''Hercules in the Haunted World'' (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''Ercole al centro della terra'', lit. "Hercules at the Center of the Earth") is a 1961 Italian

sword-and-sandal 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 ...

film directed by

Mario Bava Mario Bava (31 July 1914 – 27 April 1980) was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter, frequently referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the Ma ...

. British

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses o ...

Reg Park Roy "Reg" Park (7 June 1928 – 22 November 2007) was an English bodybuilder, businessman, and actor. His first title was Mr Britain in 1949. He then won the Mr Universe in 1951, 1958 and 1965. He also starred in five films, four featured as ...

plays

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

while British actor

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

appears as Hercules' nemesis Lico. Shooting at

Cinecittà Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios we ...

, director Mario Bava used some of the same sets from the earlier ''

Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis ''Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis'' ( it, Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide, lit=Hercules at the Conquest of Atlantis) is a 1961 film directed by Vittorio Cottafavi and starring Reg Park in his film debut as Ercole/Hercules. It was origina ...

'' which also stars Park.

Plot

Upon his return to Italy from his many adventures, the great warrior Hercules learns that his lover, Princess

Deianira Deianira, Deïanira, or Deianeira (; Ancient Greek: Δηϊάνειρα, ''Dēiáneira'', or , ''Dēáneira'', ), also known as Dejanira, is a Calydonian princess in Greek mythology whose name translates as "man-destroyer" or "destroyer of her hu ...

, has lost her senses. According to the

oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...

(

Gaia Germani Gaia Germani (30 August 1934 - 20 February 2019) was an Italian film and television actress. Biography Born in Rome as Giovanna Giardina, she made her film debut in a French film, Georges Lautner's '' En plein cirage'' and later starred both in ...

), Daianara's only hope is the Stone of Forgetfulness which lies deep in the realm of

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

. Hercules, with two companions,

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describe ...

and

Telemachus Telemachus ( ; grc, Τηλέμαχος, Tēlemakhos, lit=far-fighter), in Greek mythology, is the son of Odysseus and Penelope, who is a central character in Homer's ''Odyssey''. When Telemachus reached manhood, he visited Pylos and Sparta in se ...

, embarks on a dangerous quest for the stone, while he is unaware that Deianira‘s guardian, King Lico, is the one responsible for her condition and plots to have the girl for himself as his bride upon her revival. Lico is in fact in league with the dark forces of the underworld, and it is up to Hercules to stop him. The climax has Hercules smashing Lico with a giant boulder and throwing similarly large rocks at an army of zombies.

Cast

as Hercules *

as King Lico *

Leonora Ruffo Leonora Ruffo (13 January 1935 – 25 May 2007) was an Italian film actress. Career Born in Rome as Bruna Bovi, the daughter of Angelo Bovi, basketball coach of Ginnastica Roma, Italian Championship pluri-winner, Ruffo failed to obtain the main ...

as Deianira *

George Ardisson Giorgio Ardisson, best known as George Ardisson (31 December 1931 – 11 December 2014), was an Italian actor. Life and career Born in Turin, Ardisson debuted in a minor role in Mauro Bolognini's 1959 film ''Arrangiatevi!''. After several s ...

as Theseus * Marisa Belli as Aretusa *

Ida Galli Ida Galli is an Italian film actress best known for her roles in Spaghetti Western and giallo films in the 1960s and 1970s. Galli has appeared under several pseudonyms, including Arianna, Evelyn Stewart and Isli Oberon. Extremely prolific, som ...

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...

