''The Sons of Hercules'' is a syndicated

Embassy Pictures Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution studio responsible for such fil ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

show that aired in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the 1960s. The series repackaged 13

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 ...

sword-and-sandal 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 ...

films by giving them a standardized

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

for the opening and closing titles, as well as a standard introductory narration attempting to relate the lead character in each film to the Greek demigod Hercules. These films however were not all originally made as "Hercules" films in Italy. Although two of them did originally feature

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 ...

(and not his sons), four of the films were originally

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 ...

movies in Italy, and the others were just isolated

gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...

ological

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

movies not released theatrically in the US.

Films in the series

There were 13 films in the Sons of Hercules syndication package. The first title listed for each film was its American television title, followed by the translated original Italian title in parentheses: (Note* - Some channels broke the films up into two parts, and showed them in two weekly one-hour time slots as if it were a weekly TV series.) * '' Mole Men vs the Son of Hercules'' (''

Maciste, the Strongest Man in the World ''Mole Men Against the Son of Hercules'' ( it, Maciste, l'uomo più forte del mondo/ ''Maciste, the Strongest Man in the World'') is a 1961 Italian '' peplum'' film directed by Antonio Leonviola and starring Mark Forest. Plot summary The young ...

'') 1961, starring Mark Forest * ''

Triumph of the Son of Hercules ''Triumph of the Son of Hercules'' ( it, Il trionfo di Maciste) is a 1961 Italian peplum film directed by Tanio Boccia and starring Kirk Morris.Michele Giordano. ''Giganti buoni''. Gremese Editore, 1998. . Plot Cast * Kirk Morris as Macis ...

'' (''The Triumph of Maciste'') 1961, starring Kirk Morris * ''

Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules ''Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules'' ( it, Maciste contro i mostri) is a 1962 film directed by Guido Malatesta that was filmed in Yugoslavia and Italy. Plot summary Set in the Ice Age, a nomadic tribe of sun worshippers reach an area t ...

'' (''Maciste vs the Monsters'') 1962, starring Reg Lewis * ''

Venus Against the Son of Hercules ''Venus Against the Son of Hercules'' ( it, Marte, dio della guerra, also known as ''Mars, God of War'' and ''The Son of Hercules vs. Venus'') is a 1962 Italian peplum film written and directed by Marcello Baldi and starring Roger Browne and Jac ...

'' (''Mars, God Of War'') 1962, starring Roger Browne * ''

Ulysses Against the Son of Hercules ''Ulysses Against the Son of Hercules'' ( it, Ulisse contro Ercole) is a 1962 ''peplum'' film directed by Mario Caiano. Plot Hercules captures Ulysses, during the latter's return to Ithaca, by order of Zeus. The hero intends to bring him to Po ...

'' (''

Ulysses against Hercules ''Ulysses Against the Son of Hercules'' ( it, Ulisse contro Ercole) is a 1962 ''peplum'' film directed by Mario Caiano. Plot Hercules captures Ulysses, during the latter's return to Ithaca, by order of Zeus. The hero intends to bring him to Po ...

'') 1962, starring Mike Lane * ''

Medusa Against the Son of Hercules ''Medusa Against the Son of Hercules'' (it: ''Perseo l'invincibile'') is a 1963 Spanish-Italian sword and sandal film directed by Alberto de Martino and starring Richard Harrison. It is loosely based on the myth of Perseus and Medusa. Plot Medu ...

'' (''Perseus the Invincible'') 1962, starring Richard Harrison * ''

Son of Hercules in the Land of Fire ''Ursus in the Land of Fire'' ( it, Ursus nella terra di fuoco), released directly to U.S. television as ''Son of Hercules in the Land of Fire'', is a 1963 Italian peplum film directed by Giorgio Simonelli and starring Ed Fury as Ursus, and Adrian ...

'' (''Ursus In The Land Of Fire'') 1963, starring Ed Fury * ''

Tyrant of Lydia Against The Son of Hercules ''Goliath and the Rebel Slave'' ( it, Goliath e la schiava ribelle), also known as ''The Tyrant of Lydia Against the Son of Hercules'', is a 1963 Eastmancolor adventure peplum film directed by Mario Caiano. Plot Cast * Gordon Scott as Goliath ...

'' (''

Goliath and the Rebel Slave ''Goliath and the Rebel Slave'' ( it, Goliath e la schiava ribelle), also known as ''The Tyrant of Lydia Against the Son of Hercules'', is a 1963 Eastmancolor adventure peplum film directed by Mario Caiano. Plot Cast * Gordon Scott as Goliath ...

'') 1963, starring Gordon Scott * ''

Messalina Against the Son of Hercules ''Messalina vs. the Son of Hercules'' ( it, L'ultimo gladiatore, lit=The Last Gladiator) is a 1964 ''peplum'' film directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Richard Harrison and Lisa Gastoni.Michele Giordano. ''Giganti buoni''. Gremese Editore, 19 ...

'' (''The Last Gladiator'') 1963, starring Richard Harrison * ''

The Beast of Babylon Against the Son of Hercules ''The Beast of Babylon Against the Son of Hercules'' ( it, L'eroe di Babilonia, french: Héros de Babylone, also known as ''Heroes of Babylon'', ''Hero of Babylon'' and ''Goliath, King of Slaves'') is a 1963 Italian-French peplum film written and ...

'' (''Hero Of Babylon'') 1963, a.k.a. ''Goliath, King of the Slaves'', starring Gordon Scott * ''

Terror of Rome Against the Son of Hercules ''The Terror of Rome Against the Son of Hercules'' ( it, Maciste, gladiatore di Sparta) is a 1964 peplum film directed by Mario Caiano and starring Mark Forest and Marilù Tolo. Plot The hero Maciste suffers with the Christians the persecution ...

'' (''Maciste, Gladiator of Sparta'') 1964, starring Mark Forest * ''

Son of Hercules in the Land of Darkness ''Hercules the Invincible'' (Italian: ''Ercole l'invincibile'') is a 1964 Italian Sword and Sandal film directed by Alvaro Mancori and Lewis Mann and starring Dan Vadis. It is the first of two directing credits for cinematographer Alvaro Mancor ...

'' (''

Hercules the Invincible ''Hercules the Invincible'' (Italian: ''Ercole l'invincibile'') is a 1964 Italian Sword and Sandal film directed by Alvaro Mancori and Lewis Mann and starring Dan Vadis. It is the first of two directing credits for cinematographer Alvaro Mancori ...

'') 1964, starring Dan Vadis * ''

Devil of the Desert Against the Son of Hercules ''Devil of the Desert Against the Son of Hercules'' is a 1964 international co-production filmed in Algeria and directed by Anthony Dawson. Plot summary An evil and ambitious usurper named Ganor seizes a kingdom by assassinating the Sultan and ...

'' (''

Anthar the Invincible ''Devil of the Desert Against the Son of Hercules'' is a 1964 international co-production filmed in Algeria and directed by Anthony Dawson. Plot summary An evil and ambitious usurper named Ganor seizes a kingdom by assassinating the Sultan an ...

'') 1964, (a.k.a. ''The Slave Merchants'', a.k.a. ''Soraya, Queen of the Desert'') starring Kirk Morris, directed by Antonio Margheriti

Films in the series

See also