THE STEVE REEVES MOVIE YOU NEVER SAW! by Dave Goode

 

I was watching the Gordon Scott sinew & sandal flick Goliath Vs. The Vampires again the other day. Also known as Maciste Contra Vampiro ( 1961 ) this is my favorite of the former Tarzan's peplum pictures. The hilight of the flick is arguably the battle between Goliath / Maciste and the villain who has taken the hero's form. For years it was rumored that the evil Goliath in long shots was portrayed by Steve Reeves himself. Not the case. But an understandable mistake. The actor was in fact Giovanni Cianfriglia who had worked as Reeves' body double in a number of costumed melodramas beginning with the landmark Hercules ( 1957 ). He would also appear as an extra and stuntman in other genre flicks. Most notably in Hercules The Avenger ( 1965 ) where he portrayed the Earth giant Antaeus to Reg Park's Hercules.

 

Of course Cianfriglia was better known to genre movie fans as the star of the masked wrestler movies Superargo Vs. Diabolicus ( 1966 ) and Superargo And The Faceless Giants ( 1968 ). I got to thinking again about a masked wrestler movie starring Steve Reeves. I've always said that such a movie starring Reeves , Gordon Scott or Mark Forest would be a great deal different from the masked wrestler movies of Mexico ( Mexiluchahero movies ). Where the heroes of those flicks are never seen without their masks. Any movie starring Reeves would have the hero going maskless for over half the film.

 

So imagine if you will a masked wrestler movie starring Reeves where body double and stuntman Cianfriglia portrayed the hero with the mask on. Reeves would play the hero in romantic scenes and such. Also maybe in scenes in a gym showing him training to show off Mr. Universe's physique. Which was the reason you went to a Steve Reeves movie to begin with. " Something visual that's not to abysmal. " This would make such a move similar to the classic Republic serial The Masked Marvel ( 1943 ). In that chapterplay stuntman Tom Steele portrayed the hero. No one else would wear the mask. He also did stunts for other actors throughout the movie. But strangely enough he received no screen credit. Not even as a stuntman.

 

 

THE CONAN WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN ! by Dave Goode

 

I've got a very short list of actors who I think would have been great portraying Robert E. Howard's barbarian hero Conan of Cimmeria. There's Charles Bronson who may have been too short to play Conan. But may have been just right to play another of Howard's characters, the Pict king Bran Mak Morn. Then there is Jack Palance who was perfect as Attila the Hun in the movie SIGN OF THE PAGAN (1954). It was his performance as Attila that got me thinking that Palance would have been great as Conan. Or even better as King Kull,yet another of Howard's barbarian heroes. And then there's "Big" Bill Smith, the actor/bodybuilder best known for his roles in action flicks playing both heroes and villains.

Smith did play Conan's father in CONAN, THE BARBARIAN (1982). And most critics thought that his brief performance was the best thing about the movie. Ten or fifteen years earlier he would have been great as Conan himself. And in 1982 he would have been great as the older King Conan of Howard's stories The Phoenix On The Sword and The Hour Of The Dragon a. k. a Conan The Conqueror.

I imagine a younger Bill Smith starring in an adaptation of my favorite Howard Conan story Beyond The Black River. And he would have been equally good in A Witch Shall Be Born. Imagine if you will Vincent Price as the mercenary general Constanius the Falcon. And Barbara Steele as the twin sisters Queen Taramis and Salome , the witch of the title. But more importantly imagine Smith as the pantherish Cimmerian in the most famous scene from the Conan series. Fierce!!!

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

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.

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO GET YOUR COPY OF DR. JUDO!

THE OTHER HERCULES by Dave Goode

One of the best remembered off-shoots of the peplum movie cycle was the syndicated cartoon series THE MIGHTY HERCULES. Created in 1962 it premiered on September 1, 1963. The series was the brainchild of Joe Oriolo. DC Comic editors George Kashdan and Jack Miller also worked on the series. Maybe that's why the beardless Hercules of the cartoon resembled the Superman of the Silver Age. If you remember the show it's probably for the catchy theme song written by Win Sharples and sung by pop singer Johnny Nash. There were 128 stand alone episodes that ran five and a half minutes.

In the very first episode Hercules is competing with his buddy Theseus, another Greek hero for some sort of Olympian championship. Hercules bests his buddy in a foot race and wrestling match. As a reward for his victory Hercules is granted a request from Zeus. Hercules wants to go to Earth and fight the forces of evil and injustice. Zeus reminds the man-god that he would lose his godly powers on Earth. But gets around this by giving him a magic ring that will amp up his strength when putting it on. And this was the formula for each episode. Hercules would take on some threat. He would hold his own against the menace for awhile. But would eventually have to put on the ring to defeat the threat. I always wondered why he just didn't keep the ring on when he came to Earth. Supporting characters were Helena , his love interest and  Newton a centaur. Villainy was provided by Daedalus , an evil wizard , Wilhemine , a sea sorceress and Murtis who wore the Mask of Vulcan.

 

What I hadn't been aware of was in Detroit, Don Kolke a former football player for the University of Detroit hosted a MIGHTY HERCULES show where he wore  the Hercules costume from the cartoon. He introduced the cartoons to the television audience and taught exercises to them. Cool beans. There was also two Gold Key comic books based on the cartoon series.

And speaking of Hercules, one of my favorite scenes in a Silver Age Spider-Man story occurred in Amazing Spider-Man No.27. He breaks chains that he's been bound with through muscle expansion while exclaiming "I feel like Steve Reeves in one of those Italian costume movies!". The funny thing is that though this is a feat of strength associated with the heroes in sinew & sandal flicks it's rarely used in these movies. There's plenty of chain breaking. Just not a lot through chest expansion. Below you can find a Golden Adonis cartoon illustrated by Vance Capley with Brad King performing the strength feat associated with carnival strongmen and gladiator movie stars.

ITEM: GET YOUR JUDO ON!!! "WHO IS DR.JUDO?!" is available on shirts, cups, bags, and much much more! All on vancecapleyart1972's Teepublic page!

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MONSTER MAGAZINE NO.2 Creature Creature Feature