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

Then & Now: Joan Collins

A 20 year old Joan Collins in LAND OF THE PHARAOHS (1955); Joan at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.

Musings!

King Lico (Christopher Lee) is about to sacrifice Deianira (Leonora Ruffo) in HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD (1961)

Christopher Lee was hot property when he decided to make this movie. His DRACULA (1958; Horror of Dracula in the US) role put him on the map and the movie was a worldwide hit. He decided to appear in this movie to continue with his successful streak in the Horror genre. It's fun to watch but I have to admit that he's not much of a threat to Hercules, who tosses him like a rag doll during the climax. His dark powers are what makes him dangerous. Leonora spends a good part of the movie being unconscious. I like Leonora but a meaty part this wasn't. This movie is one of many with an amazing combo of PEPLUM - Horror to watch during October aka Halloween month.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Poster study of the artwork for MACISTE - GLADIATORE DI SPARTA ((1964) or MACISTE - GLADIATOR OF SPARTA. 

It starts with one photo from the movie (above) with Mark Forest in full glory. Notice what's in the photo and compare it with the artist's excellent work below. See what was added and changed.

The ape was changed for another gladiator. In the original photo, Mark is not holding a sword which was added in the artwork. And the position of Mark's left leg was slightly changed. And Mark's, eh, 'mettle' was reduced/changed. 

 

Side by side.

Original Italian poster

Turkish poster

French poster

Image of the week!

Alan Foster (Richard Harrison) gets the Koh-i-Noor, known as the 'Mountain of Light,' in TEMPLE OF A THOUSAND LIGHTS (1965; aka Sandok)

At the movies...

HERCULES (1958) playing at the Pilgrim theatre in Boston in the summer of 1959.

Musings!

Susy Andersen, John Drew Barrymore and Ettore Manni in WAR OF THE ZOMBIES, aka ROME AGAINST ROME (1964)

My favourite genres are horror and PEPLUM, so this month is the month of spooky stuff and Halloween. There are a good number of PEPLUM movies with horror elements, which pleases me. This is one of the most obvious ones. The original Italian title was ROMA CONTRO ROMA, which didn't sound like a horror movie but for the US market, it was retitled WAR OF THE ZOMBIES, which is a bit more like it even if the war in sort of short lived. The concept, or story, is brilliant. A big budget remake would be something else. The movie as is is still great even if it's obvious of the budget limitations for such a high concept story. The cast is great. I just need a stunning HD print with English dub. 

Behind-the-Scenes

Steve Reeves and director Sergio Corbucci have a chat on the set of DUEL OF THE TITANS (1961)

Clip of the week: MACISTE - GLADIATOR OF SPARTA (1964)

Poseidon (Mark Forest; Maciste in the original) vs Sefatius (Robert Hundar) in MACISTE - GLADIATOR OF SPARTA. With Marilù Tolo and Franco Cobianchi.

Portraits

Richard Burton, as Marcellus Gallio, in THE ROBE (1953)

HD Alert!

Renato Rossini (Howard Ross) and Helga Liné in MISSIONE SABBIE ROVENTI (1966)

A rare title which I've been looking for for decades is now available in HD from a streaming service in Europe. I actually got two separate copies of this film in one week: this new one and an old Italian version. Amazing. The HD print is stunning and the image is colourful with no visible issues. No English dub was ever made though. 

It's great to see Helga in a movie I've never seen before and it's fun to watch Renato play leading roles when previously, he only played supporting role. 
 

RIP: Richard Harrison

Richard Harrison as Perseus in PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE (1963)

PEPLUM star Richard Harrison died at the age of 90 on September 18. He was one of a handful of actors who had major starring roles in the PEPLUM genre. Like so many other actors, Richard was an aspiring actor who also appeared in 'Physique' magazine of the 1950s. He was able to translate that experience in PEPLUM movies. He wasn't a professional bodybuilder or even an amateur one but he was fit and had a muscular and athletic built. Combined with his boy-next-door looks, and his stardom was guaranteed. He was living in Malibu and had to be rescued when the Palisades fires swept through several boroughs in L.A.. I liked him. He made the PEPLUM genre fun and unique with his work. Rest in peace!


THE INVINCIBLE GLADIATOR (1961)

Richard's first starring role is a fairly good one, with some great gladiatorial action. An entertaining and memorable first film. I wish there was a good print of this though. 

 

Richard co-starred with Isabelle Corey and Edoardo Nevola (below)

AVENGER OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1962)

A stand-out WITH FIRE & SWORD movie co-starring Roldano Lupi. I wrote about this movie in the latest issue of BY THE GODS! Richard and man-eating plants (below). 

GLADIATORS 7 (1962)

Richard was the lead actor in this fun PEPLUM movie. A lot of stand-out scenes in it, certainly the beginning (both photos below)

PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE (1963)

PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE (aka Medusa vs the Son of Hercules) is, IMO, Richard's best PEPLUM movie. There are two versions of this movie: the original Italian one and a Spanish cut. I like both but the Italian version is the best of the two. Only the Spanish version is in HD (screenshot directly below). It also stars Anna Ranalli as Andromeda. Almost everything works in this thrilling movie, including the unique Medusa. Richard is in top form. 

Perseus (Harrison) in the valley of petrified men, victims of the Medusa.

With Leo Anchoriz (above) and Anna Ranalli (below)

THE SARACENS (1963)

Another entertaining movie with Richard as the hero fighting the Saracens. It may not be the biggest budgeted film he has ever made but the action delivers.

THE LAST GLADIATOR (1964)

The second best film Richard made. Almost as good as PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE. He's a fighter from the British isles who inadvertently becomes a gladiator, who has the attention of Empress Messalina, wonderfully played by Lisa Gastoni. 

TWO GLADIATORS (1964)
 

Richard's next movie was TWO GLADIATORS (1964), which is a Twin Production with REVOLT OF THE PRAETORIANS (1964). Another solid entertaining film. 

Giuliano Gemma (above) and Mimmo Palmara (below) also star in this movie. One of my favourites!

This poster is great!

REVOLT OF THE PRAETORIANS (1964)

This Twin Production with TWO GLADIATORS is as good as the latter one. Very entertaining even if at times it veers into slapstick, certainly with Salvatore Furnari (below) as part of the cast.

The French poster for this movie is amazing. With Moira Orfei.

GIANTS OF ROME (1964)

Richard starred in GIANTS OF ROME (1964), another unique PEPLUM movie. Ettore Manni co-stars. Some have called it a PEPLUM version of GUNS OF NAVARONE.

The villain is played by Rinaldo Baldini, who's character is obsessed with Richard's character. With Ralph Hudson (below, horseback).

THREE SERGEANTS OF BENGAL (1964)

Richard made two South Asian adventure movies, after SANDOKAN THE GREAT (1963) started it all. I only have two terrible prints of this movie so not many image. This movie is loosely connected to SANDOKAN, with the same director and writer and actor Andrea Bosic, who basically played the same role he played in SANDOKAN THE GREAT.

Richard made five films in 1964! Yes, he was popular.

TEMPLE OF A THOUSAND LIGHTS (1965)

And lastly, Richard's last PEPLUM production was this movie, co-starring Wilbert Bradley. It's a fun movie. Well made by all means. Almost as good as SANDOKAN - PIRATE OF MALAYSIA (1964) with Steve Reeves. Like all of his previous films, the makers of the movie made sure to showcase Richard's good looks, which began with his physique modelling career.

A couple of examples of Richard's days as a physique model. There's much more.