Image of the week!

Hercules (Steve Reeves) fights with Antaeus (Primo Carnera) in HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959)

At the movies...

Crowded event for CLEOPATRA (1963) at the Pantages in Hollywood, California

 

By the Gods!

Cameron Mitchell and Edmund Purdom, as King Sveno, in THE LAST OF THE VIKINGS (1961)

Usually, Edmund was subdued and quiet to the point of giving the impression that he's not acting but that's not the case here in this movie. He acted his heart out. Some might say it's overacting, which is not inaccurate, but even so I like it. In contrast, Mitchell, who often overacted in his roles, is restrained. Scenes from this movie were copied in the GAME OF THRONES TV series. 

Behind-the-Scenes

Chelo Alonso posed for a photo in costume from GOLIATH & THE BARBARIANS (1959)

SPFX DEPT.

Scenes from THE LONG SHIPS (1964)

Excellent matte paintings by Ivor Beddoes. They're almost seamless. The movie also boasts practical effects or model work of the ships, of course. The list for the SPFX crew is long. 

 

Then & Now: Gary Raymond

Gary in JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963); a recent photo of the actor

By the Gods!

Nancy Kovack, as Medea, in JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963)

Dance / ritual scene from the classic movie. Nancy appears one hour into the movie, rescued from a raft drifting on the sea. Her presence added so much to the movie. 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

French poster oF HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959) 

Great poster! 

Image of the week!

Phaon (Kerwin Mathews) and Sappho (Tina Louise) embrace at the very end of THE WARRIOR EMPRESS (1961; aka Sappho - The Venus of Lesbos)

Behind-the-Scenes

Gordon Mitchell and Bella Cortez take a photo together on the set of THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS (1961). Below: a screenshot of the scene in the movie.

BY THE GODS!: THE MAGNIFICENT GLADIATOR Artus Films DVD…

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By the Gods!

Paul Wynter, Dante DiPaolo and Aldo Bufi Landi in ATLAS IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS (1961)

The characters played by Paul Wynter and Dante DiPaolo were villains while Aldo is a good guy trying to keep a low profile. They are watching Atlas going through a 'Feat of Strength' (Gordon Mitchell as Atlas/ Maciste). I always like these scenes. Dante had fun playing the baddie, with Wynter as his bruiser. DiPaolo was married to Rosemary Clooney and therefore was related to George Clooney. Wynter won two Mr. Universe contests. This movie needs an  HD upgrade. 

Lobby Cards Set: HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959)

Original British lobby cards set of HERCUES UNCHAINED (1959) starring Steve Reeves and all. Great lobby cards set. One of the best I've seen. All great photos. No complaints.

HD Alert!

Steve Reeves in A LONG RIDE FROM HELL (1968)

For Steve Reeves completists, someone uploaded an HD copy of this on Youtube. As I previously stated with SAMSON AND THE LOST TREASURE OF THE INCAS, as odd as it is, there's a Western sub-category to the PEPLUM genre. Movies that were either started as a PEPLUM movie and changed after the success of FOR A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964) by Sergio Leone. Studios in Italy abandoned the PEPLUM genre and left many actors and directors without a genre to work with. This was Steve's last film before retiring from acting, which is a shame because he was a charismatic presence on the big screen. Leone apparently wanted Steve to star in FISTFUL but Clint Eastwood was cast instead after Reeves declined the offer. Reeves and Leone worked together on THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII (1959). What's really fascinating about this movie is the fact that many actors of the PEPLUM genre, many of which didn't work with Steve, finally worked with him. This includes Rosalba Neri. As a die-hard PEPLUM fan, it's great to see Rosalba and Steve together. There was a 4 years gap between SANDOKAN - PIRATE OF MALAYSIA and this movie.

Vintage Article

I collect old articles and I have tons of them in folders. This is one of many. I don't know where I got it and the image is not too clear but it's fun to see. It's a summary of HERCULES UNCHAINED from some Italian publication, with a good selection of images. If I recall correctly, the photo of Steve Reeves lifting Primo Carnera is hard to get. I've rarely seen it elsewhere.

By the Gods!

Edy Vessel and Guy Madison in SWORD OF THE CONQUEROR (1961) 

Last week I announced, via BY THE GODS!, that a German Blu-ray of this movie will be released in October. Great news. Made by the same folks who made the classic GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS (1959), starring Steve Reeves, this one pretty much follows the same template with Jack Palance being the unruly barbarian here. I like this movie but in terms of being memorable, it's nowhere near the classic GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS, which has several iconic scenes in it. The movie was already shown in HD on some HD channel / streaming service (notice the MGM HD logo in the top left). This screenshot is from that version which I already have in my collection. The upcoming Blu-ray from Germany will have the English track but it won't have the obtrusive MGM HD logo. The fact this movie is being released in such a great quality is simply because United Artists / MGM actually owns the copyright to this while GOLIATH is without a studio backing it up and is left in limbo. It's sad but that's how the world of copyrights work.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Original Italian poster of HERCULES (1958)

One of many posters made for the original release, and they're all great. Excellent likeness of Steve Reeves.

Image of the week!

Messalina (Susan Hayward) congratulates Demetrius (Victor Mature) in winning the deadly contest and, in turn, becoming a free man in DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS (1954)

At the movies...

QUO VADIS playing at the Astor Theatre on Broadway in 1951. 

BY THE GODS!: New Upcoming German Blu-ray release....

 Another title to be released on Blu-ray from Germany...

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By the Gods!

Sylva Koscina as Clio in SIEGE OF SYRACUSE (1960)

Sylva's role in this excellent movie was small. I wished it had been bigger. In fact, I wished she had the leading role instead of Tina Louise. Nothing against Tina, and she does a good job for what was a complicated role (multiple identities, memory lost, etc) but I feel Sylva would have done a greater job, would have been more affecting. It would have been memorable. For now, her role amounts to a little more than a footnote which is a shame. She deserved better.

Behind-the-Scenes

Kirk Douglas takes a photo with his cast-mates, Jean Simmons and Tony Curtis, on the set of SPARTACUS (1960)

SPFX DEPT.

The walled city in ANTHAR THE INVINCIBLE (1964)

This movie was directed by Antonio Margheriti who loved working with miniature practicle models and we see a couple of scenes of his expertise. The structure in the middle resembles the temple used in WAR GODS OF BABYLON (1962), in which Margheriti worked on the extensive special effects for the Apocalyptic climax.

PEPLUM Comic Books

The use of comic books to promote a PEPLUM movie was popular back in the 1950s and 1960s. HERCULES (1958) was a great example of its use. Some of these are sorta questionable but for the most part they look great.

If you want to read more comic books, I have three permanent pages dedicated to them, including the two HERCULES prints.

PEPLUM Comix page 1

PEPLUM Comix page 2

PEPLUM Comix page 3

BEN-HUR (1959)

THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (1964)

JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963)

SOLOMON AND SHEBA (1959)

THE 300 SPARTANS (1962) retitled as LION OF SPARTA

By the Gods!

Ursus (Ed Fury) is put to the test working a giant millstone in URSUS IN THE LAND OF FIRE (1963)

This is the third Ursus movie starring Ed Fury. Some say this is the best one of the three. I dunno. I like it and there re some great moments in it, like this scene but the first one is hard to beat. The entire series is filled with the most villainous characters ever put on screen. It's something to behold. After starring in the series, Ed returned to the US and could only pull acting roles as an extra. Ed is 93 years old now.