Io Semiramide

I had bemoaned the fact that I missed out on an Italian-TV broadcast of this one not too long ago in my review of QUEEN OF BABYLON (1954) when it was available (albeit English-dubbed and panned-and-scanned) on "You Tube" all the time! However, I need not have worried as the film itself proved a disappointment and, in any case, neither of the two leads (French Yvonne Furneaux and American John Ericson) were Italian!

The plot deals with the erection of the famed Biblical city of Babylon, which turns out to have been a whim on the part of the ambitious evil Queen Semiramis of Assyria (getting her just desserts at the end when unceremoniously receiving an arrow in her bosom)! Typically, she is desired by many but herself sets her eyes on – and unrealistically obsesses over – the enslaved Dardanian King (there is even a scene, ripping off THE TEN COMMANDMENTS {1956}, in which she visits him at his 'labor-camp').

While Furneaux is ideal for the role (she had briefly treaded similar territory in THE MUMMY [1959}), Ericson is badly miscast and almost single-handedly drowns the film with his boyish features and conspicuously modern approach to acting i.e. drawling delivery! That said, the rest does not offer much in the way of compensation: indeed, I burst out in laughter during the very first scene when an authority figure's talking with another fellow is interrupted by the arrival of a stranger and, when notified of the latter's business, asks his companion to lead the way but addressing the man by the thoroughly formal (and downright condescending) "You, there!" as if he never had anything to do with him!!

"The Robe" ( 1953 1st CinemaScope) is Where the Genre-Trend of "Biblical" Began and Morphed into a Sub-Genre that Came to be Called "Sword & Sandal".

Many of the Crop were Low-Mid Budget "Epic-Spectacles" that Suited Foreign Language Studios Outside of Hollywood,

that were Quick to Realize that American Patrons Embraced these Good-Looking Feasts for the Eyes, both Animate and Inanimate (Flesh & Landscapes) were Appreciated by, Especially Kids and Other Oglers of All Ages that Resulted in Good-Box-Office and Handsome Returns.

"Slave Queen" was Produced in Rome and is, as these Things Go, a Talky, Indoory, Intrigue with a Lot of Banter about Politics, Conquering, Slaves, and Empires.

The Mood Breaks Occasionally from the Gorgeous Yvonne Furneaux, as the Queen with Her Steel-Blue Penetrating Eyes, Her Desire to Build and Build, with Those-Eyes on a Stiff John Erickson, to Rule by Her Side, for a Sword-Fight or some Slave-Torture.

The Wide-Open Outdoor Spectacle that Sells some of the Genre is Almost Absent in This One. The Concentration is on the Verbal and the Voluptuous, and is Well-Done on that Accord. But as Far as Historical-Accuracy is Debatable. As are most of the Type.

The Movie Moves Along Nicely with its Attention to Colorful Sets and Costumes, and it Ends Quite Poetically After Much Back and Forth Between the Queen, Her Haunting Love, and Love-Interest.

As Far as Babylon, the True Ascension and Wonder of that Ancient World is Visually Absent and has Yet to be Built. 1 of the 7 "Wonders of the Ancient World" (The Hanging Gardens) do Get a "Shout-Out" as the Queen Dreams a Vision of Her Yet to be Built Center of the World.

Worth a Watch.

For some unknown reason, this film has undeservedly sunk into obscurity. It is a lavish, dramatic tale of the legendary Semiramis, Queen of Babylon. According to this version, she is an unscrupulous, faithless schemer of boundless ambition, whose manipulation and successful plots propel her to the height of power by sweeping away all her opponents, often literally over their dead bodies. (King Ninurte and General Omnos are cases in point.) Aiding and abetting her cleverness and statecraft is the asset of her great beauty. Yvonne Furneaux has seldom been more alluring or fascinating than she is in this role, no doubt her best. John Ericson is fine as the handsome, stalwart enemy King Kir of the Dardanians, the object of both her possessive love and her hate. Germano Longo is excellent as the ill-fated Assyrian general she manipulates and uses until his ultimate doom. The script is a good one, the action is brisk and the sets and costumes are lavish and befitting royal Assyrian extravagance. Unfortunately there is no complete English print available at this time. The only one floating around is badly chopped and edited, but there are excellent German and Italian prints that can be obtained. "I, Semiramis" is definitely one of the better epic films which still holds up well. It cries out to be restored and made available again for a new generation of viewers.

Assyrian king Minurte (Renzo Ricci) is getting old, and his son is still a child who cannot follow on the throne yet. Several members of the court are thinking about taking the throne or at least use the opportunity to share the power of the new ruler. There is Semiramis (Yvonne Furneaux), a woman who is enchanting any man and wants to build Babylon, a city of her own design. Then we have Kir (John Ericson), the enslaved young king of another country and a great warrior, Omnos (Germano Longo), an ambitious, successful general, and last not least Ghelas (Gianni Rizzo), an adviser to the king. The complex story revolves around intrigue, treachery and murder. Some characters are not really round, and if the credits state that 5 different screenplay writers were involved, I can imagine they wanted to push it into different directions, perhaps. Semiramis herself is everything from tragic goddess to relentless devil, depending on which scenes you watch. But despite some plot holes, the movie is entertaining enough to watch, 1960s costume drama above average.

Trying to write a coherent synopsis for this sword-and-sandal extravaganza, (set in ancient Assyria), borders on the impossible. The main thrust of the plot seems to be the rise to power of the beautiful but scheming Semiramis. To achieve this goal she simultaneously works both with and against Onnos, a general in the Assyrian army, and Kir, a king defeated by Onnos in battle. Though her efforts eventually seem to meet with success, her murky tangle of shifting alliances makes for a messy story-line which never succeeds in giving us a grip on Semiramis's character. She's neither heroine nor villain and often appears to be controlled by the plot rather than in control of it.

Fortunately, this movie offers compensations: colorful costumes, exotic sets, and several flashy scenes which rise above the muddled plot. One of these scenes shows leading man John Ericson stripped to a loincloth and bound to the side of a water-wheel. As the wheel revolves, it plunges his head in and out of the water. This calls to mind a similar scene in Chapter 9 of the 1947 serial, "The Sea Hound," in which Buster Crabbe suffers a similar torture on another water-wheel.

Yvonne Furneaux is visually alluring as Semiramis and one wishes the script had furnished her with a more consistent and plausible character. John Ericson as Kir falls into the "passable" category and though he seems slightly out-of-place, his failure to ignite the expected romantic sparks with leading lady Furneaux can once again be traced to that hodgepodge of a script.