First up: who's the definitive Maciste?
Maciste is a well known Hero in Italy, and Europe, thanks to the masterpiece of silent cinema, CABIRIA (1914). Maciste was a character in the movie and the actor, Bartolomeo Pagano, became so well known for playing Maciste that he legally changed his name to the fictional character. Once the silent movie era ended, Maciste disappeared from the silver screen until the character was resurrected in 1960 in SON OF SAMSON with Mark Forest as the legendary hero. The movie was a hit and, like HERCULES (1958) a few years prior, it triggered a flood of new Maciste films.
The character, presumably, was and is in the public domain and anyone could use the character. There were 25 maciste movies made in the 1960s and along with it came an insane amount of confusion, certainly when the Maciste were re-titled for markets in the US, Canada, where Maciste wasn't well known. This is part 1 of what will become an on-going article.
Three of those movies shared similar names. All of these three films starred Mark Forest. Two of them were directed by Michele Lupo.
MACISTE - L'UOMO PIU FORTE DEL MONDO (1961)
MACISTE - IL GLADIATORE PIU FORTE DEL MONDO (1962)
MACISTE - L'EROE PIU GRANDE DEL MONDO (1963)
MACISTE - L'EROE PIU GRANDE DEL MONDO (1963)
If you look, there's just a slight change in the title. The first one is L'UOMO or Man. The second one is GLADIATORE, which is Gladiator, of course. And the third one is L'EROE which is Hero. They also changed FORTE (strongest) to GRANDE (greatest) for that one. They basically share the same title but with a slight changes.
MACISTE - L'UOMO PIU FORTE DEL MONDO.
This translates as MACISTE - THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD. The movie was re-titled for US markets when it was shown with the SONS OF HERCULES TV series. It was retitled MOLE MEN AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES. It was released as THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD, minus the Maciste, for International English markets. The artwork of the Italian poster below is nothing like the movie. In the English dub, our hero is not named Maciste but Majestus.
MACISTE - IL GLADIATORE PIU FORTE DEL MONDO
Or MACISTE - THE STRONGEST GLADIATOR IN THE WORLD. The US/Canada title became COLOSSUS OF THE ARENA. In the UK, it was known as DEATH ON THE ARENA. This was directed by Michele Lupo.
MACISTE - L'EROE PIU GRANDE DEL MONDOOr MACISTE - THE GREATEST HERO IN THE WORLD. It was re-titled GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON for the US/Canada markets. This was also directed by Michele Lupo. In the English version, our hero is not named Maciste but Goliath.
And to confuse things even further, there was also MACISTE - GLADIATOR OF SPARTA (1964) that also starred Mark Forest which had nothing to do with the previous series. To confuse things even greater, this movie is a TWIN PRODUCTION with THE MAGNIFICENT GLADIATOR (1964), which is basically the same cast and crew and even *same scenes* with MACISTE - GLADIATOR OF SPARTA.
MACISTE - GLADIATOR OF SPARTA was re-titled TERROR OF ROME AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES for the SONS OF HERCULES TV series, and in the movie, Maciste was renamed Poseidon!
In THE MAGNIFICENT GLADIATOR, the hero (Mark Forest) was named Hercules.
List of Maciste films, retitled and the actors who played the character. This is excluding the silent movies. I'm listing the Maciste movies by actors. This makes it much simpler.Out of the 25 Maciste movies of the 1960s, Mark starred in 7 of them. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
So much confusion!
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Muscular lead actors who played Maciste:
Mark Forest - Gordon Mitchell - Gordon Scott - Kirk Morris - Samson Burke - Ed Fury - Reg Lewis - Alan Steel - Reg Park - Howard Ross - Iloosh Khoshabe - Mario Novelli - Mimmo Palmara
Muscular lead actors who didn't play Maciste:
Steve Reeves - Richard Harrison, Dan Vadis, Peter Lupus, Ken Clark, Joe Robinson, Mickey Hargitay, Jorge Rivero, Pietro Torrisi, and Brad Harris.
I don't consider Ivica Pajer, Lang Jeffries, Roger Browne, Ricardo Montalban, Lex Barker, George Ardisson, Pierre Brice, Mike Lane, Giuliano Gemma, Massimo Girotti, Henri Vidal, Kirk Douglas, Willi Colombini, Rory Calhoun, Tony Russel, Victor Mature, Georges Marchal, Jacques Sernas as muscular actors. Athletic, yes, but not bodybuilders.
Bodybuilders Nadir Moretti, Paul Wynter, Giovanni Cianfriglia, Frank Gordon, Serge Nubret and Harry Baird didn't play Maciste but they were not lead actors.
MARK FOREST
Mark is often cited as being the favourite Maciste since he's the one who brought the character back and is one of two actors who made more Maciste movies than anyone else.
