Il gladiatore di Roma

One reviewer here said Gordon Scott was the only player in the cast with any charisma. That's because he was the only cast member voicing himself with his own garsh golly Oregonian twang in the English version, EVERYONE else is so lacklusterly dubbed that, despite the intricate intrigues, plots, counterplots, brutal violence and passionate romance of the story, the monotone droning of the English translation could literally drone you to sleep!

Seen in the original Italian, it's actually a very engrossing historical drama chockful of elements that constituted the glory of Rome, at its best and worst.

If you want to see Gordon Scott in English, with all his usual muscles, he won't disappoint. Just be prepared to snooze thru the droning till the action wakes you up. But if you're willing to forgo his distinctive twang in favor of an otherwise fully rewarding movie experience, see it in the original Italian. . .

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.

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.

The film is not all that bad, but it is dry except for a few scenes of action now and then. It's a lot of political and religious talk. Most all of the the leading actors play their characters flat, mundanely save for Gordon Scott who has a little bit of charisma as Marcus Lucilius. (I am speaking of facial expressions, movements and of the voice actors for the dubbing into English).

This is set in the times of Pagan Rome and Christians were considered to be outlaws. Nisa is a princess but only Valerio knows she is a princess and she's valuable to him. Marcus has become enslaved and Valerio wants him released as well. It ends up that the Christians and Gladiators escapes from the Pagan Romans. Of course there is big hunt for the escapees. In the end, some of the Christians and Marcus are being crucified... but if they make it out or not you'll have to watch it for yourself to find out.

It's barely entertaining. I really needed something else to pick it up and get it moving along a bit faster and in a better way. Could have been a good film - the potential was there.

2.5/10

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.