Musings!

Olinka Berova in POPPEA'S HOT NIGHTS (1969)

A 'ground-breaking' PEPLUM movie in that it was one of the first 'Sex & Sandal' movies that were all the rage in the 1970s and 80s. Olinka, straight from THE VENGEANCE OF SHE (1968), is very pretty and plays along nicely with the movies raunchy and sometimes questionable premise. 😁 A lot of people do not like these films but I find them entertaining, for many reasons, one of which is how they are a relic of a time gone. It's fascinating to see the transition of sexy but chaste PEPLUM movies of the Golden Era to morph into these movies which showed what the old movies only hinted at. The big difference is that the movies of the Golden Era were focused on male physiques while these movies were totally focused on the female form. I have so many prints of this movie it's funny.

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Note: my mother is still at the hospital. My schedule to help her changed last week. I don't know what will happen in the upcoming week. So I'm posting this on Sunday because I won't be posting tomorrow. 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

German poster of MACISTE - THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD (1961; aka Maciste vs Mole Men)

Fun poster with Mark in action. The German title translation: MACISTE AND THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT.

Image of the week!

Cleopatra (Pascale Petit), on horseback, delivers a message in A QUEEN FOR CAESAR (1962)

Lobby Cards Set: REVOLT OF THE PRAETORIANS (1964)

Original Italian lobby cards of REVOLT OF THE PRAETORIANS (1964) starring Richard Harrison, Giuliano Gemma and Moira Orfei. Nice set. It's from a re-issue as the original Italian title was LA RIVOLTA DWI PRETORIAN. Very colourful and busy. Rereleased when Gemma became a bigger star.

Musings!

Ivica Pajer, as David, and Simonetta Simeoni in DAVID AND GOLIATH (1960) 

I like this film but...there are, hmm, baroque things about it which makes liking the film a bit difficult. The casting of Croatian actor Ivica Pajer wasn't one of them. The producers were trying to capitalize on the success of HERCULES, with the idea of having a muscular hero in the lead but casting a bodybuilder as David would have been silly so they compromised with Pajer, who's fit but not overtly muscular. He's good in it and he went on to star in a handful of other memorable genre titles. As for Simonetta, her career was short-lived. She appeared in a couple of PEPLUM movies, with her unforgettable role as Erika in HERCULES AGAINST ROME (1964) being her best. Sorry about the fuzzy image. There are no good copies out there.

Behind-the-Scenes

A candid photo of Steve Reeves on the set of MORGAN THE PIRATE (1960). This photo was used for a lobby card but there's no scene where Steve smiles as he's about to be executed.  😀

Clip of the week: PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE (1963)

Perseus (Richard Harrison) discovers Andromeda (Anna Ranalli) is a Princess, prompting Galenore (Leo Anchóriz) into a whipping mood!

SPFX DEPT.

Scenes from FIRE OVER ROME (1965) 

I like this film. The new Blu-ry release is excellent. For a PEPLUM, it's actually pretty solid. But there is one weak point in it and it's the effects of a burning Rome, made even more clear in this HD release. The effects are serviceable but it clearly looks like small model set. This scene is seen twice, when Nero watches Rome burn and nearly at the very end of the movie. Unfortunately, today' audiences would dismiss the entire movie for these brief scene, disregarding the rest of the production, which is very good (sets, costumes, cast, etc).

Then & Now: Malcolm McDowell

 Malcolm in CALIGULA (1979); Malcolm in 2023.

Musings!

Rosalba Neri surrounded by handmaidens in THE THREE AVENGERS (1964) 

This is pretty much a standard scene in most PEPLUM movies. They always go two ways: the woman pampered is pleasant to them and acknowledges them or, in this case, dislikes the pampering and wants them to scoot away. The idea of servants or slaves helping you to do the simplest things would be annoying. The lack of privacy is also a problem. Fun film with a great cast! The shenanigans of the Annoying Sidekicks (yes, there are two!) are too boisterous but if one overlooks this, the movie is cool. 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Japanese poster of THE SON OF RED CORSAIR (1959)

The usual colourful poster from Japan. I like it.

Image of the week!

Polyphemus the Cyclops (Umberto Silvestri) in ULYSSES (1954)

Behind-the-Scene

Steve Reeves, as Hercules, takes direction from Pietro Francisci on what to do with Primo Carnera on the set of HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959)

Clip of the week: HERO OF BABYLON (1963)

Gordon Scott to the rescue. With Geneviève Grad. 

HD Alert!

Scenes from the new Blu-ray of FIRE OVER ROME (1965) starring Lang Jeffries (above; back to us)

There's a new German Blu-ray of FIRE OVER ROME. These screenshots are from the BD. I took a good look of it but I'll take a better in-depth look in the near future. Overall, it's very good. I like this film even though a lot of people seem to dislike it. I didn't retouch the images. The BD was released last October. It comes in two different covers.
 

Moira Orfei and Vladimir Medar as Nero.

Vintage Article!

Old article on Steve Reeves and his acting career. Images from ATHENA (1954) and HERCULES (1958).

Musings!

The Three Stooges (Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Curly Howard) in MATRI-PHONY (1942) 

When you think of the Three Stooges and Antiquity, THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES (1962) comes to mind but the trio made more stories, albeit short ones, set in the past. I don't know why but it somehow always works, more so than the regular shorts set in modern times. They also have another short set in prehistoric period, called STONE AGE ROMEOS. It's amazing the this short and the HERCULES movie have 20 years between them.
 

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Note: my mother is currently in the hospital. In fact, she had to go to the hospital during my break last week. I spend about 10 hours there, to keep her company so this week and the following weeks, I might not post because of this or, like today, post at a later time. Thanks for your understanding.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

German poster of ULYSSES (1954) 

Beautiful poster. This movie has a lot of posters out there.

PEPLUM Break!

I take a break roughly every two months so this is that time again.

In the meantime, you can buy both of the BY THE GODS! magazines. See link in a post below.

So stay tuned!

I'll leave you now with King Leonidas (Richard Egan) from THE 300 SPARTANS (1962), saying "From this wall, we do not retreat!"

Image of the week!

Atlas (Kirk Morris) fights with the 'Keeper of the Cave' (Nello Pazzafini) in ATLAS AGAINST THE CZAR (1964)

BY THE GODS! Spring 2024 issue

BY THE GODS! Spring 2024 issue can now be purchased.

Get it while it's hot!

BY THE GODS! Spring 2024 edition

By JS Davidson

52 pages, published 3/7/2024

Magazine on the PEPLUM genre! For those who love movies with stories set in the past, such as Biblical, Epic or the Greco-Roman kind, this magazine covers it all.

At the movies...

The premiere of HERCULES in Boston summer 1959.

Musings!

Alan Steel, as Hercules, using a hanging pole (crossbeam) as a weapon in HERCULES AND THE MASKED RIDER (1963)

This only happens in PEPLUM movies, 😂 which is why I love this genre. I have this movie in quasi-HD. Sadly, the file is corrupted by digital artifacts throughout. I could have done a Fan Dub but the file is unusable. Notice the RAI logo on the top right. That's the channel where the movie played. Alan is one of my favourite PEPLUM stars. He's always fun to watch.

Behind-the-Scenes

Yvonne de Carlo, Jorge Mistral, Massimo Serato and Rossana Rory on the set of THE SWORD AND THE CROSS (1958; aka Mary Magdalene)

Clip of the week: THE LOVES OF HERCULES (1960)

Hercules (Mickey Hargitay) takes matters into his own hands!  From HD source.