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The Peplum (or pepla plural), also known as Sword-and-Sandal, is a genre of largely Italian-made Historical or Biblical Epics that dominated the Italian film industry from 1957 to 1965, eventually being replaced in 1965 by the “Spaghetti Western”. The pepla attempted to emulate, or compete with, the big budget Hollywood Historical Epics of the time, such as “Spartacus”, “Samson and Delilah” and “The Ten Commandments”, just as the Spaghetti westerns were low-budget imitations of the Hollywood Western. The terms “peplum” (referring to the togas or robes which the ancient Romans wore) and “sword-and-sandal” were used in a condescending way by film critics. The peplum genre does not include Hollywood or British films such as “Clash of the Titans” or “King of Kings” (just as the “Spaghetti Western” genre obviously does not include Hollywood westerns such as “High Noon” or “The Outlaw Josey Wales”).
1 Hercules series (1957–1965)
A series of 19 Italian Hercules movies were made in the late 50′s and early 60′s. The films were all sequels to the fantastically successful Steve Reeves movie “Hercules” (1957) and its sequel “Hercules Unchained” (1959), and inspired Italian filmmakers to begin a new Maciste film series in 1960. The actors who played Hercules in these films were Steve Reeves, Gordon Scott, Kirk Morris, Mickey Hargitay, Mark Forest, Alan Steel, Dan Vadis, Brad Harris, Reg Park, Peter Lupus (billed as Rock Stevens) and Michael Lane. The films are listed below by their American release titles, and the titles in parentheses are the original Italian titles with English translation.
2 Maciste series (1960–1965)
There were a total of 25 Maciste films from the 1960s peplum craze (not counting the two dozen silent Maciste films made in Italy pre-1930). When the 2 Steve Reeves HERCULES films were so successful, Italian producers decided to revive the old silent film character of Maciste in a new series of sound movies. The first title listed for each film is the film’s original Italian title along with its English translation, while the U.S. release title follows in parentheses. (Note how many times Maciste’s name in the Italian title is altered to an entirely different name in the American title)
3 Ursus series (1961–1964)
Ursus was a super-human Roman era character who was used as the protagonist in a series of Italian adventure films made in the early 1960s. The character was obviously inspired by the mightily-muscled Roman slave Ursus (played by Buddy Baer) who slays a bull with his bare hards in a Roman gladiatorial arena in the 1951 Hollywood classic “QUO VADIS?”. When the “Hercules” film craze hit in 1959, Italian filmmakers were looking for other muscleman characters similar to Hercules whom they could exploit.
Ursus was referred to as a “Son of Hercules” in two of the films when they were dubbed in English (in an attempt to cash in on the then-popular Hercules craze), although in the original Italian films, Ursus had no connection to Hercules whatsoever. In the English-dubbed version of one film (Hercules, Prisoner of Evil), Ursus was actually referred to throughout the entire film as “Hercules”.
4 Samson series (1961–1964)
A Samson character was featured in a series of 5 sword-and-sandal adventure films made in Italy in the 1960s. The character was similar to the Biblical Samson in the 3rd and 5th films only; in the other three, he just appears to be a very strong adventurer/ pirate-type character named Samson (not related to the Biblical figure). The titles are listed as follows: the Italian title & its English translation followed by the U.S. release title in parentheses)
The name Samson was later inserted into the titles of six other Italian movies when they were dubbed in English for distribution in the USA, although these films actually featured the adventures of the famed Italian folk hero Maciste. Samson Against the Sheik (1962), Son of Samson (1960), Samson and the Slave Queen (1963), Samson and the Seven Miracles of the World (1961), Samson Vs. The Giant King (1964), and Samson in King Solomon’s Mines (1964) were all retitled Maciste movies, because the American distributors didn’t feel the name Maciste was marketable to U.S. filmgoers. Samson and the Treasure of the Incas (a.k.a. Hercules and the Treasure of the Incas) (1965) is listed in some reference books as a peplum, but the film was actually an Italian western.
5 Goliath series (1960–1964)
The Italians used Goliath as an action superhero in a series of adventure films (pepla) in the early 1960s. He was a man possessed of amazing strength, and the films were similar in theme to the Hercules and Maciste movies. After the classic Hercules (1957) became a blockbuster sensation in the film industry, a 1959 Steve Reeves film Terrore dei Barbari (Terror of the Barbarians) was retitled Goliath and the Barbarians in the USA. The film was so successful at the box office, it inspired Italian filmmakers to do a series of four more films featuring a generic beefcake hero named Goliath, although the films were not related to each other in any way. (The 1960 Italian peplum David and Goliath starring Orson Welles was not part of this series, since that movie was just a historical retelling of the Biblical story). The titles in the Italian Goliath adventure series were as follows:
Terrore dei Barbari/ Terror of the Barbarians (1959) (retitled Goliath and the Barbarians in the USA), starring Steve Reeves as Goliath (although he is referred to as “Emiliano” in the original Italian-language version)
Goliath contro i giganti/ Goliath Against the Giants (1960) starring Brad Harris
Goliath e la schiava ribelle/ Goliath and the Rebel Slave (a.k.a. The Tyrant of Lydia Vs. The Son of Hercules) (1963) starring Gordon Scott
Golia e il cavaliere mascherato/ Goliath and the Masked Rider (a.k.a. Hercules and the Masked Rider) (1964) starring Alan Steel
Golia alla conquista di Bagdad/ Goliath at the Conquest of Baghdad (a.k.a. Goliath at the Conquest of Damascus, 1964) starring Peter Lupus
6 The Sons of Hercules (TV syndication package)
The Sons of Hercules was a syndicated television show that aired in the United States in the 1960s. The series repackaged 14 randomly-chosen Italian sword-and-sandal films by unifying them with memorable title and end title theme songs and a standard voice-over intro relating the main hero in each film to Hercules any way they could. In some areas, each film was split into two one-hour episodes, so the 14 films were shown as 28 weekly episodes.
