''Samson'' ( it, Sansone) is a

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

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 ...

and French

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companies ...

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 ...

shot in Yugoslavia. It was written and directed by

Gianfranco Parolini Gianfranco Parolini (20 February 1925 in Rome, Italy – 26 April 2018 in Rome, Italy) was an Italian film director. He is often credited as Frank Kramer. Among his films are ''The Sabata Trilogy'', several sword and sandal films, most of the Kommi ...

in his first film with

Brad Harris Bradford Harris (July 16, 1933 – November 7, 2017) was an American actor, stuntman, and executive producer. He appeared in a variety of roles in over 50 films, mostly in European productions. He was an inductee in the Stuntman's Hall of Fame ...

who plays the title role. It is the film which introduced the character of

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

, cleared of his Biblical traits, into the sword-and-sandal cinema. Following the success of ''Samson'', the character was later featured in a series of four films released between 1963 and 1965.

Plot

The treacherous court counselor Warkalla takes possession of the throne of Sulan and of the goods of Queen Mila, replacing her with the beautiful but insignificant Romilda. Samson joins Mila and the rebels to regain the kingdom of Sulan and to hunt Romilda and Warkalla.

Cast

: Samson *

Alan Steel Sergio Ciani (7 September 1931 – 5 September 2015), best known as Alan Steel, was an Italian bodybuilder and actor. Born in Rome, Ciani started his career as a stuntman; then he became the body double for Steve Reeves in ''Hercules Unchained'' ...

: Macigno aka Hercules *

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

: Warkalla *

Mara Berni Mara Berni (born 12 June 1932) is an Italian former stage, television and film actress. Life and career Born in Brunate, Como as Mara Bernasconi, Berni debuted on stage as a child actress with the "Compagnia dei Piccoli" directed by Wanda Petr ...

: Romilda *

Luisella Boni Luisella Boni (born 24 July 1935) is an Italian actress. Born in Como, Lombardy as Luisa Angela Bozzo, Boni debuted in 1952 in Bernard Vorhaus' film '' Finishing School''. One of the most active actresses in Italian cinema between the early fif ...

: Janine (credited as Brigitte Corey) *

Carlo Tamberlani Carlo Tamberlani (11 March 1899 – 5 August 1980) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 127 films between 1931 and 1976. He was born in Salice Salentino, Italy and died in Subiaco, Italy. His brother Nando Tamberlani was also an actor. ...

: Botan *

Irena Prosen The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization mandated to facilitate cooperation, advance knowledge, and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is the first international organi ...

: Mila *

Franco Gasparri Franco Gasparri (31 October 1948 – 28 March 1999) was an Italian actor. Born Gianfranco Gasparri in Senigallia, the son of the painter and film poster artist Rodolfo, Gasparri started his career as a child actor, appearing in several pe ...

: Mila's son *

Vladimir Leib Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

as Terrabentus

Reception

's performance as the creepy villain Warkalla has been highlighted as the film's strongpoint.Hughes

Biography

* * *

References

External links

* 1961 films 1961 adventure films Peplum films Films directed by Gianfranco Parolini Sword and sandal films 1960s Italian-language films 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-film-stub