Maciste contra os lanceiros

Sword and sandal film with Mark Forest and Moira Orfei

The recently deceased Mark Forest (1933-2022) was a sought-after actor in the peplum films of the Roman Cinecitta in the early 1960s. As in this film, he often played the mythological role of Maciste, who had become a kind of superman in Italian film history since the silent film "Cabiria" (1914).

Here he fights with his ally Bango (Paul Wynter, 1935-2019, the Mr. Universe of 1960) against strange mole people and their queen Halis Mojab (Moira Orfei, 1931-2015, the actress was with her own circus until old age and as an elephant tamer). They want to free the kidnapped king's daughter Saliurna (Raffaella Carra, 1943-2021) and bring her back together with her lover Loth (Roberto Mioli). Gianni Garko, born in 1935, plays another role.

The highlight of the rather weaker sword and sandal film is certainly the moment when Maciste is forced into a fight with Bango. In this situation, Maciste at least has a worthy and equal opponent.

The film was produced by Elio Scardamaglia (1920-2001), who was successful with his Leone Films for decades with films and television series.

Mark Forest, who died on January 7, 2022, one day after his 89th birthday, was still successful as an opera singer in the USA after his career as a muscle man in Italian cinema.

Italian production typical of the genre with haunting scenarios , wonderful indoors and functional production design. Here Maciste (Mark Forest) arranges enemies for himself and he befriends a new pal called Bangor (Paul Wynter) to be captured by a strange band of white-clad marauders and taken to an underground city . There the two are forced to turn a huge wheel along with other captives as part of a gold-and-diamonds mining operation . The underground city's queen, Halis Mosab (Moira Orfei) , takes note of the bouncing Maciste and chooses him to be her consort if he can meet such challenges as saving the abducted Princess Saliura (Rafaella Carra) from a gigantic ape . Maciste faces off the ape and fights a deadly struggle with the giant gorilla . As Maciste is up to his pecs in trouble as he fights nasty Mole Men in order to save the abducted lady , carrying Saliura back to the aboveground world . As the bare-chested warrior goes on an all-out rampage to save her , being mercilessly chased by the mysterious masked warriors . Meanwhile, high priest Kahab informs his son, Katar (Gianni Garco) , that he has to marry the powerful queen to inherite the underground empire . Later on, Maciste must use his strength to rescue his friends and attack the hidden city . As he battles the evil queen and attempting to destroy the unstoppable wheeling machine .

This is a so-so spaghetti , myth-opera with action , love , battles and interior scenarios . The movie has not mythological accuracy neither expecting historical , but it results to be a simple and plain fantasy . Breathtaking scenes when take place at the underworld with the enormous wheel and overwhelming final battle . It stars handsome, muscular Mark Forest , he is perfect as the mythical hero who encounters many dangerous situations while trying to save a princess of numerous odds . Forest who played the mythic Maciste in great number of movies was randomly assigned the identity of Hercules , Goliath , Samson or Aron for U. S. viewing . Bouncing and strong Forest was the second American actor bodybuilder , after Steve Reeves , to be recruited by Italian producers to star in Peplum films . The muscle-man Forest left allegedly the sword and sandals genre for the Opera . He used the amount of money he made acting as hero and gladiator films in Italy to study Opera , he currently teaches in the Los Angeles zone . He was one along with Ed Fury , Dan Vadis,Brad Harris , Alan Steel , Reg Park , Gordon Scott whom to seek fortune acting absurdly as muscle mythological figures but nobody topped Steve Reeves in popularity . Forest only starred Peplum , such as : 1964 Hércules against sons of sun , 1964 Lion of Tebas , 1964 Maciste Nell'inferno Gengis Khan , 1964 Maciste, Gladiatore Sparta , 1963 Maciste Contro i Mongoli ,1963 Maciste, l'Eroe più Grande del Mondo ,1962 Maciste, Gladiatore più forte Mondo , 1961 Maciste, the Son of Hercules , 1960 La Venganza De Ercole . In the picture turns up Peplum and Spaghetti ordinaries such as : the recently deacased Raffaella Carrà (at 78), Roberto Miali , Nando Tamberlani , Graziella Granata and spaghetti star Gianni Garco , the popular actor of Sartana and other Western antiheroes .

It contains a moving and thrilling musical score by Armando Trovajoli. As well as colorful cinematography by Alvaro Mancori , including spectacular vistas of falls , shot in Lacio, mount Gelato and and Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome . The motion picture was middlingly directed Antonio Leonviola (1913-1995) who often used pseudonym Leon Viola or as Leonviola. He was a craftsman , a writer and filmmaker who directed all kinds of genres as dramas , wartime , comedy , such as : Le due verità , Sul ponte dei sospir , Al suo più grande amore,Noi cannibali , Human Torpedoes , Rita da Cascia, Fiera di tipi and outstanding in Peplum , Sword and sandal and adventures such as : The Women gladiators , Taur the Mighty , Maciste, the Colossus and this Maciste el invencible. Rating : 5/10 .

In the opening scene, Maciste captures a giant whale and pulls it ashore. Normal people would settle for a trout, but that's superheroes for you! Before he can have his modest breakfast, he watches some people hunted and killed by riders with white capes. These mysterious strangers are the Mole Men who disappear at the beginning of daytime, only to return at night for slave raids. They cannot stand the light, it is even a method of execution for them to expose the condemned to sunshine. Maciste lets them capture him on purpose, so he can find out where their hiding-spot is. The Mole Men have a mine underground, where slaves have to work on a mill. Maciste intends to free the slaves and put an end to the terror of the Mole Men. But they are prepared and make plans to kill Maciste in many interesting, but complicated ways...

Funny little flick with a truly bizarre story. John Garko, later a successful western movie star, appears as an ambitious young Mole Man who wants to marry the queen (Moira Orfei), while Mark Forest stars as Maciste, Son of Hercules.

"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

One of my favorite low budget science fiction films is The Mole People with John Agar and Hugh Beaumont. This team of modern scientists discover an underground albino like people. That film must have inspired this uninspiring peplum epic, Mole Men Against The Son Of Hercules who in some countries is Maciste. Personally I think Hercules should have objected to the billing.

One thing Mark Forest might have objected to, Hercules has a friend in Paul Wynter who's actually better built than him. I can't believe the producers let that one go.

On his journeys Hercules comes upon a pretty barren countryside where a group of mysterious people make night raids, though mostly in the twilight of dawn, the better for cameras of surrounding villages, killing a few, but dragging the rest off as slaves. They can only operate above ground at night because they dry up and blow away just like The Mole People in the fire of Ishtar in that film.

The albinos doing this are ruled by a Queen who doesn't quite have the pasty complexion they do. Of course there's an obvious reason for it, but no one in this film figures out until the very end.

I will say this Paul Wynter is quite the total package, he's the best reason for watching Mole Men Against The Son Of Hercules.