Tarzan, The Jungle Gladiator by Dave Goode

As someone who "likes movies about gladiators" TARZAN AND THE CITY OF GOLD has always been one of my favorite Edgar Rice Burroughs tales. I first came across the story as a two-part comic adaptation from Gold Key in TARZAN OF THE APES No.186 (Aug 1969) and TARZAN OF THE APES No.187 (Sept. 1969). In this story, illustrated by Doug Wildey, I found a Tarzan that I didn't know from watching the movies of Johnny Weissmuller, Lex Barker, and Gordon Scott. And the story itself was something like I'd see on THE SONS OF HERCULES television show. What with it's sexy, sadistic queen of a lost nation who desires the muscular hero who she forces into battle in the arena. Now if Maciste only had a pet lion like Tarzan's Jad-Bal-Ja. 

Casting a movie adaptation would have been a snap. Gordon Scott had been playing Tarzan in Hollywood productions at the start of the peplum movie cycle. And after his vine - swinging days were over he transitioned to sinew & sandal flicks like GOLIATH VS. THE VAMPIRES (1961) and SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD (1961). So it's easy to imagine him playing the Lord of the Jungle in one last movie. Especially one based on this story.

As far as an actress to portray Nemone, the mad queen of Cathne, a number of peplum stars come to mind. Chelo Alonso, Moira Orphei, Scilla Gabel immediately spring to mind.

Though I usually imagine Chelo Alonso playing La of Opar in a Tarzan flick. Another good choice would have been model turned actress Sylvia Lopez. In her most famous role Lopez portrayed Queen Omphale of Lydia who seduces Steve Reeves in HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959). In this flick she brings the term "trophy boy friend" to a whole different level. When she tires of a lover she has him stuffed and mounted. This comes to an end once she falls for Hercules.

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You can't mention gladiators and jungle heroes without mentioning Dave Goode, and with that, we present this classic, albeit brief, interview with the man himself:

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Masks, Muscles, and Myth by Dave Goode

Just the other day I was marveling on the overall coolness of posters from the sinew & sandal and masked wrestler movie genres. Illustrations from either would make great comic book covers. Flicks from both genres can rightfully be considered superhero movies. And then I got to thinking once again why there was never a team - up between say el Santo and Maciste. After all if you can have a movie starring el Zorro and el Maciste you can have one between Maciste and Santo or one of the " Man in the Silver Mask's " ancestors. What I really wonder about is why Mexico never had many entries in the peplum film genre.

The most notable exception was THE RAPE OF THE SABINES ( 1962 ). The movie is a retelling of the story of the Sabine women and stars Wulf Ruvinskis as Romulos , the same character that Steve Reeves portrayed in the sinew & sandal flick DUEL OF THE TITANS ( 1961 ). Ruvinskis , the wrestler turned actor , is probably better known to some of you as the star of the Neutron movie series where he played the black - masked crime-fighter.

I was thinking about a mash - up movie featuring Mil Mascaras. Heck! Mascaras had the physique to star in a Mexican - made Hercules movie himself. But here he would have played himself. With say Alan Steel as the immortal Maciste. The plot would involve Maciste in the 20th century taking a job as a pro wrestler , like Arnold did in HERCULES IN NEW YORK ( 1970 ). In between bouts the two musclemen would have several comic book adventures. To give you some idea how that might look my buddy Vance Capley has provided a faux comic book cover featuring the Man of a Dozen Masks, Mr. Incognito and Brad King the Golden Adonis.

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CLASH OF THE TITANS by Dave Goode

Not to be confused with SAMSON AND HIS MIGHTY CHALLENGE (1964) , which it quite often is , HERCULES ,SAMSON AND ULYSSES is a favorite of fans of the sinew & sandal genre. But don't let that title fool you. This is the Hercules and Samson show. Ulysses is little more than a spear carrier in this flick. It's the two legendary strongmen that carry the movie.

