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Hercules (1958 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Hercules' is a 1958 Italian 'sword and sandal' film based upon the Hercules and the Quest for the Golden Fleece myths. The film stars Steve Reeves as the titular hero and Sylva Koscina as his love interest Princess Iole. 'Hercules' was directed by Pietro Francisci and produced by Federico Teti. The film spawned a 1959 sequel, 'Hercules Unchained' , that also starred Reeves and Koscina.
'Hercules' made Reeves an international film star and effectively paved the way for the dozens of 1960s peplum (or "sword and sandal") films featuring bodybuilder actors as mythological heroes and gladiators battling monsters, despots, and evil queens.
Plot
Hercules is on the road to the court of King Pelias of Iolcus to tutor Pelias' son Prince Iphitus in the use of arms. Pelias' beautiful daughter Princess Iole updates Hercules on the history of her father's rise to power and the theft of the kingdom's greatest treasure, the Golden Fleece. Some suspectand it eventually proves truethat King Pelias has acquired the throne through fratricide. Hercules and Iole are attracted to each other and a romance eventually develops.
King Pelias is warned by a oracle about a stranger wearing one sandal who will challenge his power. When his nephew Jason, the rightful King of Iolcus, arrives in town wearing one sandal, Pelias takes fright and packs him off to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the distant land of Colchis. Jason and Hercules sail aboard the Argo with their friends Ulysses and his father, Laertes, Argos, the twins Castor and Pollux, the lyre-strumming Orpheus, the physician Aesculapius and others.
After weathering a tempest at sea, the Argonauts dally in a lush garden-like country with Antea, the Queen of the Amazons and her ladies. Jason falls in love with Antea, but, when the Amazons plot the deaths of the heroes, Hercules forces Jason to board the Argo and secretly set sail in the night. On the shores of Colchis, the heroes battle hairy ape-men while Jason slays a dragon and retrieves the Golden Fleece. The Argonauts embark for home with their prize.
In Iolcus, the populace greet the returning heroes but Pelias and his henchman Eurysteus steal the Golden Fleece, deny Jason's claim, and plot his destruction. A tense battle between Pelias' forces and the heroes follows. Hercules halts Pelias' cavalry dead in its tracks by toppling the portico of the palace upon them. The defeated Pelias drinks poison. Jason ascends the throne while Hercules and Iole set sail for new adventures.
Subplots involve the death of Pelias' headstrong son Prince Iphitus, and exploits for Hercules resembling the Labors of the Nemean Lion and the Cretan Bull.
Cast
as Hercules
as Iole
as Antea (left) and Fabrizio Mioni as Jason
* Steve Reeves as Hercules
* Sylva Koscina as Iole
* Fabrizio Mioni as Jason
* Ivo Garrani as Pelias, King of Iolcus
* Gianna Maria Canale as Antea, Queen of the Amazons
* Arturo Dominici as Eurysteus
* Mimmo Palmara as Iphitus, son of Pelias
* Lidia Alfonsi as The Sibyl
* Gabriele Antonini as Ulysses
* Aldo Fiorelli as Argos
* Andrea Fantasia as Laertes
* Luciana Paluzzi as Iole's maid as Luciana Paoluzzi
* Afro Poli as Chiron
* Gian Paolo Rosmino as Aesculapius
* Willi Colombini as Pollux
* Fulvio Carrara as Castor
* Gino Mattera as Orpheus
* Gina Rovere as Amazon
* Lily Granado as Amazon
* Aldo Pini as Tifi
* Guido Martufi as Iphitus, as a child
* Paola Quattrini as Iole, as a child
Production
The film was shot in Eastmancolor, using the French widescreen process Dyaliscope. An American Bison served as the Cretan Bull.Hughes, p.3
The roar sound effects of the creature (at the end of the film, guarding the Golden Fleece) is taken from 'Godzilla' (1954 film).
Distribution
'Hercules' was released in Italy on 20 February 1958.
American producer Joseph E. Levine acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the film and Warners advanced Levine $300,000 for the privilege of distributing the film in the US. The film opened at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore on 26 June 1959. It had an intensive promotional campaign costing and a then-wide release of 550 theatres.
It premiered in England on 18 May 1959 and in Spain on 23 November 1959.. In 1961 Levine and Warner Bros. reissued a double feature of 'Hercules' and 'Attila' (1954) with the tagline 'The Mightiest Men in All the World...The Mightiest Show in All the World'.p. 22 Smith, Gary Allen 'Epic Films: Casts, Credits and Commentary on More Than 350 Historical Spectacle Movies, 2nd Edition' McFarland; 2nd edition (January 22, 2009)
Box office
In Europe, the film sold 5,838,816 tickets in Italy, 2,917,106 tickets in France, and 2,373,000 tickets in Germany.Upon its North American release at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, it set a house record with $30,000 in its first week. 'Hercules' became a major box-office hit. In 1959, it earned from distributor rentals in the United States and Canada."1959: Probable Domestic Take", 'Variety', 6 January 1960 p 34 The film went on to earn in rentals from ticket sales in North America.
In the Soviet Union, where it released in 1966, the film sold tickets. This adds up to tickets sold worldwide.
Merchandise
In America, the film generated a Dell comic book adaptation with illustrations by John Buscema and a 33 RPM long-playing RCA Victor recording of the film's soundtrack.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode
The 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' presentation of the movie, episode #502, was first aired on 18 December 1993, on Comedy Central. The 'MST3K' presentation edited the original movie to fit the TV show's time constraints, which causes 'Hercules's characters to go from "the midst of one plot development before the commercial ... [to] somewhere else entirely" afterwards.[http://www.mst3kinfo.com/?p=692 Episode guide: 502- Hercules.] Satellite News. Retrieved on 16 July 2018.
Although two other 'MST3K' episodes featuring Hercules movies ('Hercules Against the Moon Men', at No. 49, and 'Hercules Unchained', at No. 61) were ranked in the Top 100 list of episodes as voted upon by MST3K Season 11 Kickstarter backers, 'Hercules' did not make the cut.[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mst3k/bringbackmst3k/posts/1748165?ref=backer_project_update Bring Back Mystery Science Theater 3000 Update #41.] Kickstarter. Retrieved on 16 July 2018. In his rankings of all 191 'MST3K' episodes, however, writer Jim Vorel ranked the episode #78, the highest of the four Hercules movies that aired on Comedy Central. "Its a mish-mash of Greek myth," Vorel writes, that is "the most purely entertaining film in the series. ... The total abject devotion of all the other men toward Hercules is naturally hilarious."[https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/03/ranking-every-mst3k-episode-from-worst-to-best.html?a=1 Ranking Every MST3K Episode, From Worst to Best.] Vorel, Jim. Paste Magazine. 13 April 2017. Retrieved on 16 July 2018.
The MST3K version of 'Hercules' was included as part of the 'Mystery Science Theater 3000, Volume XXXII' DVD collection, released by Shout! Factory on 24 March 2015. The other episodes in the four-disc set include 'Space Travelers' (episode #401), 'Radar Secret Service' (episode #520), and 'San Francisco International' (episode #614).[https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/mst3k-volume-xxxii?product_id=4162 MST3K: Volume XXXII.] Shout! Factory. Retrieved on 11 July 2018.
Biography
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References
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