Goliath et le cavalier masqué

Though top-billed, Alan Steel -- he of the muscular chest -- has little to do in this modest swashbuckler which has the novelty of being set in post-medieval Spain. (The "Hercules" in the title was obviously added for American and other audiences who might still be interested in the sword-and-sandal cycle.) Basically this is a Zorro or Robin Hood adventure pitting the band of common folk, led by a charismatic hero, against the entrenched forces of the villain. It's efficiently done but offers little in the way of style or flair and is likely to fade from the memory quickly and without regret. Mimmo Palmara plays the hero and one of the movie's few "highlights" is his bare-chested knife-fight with Alan Steel. Steel's big "beefcake" scene comes when he engages in a tug-of-war with six men, three men pulling on a rope attached to each of his outstretched arms. Rather than being snapped like a wishbone, Steel manages to pull the men together, just as Steve Reeves mastered those charging horses in a somewhat similar scene in "Goliath and the Barbarians." Worth noting is the presence here of Ettore Manni who died young and in troubled circumstances but who left behind a number of notable performances.

The sword and Sandals movie were quite big in the 60s. So big you could not escape them. And while they tried to break some moulds, they could not escape certain things. So this pits "Hercules" and someone you could easily call Zorro together.

Now if that hasn't made you switch off yet, you may be in for a fairly entertaining ride. But beware, watch more than 2 or 3 of these movies back to back and you get more than fatigue ... you get bored. This one at least has quite the humor to it, which may give it a certain edge (there is a bit of Asterix and Obelix in one scene for example where it comes to counting the enemy and giving them a "hand"/punch) ... other than that, business as usual

This is indeed a Zorro film (spelled Zoro on a wanted poster at one point in the picture); the strong man is really Goliath, which is partly a reference to the legendary giant, but is really merely a signifier for "big strong guy."

Overwrought formula actioner. The film-making is by the numbers, the acting is competent at best. The plot is confusing, the action okay but nothing special; but the real problem, obviously, is that the filmmakers don't know what kind of movie they want to make.

Saturday afternoon hangover fodder. May give you something to do if you have nothing to do. Otherwise, ho hum when not just bad.

Why is Hercules in 16th century Spain? Well, someone decided he should be there with Don Juan. LOL The truth is, this is another Maciste film. The name Maciste was not popular (still is not) in the United States so the the US would change the name of Maciste into other names that were (still are) popular like Hercules, Colossus, Goliath or Samson for American audiences.

It's a lame and boring love story with little action. It's mainly a romantic adventure fantasy - but not my type of fantasy. It's not a good film but it is a goofy film. The film is very much out of place and not a true Hercules movie.

2/10

Now maybe something got lost in translation here, but I struggled to see what this had to do with "Hercules" - "Zorro" might have been a better character? Anyway, the gist is your typical Spanish sword-fencing romp with the baddie "Don Ramiro" (Arturo Dominici) usurping the kindly "Don Francisco" (Renato Navarini) so he can steal his lands and the hand of his daughter "Doña Blanca" (José Greci). Before he can cement his cunning plan, though, the old gent's nephew, the dashing young "Don Juan" (Mimmo Palmara) returns, battle weary from the war in the Netherlands, and decides to put a stop to these shenanigans. He is hopelessly outnumbered, but as luck would have it there is band of travelling gypsies who are tired of being moved from pillar to post and so, under the leadership of their feisty boss "Estella" (Pilar Cansino), decide to join forces to bring down this tyrant before the eyes of the visiting envoy of the King. It's a decent enough drama but it's far too long and the story wears too thin at times as the scheming and counter-scheming proves just a little repetitive at times. The formula is well oiled and there's little jeopardy throughout, but Cansino delivers quite well as the woman not to mess with and there is plenty of swordplay to counter the slack periods - of which there are many, when the melodrama takes too much centre stage. It's still quite good fun if you like you nasty characters straight out of pantomime, and I've seen much worse.