Il gladiatore di Roma

Although star Gordon Scott only trains as a gladiator and never actually gets into the arena and most of the action takes place outside of Rome, this peplum classic is entitled Gladiator Of Rome. It derives its plot from many different sources.

Watching this today I caught bits from Ben-Hur, Quo Vadis, Spartacus, and the Cecil B. DeMille classic The Sign Of The Cross. The film involves persecution of Christians under Emperor Caracalla and a dynastic struggle in Silesia which takes place in Italy.

Gordon Scott is a Silesian servant to a princess who family was killed by a usurper and she and Scott sold into slavery by the Romans. The Silesians are friendly barbarians in the pay of Rome guarding the Empire's boarders and the usurper wants the princess found and killed.

But Roman politics intervene and the Roman house to which she and Scott were sold into is similarly ravaged and the head of the household who is a Senator is killed. A Roman general who has the contract on the princess is on the hunt again.

In the meantime Scott is trained as a gladiator, but they haven't seen a gladiator like him since Spartacus was running amuck in Italy. He gets the other gladiator trainees incited and the action really pops.

Of course this film is not anywhere as good as any of the sources I could identify for it. But Gordon Scott certainly had the build for these films though why he was given up for Tarzan films I'll never know.

For peplum and pecs fans.

Those looking for brutal fights to the death in a Roman gladiatorial arena will most likely be extremely disappointed by peplum classic Gladiator of Rome: the only scene of gladiators fighting each other is a rather tame training session in which muscle-bound warrior Marcus (Gordon Scott) shows off his undefeatable sword-swinging skills (after having his muscles lightly oiled by comedic sidekick Pompilio, played by Pietro De Vico).

How Marcus came to be a gladiator, and how he eventually breaks free of his bonds, is a tragic tale that is part Ben Hur, part Spartacus, part Quo Vadis and part every other sword and sandal film/Biblical epic you've ever seen: the self-appointed protector of Silesian princess Nisa (Wandisa Guida), Marcus whisks the pretty royal away from her homeland after her father is violently usurped by King Uras. In Italy (currently under the rule of the cruel emperor Caracalla), the pair of fugitives find themselves sold into slavery, working for the family of Roman soldier Valerio (Roberto Risso), who falls in love with the princess, unaware of her true lineage. Before Valerio is able to ask his mother and father to free Nisa and Marcus from bondage, his parents are accused of being Christians by Caracalla and killed, the slaves sent to work on the building of a new road. When Valerio learns of this, he vows revenge on those responsible and sets out to find Nisa and her guardian. Also searching for the princess: General Astarte (Piero Lulli), an ambassador from Silesia who has been ordered to kill the girl.

Aided by beautiful serving wench Aglae (Ombretta Colli), Valerio organises an escape attempt for Nisa and Marcus, which fails; Marcus's punishment is to be blinded by hot pokers, but he is spared this fate by Roman governor Anio (Charles Borromel), who takes Marcus and Nisa back to his home, where the princess is put to work as a serving girl, and the strong-man as a gladiator. On discovering where Nisa has been sent, Valerio asks Anio's wife Prisca (Eleonora Vargas) to take pity and free the slaves, but she refuses. When Nisa is accused of being a Christian, and is thrown in prison (to await a nasty fate in the jaws of a hungry lion), Marcus rallies his gladiator pals and arranges an escape (which is more successful this time around). Learning that his slaves and prisoners have absconded, Anio and his soldiers go in pursuit and a battle ensues. Nisa and Marcus are recaptured and tied to wooden crosses to be burnt alive, but before the fires can be lit, Valerio and the surviving gladiators attack. Outnumbered, things look grim for Valerio and his pals until, in a really contrived happy ending, new emperor Macrinus shows up (Caracalla having been assassinated by a disaffected soldier) and, recognising Marcus as the man who saved his life earlier in the film, grants freedom to all of the slaves. Hurrah!

The few battle scenes in Gladiator of Rome are well handled, and star Scott is impressive as Marcus, the ex-Tarzan actor still possessing a formidable physique, but all of the lovey-dovey stuff, which makes up much of the movie, really makes matters drag. Excellent widescreen cinematography ensures that the film is nice to look at, but pretty pictures don't compensate for the dull stuff. And with that ridiculous sappy ending, the film simply isn't a great example of the genre - just a passable one.

Gordon Scott is a Silesian servant to a princess who family was killed by a usurper and she and Scott sold into slavery by the Romans. The Silesians are friendly barbarians in the pay of Rome guarding the Empire's boarders and the usurper wants the princess found and killed.

