Samson - Befreier der Versklavten

Routine sword and sandal :it's 25 centuries before Christ ,folks,and that wicked prime minister Menistus (Serge Gainsbourg)is making rough all over:"only blood and violence can lead to power!" "reprisals! repression!" "death to the rebels!" ...

It was the third time the great singer/songwriter had appeared in a sword and sandal after "Sansone" and "La Rivolta Della Schiavi" .I'm forced to recognize,one more time,that,while a brilliant songwriter maybe the best France has ever had,Gainsbourg -Whitney Houston might remember him-was a lousy actor.

If you do not ask too much ,this Hercules (Ercole)is not worse than the others;there are even endearing characters,some "nice" people die ,which is very rare in this kind of flick,and the queen herself is ,relatively speaking,an ambiguous character,at once guilty and innocent.Hercule is strong ,that's all the director asks from him.His endeavors are business as usual:fight against a lion , a gorilla (a man dressed up as a gorilla more like)etc..Full of finer feelings ,with a finale verging on melodrama.All in all,a lesson in democracy.

In THE FURY OF HERCULES, it's Brad Harris' turn to toss grown men around like so much pizza dough, as the human boxcar of the title.

This time out, Big H saves a queen from a pirouetting pair of ballet assassins. The grateful queen takes Herc into her private chambers and into her confidence. Alas, she turns out to be a royal bossy boots, enslaving the populace! If she's not bad enough, her underlings are even worse!

Now, wearing a cream-colored, one-piece mini-dress for spring, H-Man must free the slaves. But first, it's time for the obligatory "test of strength", wherein he battles a lion and a rather sickly looking go-rilla, before tangling with another muscleman in a cage match to the death!

Soon, our gargantuan hero is moving 5-ton slabs of stone, on his way to deliver the downtrodden. All, while wearing the latest in red, beach cover-ups. When a band of hillbilly-ish cavemen attack, we get to see him go completely berserk-ules!

Harris does a decent job playing the big lug. Fans of the genre know the routine, and all of the necessary elements are in place...

Here we go again, Hercules has another evil ruler to deal with. That is nothing unusual - this time is an evil queen. The queen wants Hercules but our hero is in love with a pretty and sweet milkmaid.

Standard, typical stuff. Nothing that really makes this Hercules film stand out of the crowd.

Mid to late 70s to the very early 80s I recall watching a couple, three or four of the Hercules films and I really enjoyed them. Going back to watch them all these years later I find they are not nearly as good. I guess viewing the films from the eyes of a child in those years of my life these movies seemed big, glamorous and very heroic.

These days, all I can see is a poor script - cheap bad lines and boring story, bad camera work and some not so great acting. I see some nice costumes, sets and props - sometimes some good action - and I think those are the same things I actually saw as a kid, but as an adult I can see the whole picture and it's mildly entertaining.

2.5/10

Sandals film (1962) with Brad Harris - this time as Hercules

The German versions with their confusing titles are a chapter in themselves. Peplum star Brad Harris (1933-2017) and his films were particularly affected by the arbitrariness of German dubbing. In this film SAMSON, BEFREIER DER VERSKLAVTEN , called "La furia di Ercole" in the original and "The Fury of Hercules" in the American version, he is finally really the ancient demigod. The Italian-French co-production, staged as effectively as usual by his resident director Gianfranco Parolini, was shot in Zagreb and was released in West German cinemas on January 11, 1963. The cast is largely the same as its predecessor, "Sansone / Herkules im Netz der Cleopatra / Hercules in Cleopatra's Net" (1961), in which muscle man Brad Harris actually played Samson. But let's leave it alone!

This time it's about the kingdom of Nisia, which, after the king's death, is unlawfully ruled by the cruel ex-advisor Menisto (Serge Gainsbourg, who would later have some world hits as a chansonnier in a duet with Brigitte Bardot and his wife Jane Birkin). King's daughter Cnidia (Mara Berni) is completely under control. Since the people suffer a lot from this, there are repeated uprisings. Hercules/Samson (Brad Harris), who has now fallen in love with the servant Daria (Luisella Boni), takes the side of the people and helps the insurgents (including Sergio Ciani, who would soon play leading roles in his own sandal films as a muscle man). To overcome tyranny.

In terms of content, not much different happens than in the previous film. Serge Gainsbourg is once again particularly impressive as the villain, who clearly had fun with these roles. The child actor is again Gianfranco Gasparri, who as Franco Gasparri would later become the star of some Poliziotteschi. In another supporting role is the German actress Elke Arendt, who was born in 1939 and became known for the film "Schneewittchen und die sieben Zwerge / Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1955). In her further career she was also engaged at the Staatstheater Kassel. Until his death three months ago, Elke Arendt was married to Stephan Orlac (1931-2020), who was best known alongside Maria Sebaldt in the ZDF hit series "Die Wicherts von nebenan / The Wicherts from Next Door" (1986-1991).

Worth it for fans of the Peplum genre and Brad Harris!

RIP Stephan Orlac (1931-2020)

The generic "Hercules" plot can be found here. This plot is set in a tyrannical kingdom where an evil ruler, often a queen, faces a revolt from freedom-loving rebels. Not surprisingly, the queen casts lustful eyes upon Hercules and tries to win him to her side but he's more attracted to one of the queen's handmaidens who turns out to have ties to the rebels. The queen then resorts to magic spells to temporarily cloud Hercules' mind but he soon comes to his senses and joins the revolt, usually enduring some bondage, torture, and tests-of-strength along the way. The ruler is overthrown, the rebels are victorious, crowds cheer, and Hercules gazes lovingly upon the handmaiden. There are only minor variations to this plot in "The Fury of Hercules." The queen, for instance, is more misguided than evil, and Hercules never once winds up in chains, but all this is still familiar enough to confuse with a dozen other sword-and-sandal productions. If there's a distinguishing factor here, it's Idaho-born Brad Harris who has not only the body of Hercules but also a good-looking face. His acting is adequate and his personality passable. One wishes he had better material to work with. He should, for example, have more scenes in which he's completely bare-chested. Get rid of that strap over his shoulder! Weasel-faced Serge Gainsbourg, so villainous in "Revolt of the Slaves," does the same sort of job here.