''Hercules Against the Barbarians'' ( it, Maciste nell'inferno di Gengis Khan, lit=Maciste in Genghis Khan's Hell) is a 1964 Italian ''peplum'' film directed by

Domenico Paolella Domenico Paolella (18 October 1915 - 7 October 2002) was an Italian director, screenwriter and journalist. Born in Foggia, between 1933 and 1935 Paolella won several contests for amateur directors; in the same years he started working as a journ ...

. When the Mongols invade Europe, they are defeated at Krakow for the first time after many victories. Kubilai (Ken Clark), the responsible commander, asks his emperor Genghis Khan for a second chance. Kubilai has two ideas how to avoid another defeat. First, he wants to eliminate Maciste (aka Hercules in the American dubbed version), the hero of the Polish people, played by Mark Forest. And then, Kubilai holds a prisoner who reveals an important secret: the princess and future queen of Poland lives in a village under false identity. The Mongols want to capture her, but of course, Maciste is a guardian to any maiden in distress...

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 — ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 Arminia * Ken Clark as Kubilai *

Gloria Milland Maria Fiè (11 October 1940 – 27 August 1989), also known professionally as Gloria Milland was an Italian actress of peplum and Spaghetti Western films. Life Born in Cagliari, Sardinia, she debuted in 1959 with her real name, but changed i ...

as Arias *

Roldano Lupi Roldano Lupi (8 February 1909 – 13 August 1989) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1942 and 1967. He was born in Milan, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''Jealousy'' (1942) * '' Yes, Madam'' ...

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

* Howard Ross as Gason *

Mirko Ellis Mirko Ellis (4 September 1923 – 11 September 2014) was a Swiss-Italian film, stage and television actor. Born Mirko Korcinsky in Locarno to a family of Lithuanian origin, Ellis moved, after his studies, to Italy, where he made his film debut i ...

as King Vladimir *

Bruno Scipioni Bruno Scipioni (29 July 1934 – 5 December 2019) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Rome, Scipioni graduated in accountancy and then, in 1958, he attended the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. He started his film caree ...

Release

''Hercules Against the Barbarians'' was released in Italy on 16 April 1964.

Reception

Film critic Howard Hughes objected a lack of "logic and history".Hughes

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* *
''Hercules Against the Barbarians''
at

Variety Distribution Variety Distribution is an Italian-based film distribution company. It distributes Italian films worldwide, produced from the 1930s onward. History Variety Distribution (formerly Variety Film and Variety Communications) has been in the film ...

1964 films Films directed by Domenico Paolella Films scored by Carlo Savina Peplum films 1960s adventure films Films set in the 13th century Maciste films Depictions of Genghis Khan on film Sword and sandal films 1960s Italian films {{adventure-film-stub