The films are not listed in chronological order, since they were not really related to each other in any way. The first title listed below for each film was its American broadcast television title, followed by the English translation of the original Italian theatrical title in parentheses:
Ursus, Son of Hercules (Ursus) 1961, starring Ed Fury (a.k.a. Mighty Ursus in England)
Mole Men vs the Son of Hercules (Maciste, The Strongest Man in the World) 1962, starring Mark Forest
Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules (Maciste vs the Monsters) 1962, starring Reg Lewis
7 Italian gladiator movies, 1948–1965
There were a number of Italian peplums that heavily emphasized the gladiatorial arena in their plots, with it becoming almost a peplum sub-genre in itself; One group of supermen known as “The Ten Gladiators” appeared in a trilogy, all three films starring Dan Vadis in the lead role.
Fabiola (1948) aka The Fighting Gladiator
Sins of Rome (1952) a.k.a. Spartacus, directed by Riccardo Freda
The Invincible Gladiator (1961) Richard Harrison
Revenge of the Gladiators (1961) starring Mickey Hargitay
8 Steve Reeves Pepla (in chronological order of production)
Steve Reeves appeared in 14 peplums made in Italy from 1957 to 1964, and most of his films are highly regarded examples of the sword and sandal genre. The films are listed by their American release titles, followed by the translation of the original Italian title in parentheses:
Hercules (1957) (The Labors of Hercules)
Hercules Unchained (1959) (Hercules and the Queen of Lydia)
The Giant of Marathon (1959) (The Battle of Marathon)
Goliath and the Barbarians (1959) (Terror of the Barbarians)
9 Other (non-series) Italian pepla
There were many 1960′s Italian pepla that did not feature a major superhero (such as Hercules, Maciste or Samson), and as such they fall into a sort of miscellaneous category. (They do however feature well-known characters such as Ali Baba, Julius Caesar, Ulysses, Cleopatra, The Three Musketeers, Theseus, Perseus, Achilles, Robin Hood, Sandokan, El Cid, etc). Although the Kirk Douglas epic Ulysses (1954) was the first of the big peplum films of the 1950′s, it was Steve Reeves’ “Hercules” (1957) that sparked the genre’s instantaneous growth.
Here is a list of the best-known titles:
Adventurer of Tortuga (1965) starring Guy Madison
Ali Baba and the Sacred Crown (1962) a.k.a. The Seven Tasks of Ali Baba, starring Richard Lloyd
Ali Baba and the Seven Saracens (1963) a.k.a. Sinbad Vs. The Seven Saracens, starring Gordon Mitchell
Anthar, The Invincible (1964) a.k.a. Devil of the Desert vs the Son of Hercules, starring Kirk Morris, directed by Antonio Margheriti
10 Sword-and-sandal films from the 1980′s
After the peplum gave way to the Spaghetti Western and imitation James Bond films in 1965, the genre lay dormant for close to 20 years. Then in 1982, the box-office success of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Conan the Barbarian spurred a second renaissance of Italian pepla in the five years immediately following. Most notable among them were the four “Ator” films, starring Miles O’Keefe in the lead role. Most of these films were of lower quality due to painfully reduced budgets (focusing more on barbarians than Romans, so as to avoid the need for expensive sets) and the filmmakers tried to compensate for their shortcomings with the addition of some graphic gore and nudity. Many of these 1980′s entries were helmed by noted Italian horror film directors, and many featured Lou Ferrigno or Sabrina Siani . Here is a list of the 1980s peplums:
Ator, the Fighting Eagle (1983) a.k.a. Ator the Invincible, starring Miles O’Keefe & Sabrina Siani, directed by Joe D’Amato
Ator 2: The Blademaster (1985) a.k.a. Blademaster, starring Miles O’Keefe, directed by Joe D’Amato
Ator 3: Iron Warrior (1986) a.k.a. Iron Warrior, starring Miles O’Keefe, directed by Alfonso Brescia (Joe D’Amato disowned this entry in the Ator saga since it was done without his involvement)
11 The Maciste silent film series (1914–1927)
Cabiria (1914) introduced the Maciste character
Maciste (1915) aka “Marvelous Maciste”
Maciste bersagliere (“Maciste the Ranger”, 1916)
Maciste alpino (1916) aka “Maciste The Warrior”
Maciste atleta (“Maciste the Athlete”, 1917)
Maciste medium (“Maciste the Clairvoyant”, 1917)
Maciste poliziotto (“Maciste the Detective”, 1917)
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