''Goliath and the Vampires'' ( it, Maciste contro il vampiro) is a 1961 Italian ''peplum'' film directed by

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 ...

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 ...

Plot

Set in the ancient world, this film follows a powerful muscular man out to battle a vampire and his forces that go from village to village taking slaves and female victims.

Cast

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 ...

: Maciste *

Gianna Maria Canale Gianna Maria Canale (12 September 1927 – 13 February 2009) was an Italian film actress. Biography Canale was born in 1927 in Reggio Calabria. In 1947, she competed in the Miss Italia beauty contest, where she was runner-up to Lucia Bo ...

: Astra *

Jacques Sernas Jokūbas Bernardas Šernas (30 July 1925 – 3 July 2015), commonly known as Jacques Sernas and sometimes credited as Jack Sernas, was a Lithuanian-born French actor with an international film career. Biography He was born in Kaunas, Lithuania, ...

: Kurtick *

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 ...

: Guja * Annabella Incontrera: Magda *

Mario Feliciani Mario Feliciani (12 March 1918 – 11 August 2008) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Milan, after completing his classical education Feliciani attended the Accademia dei filodrammatici obtaining the diploma. He ...

: Omar

Production

Both

and

are credited as directors of the film. Barry Atkinson stated Corbucci's input to the film was minimal.

Release

''Goliath and the Vampires'' was released theatrically in Italy as ''Maciste control il vampiro'' on 21 August 1961. It was released theatrically in the United States in April 1964.

American International Television 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 fil ...

released the film to television as part of its 1968 ''Young Adult Theatre'' package as ''The Vampires''. The film was made available on home video by Something Weird.

Reception

From contemporary 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 that the film was a "mixture of handsomely decorated spectacle and the supernatural" with "first rate-editing". The review concluded that the reviewer "missed the guiding hands of a Bava or Cottafavi; and it seems probable that the film's intermittent drive and suspense can be more safely attributed to Corbucci than to his co-director, Giacomo Gentilomo" In ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', the reviewer "Tube." declared that "even the most ardent devotees of these overstuffed, simpleminded muscle spasms from Italy figure to be disenchanted with this latest entry in that league." The review found the film "ludicrously written and crudely executed" and that Gordon Scott's acting was unsubtle. From retrospective reviews, Howard Hughes wrote in his book on Italian cinema that

's performance was "above average" in comparison to other contemporary genre films. In their book on Italian Sword and Sandal Films, Roy Kinnard and Tony Crnkovich noted that the film's production design by

Kosta Krivokapic Kosta may refer to: * Kosta, Estonia, a village in Vihula Parish, Lääne-Viru County, Estonia * Kosta, Greece a community in Greece * Kosta, Sweden, a village in Sweden * Coastal Andhra, region in India * Kosta Glasbruk, a glassworks in Swede ...

and

Gianni Polidori Gianni Polidori (1923–1992) was an Italian art director. He designed the sets for several films by Michelangelo Antonioni.Chatman p.266-67 Selected filmography * '' Bellissima'' (1951) * '' Honeymoon Deferred'' (1951) * ''The Overcoat'' (1952) ...

was aided by

Alvaro Mancori Alvaro Mancori (1923–2011) was an Italian cinematographer.Klossner p.47 He also directed two films, and acted as producer on several others. Selected filmography * ''The Accusation'' (1950) * '' Auguri e figli maschi!'' (1951) * '' Tragic Ret ...

's cinematography, which was described as "striking" and that the film was a memorable entry in the ''peplum'' film genre. The review also lamented that "most of the available prints have faded color." In his book on Italian ''peplum'' films, Barry Atkinson also praised the set design and cinematography as "an artful blend of creepy fantasy and Gothicism".

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* 1961 films Films directed by Sergio Corbucci Films directed by Giacomo Gentilomo Peplum films Maciste films Italian vampire films Films scored by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino Sword and sandal films 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-film-stub