''The Avenger'' ( it, La leggenda di Enea, lit=The Legend of Aeneas) is a 1962 film directed by Giorgio Venturini.

Plot summary

Aeneas leads escaped survivors of the Trojan War to new land in Italy. Based on

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

's ''

The Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the R ...

''.

Cast

* Steve Reeves as Enea (

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

) *

Carla Marlier Carla is the feminized version of Carl, Carlos or Charles, from ''ceorl'' in Old English, which means "free man". Notable people with the name include: * Carla, French singer and former member of the children's music group Kids United * Carla Ab ...

Lavinia In Roman mythology, Lavinia ( ; ) is the daughter of Latinus and Amata, and the last wife of Aeneas. Creation It has been proposed that the character was in part intended to represent Servilia Isaurica, Emperor Augustus's first fiancée. Stor ...

, Latino's Daughter * Liana Orfei as Camilla, Queen of the Volsci *

Giacomo Rossi-Stuart Giacomo Rossi Stuart (25 August 1925 – 20 October 1994) was an Italian film actor often credited as Jack Stuart or Giacomo Rossi-Stuart. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1953 and 1989. Biography Born in Todi to an Italian father ...

as Eurialo (

Euryalus Euryalus (; grc, Εὐρύαλος, Eurýalos, broad) refers to the Euryalus fortress, the main citadel of Ancient Syracuse, and to several different characters from Greek mythology and classical literature: Classical mythology *Euryalus, name ...

) *

Gianni Garko Gianni Garko (born Giovanni Garcovich; 15 July 1935), often billed as John Garko and occasionally Gary Hudson, is an Italian actor who found fame as a leading man in 1960s Spaghetti Westerns. He is perhaps best known for his lead role as Sartana ...

as Turno (

Turnus Turnus ( grc, Τυρρηνός, Tyrrhênós) was the legendary King of the Rutuli in Roman history, and the chief antagonist of the hero Aeneas in Virgil's ''Aeneid''. According to the ''Aeneid'', Turnus is the son of Daunus and the nymph Veni ...

), King of the Rusalie (

Rutuli The Rutuli or Rutulians were an ancient people in Italy. The Rutuli were located in a territory whose capital was the ancient town of Ardea, located about 35 km southeast of Rome. Thought to have been descended from the Umbri and the Pelas ...

) *

Mario Ferrari Mario Ferrari (September 3, 1894 – June 28, 1974) was an Italian film actor. After making his debut in 1920, Ferrari became a mainstay of Italian cinema during the Fascist era appearing in a mixture of leading and supporting roles. He pla ...

as King Latino (

Latinus Latinus ( la, Latinus; Ancient Greek: Λατῖνος, ''Latînos'', or Λατεῖνος, ''Lateînos'') was a figure in both Greek and Roman mythology. He is often associated with the heroes of the Trojan War, namely Odysseus and Aeneas. Alth ...

) *

Lulla Selli Lulla is a village in Somogy county, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, ...

as Queen Amata, Latino's Wife *

Maurice Poli Maurice Poli (2 December 1933 – 26 April 2020) was a French actor, mainly active in Italian productions. He is regarded as one of the few actors to have taken part in virtually all the genres developed in Italy in over more than thirty years.Enr ...

as Mesenzio (

Mezentius In Roman mythology, Mezentius was an Etruscan king, and father of Lausus. Sent into exile because of his cruelty, he moved to Latium. He reveled in bloodshed and was overwhelmingly savage on the battlefield, but more significantly to a Roman aud ...

), Turno's Henchman * Luciano Benetti as Sergesto (

Sergestus In Roman mythology, Sergestus was a Trojan friend of Aeneas. He was the ancestor of gens Sergia, a famous Patrician family of which Catilina was a member. Hence he is also the ultimate namesake of the given names Sergey, Sergio, etc. Mythology ...

) * Pietro Capanna as Bisia *

Enzo Fiermonte Enzo Fiermonte (17 July 1908 – 22 March 1993), sometimes credited as William Bird, was an Italian actor and boxer. Early life Vincenzo "Enzo" Fiermonte was born on 17 July 1908 in Casamassima, a rural village near Bari, in southern Italy to D ...

as Acate (

Achates In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Achates (Ancient Greek: Ἀχάτης) may refer to the following personages: *Achates (Aeneid), Achates, a companion of the exiled Aeneas. * Achates, a Sicily, Sicilian who came to Aristaeus in orde ...

) *

Charles Band Charles Robert Band (born December 27, 1951) is an American film producer and director, known for his work on horror comedy movies. Career Band entered film production in the 1970s with Charles Band Productions. Dissatisfied with distributo ...

as Ascanio (

Ascanius Ascanius (; Ancient Greek: Ἀσκάνιος) (said to have reigned 1176-1138 BC) was a legendary king of Alba Longa and is the son of the Trojan hero Aeneas and Creusa, daughter of Priam. He is a character in Roman mythology, and has a divine ...

) *

Benito Stefanelli Benito Stefanelli (2 September 1928 – 18 December 1999) was an Italian film actor, stuntman and weapons master who made over 60 appearances in film between 1955 and 1991. Biography and career Stefanelli is best known in world cinema for his ...

as Niso ( Nisus) *

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 Drance *

Adriano Vitale Adriano or Adrião is the form of the Latin given name ''Hadrianus'' commonly used in the Italian language; the form Adrian is used in the English language. Notable people with the name include: * Adriano Banchieri, Italian composer, music theori ...

as Dancer * Walter Zappolini as Dancer *

Robert Bettoni The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

as Pallante (

Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pa ...

)

Release

''The Avenger'' was released in Italy on 28 November 1962 with a running time of 95 minutes. It was released in the United States in June 1965 with a 105-minute running time.

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Avenger, The 1962 films Films based on poems 1960s fantasy adventure films Films based on classical mythology Works based on the Aeneid Peplum films Films scored by Giovanni Fusco Sword and sandal films Italian fantasy adventure films French fantasy adventure films Yugoslav fantasy adventure films Films directed by Giorgio Venturini 1960s Italian films 1960s French films