Ursus no Vale dos Leões

The print I saw was a very worn black and white one from Sinister Cinema and as the film went on it rapidly became clear that the print's lack of quality and color work against real enjoyment of the film.

The good king and queen of some far off kingdom are brought down by an evil invader, however the queen escapes with their infant son. She soon commits suicide rather than be taken prisoner, but does so only after getting the baby away. The baby ends up being raised by lions. Years later the adult Ursus ends up captured by the evil king who killed his parents and moves to prevent him from ever taking the throne. There's more to it than that but it at least gives you the basic idea of the plot.

The movie is a step or two above the normal sword and sandal film thanks to a largely knowing translation that has Ursus speaking of wanting to become the special friend of a slave girl he's carried off. I know you're saying why would Ursus carry off a slave girl, simple he was raised by lions. The acting isn't bad and the translation seems to match the lip movements.

Is this a movie your going to watch over and over again? Probably not but should you run across it on TV late one night you'll find yourself entertained.

The second film in Ed Fury's "Ursus" trilogy, (though there's little in the way of story-line to connect the three movies), begins with an obligatory setting-the-scene prologue which establishes the infant Ursus as the true heir of a kingdom overrun and conquered by a villainous barbarian. Though faithful subjects manage to smuggle the infant Ursus out of the besieged city in a basket, the basket tumbles into the lair of a pride of lions and the lost heir soon becomes nothing more than the subject of wistful rumor and legend. Mercifully the movie quickly jumps forward to the adult Ursus, now grown into a strapping though naive young man who learned his language skills from men in passing caravans. Up to this point the second "Ursus" movie has shown little promise, primarily because the lions which raised our hero look and act like lethargic, second-rate sideshow attractions rather than wildly magnificent Kings of the Beasts. Then we have a routine sequence in which Ursus acquires a slave girl from a passing trader. However, once the evil usurper learns that the rightful occupant of his throne is alive in the land, various elements of the movie finally come together to create a lively and entertaining entry in the sword-and-sandal cycle. One element worth noting here are the two "beefcake-bondage" sequences which are among the best such sequences to be found in the whole gamut of this genre. In the first, a peplum-wearing Ursus -- played, of course, by Ed Fury -- stands as a captive in the usurper's court. A length of wood, (perhaps too thin for this purpose), has been bound to the backs of his outstretched arms. Chains around his wrists and ankles are held by nervous-looking soldiers. Other soldiers guard him with spears pointed menacingly toward him. The usurper taunts him but Ursus remains defiant. Later, having been taken to a torch-lit dungeon, the sweaty Ursus stands with outstretched arms chained to the stone walls. That wooden pole has been removed from his shoulders but a metal ring now encircles his neck and a chain attached to this ring leads up to the ceiling. Two long pieces of wood are fitted around his ankles, preventing him from kicking or changing position. Fury, about 32 or 33 years old at this time, is only ever-so-slightly past his prime -- his waist looks a bit thick -- but he's still a compelling hunk of manhood and his bondage poses are of iconic quality. What's more, his nipples are dark and sharply-defined against his skin. Unfortunately, there's no actual torture here, unlike the other two Ursus movies in which a series of whiplashes play a symphony of pain on Ed Fury's bare back as he's forced to turn grindstones. (As other reviewers have pointed out, the print under discussion here has lamentably faded into muddy-looking sepia tones.)

Ed Fury as Ursus (Latin for the bear) in the lion pride

It's hard to believe that this extremely weak sword and sandal film by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia was able to sell 1.335 million tickets in West German cinemas in 1962.

It couldn't have been because of the emaciated and stunned lions that so many people stormed the cinemas. Even the American bodybuilder Ed Fury (*1928) in the title role is not the most impressive Peplum hero of those years. Moira Orfei (1931-2015), who, as we know, comes from a famous Italian circus family, is enchanting as the female antagonist. She probably also brought the all too lame movie lions to the set.

Not a highlight from the oil-soaked heyday of Italian sword and sandal films!

You know, it sure was a lucky break for little baby Ursus when on that day when he was dropped off in the wilderness that mama lion wasn't searching for a meal to feed her hungry young cubs.

'Cause, as it turned out - It certainly didn't take but a minute for this obviously confused lioness to get all maternal over this squawking, little infant and, as a result, adopt him as one of her own right there on the spot.

Anyway - With that said - I personally thought that "Valley Of The Lions" was both downright lousy and, yes, recklessly sloppy movie-making on all counts. Yep. It really was.

And, let me tell ya - I'd confidently say that Italian director, Carlo Bragaglia was obviously an incompetent boob who couldn't have possibly made this dumb picture any more cumbersome and ridiculous than he inevitably did.

The evil dictator Ajak sends his armies to attack a neighboring kingdom, and during the battle, the besieged King Annurius orders one of his subjects to take his son Ursus to a place of safety outside of the city, after first putting a royal medallion around the baby's neck. Ajak kills the king and usurps his throne, but the infant prince is smuggled out of the city to safety., and is reared by lions. Fate brings him to avenge his father's death ...

Ed Fury is Ursus, and he's given an origin story and he's the 'Tarzan of the Lions' living in a valley isolated from everyone- he's brought up by lions but it's odd that he speaks good English, but such illogic shouldn't be analysed, not if you want to enjoy this peplum. The villain is the standard power hungry barbarian who killed Ursus' dad but it's Moira Orfei who plays an interesting role - a scheming goldigger who helps the false king become aware of Ursus and his royal lineage, in order to sit on a throne beside him, but when king jilts her, takes Ursus' girlfriend as a possible queen, and sending her back to slave-Dom she changes sides. After all, if Ursus usurps the false king and wins his throne she gets to become the queen. The lion valley is well shot, and the action is energetic. There's some lull in the plot with some talking, a slow pace in the middle and the death of the villain by becoming the lion's snack is a little unconvincing, but overall, this is a decent picture. Boy, this genre certainly feature beautiful women.