Le tyran de Syracuse

Damon And Pythias the retelling of the legendary friendship from Greek mythology is a cut above the usual peplum product from Italy at the time. It benefits a bit from Hollywood director Curtis Bernhardt although the film is way too slow. A lot from the first half of the movie could have been cut.

Pythias as played by Don Burnett is on a mission from Athens to Syracuse where he's to fetch back the Pythagorean field man in Syracuse back to the home office in Athens. In Athens the school of Pythagoras is a respected form of philosophy, Syracuse they're considered a dangerous cult and hunted down by its ruler Dionysius played by Arnaldo Foa.

While in Syracuse Burnett meets up with Guy Williams playing Damon who is a rogue in a manner befitting Errol Flynn. But Williams is a jaded sort and he sees Burnett really walks the walk in the philosophy of universal brotherhood that the Pythagoreans preach. It's not quite as simple as that, but the Pythagoreans here are presented as a forerunner of Christianity.

It all gets put to the test when Burnett is caught by Foa and Williams offers himself up as hostage in his place so Burnett can return to Athens to care for his sick wife. Foa decided to let him go through with it, thinking that no one would be dumb enough to return once free and that would discredit the philosophy which is finding favor in Syracuse.

Williams and Burnett were a pair of refugees from television, Burnett had done the Northwest Passage television show and Williams had just finished his run with Walt Disney's Zorro. Damon And Pythias never did establish them as film stars. Williams came along twenty years too late, in the thirties he could have been another Errol Flynn. He would have a run with Lost In Space after this film. Both their careers had petered out by the Seventies.

Damon And Pythias is a bit more literate than the usual peplum item. But it is also sluggish and dull in spots. It's a curiosity nevertheless and might be worth a look.

Although I had heard of the titular historical characters – probably from a Greek mythology class I sat for in Secondary School – I had never read or seen their tale until now, via this rather lifeless and turgid peplum that was, until some time ago, a staple of TCM UK's schedule. The leads are likable enough as played by Guy Williams (from Disney's "Zorro" TV-series in his penultimate theatrical feature) and Don Burnett (also in his next-to-last film, he was a dead ringer for Rock Hudson but much less charismatic), their inevitable love interests are, respectively, attractive (Liana Orfei) and histrionic (Ilaria Occhini), while the villainous Tyrant of Syracuse (the film's original Italian title) was portrayed by a favorite Italian character actor who made his fair share of these things – Arnoldo Foa' who also speaks his own lines in serviceable English! Actually, the latter's belated introduction breathes new life into the film making the second half far more compelling as Greek Burnett defies his Sicilian enemies to prove that his Pythagorian creed of "The Brotherhood of Man" (perpetrated by persecuted philosopher Andrea Bosic) by replacing Sicilian thief Williams who has, uncharacteristically, exchanged places with Burnett on the executioner's block because of the latter's impending fatherhood! Therefore, it is rather unfortunate that, despite some interesting international credentials in the direction (German Bernhardt, who would curiously himself retire after making just one more film!) and screen writing (British playwright Bridget Boland and Hollywood veteran Samuel Marx) departments, DAMON AND PYTHIAS does not emerge a better movie in the long run – even when compared to most of the less-than-inspired product along the same lines being churned out by contemporary Italian B-grade film-makers.

Like watching paint dry on a wall. A lifeless production thay barely holds your interest. I recordered it on TCM late at night hoping for a good unknown film staring Guy Williams would be worth watching. Nice Palace in dirt poor city. So much talk that amounts to nothing.

While it looks like just another of those "sword and sandal" movies from the 1960s, this one has ambitions. Too bad. Instead of being a snappy, unpretentious piece of entertainment with beefcakey guys and bosomy babes racing their way through an action-filled plot, we get a long, slow, deliberate, almost thoughtful re-telling of the Damon and Pythias myth. Strange, you don't think you're going to miss the fire-breathing monster and the scantily-clad virgin chained to a rock and the bare-chested hero stretched between two chariots, but darn it, when these ingredients aren't present, you miss them!

The problems probably began with the choice of director, Curtis Bernhardt. He was fine for MGM's women's pictures such as "Beau Brummell" and "Interrupted Melody," but he's not well suited to this kind of material. Guy Williams isn't the right choice to play Damon, either. He's supposed to be one of those lovable rogue types such as Burt Lancaster or even Kirk Douglas used to play, but he just can't bring this off.

Don Burnett does better as Pythias. He plays the quiet, serious one and though the "mismatched buddies" formula usually works, it stumbles here because there simply isn't much chemistry between the two leads. And, curiously enough, neither of the two men gets to take his shirt off, not even in the climactic scene in which Damon is bound to a pillar for his impending execution. What's a sword-and-sandal movie without a generous helping of pecs?

It's 400 BCE Greece. Protheus led the peaceful freedom-loving Pythagorian society in Athens until his death. Pythias is ordered to Syracuse, and recruit Arcanos to be their new leader. Only, Arcanos is hiding from city dictator Dionysius the Tyrant and and Cariso, the captain of the guards. In Syracuse, Pythias gets robbed by bandit Damon and they end up escaping together from the guards.

This is an Italian spaghetti toga epic based on an ancient Greek story. The first half of the movie is too slow. A spaghetti sword and sandal needs to have more action. It's an hour before there is a truly good action scene and it's a really good one. I love the western-like stunts. Some of them actually look dangerous. The stuntman could have been hurt by the flipping cart. Otherwise, I never connected with these characters.