Les Horaces et les Curiaces

The story of this movie has been described here by others and suffice it to say I found the movie to be very average. I think the really memorable aspect was the chance to see Alan Ladd and Robert Keith at the end of their careers. Alan Ladd would go on to make two other movies before his untimely death at 50. Unfortunately, from this movie, it is clear that his personal and professional lives were in decline at this time. He appears sluggish and bloated with only the infrequent flashing of a smile to remind viewers of past glories. Although he plays a general his performance doesn't really command the screen. If you want to see him, in his later movies, I would suggest you pass this up and settle for his final role, in the Carpetbaggers, which shows much more bite. Secondly, this represented the final film in the long career of actor Robert Keith (here playing the King of Rome). Although, by modern standards, a relatively young man (63) when this movie was made, it would be his last before his death five years later. He appears very frail but conveys a strong sense of dignity and maintains a masterful diction. Perhaps, given the combination, a suitable finale for a character lead.

While those of us interested in ancient stories and sword and sandals productions will find this story to be interesting, it falls short, well short, in production quality and script to be the epic it could have been.

The plot follows the story of one of the Orazi brothers of Rome, at war with Alba. This brother is accused of cowardice in battle and is captured by the Albans. He escapes, but is not warmly welcomed upon his return to Rome. After years of war, the Romans and Albans agree to decide the battle in a duel of 3 Roman brothers (the Orazi's) vs. 3 Alban brothers. In the end, this Orazi wins the day but the victory is bittersweet as displayed with his disgust for the need for killing.

What stands out is the epic musical score composed by Francesco Lavagnino at his peak. Clearly, the music is at a far different level than the movie, it elevates the story but cannot raise the production near to the realm of an epic. Still, it is a collectible for ancient movie fans. Available on budget DVD, the DVD transfer is terrible.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Yeah Alan Ladd wasn't quite the handsome dashing hero of a few years earlier but I would imagine commanders in the Roman Legions back then weren't exactly Justin Beiber lookalikes so he fits the role pretty well. The plot has some interesting twists and the women were beautiful. The action scenes were better than average for an Italian epic...I've seen much worse. To be honest, these sword and sandal affairs are growing on me. They have a special charm all their own that's hard to define so I won't try. My advice, gird your loins, adjust your breastplate, and saddle up pardners for a good old Italian style western with a couple of familiar American faces thrown in for good measure!!! And remember, a sword is always loaded so be careful out there in weird movie land.

Obviously we know historically how things turn out in the Roman-Alban conflict, so that element of the plot is obvious. Costumes and sets are very well prepared and the musical score is fairly good. Great job casting Alan Ladd. The supporting cast is also quite good. It's the story of the brothers that is quite moving and lends a unique touch to this film (no spoilers, go watch the movie for yourselves). The film quality on the version I saw was a little low-resolution and with subtitles, but I believe that there's a fairly decent English translation available here through IMDB.

Roma and Alba are at war, s they have been for a while. The king of Rome,Tullio Hostillo aka Robert Keith, dreams of Roman glory, despite all the mothers crying about their dead sons. Finally, the gods speak, saying that each side must choose three brothers and the last survivor will be the winner for his side. This includes Alan Ladd, but he is thought to have abandoned his troops and died. So the woman he loves is married to his brother. When he shows up, he denies both charges, but refuses to fight. Like Achilles, he will sulk in his tent on a nearby hill top.

Well, we can be assured that eventually he will fight, and will be victorious, because he's top billed. This peplum movie merges the usual thwarted love story with the other elements, including men showing off their legs. It's decent enough, but it doesn't appear to offer much in the way of any subtext. But that's not what people look at this sort of movie for, is it?