best. Grainy, colour issues. But even so, it's great to see it in a big resolution. Once this movie will get a proper HD transfer, it will be amazing! This movie has so many memorable moments in it. Phew!

Moira Orfei as the supremely evil queen

Ed Fury and Maria Luisa Merlo

The Definitive URSUS!

Who played the definitive URSUS of the PEPLUM genre? Ursus was a character in the QUO VADIS novel, written by Henryk Sienkiewicz in 1896. The novel was adapted a couple of times for the screen, most notably the 1913 silent film version which is considered one of the first blockbusters. The character eventually took a life of its own, outside the novel's setting, and became one of several muscular heroes of the PEPLUM genre after the success of HERCULES (1958). How does Ursus differ from other heroes? He's like a Gentle Giant with muscles. Usually blond, since he came from Poland or the north of Europe. Slightly naive but never dumb. 

Added to the permanent page: Who played the definitive PEPLUM roles...


Buddy Baer in QUO VADIS (1951)

Though some might vote for Buddy Bear as the definitive Ursus, the gentle giant was a supporting character while Ursus became the main character in the movies from Italy. So I won't include Buddy in the list.

List of contenders:

ED FURY

Popular physiques model Ed Fury's first starring role introduced the character to the world. The movie proved to be a hit and 2 more movies were made. Ed's approach to playing the hero is totally different than any other actor. The good looking man smiled and showed he was nice and sincere but very strong and determined. He made the Ursus character fun to watch. His three Ursus movies are highly entertaining, with URSUS IN THE LAND OF FIRE having a sort of cult following (it's very violent). Pretty hard to beat as the definitive Ursus.  

In France, the movies was re-titled as a Hercules movie.

Ed Fury and Cristina Gaioni

Ed also starred in COLOSSUS AND THE AMAZON QUEEN (1960; above). He didn't play Ursus but in the German version, they changed his name from Glaucus to Ursus. I don't consider it an Ursus movie. German movies always changed the identity and name of the hero for some odd reason.

THE MIGHTY URSUS (1960)

Ursus / Ursus, Son of Hercules 


URSUS IN THE VALLEY OF LIONS (1962)

Ursus Nella Valle dei Leoni / Valley of Lions

 

URSUS IN THE LAND OF FIRE (1963)

Ursus Nella Terra di Fuoco / Son of Hercules in the Land of Fire / Son of Atlas in the Land of Fire

SAMSON BURKE

Samson Burke is a quite good Ursus, as limited as he was as an actor. He's perfect as the Gentle Giant with muscles in VENGEANCE OF URSUS. The movie shows him being amiable, which others movies have failed to do. The movie itself is a great example of a PEPLUM. So, thumbs up!

THE VENGEANCE OF URSUS

La Vendetta di Ursus / The Revenge of Ursus

JOE ROBINSON

Joe playing Ursus in URSUS AND THE TARTAR PRINCESS was a great idea. He fits the role to perfection. Blond and Nordic-looking. Very strong and gentle with kids. Unfortunately, Joe's role is a supporting one. The bulk of the drama unfolds, for a great part, without him. Joe needed to have played him in another Ursus movie but with the focus entirely on his take of Ursus. 

URSUS AND THE TARTAR PRINCESS (1961)

Ursus e la Ragazza Tartara / Ursus and the Tartar Girl / The Tartar Invasion, a.k.a. The Tartar Girl

DAN VADIS

Dan Vadis, as Ursus, and Alan Steel as Commodus. 

Dan is a great contender for the definitive Ursus for his role in URSUS - REBEL GLADIATOR. He certainly fits the Ursus character profile. Gentle Giant who becomes unstoppable when made angry. Unlike all other Ursus movies, including those with Ed, the Ursus in this movie is pretty much into religion and is a pacifist, like the character in QUO VADIS. He dislikes being forced to kill in gladiatorial matches. 

THE REBEL GLADIATORS (1962)

Ursus il gladiatore ribelle / Ursus the Rebel Gladiator



REG PARK

Reg played Ursus once. He fits the bill as a Gentle Giant but as good as HERCULES - PRISONER OF EVIL is, the character of Ursus is not very present. It's a dark movie and Ursus' usual happy-go-lucky attitude is not present.

HERCULES - PRISONER OF EVIL (1964)

Ursus il terrore dei Kirghisi / Ursus, the Terror of the Kirghiz



YAN LARVOR

Yan for Ursus in SAMSON AND THE MIGHTY CHALLENGE is an odd choice. He's neither blond or doesn't look like a Gentle Giant. In fact, he's quite scary looking. But this is a comedy so, of course, it exaggerates or contradicts the character's actual traits: he's mean and belligerent. 

SAMSON AND THE MIGHTY CHALLENGE (1964) 

Ercole, Sansone, Maciste e Ursus: gli invincibili / Hercules, Samson, Maciste and Ursus: The Invincibles



ALAN STEEL

Alan's turn as Ursus is quite good. Gentle Giant with a heart of gold but powerful and not dumb even if sometimes does goofy things. I like this one. Unfortunately, the Ursus in this movie has not one but two sidekicks who are extremely annoying. 

