Atlas

1960's "Atlas" was Roger Corman's impoverished attempt at a Hercules-type epic (shot on location in Greece), without the budget. Charles B. Griffith could always be relied upon to deliver a script very quickly, and the haste is quite evident here, as the dialogue sounds risibly modernistic, and American actor Frank Wolff hilariously dubbed. Judging from his previous work on "A Bucket of Blood" and "The Little Shop of Horrors," one can easily conclude that this was written as a satire, and it does deliver a few chuckles. Star Michael Forest, like Wolff a veteran of Corman's "Ski Troop Attack" and "Beast from Haunted Cave," looked more impressive years later bare chested on both GILLIGAN'S ISLAND and STAR TREK. As the battle scenes come off as anemic, the only visually arresting image remains the comely Barboura Morris, who spent her entire career in Corman's service, until her untimely death at age 43 in 1975. "Atlas" made its only appearance on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater during its first season, alternating Saturday afternoons and Sunday nights, airing Sat March 14 1964, while the Sunday night co-feature (which likewise never repeated) was 1958's "Spy in the Sky!"

It'sa Roger Corman flick about how the hero spent his time while Heracles was holding up the heavens. I guess. Apparently he went to Greece and got involved with with a tyrant who liked to dress his soldiers in simply darling short red skirts with matching blouses.

Because it was shot by Corman, the actors speak English. This meant I couldn't amuse myself by noting how every actor sounded like Paul Frees when saying things that didn't match his mouth. I did think about the line from Airplane!, of Peter Graves asking the kid if he liked gladiator movies. Me, I don't. Oh, I like good ones. Ilike the stuff that Harryhausen did the stop-motion for because, while the actors in that average lousy, you still have something by Harryhausen to cheer you up. But like a genre means you like the lousy stuff too.

But not here. Story, eh. FIght choreography, lousy. Actors, didn't recognize any of them and the movie made clear why.

Playing the title role of Atlas and certainly having the physique for it is Michael Forest best known for playing the God Apollo on Star Trek prime. He gets himself involved in a civil war where one army is besieging a city state.

When a single combat winner take all duel is arranged the besieger goes out to look for a champion and just by coincidence the Olympic Games are being held. Frank Wolff finds Michael Forest and he will face Christos Exarchos the prince of the city. When Forest beats Exarchos but doesn't kill him, Wolff should have thought right then and there that this will mean trouble for him.

Roger Corman produced Atlas. It was his attempt to make a Peplum, sand and scandal less than an epic. The European players stroll rather listlessly through the film. But Frank Wolff, God Bless him is having a whale of time playing Proximades the tyrant who shows pieces of what Peter Ustinov did with Nero in Quo Vadis and later on Christopher Plummer in the Fall Of The Roman Empire. Wolff is so infectiously evil, he makes a mediocre film worth watching.

Michael Forest stars as the title character, a strongman who beats an Olympian at wrestling, and then agrees to help out "Proximates the Tyrant" in taking over a city. Of course, Atlas eventually sees the error of his ways, leads the inevitable revolt against the tyrant, and then goes to work for Rand McNally.

Frank Wolff as Proximates steals the show, and has the best lines. He slyly refers to one character's possible bisexuality. In another scene, a soldier appears and says "did you want me?" "No!" Wolff screams sarcastically. "I wanted your Great Aunt Helen from Lesbos!"

Barboura Morris plays the love interest. A staple of Roger Corman films, this is the first time I've seen her in color. Director Corman has a bit as a messenger, while the stalwart Dick Miller appears in the climax as one of the rebels and kicks some serious butt.

The score by Ronald Stein is quite good. But in one embarrassing scene, Atlas is supposed to square off against another muscular opponent as soon as the trumpets sound. Two guys blow into their trumpets, but no sound can be heard ... although I think I saw several dogs covering up their ears.

... that is, if you dig flicks that involve men wearing really high cut "togas" that look more like skirts. The battle scenes are absolutely laughable, with lots of shots of shields being hit by things (occasionally the wooden swords), and lots of guys who throw spears really poorly at their crew-cut Greek rivals. The charges just sort of slow in front of enemy lines, once even to turn around and change a formation four feet from the "battle line." Some of the editing looks like it may have been done by a deranged chimp, and that's just for the important dialogue scenes. There are a few shots where the camera literally gets knocked out of place. A final word of warning: the director took full advantage of shot width, so if you are unfortunate enough to watch this on tv, several scenes will have half of the speakers cut off at the edge of the screen. If you need something to MST3K, come and get it!