Hercule se déchaîne

Here we go again, Hercules has another evil ruler to deal with. That is nothing unusual - this time is an evil queen. The queen wants Hercules but our hero is in love with a pretty and sweet milkmaid.

Standard, typical stuff. Nothing that really makes this Hercules film stand out of the crowd.

Mid to late 70s to the very early 80s I recall watching a couple, three or four of the Hercules films and I really enjoyed them. Going back to watch them all these years later I find they are not nearly as good. I guess viewing the films from the eyes of a child in those years of my life these movies seemed big, glamorous and very heroic.

These days, all I can see is a poor script - cheap bad lines and boring story, bad camera work and some not so great acting. I see some nice costumes, sets and props - sometimes some good action - and I think those are the same things I actually saw as a kid, but as an adult I can see the whole picture and it's mildly entertaining.

2.5/10

Sandals film (1962) with Brad Harris - this time as Hercules

The German versions with their confusing titles are a chapter in themselves. Peplum star Brad Harris (1933-2017) and his films were particularly affected by the arbitrariness of German dubbing. In this film SAMSON, BEFREIER DER VERSKLAVTEN , called "La furia di Ercole" in the original and "The Fury of Hercules" in the American version, he is finally really the ancient demigod. The Italian-French co-production, staged as effectively as usual by his resident director Gianfranco Parolini, was shot in Zagreb and was released in West German cinemas on January 11, 1963. The cast is largely the same as its predecessor, "Sansone / Herkules im Netz der Cleopatra / Hercules in Cleopatra's Net" (1961), in which muscle man Brad Harris actually played Samson. But let's leave it alone!

This time it's about the kingdom of Nisia, which, after the king's death, is unlawfully ruled by the cruel ex-advisor Menisto (Serge Gainsbourg, who would later have some world hits as a chansonnier in a duet with Brigitte Bardot and his wife Jane Birkin). King's daughter Cnidia (Mara Berni) is completely under control. Since the people suffer a lot from this, there are repeated uprisings. Hercules/Samson (Brad Harris), who has now fallen in love with the servant Daria (Luisella Boni), takes the side of the people and helps the insurgents (including Sergio Ciani, who would soon play leading roles in his own sandal films as a muscle man). To overcome tyranny.

In terms of content, not much different happens than in the previous film. Serge Gainsbourg is once again particularly impressive as the villain, who clearly had fun with these roles. The child actor is again Gianfranco Gasparri, who as Franco Gasparri would later become the star of some Poliziotteschi. In another supporting role is the German actress Elke Arendt, who was born in 1939 and became known for the film "Schneewittchen und die sieben Zwerge / Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1955). In her further career she was also engaged at the Staatstheater Kassel. Until his death three months ago, Elke Arendt was married to Stephan Orlac (1931-2020), who was best known alongside Maria Sebaldt in the ZDF hit series "Die Wicherts von nebenan / The Wicherts from Next Door" (1986-1991).

Worth it for fans of the Peplum genre and Brad Harris!

RIP Stephan Orlac (1931-2020)

The Fury Of Hercules finds Brad Harris as the legendary muscle dude and son of Zeus trying to visit an old friend who was the local monarch. He was away way too long and his friend has died and his daughter is now the Queen. But she's got an evil counselor in Serge Gainsbourg who has her wrapped around his finger. He's got the population half enslaved building a wall around the city, the better to keep enemies out and he's got a few of them.

It takes a while for Hercules to figure out who the good guys and the bad guys are, but soon enough he joins up with the rebels. The Queen is miffed because she's got a thing for muscles, but Hercules can only see one of her handmaidens.

With few exceptions this is the basic plot of many peplum films, they vary only with the name of the strong man hero. Not even Serge Gainsbourg who does play an interesting villain with issues is enough to lift The Fury Of Hercules from eternal mediocrity.

This movie begins with "Hercules" (Brad Harris) riding in a chariot and suddenly being ambushed by a group of men. Upon defending himself, the leader recognizes that it is Hercules that they are attacking and yells for his men to withdraw. Hercules then proceeds to his destination, which is the city of Arpad, to pay his respects to the king. However, when he gets there, he is informed that the king and all of the other counselors he knew previously have all died. The new ruler is the king's daughter "Cnidia" (Mara Berni), who he knew when she was a child and who quickly falls in love with him when they meet again. Unfortunately, although she believes that she is in control of the city, the fact of the matter is that her lead adviser, "Menistus" (Sergi Gainsbourg) is actually calling the shots, and nothing happens without his consent. That said, the one thing he doesn't want is somebody like Hercules appearing out of nowhere and disturbing the status quo. Now, rather than reveal any more of the movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that the entire movie seemed to be both routine and predictable, which caused it to seem rather dull. Likewise, the dialogue--which was initially in Italian and dubbed into English--seemed extremely basic which didn't necessarily help in that regard. Although it might appeal to die-hard "Sword and Sandal" fans, I personally found it to be somewhat boring and therefore rate it as below average.

In THE FURY OF HERCULES, it's Brad Harris' turn to toss grown men around like so much pizza dough, as the human boxcar of the title.

This time out, Big H saves a queen from a pirouetting pair of ballet assassins. The grateful queen takes Herc into her private chambers and into her confidence. Alas, she turns out to be a royal bossy boots, enslaving the populace! If she's not bad enough, her underlings are even worse!

Now, wearing a cream-colored, one-piece mini-dress for spring, H-Man must free the slaves. But first, it's time for the obligatory "test of strength", wherein he battles a lion and a rather sickly looking go-rilla, before tangling with another muscleman in a cage match to the death!

Soon, our gargantuan hero is moving 5-ton slabs of stone, on his way to deliver the downtrodden. All, while wearing the latest in red, beach cover-ups. When a band of hillbilly-ish cavemen attack, we get to see him go completely berserk-ules!

Harris does a decent job playing the big lug. Fans of the genre know the routine, and all of the necessary elements are in place...