''Hercules'' ( it, Le Fatiche di Ercole, lit=The Labours of Hercules) is a 1958 Italian

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 ...

film based upon the

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 ...

and the Quest for the Golden Fleece myths. The film stars

Steve Reeves Stephen Lester "Steve" Reeves (January 21, 1926 – May 1, 2000) was an American professional bodybuilder, actor, and philanthropist. He was famous in the mid-1950s as a movie star in Italian-made sword-and-sandal films, playing the protagonis ...

as the titular hero and Sylva Koscina as his love interest Princess

Iole In Greek mythology, Iole (; grc, Ἰόλη ) was the daughter of King Eurytus of Oechalia. According to the brief epitome in the '' Bibliotheca'', Eurytus had a beautiful young daughter named Iole who was eligible for marriage. Iole was claimed ...

. ''Hercules'' was directed by

Pietro Francisci Pietro Francisci (9 September 1906 – 1977) was an Italian film director, best remembered for the film ''Hercules'' (1958) which inspired the sword and sandal boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Born in Rome, his career took a distinct tur ...

and produced by Federico Teti. The film spawned a 1959 sequel, ''

Hercules Unchained ''Hercules Unchained'' ( it, Ercole e la regina di Lidia , "Hercules and the Queen of Lydia") is a 1959 Italian-French epic fantasy feature film starring Steve Reeves and Sylva Koscina in a story about two warring brothers and Hercules' tribulati ...

'' ( it, Ercole e la Regina di Lidia), that also starred Reeves and Koscina. ''Hercules'' made Reeves an international film star and effectively paved the way for the dozens of 1960s peplum (or "sword and sandal") films featuring

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

actors as mythological heroes and

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 ...

s battling monsters, despots, and evil queens.

Plot

Hercules is on the road to the court of King

Pelias Pelias ( ; Ancient Greek: Πελίας) was king of Iolcus in Greek mythology. He was the one who sent Jason on the quest for the Golden Fleece. Family Pelias was the son of Tyro and Poseidon. His wife is recorded as either Anaxibia, daughte ...

Iolcus Iolcus (; also rendered ''Iolkos'' ; grc, Ἰωλκός and Ἰαωλκός; grc-x-doric, Ἰαλκός; ell, Ιωλκός) is an ancient city, a modern village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local gove ...

to tutor Pelias' son Prince Iphitus in the use of arms. Pelias' beautiful daughter Princess Iole updates Hercules on the history of her father's rise to power and the theft of the kingdom's greatest treasure, the Golden Fleece. Some suspect—and it eventually proves true—that King Pelias has acquired the throne through

fratricide Fratricide (, from the Latin words ' "brother" and the assimilated root of ' "to kill, to cut down") is the act of killing one's own brother. It can either be done directly or via the use of either a hired or an indoctrinated intermediary (a ...

. Hercules and Iole are attracted to each other and a romance eventually develops. King Pelias is warned by a oracle about a stranger wearing one sandal who will challenge his power. When his nephew Jason, the rightful King of Iolcus, arrives in town wearing one sandal, Pelias takes fright and packs him off to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the distant land of

Colchis In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia. Its population, the Colchians are generally though ...

. Jason and Hercules sail aboard the

Argo In Greek mythology the ''Argo'' (; in Greek: ) was a ship built with the help of the gods that Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of ...

with their friends Ulysses and his father, Laertes, Argos, the twins Castor and Pollux, the lyre-strumming Orpheus, the physician Aesculapius and others. After weathering a tempest at sea, the

Argonauts The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo ...

dally in a lush garden-like country with Antea, the Queen of the Amazons and her ladies. Jason falls in love with Antea, but, when the Amazons plot the deaths of the heroes, Hercules forces Jason to board the Argo and secretly set sail in the night. On the shores of Colchis, the heroes battle hairy ape-men while Jason slays a dragon and retrieves the Golden Fleece. The Argonauts embark for home with their prize. In Iolcus, the populace greet the returning heroes but Pelias and his henchman Eurysteus steal the Golden Fleece, deny Jason's claim, and plot his destruction. A tense battle between Pelias' forces and the heroes follows. Hercules halts Pelias' cavalry dead in its tracks by toppling the portico of the palace upon them. The defeated Pelias drinks poison. Jason ascends the throne while Hercules and Iole set sail for new adventures. Subplots involve the death of Pelias' headstrong son Prince Iphitus, and exploits for Hercules resembling the Labors of the Nemean Lion and the Cretan Bull.