Mino Doro Mino Doro (6 May 1903 – 13 April 1992) was an Italian actor who appeared in more than a hundred films between 1932 and 1970. Doro generally played supporting and character roles. He appeared as a blackshirt in the 1934 Fascist propaganda fi ...

as Keros *

as Medea *

Franco Giacobini Franco Giacobini (5 March 1926 – 27 December 2015) was an Italian actor. Born in Rome as Francesco Giacobini, he graduated at Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico in 1948, then started a prolific stage career, working in comed ...

as Telemachus *

Rosalba Neri Rosalba Neri (born 19 June 1939) is a retired Italian actress. Early life Born in Forlì, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Neri was regarded for her beauty even in youth, winning a beauty pageant when she was still young. Eventually pursuing an acting ca ...

as Helena *

Ely Drago Ely Drago was an Italian film actress. She played Jocasta in '' Ercole al centro della terra'' (1961), directed by Mario Bava and starring Christopher Lee, Leonora Ruffo and Marisa Belli, and Gina in '' Sua Eccellenza si fermò a mangiare'' (196 ...

as Giocasta

Release

''Hercules in the Haunted World'' was released in Italy in November 16, 1961. It received a theatrical release in the United States in April 1964.

's voice was dubbed by another actor for the English-language version of the film.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review, ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' referred to the film as a "particularly awful Italian movie", specifying Reg Parks' acting and the film plays "havoc with the mythology". The review also noted the English dub which was described as "corny almost beyond belief" From retrospective reviews, the ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' stated, "Bava's film today contrives not to look too much like a cheap imitation of itself. Partly this is thanks to the resourcefulness with which the director creates a visual splendour from little except smoke and light, and partly it's the result of an almost arrogantly complex plot from which fragments of meaning seem to escape in all directions."

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

wrote "''Hercules in the Haunted World'' is about as good a film as could be made on a budget in the 'mythic hero' subgenre of action films. If that sounds like faint praise, it isn't intended to be, for while overall ''Hercules'' can't totally rise above the many limitations of its genre (and budget), it nevertheless will thrill fans of such movies and even give non-devotees a number of very worthwhile elements to ponder." In his book ''Italian Horror Film Directors'', Louis Paul described the film as "a colorful combination of the athletic muscleman peplum revival and Bava's own fascination with gothic imagery."

Legacy

The film started a short-living subgenre of films trying to combine the

peplum genre Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum (pepla plural), is a subgenre of largely Italy, 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-b ...

with horror elements. Films considered belonging to this subgenre include

Riccardo Freda Riccardo Freda (24 February 1909 – 20 December 1999) was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror film, horror, ''giallo'' and spy films. Freda began directing ''I Vampiri'' in 1956. The f ...

's ''

The Witch's Curse ''The Witch's Curse'' ( it, Maciste all'inferno, lit=Maciste in Hell) is a 1962 peplum- fantasy film, directed by Riccardo Freda. Plot In the mid-1500s, a witch is burned in Scotland and places a curse on the inhabitants before she dies. One hu ...

'' and

Sergio Corbucci Sergio Corbucci (; 6 December 1926 – 1 December 1990) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed both very violent Spaghetti Westerns and bloodless Bud Spencer and Terence Hill action comedies. He is the older bro ...

's and

Giacomo Gentilomo Giacomo Gentilomo (5 April 1909 – 16 April 2001) was an Italian film director and painter. Biography Born in Trieste, at very young age Gentilomo moved to Rome, where at 21 years old he entered the cinema industry, working as a script survivo ...

's ''

Maciste contro il vampiro ''Goliath and the Vampires'' ( it, Maciste contro il vampiro) is a 1961 Italian ''peplum'' film directed by Sergio Corbucci and Giacomo Gentilomo. Plot Set in the ancient world, this film follows a powerful muscular man out to battle a vampire a ...

''. The Opera Theater Oregon commissioned composer Patrick Morganelli to write a companion piece to the film, '' Hercules vs. Vampires'', which premiered in Portland in 2010. In April 2015 the work was staged by the

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Leadersh ...

References

Footnotes

Sources

* * * * *

External links

* * {{Authority control 1961 films 1960s fantasy films Italian fantasy films Peplum films Films about Heracles Films directed by Mario Bava Films scored by Armando Trovajoli Cultural depictions of Theseus Sword and sandal films 1960s Italian-language films 1960s Italian films