There was a period of time in the 1960's when I OD'd on films in the Hercules genre, as if there even was such a thing. Steve Reeves was the best of course, and his films were fairly watchable. Reg Park was a reasonable substitute, and then you got down to all those beefcake Maciste's portrayed by guys with two first names like Gordon Scott, Brad Harris and Kirk Morris. Alan Steel does the honors in this Grecian formula romp, and truth be told, it could have been a lot worse.
Steel's Hercules is rather athletic, enjoying an early workout against a gang of Queen Samara's (Jany Clair) best warriors. He looks a lot like Reeves, though he might be a bit shorter. Steel (real name Sergio Ciani) looks like he's having fun with his moment of stardom, that or his frequent grin means he realizes just what he's gotten himself into.
What would a Hercules film be without feats of strength? Steel convinces when he bends the bars of an iron gate in the underground cavern, and tosses aside a dead tree during the famous sand storm scene. Now if this were a Mensa convention, he could have simply walked between the bars sideways, and come on, why not just walk around the tree? I guess that's just the kind of hokey adventure that makes the film campy fun. But the best was when the leader of the moon men tells the Queen how he believes she betrayed them. Suddenly, Samara finds herself between a rock and, well, another rock. (You'll just have to watch the movie!)
Hey, can you picture a bunch of film makers back in the Sixties discussing how they could make a movie with the goofiest title. How about "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians"? Nope, already taken. OK, then what about "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter"? Wild West meets Sci-Fi, no, that concept is at least a couple years off. Hey, I've got it! "Hercules Against the Moon Men". We can set it in a land where desert storms, violent oceans and lava flows all exist in near proximity, and in the end, the hero gets the girl. Let's do it!
Steel's Hercules is rather athletic, enjoying an early workout against a gang of Queen Samara's (Jany Clair) best warriors. He looks a lot like Reeves, though he might be a bit shorter. Steel (real name Sergio Ciani) looks like he's having fun with his moment of stardom, that or his frequent grin means he realizes just what he's gotten himself into.
What would a Hercules film be without feats of strength? Steel convinces when he bends the bars of an iron gate in the underground cavern, and tosses aside a dead tree during the famous sand storm scene. Now if this were a Mensa convention, he could have simply walked between the bars sideways, and come on, why not just walk around the tree? I guess that's just the kind of hokey adventure that makes the film campy fun. But the best was when the leader of the moon men tells the Queen how he believes she betrayed them. Suddenly, Samara finds herself between a rock and, well, another rock. (You'll just have to watch the movie!)
Hey, can you picture a bunch of film makers back in the Sixties discussing how they could make a movie with the goofiest title. How about "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians"? Nope, already taken. OK, then what about "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter"? Wild West meets Sci-Fi, no, that concept is at least a couple years off. Hey, I've got it! "Hercules Against the Moon Men". We can set it in a land where desert storms, violent oceans and lava flows all exist in near proximity, and in the end, the hero gets the girl. Let's do it!