Sinews & Sandals by Dave Goode

Sinews & Sandals

by Dave Goode

If you were like me you found yourself laughing self-consciously when Peter Graves closet queen character asked "Do you like movies about gladiators?" in the 80s comedy AIRPLANE. You see I've always been a fan of gladiator movies.Or peplum pictures. Or sword & sandal movies. Or whatever else you may want to call them.I myself refer to them as sinew & sandal flicks. It was about three years ago when I used the term sword & sandal to someone they  said that the hero in Hercules, Ursus and  Maciste movies rarely used swords.Samson famously used the jawbone of an ass to defeat 1000 Philistine warriors. So I started using the term "sinew & sandal" because the heroes in all these movies except for Gordon Scott in Goliath vs. The Vampires wore sandals. And of course they were all sinewy. Some are just more sinewy than others.

Seriously though, who doesn't like these films. Sure they are subliminally homoerotic. What with all those muscles gleaming with sweat as the hero topples temples, snaps chains and bends steel in his bare hands. Not to mention fighting wild beasts and other muscular men in the arena. But you can also find the hero rescuing and romancing many a comely slave-girl or captive princess.
And quite a few of these movies have a story-line where the muscular hero is seduced by an evil queen. The evil queen or high priestess in these films are usually a lot of campy fun. They are into some serious kink. They love to put the heroine into bondage. She also looks on with unbridled lust as she puts through the hero's muscles to the test fighting her minions or breaking out of some torture device. These movies are nothing if not entertaining.