''Hercules vs. Moloch'' ( it, Ercole contro Moloch, french: Hercule contre Moloch, also released as Conquest of Mycenae) is a 1963 Italian/French international co-production peplum film written and directed by Giorgio Ferroni and starring

Gordon Scott Gordon Scott (born Gordon Merrill Werschkul; August 3, 1926 – April 30, 2007) was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films (and one compilation of three made-as-a ...

.Michele Giordano. ''Giganti buoni''. Gremese Editore, 1998. . The film reuses battle scenes from Ferroni's 1961 film ''

The Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...

''.

Plot

The city-state of Mycenae is able to dominate the rest of the nearby city-states due to its impregnable fortress. Led by a facially deformed King who believes himself Moloch incarnated, the madman demands slaves as tribute, where he tortures and kills a selected few. Prince Glaucus from Tiryns has an idea to seize and destroy Mycenae from within. Using the name of Hercules, he poses as one of the slaves given to Mycenae in tribute. He becomes a gladiator, but he secretly plots to lead a revolution and destroy the creature that has enslaved the people.

Cast

as Prince Glauco (Glaucus) a.k.a. Ercole (Hercules) * Alessandra Panaro as Medea, Queen of Tiryns *

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 Demetra, Queen of Mycenae * Arturo Dominici as Penteo (Penthius), General of Mycenae *

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as Oineo (Euneos) * Jany Clair as Deianira * Nerio Bernardi as Asterione (Asterion), the High Priest *

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as Archiloco (Archepolos) *

Geneviève Grad Geneviève Gabrielle Grad (; born 5 July 1944 in Paris) is a French actress. She played Nicole Cruchot, the daughter of police officer Ludovic Cruchot (Louis de Funès) in the first three films of the Gendarme of Saint-Tropez series from 1964 ...

as Pasifaë * Pietro Marascalchi as Moloch

Release

''Hercules vs. the Moloch'' was released in Italy on December 21, 1963. It was released in the United States by December 15, 1965.

Reception

From contemporary reviews, the '' Monthly Film Bulletin'' reviewed a 91 minute dubbed version. The film stated that the plot was "completely routine" and its ending was "over-extravagant", the "Herculean hero is at least credited with a distinct measure of intelligence" noting that "the question of sheer physical strength is reated ambigulously ..There is no penny-pinching in the staging; hundreds of extras are used for the big battle scenes, which really do succeed in giving the effect of an army and not merely a platoon."

References

Sources

External links

*
''Hercules vs. Moloch''
at Variety Distribution 1963 adventure films Peplum films French historical adventure films Films directed by Giorgio Ferroni Films scored by Carlo Rustichelli Films set in ancient Greece Sword and sandal films 1960s Italian films {{adventure-film-stub