SON OF SAMSON (1960) - Mark Forest
Maciste nella valle dei re / Maciste in the Valley of the Kings
MOLE MEN VS THE SON OF HERCULES (1961) - Mark Forest
Maciste, l'uomo più forte del mondo / Maciste, the Strongest Man in the World
COLOSSUS OF THE ARENA (1962) - Mark Forest
Maciste, il gladiatore più forte del mondo / Maciste, the World's Strongest Gladiator
GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON (1963) - Mark Forest
Maciste, l'eroe più grande del mondo / Maciste, the World's Greatest Hero
Maciste, l'eroe più grande del mondo / Maciste, the World's Greatest Hero
HERCULES AGAINST THE MONGOLS (1963) - Mark Forest
Maciste contro i mongoli / Maciste Against the Mongols
HERCULES AGAINST THE BARBARIANS (1964) - Mark Forest
Maciste nell'inferno di Gengis Khan / Maciste in Genghis Khan's Hell
THE TERROR OF ROME AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1964) - Mark Forest
Maciste, gladiatore di Sparta / Maciste, Gladiator of Sparta
KIRK MORRIS
Kirk Morris made as many Maciste movies as Mark. Some say his output is not as good as Mark's but I disagree. I'll explain at the end of the article.
TRIUMPH OF THE SON OF MACISTE (1961) - Kirk Morris
Il trionfo di Maciste / The Triumph of Maciste
HERCULES IN THE VALE OF WOE (1961) - Kirk Morris
Maciste contro Ercole nella valle dei guai / Maciste Against Hercules in the Vale of Woe
THE WITCH'S CURSE (1962) - Kirk Morris
Maciste all'inferno / Maciste in Hell
COLOSSUS AND THE HEADHUNTERS (1962) - Kirk Morris
Maciste contro i cacciatori di teste / Maciste Against the Headhunters
ATLAS AGAINST THE CZAR (1964) - Kirk Morris
Maciste alla corte dello zar / Maciste at the Court of the Czar / Giant of the Lost Tomb / Samson vs the Giant King
HERCULES OF THE DESERT (1964) - Kirk Morris
La valle dell'eco tonante / Valley of the Thundering Echo / Maciste in the Valley of the Thundering Echoes
MACISTE - AVENGER OF THE MAYANS (1965) - Kirk Morris
Maciste il Vendicatore dei Mayas / Maciste, Avenger of the Mayans
Maciste il Vendicatore dei Mayas / Maciste, Avenger of the Mayans
GORDON SCOTT
Gordon Scott only played Maciste twice. Both films are great but there's not much of Maciste in GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES, as I already noted recently. So that leaves SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD. I love both films but it's not enough, imo.
GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES (1961) - Gordon Scott
Maciste contro il vampiro / Maciste Vs. the Vampire
SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD (1961) - Gordon Scott
Maciste alla corte del gran khan / Maciste at the Court of the Great Khan
ALAN STEEL
The great Alan Steel only made two Maciste movies, both re-titled for the US market. Both are great fun.
SAMSON AND THE SLAVE QUEEN (1963; above) - Alan Steel
Zorro contro Maciste / Zorro Against Maciste
HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN (1964) - Alan Steel
Maciste e la regina de Samar / Maciste and the Queen of Samar
The following actors played Maciste only one time.
Gordon Mitchell's turn as Maciste is pretty solid. One of the best Maciste movies made in the 1960s. It was re-titled as Atlas for the English market.
ATLAS IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS (1961) - Gordon Mitchell
Maciste nella terra dei ciclopi / Maciste in the Land of the Cyclops
Samson Burke played Maciste in an extremely broad Toto comedy. Never dubbed in English.
TOTO VS MACISTE (1962) - Samson Burke
Totò contro Maciste / Toto vs. Maciste
Ed Fury only made this Maciste movie, re-titled as Samson for the English market. It's not a very Maciste movie so re-titling it wasn't a big deal, in my opinion.
SAMSON AGAINST THE SHEIK (1962) - Ed Fury
Maciste contro lo sceicco / Maciste Against the Sheik
Bodybuilder Reg Lewis' only film is a Maciste movie. With Margaret Lee (above). Re-titled as COLOSSUS in the UK. In the movie itself, he calls himself Majestus.
FIRE MONSTERS AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1962) - Reg Lewis
Maciste contro i mostri / Maciste Against the Monsters / Colossus of the Stone Age
Big Reg Park only played Maciste once. It's a pretty good one. Though it's often referred as SAMSON the only English print available is titled Maciste, making it one of the few Maciste movies that kept the name.
SAMSON IN KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1964) - Reg Park
Maciste nelle miniere de re salomone / Maciste in King Solomon's Mines
Howard Ross is a familiar face in the PEPLUM genre.. He appeared in many movies but this is only Maciste role. It's a comedy.
