''Toto vs. Maciste'' ( it, Totò contro Maciste) is a

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

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 ...

adventure-comedy film directed by

Fernando Cerchio Fernando Cerchio (7 August 1914 – 19 August 1974) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 30 films between 1940 and 1972. Selected filmography * '' Men of the Mountain'' (1943) * ''Mistress of the Mountains'' ...

. It is a parody of the

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 ...

cinema, which was highly successful at the time in Italy.

Plot

Totokamen is an entertainer and an illusionist who performs in various Egyptian nightclubs assisted by his manager, Tarantenkamen. Taking advantage of cheesy tricks, Totokamen pretends to be the son of the god Amun and to have divine superpowers. The Pharaoh Ramses is in the meanwhile facing the betrayal by the strongman

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 ...

, who has inexplicably joined Egypt's historical enemies (the Assyrians) and is guiding them to an unstoppable attack to the country. This is orchestrated by Ramses' unfaithful wife, who has resorted to witchcraft to charme Maciste and achieve absolute power over the country. On the other hand Ramses' daughter is secretly in love with the strongman. Upon hearing from a minister about Totokamen's spectacle and claims of demigod status, the pharaoh decides that he should guide Egyptian defense against the invaders. Totokamen and Tarantenkamen try to avoid the dangerous assignment and to buy time in all possible ways, but the Assyrians continue their campaign and the invasion eventually reaches the crucial point of a duel between Totokamen and Maciste, in front of the whole royal court. Luckily the effect of Maciste's charming runs out at the last possible moment, and the plans of Ramses' wife gets exposed. The Pharaoh remains in power, Maciste is pardoned, and Totokamen manages to exploit the confusion in order to escape from palace before being exposed as a fraud.

Cast

Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il Principe della risata ...

as Totokamen / Sabakis, Totokamen's father *

Nino Taranto Nino Taranto (28 August 1907 – 23 February 1986) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1924 and 1971. Life and career Born in Naples, Taranto started his career as a child actor in 1918 starring in some loca ...

as Tarantenkamen *

Samson Burke Samson Burke (born Samuel Burke; 8 April 1929) is a Canadian bodybuilder, swimmer, wrestler and actor. Biography Born Samuel Burke in Montreal Canada, Burke earned a college degree in physical education. In the 1950s, Burke wrestled for nine ...

Nadine Sanders Nadine may refer to: People * Nadine (given name) * Nadine, Countess of Shrewsbury (1913–2003), English opera soprano Film and TV * ''Nadine'' (1987 film), a 1987 film with Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger * , a 2007 Dutch film with Monic Hendri ...

as Pharaoh's wife *

Nerio Bernardi Nerio Bernardi (23 July 1899 – 12 January 1971) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1918 and 1970. He was born in Bologna, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''Nero'' (1922) * ''The Sheph ...

as Pharaoh Ramses *

Gabriella Andreini Gabriella may refer to: * Gabriella (given name), a feminine given name * ''Gabriella di Vergy'', an opera seria by Gaetano Donizetti (1826, revised 1838), and an opera by Mercadante (1828), based on the tragedy ''Gabrielle de Vergy'' by Dormont De ...

Nefertiti Neferneferuaten Nefertiti () ( – c. 1330 BC) was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a radical change in national religious policy, in whic ...

Luigi Pavese Luigi Pavese (25 October 1897 – 13 December 1969) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Asti, Pavese started his career in 1916 working as a silent film actor at 19 years of age. He then began his theatrical debut in 192 ...

as owner of the nightclub *

Nino Marchetti Nino or Niño may refer to: *Nino (name) *Niño (name) *Antonin Scalia, American Supreme Court justice whose nickname was "Nino" *El Niño, a climate pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean *NINO, an abbreviation for National Insurance number in the ...

as the great dignitary *

Piero Palermini Piero Palermini (1925–1996) was an Italian film actor. He was cast by Riccardo Freda in the 1949 swashbuckler, possibly due to a physical resemblance to the Hollywood actor Gene Kelly. Freda would come to regret this casting although Palermini w ...

as Baitan *

Carlo Taranto Carlo Taranto (18 October 1921 – 4 April 1986) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1949 and 1984. Partial filmography * ''The Firemen of Viggiù'' (1949) * ''Assi alla ribalta'' (1954) * ''Wives and Obscurities'' ( ...

as Assyrian counsellor

References

External links

* 1962 films Italian adventure comedy films Peplum films Films directed by Fernando Cerchio Films scored by Francesco De Masi Films set in ancient Egypt 1960s adventure comedy films 1960s parody films Italian parody films Maciste films Cultural depictions of Ramesses II Cultural depictions of Nefertiti Films with screenplays by Giovanni Grimaldi Sword and sandal films 1962 comedy films 1960s Italian-language films 1960s Italian films {{comedy-film-stub