''Colossus of the Arena'' ( it, Maciste il gladiatore più forte del mondo, also known as ''Death on the Arena'') is a 1962 Italian

peplum film Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum (pepla plural), is a subgenre of largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or Biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budget H ...

directed by

Michele Lupo Michele Lupo (4 December 1932 – 27 June 1989) was an Italian film director. He directed 23 films between 1962 and 1982. He was born in Corleone, Italy, and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''Colossus of the Arena'' (1962) * ...

and starred by

Mark Forest Lou Degni (January 6, 1933 – January 7, 2022), known professionally as Mark Forest, was an American actor, opera singer and bodybuilder — widely known as the protagonist in a series of 1960s sword and sandal or ''peplum'' movies — ...

Plot

A powerful man posing as a gladiator in Rome's fourth century discovers a plan to put the beautiful Queen in prison, which he thwarts by exposing a sinister duke as a traitor.

Cast

Maciste Maciste () is one of the oldest recurring characters of cinema, created by Gabriele d'Annunzio and Giovanni Pastrone. He is featured throughout the history of the cinema of Italy from the 1910s to the mid-1960s. He is usually depicted as a Hercu ...

/Colossus *

Scilla Gabel Scilla Gabel (born Gianfranca Gabellini; 4 January 1938) is an Italian film, television and stage actress. She appeared in 50 films between 1954 and 1982. Career Born in Rimini, Italy, one of five children, Gabel entered the cinema industry as ...

as Talima *

José Greci José Greci (10 January 1941 – 1 June 2017) was an Italian film, television and stage actress. Life and career Born in Ferrara as Giuseppina Greci, the daughter of the journalist and television writer Luigi. In 1956 at just fifteen years old ...

as Resia *

Germano Longo Germano Longo (24 May 1933 – 14 July 2022) was an Italian actor and voice actor. He was sometimes credited as Herman Lang or Grant Laramy. Life and career Born in Poggiardo, Longo attended the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, ...

as Ligonius *

Erno Crisa Erno Crisa (10 March 1914 – 4 April 1968) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1944 and 1968. His last film was the spaghetti western ''Sugar Colt''. Partial filmography * ''Croisières sidérales'' (1942) ...

as Oniris *

Dan Vadis Dan Vadis (born Constantine Daniel Vafiadis, 3 January 1938 – 11 June 1987) was an American actor famous for his lead roles in many Italian films made in the 1960s. Biography Vadis was of Greek descent, with lineage tracing back to the isl ...

as Sidone *

Harold Bradley Harold Ray Bradley (January 2, 1926 – January 31, 2019) was an American guitarist and entrepreneur, who played on many country, rock and pop recordings and produced numerous TV variety shows and movie soundtracks. Having started as a session ...

as Tuco *

Carlo Pisacane Carlo Pisacane, Duke of San Giovanni (22 August 1818 – 2 July 1857) was an Italian patriot and one of the first Italian socialist thinkers. He argued that violence was necessary not only to draw attention to, or generate publicity for, a c ...

as oste *

Vittorio Sanipoli Vittorio Sanipoli (1915–1992) was an Italian stage, film and television actor. He appeared in around a hundred films and television series between 1942 and 1980. Life and career Born Luciano Sanipoli in Genoa, he made his acting debut in 1939 ...

as Slavo *

Alfio Caltabiano Alfio Caltabiano (1932–2007) was an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director.Curti p.25 Partial filmography * ''Il principe dalla maschera rossa'' (1955) * ''Messalina'' (1960) * ''La strada dei giganti'' (1960) * ''The Colossus of Rho ...

as Psychios *

Sal Borgese Sal Borgese (born 5 March 1937, in Rome) is an Italian film actor. He is sometimes credited as Salvatore Borghese or Mark Trevor. He is noted for extensive work in the Italian film industry from the 1960s to present day, and for his work as a s ...

as Gladiator

References

External links

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154805/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 Peplum films 1962 adventure films Films directed by Michele Lupo Films scored by Francesco De Masi Maciste films Sword and sandal Sword and sandal films 1960s Italian films {{adventure-film-stub