''Samson and the Slave Queen'' ( it, Zorro contro Maciste) is a 1963 Italian '' peplum'' directed by

Umberto Lenzi Umberto Lenzi (6 August 1931 – 19 October 2017) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and novelist. A fan of film since young age, Lenzi studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and made his first film in 1958 which went unr ...

. It was originally made as a

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 ...

film in Italy, in which the fabled strongman meets Zorro. It was redubbed into a "Samson" movie for distribution in the U.S. and "Samson" meets "El Toro" (instead of "El Zorro".)

Plot

The king of Nogara dies, leaving behind a will naming one of his nieces as his successor. Will it be blonde and virtuous Isabella or evil, dark-haired Malva? Each woman relies on a hero to locate the will. Malva hires the bare-chested strongman Samson while Isabella relies on the masked El Toro (a.k.a. Zorro) even though her heart belongs to the mild-mannered poet, Ramon. Malva's ruthless desire for the throne soon alienates Samson and he and El Toro then team up to bring about a proper resolution to the Nogara succession. Meanwhile, Isabella learns El Toto's true identity, an identity which both surprises and pleases her.

Cast

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'' ...

(

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 ...

in the U.S. version) *

Pierre Brice Pierre-Louis Le Bris (6 February 1929 – 6 June 2015), known as Pierre Brice, was a French actor, best known as portraying fictional Apache-chief Winnetou in German films based on Karl May novels. Life and films Brice was born in Brest, Brit ...

Zorro Zorro (Spanish language, Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed a ...

/Ramon (Ramon/El Toro in the U.S. version) *

Moira Orfei Moira Orfei (; born Miranda Orfei; 21 December 1931 – 15 November 2015) was an Italian circus performer, actress and television personality of remote Romani origins. Moira was also considered the queen of the Italian circus, one stage name bei ...

as Malva *

Maria Grazia Spina Maria Grazia Spina (born 3 June 1936) is an Italian television, film and stage actress. Life and career Born Maria Grazia Spinazzi in Venice, Spina debuted as an actress with the theatrical company Stabile di Trieste, then worked with the comp ...

as Isabella *

Andrea Aureli Andrea Aureli (5 March 1923 – 5 November 2007) was an Italian actor. Life and career Born in Terni, Aureli graduated from the Liceo classico in his hometown, then he enrolled the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, graduating in ...

as Rabek *

Andrea Scotti Andrea Scotti (born 27 August 1931) is an Italian film and television actor. Background Born in Naples, Scotti attended at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, graduating in 1956. During his career he was mainly active in genre f ...

as Pedro *

Aldo Bufi Landi Aldo Bufi Landi (7 April 1923 – 2 February 2016) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1947 and 2013. Selected filmography * '' Malaspina'' (1947) * '' Madunnella'' (1948) * '' Assunta Spina'' (1948) * ''L ...

as Deikor *

Ignazio Balsamo Ignazio Balsamo (25 October 1912 – 7 August 1994) was an Italian film and stage actor. Life and career Born in Catania, Balsamo began his career on stage, being part of several Sicilian language theatrical companies. Discovered by Pietr ...

as Joaquim *

Attilio Dottesio Attilio Dottesio (16 July 1909 – 12 February 1989) was an Italian film character actor and singer. He appeared in 170 films between 1940 and 1985. Born in Brescia, Dottesio began his career in France, where first he obtained some success ...

as General Saveria *

Loris Gizzi Loris Gizzi (16 August 1899 – 6 October 1986) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Rome, after his university studies Gizzi attended a school of dance and singing. He abandoned the courses when he became an employee ...

as Don Alvarez *

Nello Pazzafini Nello Pazzafini (15 May 1933 – 9 January 1996) was an Italian actor who appeared in a very large number of Peplum movies, Spaghetti Westerns and Poliziotteschi. He was an ex-bodyguard and often played a "tough guy" character. Partial filmog ...

as Rabek's Henchman *

Nazzareno Zamperla Nazzareno Zamperla (25 April 1937 – 19 March 2020) was an Italian actor and stuntman. Career Born in Treviso into a circus family, Zamperla came to Rome in 1949 and worked primarily in the 1950s and 1960s as a stunt performer. His focus was on ...

as Sadoch

Release

''Zorro contro Maciste'' was released in Italy on 23 August 1963. It was released in the United States as ''Samson and the Slave Queen'' as a

double feature 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 ...

with ''

Goliath and the Sins of Babylon ''Goliath and the Sins of Babylon'' ( it, Maciste l'eroe più grande del mondo) is a 1963 peplum film directed by Michele Lupo.

'' on December 13, 1963. It opened in New York on 4 March 1964. The Italian version's music is composed by

Angelo Francesco Lavagnino Angelo Francesco Lavagnino (22 February 1909 – 21 August 1987) was an Italian composer, born in Genoa. He is best known for scoring many films, including ''Legend of the Lost'', '' Conspiracy of Hearts'', '' Gorgo'', '' The Legion's Last Patrol' ...

while the American version of the film has a 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 ...

Reception

From contemporary reviews, Howard Thompson of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reviewed the film under the title of ''Samson and the Slave Queen'', describing the film as an "old-fashioned, prettily colored and costumed and pleasingly mounted dud". Thompson noted that there was no slave queen promised by the American title of the film. "Robe." of ''

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), ...

'' declared the film to have "enough vim and vigor, thanks to a spirited performance by Pierre Brice as Zorro, to please the less-demanding beefcake-and-biceps aficionados." The rest of the review found that Lenzi focused on keeping the cast moving with emphasis on the fighting, and that the rest of the cast outside Brice was "only adequate".

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

*
''Samson and the Slave Queen''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

1963 films Italian crossover films Peplum films 1960s Italian-language films English-language Italian films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Umberto Lenzi Zorro films 1960s adventure films Maciste films Films scored by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino Sword and sandal films American International Pictures films 1960s multilingual films Italian multilingual films 1960s American films 1960s Italian films {{adventure-film-stub