THE THREE AVENGERS (1964)

Gli Invincibili Tre / The Invincible Three

-------------------------

So, who's the definitive URSUS?

ED FURY

There's no contest in this list. Ed's film re-introduced the character in ways that would change or improve the PEPLUM genre's vast landscape of heroes. Ed was perfect casting of the handsome, muscular but gentle, amiable reluctant hero. His Ursus films easily satisfies one's PEPLUM cravings. 

Ursus re-titled list:

1 film re-titled as HERCULES (not including the French version of MIGHTY URSUS)

1 film re-titled as SAMSON (but this movie has multiple heroes in the original Italian title)

1 film re-titled without a hero's name to it.

-------------------------

Not included is the 'adult' movie from the 1970s.

THE EROTIC LIFE OF URSUS (La Vie Erotique D'Ursus)

This movie re-used HERCULES - PRISONER OF EVIL with Reg Park and added nudity and sex scenes. The movie is missing in action.

Musings!

Moloch (Pietro Marascalchi) is about to reveal is face to Medea (Alessandra Panaro) in HERCULES AGAINST MOLOCH (1963)

An entertaining movie that's a great mix of action and horror. Pietro Marascalchi makes a great villain as he's so imposing and yet still impressive in a classical kind of way. Alessandra is always good in her movies. The only down side of this production is the excessive use of footage from other films...also directed by the same director, Giorgio Ferroni, so it's not as bad this way. The fight at the end between Moloch and Hercules (Gordon Scott) is riveting. A thoroughly enjoyable movie, perfect for Halloween night. This is from an HD print but it's not an actual HD transfer but an upscaling from the DVD version. 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Belgian poster of ATLAS AGAINST THE CZAR (1964)

Nice, colourful poster with a good portrait of Kirk Morris.

Image of the week!

Maciste (Kirk Morris) is surrounded by deadly snakes in the bowels of hell in MACISTE IN HELL (1962)

At the movies...

Peter Lupus, in costume, promoting SWORD OF THE CONQUEROR (1961) at an undisclosed movie theatre in Los Angeles. I know, the photo is not great but it's fun seeing this movie playing in the US.

Musings!

 Gordon Scott as Goliath in GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES (1961) 

October is Halloween month and continuing with spooky PEPLUM movies is one of the best of the bunch. I really like this movie. As much as I like it there are some slight issues. First, we don't see a lot vampirism in it. It's violent but the vampirism is almost non-existent. The tone of the movie changes at one point. Two directors are credited for this movie. One can see the shift 2/3s into it. And spoilers: everyone dies except for Scott, Leonora Ruffo and Jacques Sernas. They're celebrating at the end of the movie but there's no one left to celebrate with. 😂 There are a couple of other issues but it doesn't matter, it's a real rock'em sock'em movie. Atmospheric, colourful and full of Feats of Strength stuff, like this photo here, which is always fun to watch. It seems there are no good prints available anywhere (which is hard to believe), which explains why there's no HD version available yet. 

Behind-the-Scenes

Gordon Scott and Rocco Vidolazzi on the set of GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES (1961). It looks cold.

Clip of the week: HERO OF BABYLON (1963)

Gordon Scott to the rescue. With Geneviève Grad and Andrea Scotti.

New PEPLUM Imagery

THUNDER OF ROME

MEN OF PULP

HD Alert!

Alan Steel 

A new HD print of HERCULES AND THE BLACK PIRATE (1964) is streaming in Europe. Gorgeous print. I really hope this one gets the Blu-ray treatment. Seriously, the movie's quality skyrockets by being presented in the way it was meant to be viewed. The trader added the English audio to it. I got this print after publishing the latest BY THE GODS! issue, WITH FIRE & SWORD, in which I wrote about this fun movie.

Added to the permanent page: List of PEPLUM movies in HD

Romantic scene with Alan Steel and Rosalba Neri. Nice transfer.

Rosalba Neri

 

Andrea Aureli - Piero Lulli

WITH FIRE & SWORD

In the latest issue of BY THE GODS!, the subject is the Swashbucklers of the PEPLUM genre. 

The massive category is broken down into 2 subcategories: LAND Adventures and SEVEN SEAS Adventures

Here's a sample of the 38 pages long article.

The subcategories in LAND Adventures are:


SWORD & BREECHES

Gérard Landry in THE BLACK ARCHER (1959)

Action movies on land, as opposed to the SEVEN SEAS. Mainly centred around castles and royalty. Medieval, Renaissance, and even Colonial period stories fall under this category. Regardless of the era the stories are set in, there are sword fights in them.

These movies can have boats and/or navigational action, like THE LION OF St. MARK (1962). It mostly takes place on land, but there are riverboats and boats around Venice.


