The Bigger They Are.... by Dave Goode

 

 

One of the things that made the Mexiluchahero flick Los Campeones Justicieros a.k.a The Champions of Justice such over the top fun are the midget minions of the movies mad scientist villain. The most memorable scene in the movie remains when he charges them with a ray that gives them super - strength. And they use it to toss the muscular heroes like a salad. There are midget (actually dwarf ) protagonists in all three of the Champion of Justice movies. Los Campeones Justicieros , Vuelven Los Campeones Justicieros and Triunfo De Los Campeones Justicieros. Watching the trilogy this past weekend made me realize how much I miss "midget wrestling". I guess it's something that's not considered politically correct.

 

 

Also watching these three flicks got me to thinking about Cecil B. De Mille's epic spectacle Samson & Delilah (1949). Just before the movie's climax, where Samson literally brings down the house, the blinded strong man is tormented by the "Spider People". A group of pygmy warriors armed with spears and tridents. Thank goodness their skin wasn't darkened. In a previous De Mille spectacular The Sign Of The Cross (1932) the director had Nordic Amazons fighting African pygmies in the Colosseum. In this case white actors in blackface and wearing afro wigs. Cringe. It's probably why my favorite scene in the arena is the one where legendary fan dancer Sally Rand (uncredited) is bound to a post and threatened by a wild gorilla. Sorry to say there was no strength hero like Ursus or Maciste to save her.

 

 

There have been Tarzan and Jungle Jim movies featuring pygmy warriors. But none with Tarzan taking on a dozen of them at one time. And in several sinew & sandal flicks Hercules has a dwarf sidekick. But he doesn't fight an army of them. Too bad. It would have made for a striking visual. Just like the Mr. Incognito comic book cover below by Vance Capley.

 

 

 

 Super cool t-shirt (and other merch) designs available at:

 

https://www.teepublic.com/user/vancecapleyart1972

THE PEPLUM QUEEN by Dave Goode

 

No other movie genre featured as many exotically beautiful women as the sinew & sandal genre. If you "like movies about gladiators" then you might be watching them for the various queens, princesses, high priestesses, and slave girls.

There was Sylva Koscina, Sylvia Lopez, Giana Maria Canale, and Wandisa Guisa. Bella Cortez, Jose Greci, Moira Orfei, and her cousin Liana Orfei. And of course there was the incomparable Chelo Alonso (1933-2019).

Born Isabella Apolonia Hernandez she joined Cuba's National Theatre in Havana at 17. She would be dubbed the Cuban H-Bomb by the European press when she became a featured performer at Paris' famed Follies Bergere.

 

 

 

 

 

She would rise to movie stardom as a dancing girl in the movie SHEBA AND THE GLADIATOR (1959) starring Anita Ekberg and Georges Marchal. Oddly enough this was not a "gladiator movie". Not so oddly La Alonso's dance scene steals the picture from star Anita Ekberg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her best known films from the sinew & sandal genre were GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS (1959), SON OF SAMSON (1960), and ATLAS IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS (1961). She would also appear with Steve Reeves in the swashbuckler MORGAN THE PIRATE (1960). All of these flicks save ATLAS IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS featured an exotic dance number by La Alonso.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many fan boys have imagined Chelo Alonso portraying La of Opar in a Tarzan movie. But it was writer Frank Schildiner once suggested to me that La Alonso might have made a good Belit in a movie adaptation of Robert E. Howard's story QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST. Most likely with Steve Reeves playing Conan of Cimmeria.

While on the subject of exotic dancers enjoy the latest Ginger Snaps comic by the team of Dave Goode and Vance Capley.

We make comics!!! on lulu.com and IndyPlanet

 https://indyplanet.com/visual-comics

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/VanceCapley

DOUBLE DUTY PEPLUM POSTERS by Dave Goode

As someone who "likes movies about gladiators" I've imagined for years comic book adaptations of Hercules and Maciste movies with cover art by Frank Frazetta and interior art by Wally Wood. An alternative to Frazetta paintings for the covers would have been the posters from the movies themselves. In fact the poster for the Steve Reeves flick HERCULES UNCHAINED was used as the cover for the Dell comic book adaptation of that movie.

One of my favorite sinew & sandal sagas was the movie best known to American audiences as ATLAS IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS (Maciste nella terra dei ciclopi). The flick stars Gordon Mitchell and the incredible Chelo Alonso. Sadly it's one of the few films from the genre where La Alonso doesn't perform an exotic dance.

In any case several posters for the movie would have made great comic book covers. MACISTE EL COLOSO reminds me a bit of one of those Will Eisner splash pages where he incorporates the logo into the illustration.