SAMSON AND THE MIGHTY CHALLENGE (1964) - Howard Ross
Ercole, Sansone, Maciste e Ursus: gli invincibili / Hercules, Samson, Maciste and Ursus: The Invincible
Iloosh Khoshabe (right) and Mario Novelli both played brothers named Maciste with Iloosh being 'Elder Maciste' and Mario being 'Younger Maciste.'
THE INVINCIBLE BROTHERS MACISTE (1964) - Iloosh Khoshabe - Mario Novelli
Gli invincibili fratelli Maciste / The Invincible Maciste Brothers / The Invincible Gladiators
Mimmo Palamara as a Maciste-type is fun since he almost always plays villains. Even though his name is Sandok, the Italian title referred to him as the 'Maciste of the Jungle.'
SANDOK (1964) - Mimmo Palmara
Sandok, il Maciste della giungla / Sandok - Maciste of the Jungle
Maciste nella terra dei ciclopi / Maciste in the Land of the Cyclops
Samson Burke played Maciste in an extremely broad Toto comedy. Never dubbed in English.
TOTO VS MACISTE (1962) - Samson Burke
Totò contro Maciste / Toto vs. Maciste
Ed Fury only made this Maciste movie, re-titled as Samson for the English market. It's not a very Maciste movie so re-titling it wasn't a big deal, in my opinion.
SAMSON AGAINST THE SHEIK (1962) - Ed Fury
Maciste contro lo sceicco / Maciste Against the Sheik
Bodybuilder Reg Lewis' only film is a Maciste movie. With Margaret Lee (above). Re-titled as COLOSSUS in the UK. In the movie itself, he calls himself Majestus.
FIRE MONSTERS AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1962) - Reg Lewis
Maciste contro i mostri / Maciste Against the Monsters / Colossus of the Stone Age
Big Reg Park only played Maciste once. It's a pretty good one. Though it's often referred as SAMSON the only English print available is titled Maciste, making it one of the few Maciste movies that kept the name.
SAMSON IN KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1964) - Reg Park
Maciste nelle miniere de re salomone / Maciste in King Solomon's Mines
Howard Ross is a familiar face in the PEPLUM genre.. He appeared in many movies but this is only Maciste role. It's a comedy.
SAMSON AND THE MIGHTY CHALLENGE (1964) - Howard Ross
Ercole, Sansone, Maciste e Ursus: gli invincibili / Hercules, Samson, Maciste and Ursus: The Invincible
Iloosh Khoshabe (right) and Mario Novelli both played brothers named Maciste with Iloosh being 'Elder Maciste' and Mario being 'Younger Maciste.'
THE INVINCIBLE BROTHERS MACISTE (1964) - Iloosh Khoshabe - Mario Novelli
Gli invincibili fratelli Maciste / The Invincible Maciste Brothers / The Invincible Gladiators
Mimmo Palamara as a Maciste-type is fun since he almost always plays villains. Even though his name is Sandok, the Italian title referred to him as the 'Maciste of the Jungle.'
SANDOK (1964) - Mimmo Palmara
Sandok, il Maciste della giungla / Sandok - Maciste of the Jungle
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So who's the definitive Maciste?
It's really a fight between Mark Forest and Kirk Morris.
My favourite and definitive Maciste is Kirk Morris. MACISTE IN HELL (above) and TRIUMPH OF MACISTE are classic PEPLUM movies.
A close second is Mark Forest. His Maciste movies are all very good, certainly SON OF SAMSON, MACISTE - THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD, and MONGOLS and BARBARIANS. All excellent.
Maciste movies re-titled list:
5 films re-titled as SAMSON.
5 films re-titled as HERCULES.
3 films re-titled as COLOSSUS
2 films re-titled as GOLIATH
2 films re-titled as ATLAS.
Only two Maciste movies known in English: MACISTE IN KING SOLOMON'S MINES and THE INVINCIBLE BROTHERS MACISTE.
TOTO VS MACISTE and MACISTE - AVENGER OF THE MAYANS were not released in any English market.
TOTO VS MACISTE and MACISTE - AVENGER OF THE MAYANS were not released in any English market.
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Not included are the 'adult' Maciste films of the 1970s.
MACISTE VS THE QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS
Maciste contre la Reine des Amazones
THE EROTIC EXPLOITS OF MACISTE IN ATLANTIS
MACISTE VS THE QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS
Maciste contre la Reine des Amazones
THE EROTIC EXPLOITS OF MACISTE IN ATLANTIS
Les exploits érotiques de Maciste dans l'Atlantide
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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.
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 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 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 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
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 for 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. 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 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
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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.
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.
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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.
More to come!
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