Gordon Scott stars in a fairly average peplum which has some dull moments, however a little action and some striking visual (such as the finale with Scott, a chunk of barbed wire around his neck, and others tied to a post) keeps thing at least a interesting. The problem is that this peplum gets convoluted and over complicated as well as talky. There's a subplot with persecuted Christians, there's a gladiator uprising. Gordon Scott acts well, though, he's one of the best peplum stars and he's got the acting chops. Usually his films are top notch, but this one is an exception.

Sword and Sandals film with Gordon Scott and Wandisa Guida

The Roman Empire under Emperor Caracalla (around 217 AD): The country house of the respected Valerians is attacked by the emperor's henchmen because they are suspected of being followers of the emerging Christianity. In the absence of young Valerius (Roberto Risso), who is currently fulfilling his military obligations, his parents are cruelly murdered and all of the house's slaves are condemned to building roads. Among the slaves who are still loyal to the Valerians are the beautiful Nisa (Wandisa Guida) and the powerful Marcus (Gordon Scott). Nisa, who is actually a princess (that's it!), sincerely loves the young Valerius, who also wants to marry her. The loyal Marcus becomes her battle-hardened protector on their journey together. This leads to all sorts of complications. Nisa falls into the clutches of an unscrupulous new mistress, and Marcus quickly becomes a gladiator in the arena. But love is not neglected even for the broad-shouldered hero. Aglaja (Ombretta Colli), the muscle man's great love, will give the returning Valerius the crucial clue to finding his beloved Nisa again. She is in great danger, from which even the brave Valerius cannot save her until an action worthy of Spartacus takes place...

In terms of plot, nothing out of the ordinary happens in this classic sandal film by veteran director Mario Costa. The time of persecution of Christians in which the whole thing takes place is interesting. The gladiator theme isn't as central to the game as one might expect from the title. But there are plenty of fights with fists and swords to see. A big plus of the film is the actors. Gordon Scott (1926-2007), retrained Tarzan from the US cinema, is convincing as always as an ancient muscle hero. Wandisa Guida, born in 1935, is also an experienced Peplum actress. Roberto Risso (1925-2010), who is best known as the admirer of Gina Lollobrigida in "Brot, Liebe und Phantasie / Bread, Love and Fantasy" (1953), acts really well. And the beautiful Ombretta Colli (born in 1945) surprises with her further career. The actress was also successful as a singer and later became a member of the European Parliament. Raf Baldassare and Nello Pazzafini appear in smaller roles as gladiators.

Solid and entertaining sandal film that scores incredibly high points thanks to the actors' enthusiasm.

A must for genre fans!

After making six Tarzan movies in the 1950s, Gordon Scott re-located to Europe where he continued his career in a series of sword-and-sandal adventures -- most notably "Duel of the Titans" in which he went pec-to-pec with Steve Reeves. While a somewhat lesser effort, "Gladiator of Rome" is still a satisfying piece of entertainment, though it suffers from the miscalculation of having two heroines. There's the blonde princess-turned-slavegirl whom Scott is pledged to defend and then there's the brunette barmaid whom he's said to fall in love with. (The romantic angle here is weak and unconvincing.) Combining these two women into one character might have made for a stronger plot.

However, "Gladiator of Rome" does deliver on what its audience wants to see. Gordon Scott, for example, never wears a shirt and thus is bare-chested from first scene to last. At about age 34, Scott was just a mere shade past his physical prime here, and he looks convincingly heroic in all the various actions he's asked to perform. As you'd expect, he's also put into the required bondage-and-torture positions. In the first, he's chained flat against a wall and threatened with hot irons designed to put out his eyes. In the second, he's chained to an X-shaped cross with the makings of a bonfire piled up below him. Curiously, while his legs are spread apart on the cross, thus making him especially vulnerable to that fire, his arms are not chained to the cross but are bound behind his back.

These bondage scenes are far more striking and memorable than the movie's few scenes of gladiator combat. In fact, the only arena scenes we're shown are when Scott is in training to become a gladiator and this training occurs at a small, provincial arena far from the magnificence of Rome. Thus, "Gladiator of Rome" may be an impressive title on the marquee but it's not really an accurate summation of the movie's contents.

A word of praise for Roberto Risso, the young Roman who's in love with the princess-turned-slavegirl. Despite formidable competition from Gordon Scott, he dares to do a bare-chest scene of his own. This courage on his part makes up for the fact that his physique is not at all impressive.