I’ll be reviewing a few of the dubbed, campy musclemen epics of the past. By no means am I an expert on the genre, nor will I be spending hours researching or verifying running times, release dates, and what have you. However I’ll give you a little perspective and context along with the reviews of a few of the better known examples of the Sword and Sandal movies now approaching being 50 years old!!! Enjoy.

One of the most popular genres of film in the world during an approximate 7 year period (1958 to 1965) was the Sword and Sandal or Pepla (Peplum) movies mostly produced in Italy. Peplum is the singular word for the pleated skirts aka Kilts often worn in these film and the nickname for the genre of film as in Italian Peplum adventure film.

There were over a hundred of these movies produced and distributed to U.S. theaters and television stations. They mostly followed a formula that was actually established by the 1914 silent epic Cabrira and developed in a series of Maciste films made between 1915 to 1926 starring strongman actor Bartolomeo Pagano.

The first modern Sword and Sandal movies were among the most successful. They starred American bodybuilder Steve Reeves (whose natural voice was never heard in these films) in Hercules (1958) and Hercules Unchained (1959). The films were dubbed, re-cut and re-scored and imported to the U.S by Joseph E. Levine. A few of the films attempted to tell mythological stories involving quests for the golden fleece, but most were familiar formula films directly lifted from the silent era Maciste of Machiste films 50 years earlier. The character of Maciste (who directly influenced John Milius’ CONAN films with Arnold Schwarzenneger) first appeared in the 1914 epic Italian classic Cabiria. This was an incredible and expensive film that included hand colored sequences and was a huge influence on D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance. The plot was about a slave who wound up rescueing a beautiful Roman Princes from an sadistically evil King who was planning to sacrifice her to the dark god Moloch. It was all loosely based on a historical novel by Gustave Flaubert called Salammbo.

Approximately 25 Maciste movies followed with plots involving tyranical King who possess or want various magical objects so they increase their powers. Evil gods and forbidden magical rituals involving sacrifices are often part of the deal. Sometimes there are monsters as well. Often there was a princess or even a beautiful slave girl who somehow angered the evil ruler and it would come down to Maciste an almost supernaturally powerful stong man to rescue her. Sometimes the plots were more complicated involving good kings who want to protect enslaved people from evil rulers. Ocassionally the villian was an evil queen who became interested in possessing Maciste. And although the character’s origin was from ancient Carthage, Maciste could be found doing heroic tings in Monoglia, Egypt, Greece, the Roman Empire. He would also appear as a hero in numerous time periods.

So not surprisingly most of these 25 silent era films (many of them lost films) were re-made in glorious color, utilizing Mediterranean locales and sometimes ancient ruins. Because American audience had no clue about the Italian folklore of Maciste, the names of the heroes and movies were changed from Maciste to Hercules, Samson, Goliath, Ulysses, Colosus, Atlas, Sons of Hercules or something else. 60 or 70 of the quickly made movies wound up playing movie theaters in the U.S. and another 40 or 50 movies went directly to television, where eventually most of the movies wound up entertaining kids Saturday Afternoons on shows like The Sons of Hercules Theater.

In a dozen or so of these movies American or International actors like Broderick Crawford, Christopher Lee, Jayne Mansfield etc. would appear. No one had any respect for these low budget juvenile movies however and it was believed the fad would be very short-lived and be over in one or two years. Instead although their popularity faded with time and far too many movies were flooding the market they had a strong following for over 5 years and several additional years more on television. The Italian sword and sandal era ended with the rise of the spaghetti western, Djano and then Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone’s the Man with No Name created a new surge of genre film production.

One of the better examples of the sword and sandal flicks is SAMSON AND THE SEVEN MIRACLES OF THE WORLD Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan aka Maciste at the Court of the Great Khan which stars former Tarzan muscle-man Gordon Scott as the red diaper-wrap wearing Samson. This 1961 Italian made production was distributed in the United States by American International Pictures who jumped on the sword and sandal bandwagon quickly snapping up titles and distributing them to drive-ins and then selling them off to television to turn a fast profit.

Maciste, renamed SAMSON (Gordon Scott) is introduced to the story as a good hearted strong man who stumbles upon a plot as a group of Chinese peasants are brutally attacked by Mongols, a narrator tells us during the 1200s Mongols were plotting to take over China and only a hero like Samson could help. He help the Chinese people find their courage, ring the bell of freedom, and help the Chinese rise up against the Mongols.