Cast

* Sylva Koscina as

Fabrizio Mioni Fabrizio Mioni (September 23, 1930 – 8 June 2020) was an Italian actor. He appeared in the films '' Roland the Mighty'', ''Hercules'', '' The Blue Angel'', '' Get Yourself a College Girl'', '' Girl Happy'', '' The Venetian Affair'', ''The Secre ...

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...

Ivo Garrani Ivo Garrani (6 February 1924 – 25 March 2015) was an Italian actor and voice actor. In films since 1952, Garrani is possibly best known for his role as Prince Vajda in Mario Bava's '' Black Sunday'' (1960). Biography Born in Introdacqua, ...

, King of

Gianna Maria Canale Gianna Maria Canale (12 September 1927 – 13 February 2009) was an Italian film actress. Biography Canale was born in 1927 in Reggio Calabria. In 1947, she competed in the Miss Italia beauty contest, where she was runner-up to Lucia B ...

as Antea, Queen of the

Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercule ...

Arturo Dominici Arturo Dominici (2 January 1916 – 7 September 1992) was an Italian film, television and voice actor. Biography Born in Palermo, Dominici became best known for his many villainous roles in horror and fantasy films. He is best remembered fo ...

as Eurysteus *

Mimmo Palmara Domenico "Mimmo" Palmara (25 July 1928 – 10 June 2016) was an Italian actor. Biography Born in Cagliari, Palmara made his film debut in 1952 as a character actor in drama films by eminent directors such as Luchino Visconti, Mario Monicelli and ...

as Iphitus, son of Pelias * Lidia Alfonsi as The

Sibyl The sibyls (, singular ) were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he described local trad ...

Gabriele Antonini Gabriele Antonini (born 16 April 1938, died October 2018) was an Italian film, stage and television actor. Life and career Born in Rome, the son of an army general, Antonini was chosen by Mario Monicelli for the role of Sandro in '' Fathers and ...

as Ulysses *

Aldo Fiorelli Aldo Fiorelli (1915–1983) was an Italian actor who appeared in around thirty films between 1938 and 1960. One of his final roles was Argos, the Shipbuilder in the 1958 film ''Hercules''Hughes p.2 and its 1959 sequel ''Hercules Unchained ''He ...

as Argos *

Andrea Fantasia Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that r ...

as Laertes *

Luciana Paluzzi Luciana Paluzzi (born 10 June 1937) is an Italian actress. She is perhaps best known for playing SPECTRE assassin Fiona Volpe in the fourth James Bond film, '' Thunderball'', but she had important roles in notable films of the 1960s and 1970s in ...

as Iole's maid as Luciana Paoluzzi *

Afro Poli Afro Poli (22 December 1902 in Pisa – 22 February 1988 in Rome) was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory. Kutsch, Karl J. and Riemens, Leo (2004)"Poli, Afro" ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' 4th Edition ...

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology ...

Gian Paolo Rosmino Gianpaolo Rosmino (2 July 1888 – 20 July 1982) was an Italian actor and film director. Rosmino enjoyed a lengthy screen career. After making his debut in the silent era in 1913 he appeared in more than 80 films and television series up to 1965. ...

as Aesculapius * Willi Colombini as Pollux * Fulvio Carrara as Castor * Gino Mattera as

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with J ...

* Gina Rovere as Amazon *

Lily Granado ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. ...

as Amazon * Aldo Pini as Tifi *

Guido Martufi Guido is a given name Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Switzerland. The mea ...

as Iphitus, as a child * Paola Quattrini as Iole, as a child

Production

The film was shot in

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

, using the French widescreen process Dyaliscope. An

American Bison The American bison (''Bison bison'') is a species of bison native to North America. Sometimes colloquially referred to as American buffalo or simply Bubalina, buffalo (a different clade of bovine), it is one of two extant species of bison, alongs ...

served as the Cretan Bull. The roar sound effects of the creature (at the end of the film, guarding the Golden Fleece) is taken from ''Godzilla'' (1954 film).

