''Goliath and the Sins of Babylon'' ( it, Maciste l'eroe più grande del mondo) is a 1963

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) * ...

.''Goliath and the Sins of Babylon'' review
at

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

The film was released in the US by

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

as a double feature with ''

Samson and the Slave Queen ''Samson and the Slave Queen'' ( it, Zorro contro Maciste) is a 1963 Italian '' peplum'' directed by Umberto Lenzi. It was originally made as a Maciste film in Italy, in which the fabled strongman meets Zorro. It was redubbed into a "Samson" movie ...

''.

Plot

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 Herc ...

(Goliath in the American release) is in Nefir, a vassal state of the

Babylonian empire Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state ...

. He becomes involved in local politics when as part of their tribute to Babylon, Nefir must provide thirty virgin girls each year. When one escapes her captor Maciste vanquishes a large group of soldiers. He comes to the attention of the local resistance who conceal their military training to overthrow the regime by acting as gladiators. Maciste joins the Resistance along with a dwarf giving them a strength of 'forty-two and a half'. The film features a sea battle and a large scale chariot race.

Cast

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 — ...

as Goliath /

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 Regia /Chelima * Giuliano Gemma as Xandros *

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 Morakeb *

Mimmo Palmara Domenico "Mimmo" Palmara (25 July 1928 – 10 June 2016) was an Italian actor. Biography Born in Cagliari, Palmara made his film debut in 1952 as a character actor in drama films by eminent directors such as Luchino Visconti, Mario Monicelli and ...

as Alceas * Paul Muller as Rukus, King of Cafaus *

Livio Lorenzon Livio Lorenzon (6 May 1923 – 23 December 1971) was an Italian actor who was mainly active during the 1950s and 1960s. Biography He played minor roles in some memorable commedia all'Italiana movies directed by the likes of Dino Risi and ...

as Evandrus *

Piero Lulli Piero Lulli (1 February 1923 – 23 June 1991) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 111 films between 1942 and 1977. He was the brother of actor Folco Lulli. Selected filmography * ''A Pilot Returns'' (1942) - De Santis * ''Love Story ...

as Pergasus * Eleonora Bianchi as The Girl of the Sacrifice *

Jacques Herlin Jacques Herlin (17 August 1927 – 7 June 2014) was a French character actor. Born in Paris as Jacques de Jouette, he appeared in an impressive number of films from the early sixties. He was also active on stage and on television. He died i ...

as The Phoenician Merchant *

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 Meneos *

Arnaldo Fabrizio Arnaldo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Arnaldo Abrantes (born 1986), Portuguese track and field sprinter * Arnaldo Alonso (born 1979), Paraguayan footballer * Arnaldo André (born 1943), soap-opera Paraguayan actor * Arn ...

as Goliath the Dwarf

References

External links

* 1963 films Peplum films Films directed by Michele Lupo Films scored by Francesco De Masi 1960s adventure films English-language Italian films Maciste films Sword and sandal films American International Pictures films 1960s English-language films 1960s Italian films {{Adventure-film-stub