KIRK MORRIS

Not  exactly an official sequel to HERCULES (1957) and HERCULES
UNCHAINED (1959). But all three were directed by Pietro Francisi who also had a hand in the writing of the screenplays. And the actors all seem to be playing characters as presented in those two movies with Kirk Morris replacing Steve Reeves as Hercules. But seriously...who can stand in for Steve Reeves?

ILOOSH KHOSHUE

Aside from Morris you have Iloosh Khoshue under the name Richard Lloyd portraying the Biblical hero Samson.

LIANA ORFEI

And there is beautiful Liana Orfei as the seductive Delilah. A veteran of the genre Orfei is perfect as the woman whose name has become synonymous with betrayal. Interestingly enough her cousin, Moira Orfei, would essay the role a year later in SAMSON AND HIS MIGHTY CHALLENGE.

production still from the film

The story has Hercules and Ulysses battling a sea monster. Caught in a storm after killing the beast they are thrown off course and end up in Judea. There Hercules is mistaken by the Philistines for their enemy Samson after he kills a lion with his bare hands. The two strongmen are tricked into battling each other before teaming to fight the common enemy.

The highlight of this flick is the clash between Hercules and Samson as the two heroes throw each other through walls, throw boulders at each other and bend iron bars around each other. For those of us in a pre-CGI world this was as close as we really got to two super-humans duking it out. I still like it more than the clash of the Kryptonians in SUPERMAN II.

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THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE SEQUEL by Dave Goode

Without a doubt the best masked wrestler movies not to come out of Mexico were the Superargo series from Italy. The two movies starred Giovanni Cianfriglia. Someone who should be familiar to all fans of European costume dramas. He worked as a body double for Steve Reeves and did stunt-work in many Italian action movies. Cianfriglia portrayed the Earth giant Antaeus in HERCULES THE AVENGER and has a memorable fight scene with Mr.Universe winner Reg Park who plays the demi-god Hercules. He also has a great fight in GOLIATH AGAINST THE VAMPIRES against former Tarzan movie star turned sinew & sandal hero Gordon Scott. Scott portrays Maciste and Cianfriglia in the course of the battle portrays an "evil twin". For years it was rumored that it was Steve Reeves that was seen in long shots as the evil Maciste/Goliath as the two men grappled. But it was in fact Cianfriglia.

In SUPERARGO VS. DIABOLICUS(1966) Cianfriglia billed as Ken Wood plays the masked wrestling champion Superargo. In what is more or less an origin tale masked wrestling champion Superargo defends his title against his friend,a wrestled called el Tigre. During the course of the match el Tigre is accidently killed. Superargo is understandably despondent and looks for purpose in life.He finds it when his former commanding officer from the army,now the head of the secret service,recruits him for a special mission. And he uses his special abilities plus a bullet-proof costume and some Bondian gadgets to take on the modern alchemist Diabolicus and his sexy red-headed accomplice who refers to her employer as the "future ruler of the universe". This flick is a lot of fun with a lot of action. And Loredana Nusciak as Diabolicus accomplice(girl friend?) and Monica Randall as Superargo's girl friend Lidia are both nice to look at.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sequel SUPERARGO a.k.a SUPERARGO AND THE FACELESS GIANTS(1968) has Cianfriglia returning as the masked wrestler turned secret agent. Superargo's girl friend from the first flick is nowhere to be found. Instead the masked man is keeping company with Kamir a Hindu guru who has taught him to unleash his psychic abilities. Superargo is called in by the authorities to solve a case involving a group of missing athletes and ends up battling Professor Wond,played by former American western star Guy Madison,and his army of living robots.

 

 

 

I always thought there should have been a third movie so that fans of the masked wrestler genre would be talking about a Superargo trilogy today. Wondering what that might look like my buddy Vance Capley and I put together this faux page for a Superargo comic book.

CLICK THE PICTURE AND SEE DAVE GOODE AND

VANCE CAPLEY DISCUSS THIS FILM:

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