Distribution

''Hercules'' was released in Italy on 20 February 1958. American producer

Joseph E. Levine Joseph Edward Levine (September 9, 1905 – July 31, 1987) was an American film distributor, financier and producer. At the time of his death, it was said he was involved in one or another capacity with 497 films. Levine was responsible for the ...

acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the film and Warners advanced Levine $300,000 for the privilege of distributing the film in the US. The film opened at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore on 26 June 1959. It had an intensive promotional campaign costing and a then-

wide release In the American motion picture industry, a wide release (short for nationwide release) is a film playing at the same time at cinemas in most markets across the country. This is in contrast to the formerly common practice of a roadshow theatrical r ...

of 550 theatres. It premiered in England on 18 May 1959 and in Spain on 23 November 1959. In 1961 Levine and Warner Bros. reissued a double feature of ''Hercules'' and '' Attila'' (1954) with the

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, s ...

''The Mightiest Men in All the World...The Mightiest Show in All the World''.

Box office

In Europe, the film sold 5,838,816 tickets in Italy, 2,917,106 tickets in France, and 2,373,000 tickets in Germany. Upon its North American release at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, it set a house record with $30,000 in its first week. ''Hercules'' became a major box-office hit. In 1959, it earned from distributor rentals in the United States and Canada. The film went on to earn in rentals from ticket sales in North America. In

the Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, where it released in 1966, the film sold tickets. This adds up to tickets sold worldwide.

Merchandise

In America, the film generated a Dell comic book adaptation with illustrations by John Buscema and a 33 RPM long-playing RCA Victor recording of the film's soundtrack.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode

The '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'' presentation of the movie, episode #502, was first aired on 18 December 1993, on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...

. The ''MST3K'' presentation edited the original movie to fit the TV show's time constraints, which causes ''Herculess characters to go from "the midst of one plot development before the commercial ... osomewhere else entirely" afterwards. Although two other ''MST3K'' episodes featuring Hercules movies ('' Hercules Against the Moon Men'', at No. 49, and ''

'', at No. 61) were ranked in the Top 100 list of episodes as voted upon by MST3K Season 11 Kickstarter backers, ''Hercules'' did not make the cut. In his rankings of all 191 ''MST3K'' episodes, however, writer Jim Vorel ranked the episode #78, the highest of the four Hercules movies that aired on Comedy Central. "It’s a mish-mash of Greek myth," Vorel writes, that is "the most purely entertaining film in the series. ... The total abject devotion of all the other men toward Hercules is naturally hilarious." The MST3K version of ''Hercules'' was included as part of the ''Mystery Science Theater 3000, Volume XXXII'' DVD collection, released by Shout! Factory on 24 March 2015. The other episodes in the four-disc set include '' Space Travelers'' (episode #401), ''

Radar Secret Service ''Radar Secret Service'' is a 1950 action film starring John Howard, produced by Barney A. Sarecky and directed by Sam Newfield. The film was featured on the American television show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''. Plot In the post-World War T ...

'' (episode #520), and '' San Francisco International'' (episode #614). MST3K: Volume XXXII.
Shout! Factory. Retrieved on 11 July 2018.

Biography

References

External links

Retrieved 29 August 2008. * {{Use dmy dates, date=January 2020 1958 films 1950s fantasy films 1950s historical films Fantasy adventure films Films about Heracles Films set in Greece Films based on the Jason-Medea myth Films directed by Pietro Francisci Films set in ancient Greece Films set in the Mediterranean Sea Italian fantasy adventure films 1950s Italian-language films Peplum films Films adapted into comics Films about dragons Lux Film films Historical fantasy films Sword and sandal films Films scored by Enzo Masetti Works based on the Argonautica Iolcus in fiction 1950s Italian films