These posters would have made great covers for novelizations of these movies as well. Or even for new stories. I'm surprised there weren't more paperbacks about gladiators during the peplum movie cycle. Considering the implied sexual going ons in these films, it's remarkable how Midwood Books never published a paperback or two on the subject.

ELVIS WITH MUSCLES!!! by Dave Goode

ELVIS WITH MUSCLES!!!  by Dave Goode

Kirk Morris has been one of my favorite sinew & sandal stars from the time I discovered the genre as a preteen back in the 60s. Years later it hit me that he bore a slight resemblance to Elvis Presley. I can imagine a movie producer seeing his screen test and saying " He looks like Elvis with muscles. The girls will love him. "  Not an American import from Muscle Beach like a lot of the other stars from these flicks. He was a home grown talent. Born Adriano Bellini he was the winner of the Mr. Italia competition in 1961. And was discovered while working as a gondolier. Standing 6' 1" Morris was one of those peplum movie heroes who might have made a good Tarzan. Physique wise at least. Muscular. But not overly bulky.

His first movie TRIUMPH OF MACISTE (1961) a.k.a TRIUMPH OF THE SON OF HERCULES was one of my favorites. It's the old hero saves kingdom and girl friend from evil queen story. What makes it stand out are two feats of strength scenes. In one Morris arm wrestles 5 men at once. And wins. In the other he does the "Hercules Hold" resisting the pull of two horse drawn chariots. This was one of the better versions of this particular feat of strength.

Another favorite from 1961 was HERCULES VS. MACISTE IN THE VALE OF WOE. Morris once again plays Maciste. And Frank Gordon portrays Hercules. The story has two time traveling 2oth century wrestling promoters in ancient Greece trying to set up a match between the two strength heroes.

Morris portrays Maciste again in THE WITCH'S CURSE (1962). This was more or less a remake of MACISTE IN HELL (1925) that starred the original screen Maciste , Bartolomeo Pagano. This flick has the seemingly immortal strongman saving a 17th century Scottish village from a witch's curse by entering through the gates of Hell and battling the forces of evil.

One of Morris' best known movies is HERCULES, SAMSON, & ULYSSES (1963). In this one, which is a favorite of fans of the genre, Morris portrays Hercules. It's famous for the fight between Hercules and Samson. The biblical strongman is played here by Richard Lloyd.

After the peplum movie cycle came to an end Morris would star in a number of other adventure flicks. But he would be better known as the star of a series fumettis.

This week's blog features a new Golden Adonis comic by Dave Goode & Vance Capley inspired by the gladiator movies of the 1960s.

Dave and Vance make comics and you can get these comics here:

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/VanceCapley

A What If Moment If There Ever Was One by Dave Goode

A WHAT IF MOMENT IF THERE EVER WAS ONE by Dave Goode

The first time I came across Joe Robinson was in the book Tarzan Of The Movies. It seems Robinson was to have starred in a movie titled TARZAN, THE KING OF BRUTE FORCE (1960). The estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs threatened to halt the unauthorized flick's release for copyright infringement. So Robinson's character was renamed "Thaur", or in some cases "Taur". When I got to see the movie a few years later I couldn't understand why they tried to name him Tarzan to begin with. This was a straight up sinew & sandal flick that had nothing to do with Edgar Rice Burroughs' jungle hero. Better to have just named him Maciste. In any case there would be up a sequel THAUR AND THE AMAZON WOMEN (1963). (aka Thor & the Amazon Women)

I would later find Robinson was a third generation professional wrestler. He was also a judoka who along with his brother Doug instructed actress Honor Blackman from the hit television series THE AVENGERS. Over the years he would appear in a number of movies and television series. He also worked steadily as a stuntman.




His first credited feature role however was in A KID FOR TWO FARTHINGS (1955).

Based on a book by Wolf Mankowitz, who also wrote the screenplay for the
movie, Robinson plays a bodybuilder who works in a tailor shop in London's East end. He accepts a promoter's offer to become a pro wrestler so he can afford to buy his girl friend played by the beautiful British actress Diana Dors. 


The pair remind me quite a bit of Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield. I can't help but imagine the story transported to New York's garment district and starring Jayne & Mickey. In the course of the movie Robinson faces off against the former heavyweight boxing champion of the world Primo Carnera who plays a squared circle heel called  "Python Macklin". Looking at Robinson and Carnera together the duo remind me of Tarzan and Phobeg in Edgar Rice Burroughs' story TARZAN AND THE CITY OF GOLD. Carnera also appeared in HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959) starring Steve Reeves and that got me to thinking.

