''Ursus'' (also known as ''Mighty Ursus'') 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 ...

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 ...

directed by

Carlo Campogalliani Carlo Campogalliani (10 October 1885 – 10 August 1974) was an Italian screenwriter, actor and film director. Campogalliani directed around eighty films during his career and acted in another fifty. He directed the 1934 sports film '' Stadio''.R ...

. It was originally theatrically released in the US on a double bill with "Jack, the Giant Killer" (1962) before being sold to television in the U.S. The film was later released to American television retitled ''Ursus, Son of Hercules'' as part of the '' Sons of Hercules'' TV syndication package (although Ursus was not related to Hercules at all in the original Italian version). Filmed in Madrid in 1960, and released in Italy on Feb. 1, 1961, this movie stars bodybuilder

Ed Fury Ed Fury (born Rupert Edmund Holovchik; June 6, 1928) is an American bodybuilder, actor, and model. He is best known for starring in a number of " sword-and-sandal" films in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Born in Long Island, New York, Fury mo ...

as the legendary Ursus, and

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 be ...

as the evil queen Attea, in a sword-and-sandal adventure.Hughes Ed Fury is the actor most often associated with the Ursus series, although he only played him in three of the nine films. The film is rife with villains, in the true peplum tradition, including

as the evil queen,

Luis Prendes Luis Prendes Estrada (22 August 1913 – 27 October 1998) was a Spanish actor. He was considered one of the country's most famous movie star during the 1940s and 1950s. He was also an important figure in the country's theatre. Selected fi ...

as the smarmy Setas, and

Rafael Luis Calvo Rafael Luis Calvo Muñoz (30 December 1911 – 9 December 1988) was a Spanish film actor. He appeared in more than 60 films including ''Miracle of Marcelino'' (1955). Selected filmography * '' Currito of the Cross'' (1926) * '' Doña Juana'' ( ...

as Mok, the grand vizier. A young

Soledad Miranda Soledad Rendón Bueno (9 July 1943 – 18 August 1970), better known by her stage names Soledad Miranda or Susann Korda (or sometimes Susan Korday), was an actress and pop singer who was born in Seville, Spain. She starred in several erotic th ...

plays the beautiful virgin Fillide who is to be sacrificed at the end of the film. Miranda was later "discovered" by Spanish horror film director

Jesus Franco Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

who used her in a number of his 1969-1970 productions, beginning with his 1970 opus ''

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by som ...

''. (She was killed in a car accident in 1970).

Plot

To defend his countrymen, the mighty Ursus goes off to war in a foreign land, a war that lasts several years. Victorious, he returns home planning to marry his fiancée Attea, only to learn that she had been kidnapped in his absence by a bizarre religious cult that inhabits a far off island. Ursus enlists the aid of a young blind slave girl, Doreide, whom he used to know as a child, and together they embark on a quest to locate and rescue his lost Attea. Unbeknownst to Ursus, Doreide is in love with him, but doesn't let Ursus know, since she feels he will only be happy if he is reunited with Attea. After overcoming various villains who do not want him to locate the cult's island base, Ursus and Doreide finally arrive on the island, only to be captured by the cult and their masked queen, an evil woman who orders the sacrificing of virgins to her satanic bull-god. Much to his dismay, Ursus learns that the queen is in fact his ex-fiancée Attea. After being kidnapped by the cult, Attea had somehow managed to trick the cultists into making her their leader, and over the past three years, she degenerated into a cold, heartless monster. The queen commands that Doreide be sacrificed, and Ursus is sent in chains to slave in a hellish work camp. Ursus manages to escape his captivity and kill the treacherous Setas, an old friend of Ursus' who he learns orchestrated the kidnapping of Attea years before. Ursus then makes his way to the great arena, just in time to rescue Doreide from being mauled to death by a massive bull. Ursus physically wrestles the bull to the ground in a spectacular battle of sinews, and then leads a slave revolt against the queen and her sycophants. In the battle, Doreide receives a blow to the head which miraculously restores her vision. The queen is stabbed to death by her own grand vizier Mok, who in turn is strangled by Ursus. With the freeing of the slaves, Ursus and Doreide sail off back to their homeland, with Ursus finally realizing that Doreide is the only woman for him. (Strangely, none of the other Ursus films involve the Doreide character, so it's a mystery why she disappeared so quickly from the series after this first film.) Ursus is shown as a very violent character in this film, actually strangling several of the other characters to death in various scenes when he could easily have just rendered them unconscious.

Cast

Ursus Ursus is Latin for bear. It may also refer to: Animals * ''Ursus'' (mammal), a genus of bears People * Ursus of Aosta, 6th-century evangelist * Ursus of Auxerre, 6th-century bishop * Ursus of Solothurn, 3rd-century martyr * Ursus (''praefectus ...

Mary Marlon Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

as Doreide, the blind girl *

as Queen Attea *

Cristina Gaioni Cristina Gaioni (born as Maria Cristina Gaioni; 4 November 1940) is an Italian actress, sometimes credited as Cristina Gajoni and Cristina Gaioni Visentin. Born in Milan, Gaioni studied acting at the drama school of Piccolo Teatro under Giorgi ...

as Magali *

as Setas *

as Mok *

Mario Scaccia Mario Scaccia (26 December 1919 – 26 January 2011) was an Italian actor and author. He was a prominent figure in the Italian theatre of '900. Biography Born in Rome, the son of a painter, during the Second World War Scaccia was conscripted i ...

as Kymos *

Mariangela Giordano Mariangela Giordano (2 September 1937 – 16 July 2011) was an Italian film and television actress. Life and career Born in Dolcedo, Imperia, Italy as Maria Angela Giordano, the daughter of a journalist, Giordano was elected Miss Liguria in 19 ...

as Myriam * Nino Fuscagni as Carovaniere *

as Fillide, the virgin * Antonio Gil as Adelfo

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{Carlo Campogalliani 1961 films Italian fantasy adventure films 1960s fantasy adventure films Peplum films Films directed by Carlo Campogalliani Sword and sandal films 1960s Italian-language films 1960s Italian films