MASKED HERO

Renato Rossini (aka Howard Ross) in ZORRO THE REBEL (1966)

Zorro or Zorro-like storylines with a masked hero causing mayhem.


DUMAS Classics 

George Nader in THE SECRET MARK OF D'ARTAGNAN (1962)

The many movies based on Alexandre Dumas's many books. The classic ones, such as THE THREE MUSKETEERS.


HISTORICAL HELLRAISERS

Tamara Lees and Germano Longo in A SWORD IN THE SHADOW (1961)

Stories based or inspired by actual people or events of history, no matter how accurate they are. More Drama than action even if there's action in it.


FANTASY

THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF GUERRIN MESCHINO (1952)

Monsters, magic, and the supernatural figure in these movies.


The subcategories for SEVEN SEAS Adventures are:


SWASHBUCKLERS 

Robert Shaw in SWASHBUCKLER (1976)

The most popular subcategory. Action on boats, ships, and vessels. The term is a bit broad. Swashbucklers can describe every category here but thanks to Hollywood's gargantuan influence, the term Swashbucklers is often associated with pirates and stories from the SEVEN SEAS. 


FEMALE TROUBLE

Lisa Gastoni in QUEEN OF THE SEAS (1961)

Stories set either on LAND or the SEVEN SEAS in which the main lady is the heroine. 

Click on the link below for the latest issue 5.

https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/3388773

Musings!

Irène Tunc in APHRODITE - GODDESS OF LOVE (1958) 

I really like this movie and Irène. It's quite the revealing dress there. Irène made a lot of films in the 1950s and by the early 1970s, her career ended after a tragic car accident. She became famous in PEPLUM movies and by the end of the 1960s, she became a darling of filmmakers like Claude Lelouch and Alain Resnais. A big number of actors and filmmakers started their careers in PEPLUM movies. Very few people know this. It's frustrating. In the movie, we see the transition from paganism to Christianity. Her character is the subject of a sculptor's statue that represents Aphrodite but the artist, played by Anthony Steffen, falls in love with a Christian girl and the statue looks like her, not the Irène's character. Great film. 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Turkish poster of HERCULES (1958) 

This is the artwork for HERCULES AND THE TYRANTS OF BABYLON (1964), which I studied recently. It doesn't look like Steve Reeves or Sylva Koscina.

Last Week's Views

283K for the week. Over 70K yesterday!

BY THE GODS! issue 5

WITH FIRE & SWORD

It's all about Swashbucklers, pirates, heroes in breeches! The subject is huge so there's a lot of stuff to cover. There are two categories: Land Adventures and Seven Seas Adventures. I wrote that there are two movies that influenced each individual category. 

Click on the link below for the latest issue 5.

https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/3388773

Image of the week!

Hercules (Reg Park) tries to rescues his wife, Deianira (Leonora Ruffo ), from a sacrificial altar in HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD (1961)

PEPLUM Movie Quotes

HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959) starring Steve Reeves (Hercules) and Sylvia Lopez (Omphale)

Hercules: Somehow I recall that...you had a different face.

Omphale: Prettier?

Hercules: No. Just different. Blonde hair. Sweet smile.

Omphale: So you began to betray me in your dreams.

Musings!

Rosy De Leo, Alan Steel and Pierre Brice, under the mask, in SAMSON AND THE SLAVE QUEEN (1963)

This is one of the best PEPLUM movies ever, imo. It has all the elements that make it work. Zorro, played by Pierre Brice, who's excellent in it, and Samson (Alan Steel in top form) vie for the document/letter and Carmencita (De Leo) happens to have it so Samson and Zorro jump on the document. The two men fight over it throughout the movie making a fun and entertaining competition between the two heroes. I wrote about this movie in the latest issue of BY THE GODS! which is on sale until tomorrow. Supporting the magazine guarantees future issues. 

Behind-the-Scenes

Christopher Plummer, as Commodus, on the massive set of THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (1964). The best scene in the movie.

Clip of the week: MACISTE - AVENGER OF THE MAYANS (1965)

Maciste (Kirk Morris) vs Goliath (Koloss). With Barbara Loy.

Funnies!

Gordon Mitchell in THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS (1961)

HD Alert!

Richard Johnson in COLUMNA (1968) 

This movie, a sequel of sorts with DACII (1967), in HD. It's the continuation of the story in DACII 20 ears later. There's a copy of this movie in HD on Youtube. But this file is different. The details are nicer than the one on Youtube but the colours seems to be a bit off. The movie itself is dark and gloomy. It's difficult to find a beautiful shot to showcase the clarity. Below is a comparison with this streaming copy.

Above: screenshot from the streaming print. The resolution and details are better than the version on Youtube (below) but the colours are off. There's a blueish tint in many scenes, which are not present in the Youtube version.  Why is there always some issues with PEPLUM movie prints? Richard Johnson with Antonella Lualdi

List of PEPLUM movies in HD