Maciste, l'uomo più forte del mondo

"While traveling across the land, our hero Maciste finds the survivors of an attack by some strange warriors. The murderous attackers were all albinos that Maciste tracks to a hidden underground city. Looking to avenge the victims of the attacks, Maciste heads into the city under the surface to battle these strange underground dwellers," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Dubbed "Mole Men against the Son of Hercules" for American consumption. Relatively speaking, this isn't too bad for a lower budgeted Italian "sword and sandal" epic. Bulging, muscular Mark Forest struts his Herculean form well. Queenly, voluptuous Moira Orfei will raise an eyebrow. Paul Wynter heralds some darker-skinned supporting players. And, Gianni Garko heads the clannish, white-cloaked "Mole Men", a vampire-like master race.

**** Maciste, l'uomo piu forte del mondo (10/10/61) Antonio Leonviola ~ Mark Forest, Moira Orfei, Paul Wynter, Gianni Garko

Ingenuous mythical film. One of the Raffaella Carrà's first works.

A Classic Italian cheap sixties film. A rarity to enjoy as a guilty pleasure.

With Mark forest, Raffaella Carrà, and Moira Orfei.

A film created to showcase the muscular Mark Forest. Fights and sword fights, lions, gorillas, evil queens, subterranean societies, priests and warriors that have aged poorly over the years.

Maciste, son of Heracles, must go underground to fight against a civilization of mole men who are threatening an underground village.

A good option for a boring afternoon adventure session. A jewel of the B series.

MOLE MEN AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES is another Maciste film, repackaged as one of the "Sons of Hercules" series. All for American audiences.

Enjoying a relaxing day of whale beaching, Maciste (Mark Forest), is interrupted by a horde of bleached wig-wearing, pasty-skinned interlopers! Thankfully, Maciste is basically a boulder with eyes, and his glistening body oil repels their weaponry like a shining shield of shimmering sheen! He proceeds to mow them down like crabgrass.

Enlisting the aid of his equally enormous friend, Bango (Paul Wynter), the two chuckling heroes flex their tree-like appendages, while ridding the land of Mole men. That is, until they're captured, taken to the subterranean lair, and introduced to the Mole men's queen.

Of course, there are other enslaved prisoners to be freed, and the queen wants Maciste. Bad! Let the obligatory "test of strength" begin! This time, Maciste must fight a "beast man" (aka: a guy in a go-rilla suit) in a cage match to the death! There's also a torturous, triceps-tearing, testosterone-tapping test of endurance, as a bonus!

This movie is a gift from the muscleman gods! There's even -yet another- princess to be rescued! This could very well be the Mount Olympus of entertainment!

Be sure to watch for the "human shish kabob", and "world's biggest chain" sequences!...

The ancient days of Greece, countless villages have fallen victim to the evil mole people, who kidnap the survivors of their conquests to be slaves in their diamond mine. The famous hero Maciste hears of this crime and swears to seek justice and take the mole people down. Aided by a fellow strongman named Bangor, Maciste infiltrates the caverns of the mole men as a prisoner, intent on freeing the prisoners and ending the reign of their sadistic queen Halis Moyaab. She has other plans though, and wishes to either see Maciste dead, or reigning by her side...

Italian peplums are like Marmite, you either loathe them, finding them cheesy and kitschy, or love them, finding them well-made actioners with a strong imagination. I'm in the latter category - yes, Hercules meets the mole men is cheesy and even silly with creatures with white hair and living underground, but it's quite imaginative and intriguing to a point. Yes, mole men idea seems bizarre, but then this is a fantasy film. The Ewoks and the oompah loompahs aren't any less silly! The major problem of this film is the pace. It's slow, but there's a few action scenes to overcome this. The best character is the Queen, played by Moira Orefai, who is a bad girl, sending people to the death, but she seems to love Maciste. The most interesting aspect is the secret behind her birthright. Not a great film but it has its moments, good action and some atmosphere.

Son of Hercules vs. sun-sensitive subterranean Sicilians in this anti-"Beach Blanket Bingo" bunko beneath the bowels of Italy! The most "dramatic" scene depicts a guard (punished for allowing the hero to escape) stripped, strapped to a slab, and subjected to sunlight (which causes him to disintegrate). The viewer realizes that it is NOT the words to the 1966 hit "Sunny" ("Sunny, thank you for the sunshine you gave...") the tortured titan is singing as he screams "No! No! Not the sun! Aieee!!" This flick never should have seen the light of day. I say "No! No! Not "Mole Men Vs. The Son of Hercules"! Aieee!!"