''Goliath and the Barbarians'' ( it, Il terrore dei barbari, lit=Terror of the Barbarians) is a 1959 Italian peplum film loosely based on events of the Lombard invasion of Italy in AD 568. As with many

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 ...

peplums of the time, the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

dubbed version renamed some of the characters (for example, "Emiliano" became "Goliath").

Plot

Set in the 6th century, it follows the start of barbarian invasions and deals with one group that attacks a village and destroys anyone and anything that is there. One man, Emiliano, son of the village leader, is away at the time of attack. He swears revenge and wages a one-man war against the evil tribes. He also is helped by the survivors and his sister Lynda. He wears a lion head mask to instill fear into the hearts of the barbarians.

Cast

US Release

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 ...

released the film in the US with a new score by

Les Baxter Leslie Thompson "Les" Baxter (March 14, 1922 – January 15, 1996) was a best-selling American musician and composer. After working as an arranger and composer for swing bands, he developed his own style of easy listening music, known as exotica ...

. The film had originally been a Hercules movie but AIP decided rename it a Goliath film to avoid confusion with ''Hercules'' (1959). AIP invested $20,000 in the movie to help the producers complete it and were rewarded when it became a big hit. The film earned $1.6 million in North America during its initial release where it was

double bill The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

ed with '' Sign of the Gladiator'' Arkoff later estimated the film earned a gross of $1.8 million. AIP announced plans to make a follow up called ''

Goliath and the Dragon ''Goliath and the Dragon'' ( it, La vendetta di Ercole, lit=Revenge of Hercules) is a 1960 international co-production sword-and-sandal filmKinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476662 ...

'' from a script by

Lou Rusoff Lou Rusoff (August 3, 1911 – June 29, 1963) was a Canadian-born screenwriter and producer best known for his work with American International Pictures. He was brother-in-law to Sam Arkoff and was the screenwriter for many of Roger Corman's f ...

with

Debra Paget Debra Paget (born Debralee Griffin; August 19, 1933) is an American actress and entertainer. She is perhaps best known for her performances in Cecil B. DeMille's epic ''The Ten Commandments'' (1956) and in Elvis Presley's film debut, '' Love Me ...

but this fell through and they ended up buying another Italian film called ''

The Revenge of Hercules ''Goliath and the Dragon'' ( it, La vendetta di Ercole, lit=Revenge of Hercules) is a 1960 international co-production sword-and-sandal filmKinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN 978-147666 ...

'' and simply renaming it ''Goliath and the Dragon''.

DVD Releases

This film was released on a limited edition DVD by Wild East Productions in 2007 as a double feature with

Goliath and the Vampires ''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 ...

References

External links