The story goes Italian movie producer Federico Teti was looking for an actor to appear in his peplum epic HERCULES (1957). His daughter would see the musical comedy ATHENA (1954) that had 1950 Mr. Universe Steve Reeves in a featured role on television and told her father that she had found his Hercules. The rest is as they say history. But what if instead of ATHENA it was A KID FOR TWO FARTHINGS that Teti's daughter saw on television? How would the world of pop culture possibly have been changed?

Below is a new Golden Adonis piece by Dave Goode and Vance Capley for a future project that the dynamic duo is working on. It seems somehow appropriate for this week's blog.

Golden Adonis created by Dave Goode art by Vance Capley

If you grew up as a "monster kid", do you remember Kolchak the Night Stalker? Well, the good folks at Visual Comics did, and boy do they have a treat for YOU! Monster Magazine issue number 6 is 120 pages LOADED with tons of information about Kolchak the Night Stalker from Mark Dawidziak, Sterling Clark, and the Monster Magazine staff. Warner Todd Huston writes about TV horror host Svengoolie. Our very own Dave Goode unwraps the Mummy's Hand. We visit with Horror Host of the month the Unusual Stranger...and much much more. This issue sports 3, that's right, 3 super cool covers by Ricky Blalock, Sterling Clark, and Vance Capley.

MARK...THE MAGNIFICENT! by Dave Goode

No other actor other than Steve Reeves himself is probably more identified with the sinew & sandal movie genre than Mark Forest. Born Lou Degni in Brooklyn , New York in 1933 he began bodybuilding as a teenager and competed in and won a number of contests. The story goes that a Hollywood scout saw his photo on the cover of a physical culture magazine and invited him to Hollywood to audition for the role of " Tarzan ". He didn't get the role. But he got a job working in Mae West's night club act. He would also work for a time in the night club act of ecdysiast Lilli " The Cat Girl " Christine. At the peak of the peplum movie cycle Forest would pack up his muscle shirts and head to Europe and become a star. Mostly playing Maciste , the character originally played by strongman Bartolomeo Pagano. Pagano would portray the character in over a dozen movies beginning in 1914 in the silent film epic CABIRIA. He would even legally have his name changed to Maciste. Mark Forest would be the only other actor as identified with the character.The Forest peplum flicks are some of the most entertaining from the genre. But there are four that I recommend above all the others.

 

 

GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON ( 1960 ) was Forest's first muscleman movie. And a pretty cool fantasy film. What's interesting about this one is that it was originally a " Hercules " movie. In most of his movies he portrayed Maciste and they were re-dubbed and re-titled so that he was playing more familiar characters ( to American audiences ) like Hercules and Samson. Those familiar with mythology realize that the character Forest is playing here is Hercules because the plot has the character performing a several of the 12 Labors of Hercules. And the movie's villain , portrayed by Broderick Crawford , is King Eurysteseus from the Hercules legend.

 

In SON OF SAMSON ( 1960 ) Forest plays Maciste for the first time and co-stars with the sexy Chelo Alonso , the Queen of the Sinew & Sandal genre. The character is given an origin as being the " Son of Samson ". And considering what a womanizer the biblical strongman was it's not hard to imagine that Samson had a child or two. Even if the Bible never mentions any offspring. Over the years though some historians have speculated that Phillistine women had their way with Samson after he had been blinded and made a prisoner. Hoping to have his strength passed on to their children. This theory speculates that the Phillistine giant Goliath may have been Samson's grandson.

 

MOLE MEN AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES ( 1961 ) has Forest co - starring with beautiful Moira Orfei who plays the evil queen of an underground nation. Also in this film is bodybuilding champion Paul Wynter as Bangor , Maciste's sidekick.It's interesting to compare Forest's physique to that of a Mr. Universe winner. Forest also does battle with an ape -suit actor. This is a fun flick. But any flick instantly becomes better with the inclusion of an ape - suit.

 

 

 

And of course there is THE TERROR OF ROME AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES ( 1964 ). In this one Forest fights against Christian persecution. But only after he falls in love with a Christian woman. Beautiful Marilu Tolo is the patrician woman who loves the muscular hero. And who gives up her life for him even after he chooses the Christian heroine over her. There's plenty of gladiatorial combat in this one. Including Forest fighting another ape - suit actor. This gorilla suit is one of the cheesiest ever seen onscreen. It barely resembles a gorilla. Which has led some fan-boys to imagine it was actually a " mangani " from the Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan books. An interesting theory.

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