Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1961
Atlas (film)
Buy Atlas (film) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'Atlas' is a 1961 action-adventure Peplum film directed by Roger Corman and starring Michael Forest and Frank Wolff. It was filmed in Greece. Corman's regular screenwriter Charles B. Griffith wanted to title the film 'Atlas, the Guided Muscle' based on the first American intercontinental ballistic missile the SM-65 Atlas.p.165 McGilligan, Patrick 'Charles B. Griffith Interview' Backstory 3: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1960s' University of California Press, 12/05/1997
Plot
The hero Atlas fights against the evil king Praximedes.
Cast
* Michael Forest as Atlas
* Barboura Morris as Candia
* Frank Wolff as Praximedes the Tyrant
* Walter Maslow as Garnis
* Andreas Filippides as King Telektos
* Christos Exarchos as Prince Indros
* Theodoros Dimitriou as Gen. Gallus
* Miranda Kounelaki as Arione
Production
With the massive international popularity of 'Hercules', Roger Corman thought he would make his own entry in the sword and sandal genre with a film shot in Greece instead of Italy. Corman's original plan was for an epic film in wide screen and colour to be released initially on a roadshow circuit by his Filmgroup organisation instead of Filmgroup's usual black and white double features.pp. 4243 Ray, Fred Olen 'The New Poverty Row: Independent Filmmakers As Distributors' McFarland, 01/11/1991 Corman used two actors he had made several films with, Michael Forest and Frank Wolff.
Independent producer Vion Papamichelis agreed to put up half the budget, around $40,000. Corman hired Charles Griffith, who was living in Tel Aviv, and gave him four weeks to write the script. Griffith went on to work as production manager, assistant director, writer and extra on the film.Roger Corman & Jim Jerome, 'How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never lost a Dime', Muller, 1990 p 108-110
Corman's schemes changed when his Greek partner did not come through with the promised funds, leading Corman to rapidly find new American investors. Corman was also led to believe a donation in the right place would ensure 500 Greek soldiers fully costumed and equipped as extras for his massive army. Only 50 turned up, leading Corman to rapidly change his original screenplay to use a smaller group of soldiers.
Corman managed to complete his film, shot in ruins around Athens such as the Parthenon with sequences shot at UCLA with Dick Miller and Roger Corman himself as soldiers.p. 55 Weaver, Tom 'Michael Forest Interview' 'I Was a Monster Movie Maker: Conversations with 22 SF and Horror Filmmakers' McFarland, 2001 Corman was able to use stock footage from Universal's 'Sign of the Pagan'. Despite these problems, Corman was able to complete the film for US $108,000 rather than the planned $100,000 budget.
Notes
Buy Atlas (film) now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1961