7 Miracles? Why Samson is in China? Don’t worry about this stuff.

Garak the evil leader of the Mongols intends on being supreme ruler of China. He orders that the Chinese prince heir to the throne meets with an accident during a hunting trip. On the hunting troup the Prince is tied up, and thrown into a pit. One of the local tigers will take care of the rest. The four Mongols climb up a tree to wait for the Tiger to show up. Samson strolls onto the scene and doesn’t like what he sees. He rips the tree up from its roots and fights the Mongols. Then the tiger jumps into the pit and Samson jumps into the pit to fight the tiger and save the Prince. He takes the grateful Prince to a monastery to hide him. Then he is told to meet with CHO the leader of the rebel forces who are working to defeat the evil Garek.

While Samson is off making contact with CHO, a monk from the monastery lies to Garek and tells him that witnesses saw the Prince being eaten by a tiger. Garek is very happy with this news of course. He orders his Mongol hordes to slaughter peasants as he searches for the Princess who can be identified by a tattoo on her shoulder. She is in hiding. The princess is found and taken back to Garek. He is very nice to her—hoping to marry her and legitimately become Emperor of China. Why be legit all of a sudden? I don’t know…. Garek has a conscience?

One thing leads to another and Samson arrives in the Mongol city, preventing a public spectacle involving a Chariot driven by horses set to behead several Chinese. Scott impressively does some fairly dangerous stunt work here.

The Mongol queen takes a liking to Samson because he’s uh.. buff I guess…and helps him free the Princess. This is all much too easy but things continue to move quickly.
Garek is very upset with his partner and he whips her and than puts salt and vinegar on her wounds until she tells him where Samson, the Princess and the rebels are.
Mongols attack the monastery, but where is Samson? Underneath in the caves perhaps? Chased by the army the Prince is injured.. no wait he is killed…. Samson causes a cave in killing many of the Mongol army.

Then he visits a very old Chinese Shaman asking for his help. Will he save the Prince with a miracle?
He talks of making the 6th miracle happen AHA MIRACLES.. that’s where they come into the picture… wait a minute did we miss 5 miracles? Well to make it happen Samson must ring the bell of freedom, although no one, not even the strongest men in the world have been successful at ringing the bell of freedom. And how will Samson sneak back into the Palace and ring the bell anyway? Oh but wait, the Princess can offer herself as a bride to Garek and Samson could sneak in and…

Yes all of this is absolutely ridiculous with convenient coincidences allowing the action to continue. Garek is completely ruthless in one scene but then acts much more docile and almost kind in the next and then shows a real weakness for the Princess in another scene.

The challenges set up for Samson seem like they will be very difficult, but he has not trouble doing what he must do with a minimum amount of resistance.

Anyway while Garek is busy making wedding plans, Samson gets to the bell and rings it. Mongol hordes surround him, Samson accidently bumps his head on the heavy Freedom Bell knocker and falls down unconscious.. almost dead. He is taken to Garek. Is he dead? He is taken underneath the palace and placed in an underground crypt, a tiny crawl space that is accessed by a dwarf, where he is chained and secured.

Garek has captured the rebel leader CHO and without Cho and Samson, Garek believes he will easily put down the uprising that has occurred because of the ringing of the freedom bell.

You follow this right?

Will the Mighty Samson tear the very earth itself toppling the Mongol Palace, helping the rebel force defeat the Mongols and saving the Princess, and the imprisoned Mongol Queen who helped him?

Far-fetched? Illogical? Unbelievable? Oh but it is one of the Miracles isn’t it?

All I can tell you is this one moves very quickly, has entertaining campy performances by all the leads who spout some truly awful lines of dialogue. It seemed to be aimed at the small fry matinee crowd and has a dumb comic book kind of appeal. Yes, despite some blood on the sword that Samson holds on the cover picture of the DVD case, there's no gore in this flick and just a few flirtatious moments.

DVD STUFF

Although the DVD box lists the movie as being 79 minutes, we get a 77 minute version of what once may have been a 90 minute feature. I certainly can believe we have missed some static dialogue scenes since several scenes cut very quickly from a line of dialogue to an action sequence.
The real shame is that the Alpha Video gives us a phony matted print meant to look like it is widescreen, but it is not. The print that is transferred is very worn and faded with lots of problems and blemishes. This was obviously an extremely colorful film at one point, but it’s faded here.


The sound quality is fairly consistent with levels steady and the dubbed dialogue clear enough to hear easily throughout.


It may be the only to see this one and you can enjoy it even in this regrettably compromised version.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups