Hercule, Samson et Ulysse

TCM often shows films not available on video, and this, such a film, is most interesting.

As the sword and sandal craze dwindled this was unloaded onto the matinée market by MGM in 1965. Strongman Kirk Morris plays the lead Hercules, assisted by crafty Ulysses and equally powerful Samson against the evil ruler of Gaza.

This is actually a weirdly absorbing movie, as I found myself wanting to see it to the conclusion. The plot is rather complex, with double-crosses, duels to the death and some attractive scenery. As is to be expected, dubbing makes all of the action somewhat hard to follow. The larger-than-life characters are acted with gusto. I hope we see a DVD of this someday...

Not unexpectedly, given the genre and the decade, this film is a nonsensical affair of half-naked muscle-men, including devilishly handsome Kirk Morris as Hercules, posing and fighting against a backdrop of silly sets and dubious locations. Special effects are rather bad (get a load of that sea monster!) while the acting, dialogue, and action are predictably funny, though not necessarily intentionally so. Look for the scene with a close-up of Morris pretending to be riding a horse while conversing with Delilah; I spontaneously laughed out loud. In all fairness, low-budget sword-and-sandal flicks of this sort have a nostalgic value and do not really deserve or warrant critical review; they can sometimes still be entertaining if not taken at all seriously. The best scenes of this movie are those featuring lots of fake boulders and fake stone ruins, and in the end, one can only feel sorry for the horses and lions. I gave this film an extra star for going out on a limb and suggesting that, while Hercules and Samson were relatively evenly matched in the physical sense, Hercules probably had the intellectual edge.

Long before DC pit Batman against Superman or Marvel instigated a superhero civil war, writer/director Pietro Francisci imagined a battle between legendary strongmen Hercules (Italian bodybuilder Adriano Bellini, billed as Kirk Morris) and Samson (Iranian actor Iloosh Khoshabe). This being an Italian production, it is somewhat biased in its portrayal of Greek civilization being more -- well, civilized -- than the equally advanced but more tyrannical lands of Judea and Gaza, where Hercules, Ulysses and assorted Greek fishermen find themselves shipwrecked after taking on a sea monster. (The sea monster, by the way, isn't very impressive, but has good sound effects.) The film doesn't really have a developed political or religious agenda, however, despite the benign opening scene in which a bored King Laertes listens to a dispute over a goat between two silly peasants contrasting with the brutal reign of the Philistines, who wantonly murder and burn anyone they consider traitorous. Nor is the fascinating idea of two rival heroes who get their awesome power from entirely different belief systems ever really explored. Though Samson insists his strength comes from his god, the rival concepts of monotheism and polytheism are never mentioned or even implicitly contrasted; in this telling, Hercules had never heard of Samson before getting stranded in the Holy Land, and he never actually mentions Zeus. Everyone is refreshingly blase about religious differences -- when it comes to the Greek interlopers, the main concern of the Philistines and Danites is their odd style of dress.

Women, on the other hand, don't come off as well. Even though Hercules is apparently happily married, his and other wives depicted here are hectoring and disagreeable. The principle villain of the story is Samson's nemesis Delilah, played with lusty gusto by Liana Orfei, consort of the Philistine king who manipulates everyone and tries to seduce Hercules on her way to trying to seduce Samson. She also gets the film's one and only dance number, and makes the most of it. Orfei embraces and relishes playing the baddest girl and is responsible for at least half the fun quotient of the film -- plus, her warrior outfit at the end is not to be missed.

Aside from Orfei's Delilah, the main attraction is the epic battle between Hercules and Samson. Since they are both depicted as righteous heroes, the story has to contrive a situation that pits them against each other without making one of them the bad guy -- the plot involves mistaken identities and erroneous but reasonable assumptions and isn't very important. The fight, against a backdrop of stone ruins that allows for falling styrofoam and various chunks of super-heavy objects the musclemen can hurl at each other, is well-staged and well- executed by Morris and Khoshabe, especially with regard to making them seem evenly matched. Since Samson doesn't really get much action until the climactic battle and Hercules has only some perfunctory fights with a bull and a lion, their fight is basically the centerpiece of the film. What it lacks in spectacle, the actors make up for in enthusiasm.

The English-language version adds Ulysses to the title even though he is, here as in many other Peplum films, a boyishly mischievous sidekick for Hercules. The point here, as the original Italian title ("Ercole sfida Sansone") suggests, is to pit Hercules against Samson, and the film delivers on that promise. It's a nicely shot, very bright and scenic film that makes judicious use of its limited budget and makes for an enjoyable watch.

This acceptable Peplum or ¨Sword and Sandals¨ movie turns out to be a giant Spectacle of the World's Mightiest Men such as Kirk Morris as Ercole , Iloosh Khoshabe or Richard LLoyd as Sansone and Enzo Cerusico as Ulysses . A decent spaghetti , myth-opera with action , impressive fighting , battles and lush landscapes . Including breathtaking scenes when Hércules and Sansone fight themselves and overwhelming final battle with surprising and moving scenes . Two mythical figures Sansone (Kirk Morris) and Ulysses (Enzo Cerusico) along with their crew set out to hunt down a gigantic sea monster . When they face off the murderous beast their ship is wrecked and they end up in the Holy Land and Gaza where Hercules (Kirk Morris , born Adriano Moldoni , who often dyed his pompadour-styled hair blond and he had a slight, sulky resemblance to Elvis Presley) is assumed to be Samson who is a wanted man by the Saran of Gaza (Aldo Giuffrè) . Meanwhile ,Sansone helps the Dannita people and fights against a bull and a lion , as usual . The two strongmen team up to survive against the nasty Philistines (who wear an inappropriate Nazi hulk) . The picture is plenty of legendary , literary and mythological characters such as Ercole , Sansone , Ulysses , Delilah as Philistine Queen (Liana Orfei) , Laertes as Ithaca King (Andrea Fantasia) , Telémaco Ulysses' son and Penélope , Ulyssess' wife

This is a nice Peplum with violent fights , noisy action , drama , court intrigues , and spectacular battles , but not brain food . Don't look for too much of a screenplay , because the emphasis is on lavish spectacle . This film is a crossover of heroes and mythological roles , but with no historical penchant . The picture contains some unexpected scenes with gory and eerie events , as when several children are shot by arrows , crucifixion and hanging . Lousy performances in Peplum style with lots of wooden acting . As usual in Peplum films appears the choreographic girl dancers and great deal of action with several adventures including spectacular fights , overwhelming sets and some good effects . U.S. buffs regard this as the last of the big Italian sword and sandal/muscle-man epics , it was directed by Pietro Francisci , who had started the craze with his ¨Hercules¨ (1958) and sequel ¨Hercules unchained , both of them performed by the great Steve Reeves .

"Hercules, Samson & Ulysses" is starred by two He-men : Kirk Morris and Richard Lloyd , both of whom subjected to the traditional "Test of Strength" , as they endeavored to pull a temple apart against Philistines . Kirk Morris who played the mythic Maciste in a few movies was randomly assigned the identity of Hercules , Goliath , Ursus , Samson or Aron for U.S. viewing . Bouncing and strong Kirk was a bodybuilder and gondolier who plucked from the canals of Venice for his go at moviedom but early to be recruited by Italian producers to star in Peplum films . He was a gondolier , before turning to body-building , when resulted to be discovered by an Italian movie producer, he was deemed a perfect speciman to showcase their spectacles and a fitting hero to help offset the silly special effects and spectacular as well as embarrassing action . Himself Kirk Morris became something of a cult personality in the Italian epic genre . Starring notorious titles as : Il Trionfo Maciste (1961) , Hércules against the moon men , Colossus and the headhunters (1963) , Maciste Alla Corte Dello Zar (1964) and Devil of the Desert Against the Son of Hércules (1964) . Once the genre had lost its audience in the mid-60s, Kirk maintained for a few more years in war stories as The Seven Red Berets, Overrun! and Sci-Fi as : 2+5 Missione Hydra and westerns as : Rita in the West , but eventually migrated to the United States where he went into the advertising field . While Richard Lloyd -who was born in Iran and died in 2012 in Tehran- starred a few Peplums such as : Titán vs Vulcano (1962), Gli Invincibili Fratelli Maciste (1964) and Ercole Sfida Sansone (1963).

"Hercules, Samson & Ulysses" packs a colorful and evocative cinematography by Silvano Ippalotini . Atmospheric and exciting score by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino . The sets and production design impress too . This elaborate recounting was professionally directed by Pietro Francisci though with little relation with the Biblical and literary events . Francisci was an expert on Peplum as he proved in 1963 Ercole sfida Sansone , 1960 Saffo, Venere Di Lesbo ,1960 The battle of Siracusa ,1959 Hércules unchained and particularly 1958 Hércules with the great Steve Reeves . Fun for the whole family though it tends toward the ponderous at times but for the most part, it's a passable movie .

In the 1960's in the U.S.A. the director of this last sword and sandal film called " Hercules, Samson and Ulysses " was the first to adapt the early Greek myths to the silver screen. The movie went on to be copied again and again. By this final installment Steve Reeves was replaced by a look-a-like Kirk Morris for the Strong Man, Hercules. As for his Judean rival the director choose Richard Lloyd to play the biblical hero. Enzo Cerusico plays the young Ulysses as they set out to confront a gigantic monster in Greece. However, a storm lands them in the Lavant and the land of legendary strong man who battle the Philistines. The movie is expected to follow the earlier films like Hercules and Hercules' Unchained. Instead the director who also wrote the story consigns himself to pairing the two strongmen and their young protégé against the The Philistines and his ally Dalila (Liana Orfei). Delighful as the movie is, audiences keep expecting ,much, much more than is offered, only to be disappointed. Still, the movie is interesting fare for a lazy summer's day. Despite all, it's still enjoyable but relegated to the shelves as a 1960's Classic. ****