''Revenge of The Gladiators'' ( it, La vendetta dei gladiatori) is a 1964 Italian

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 ...

written and directed by

Luigi Capuano Luigi Capuano (13 July 1904 – 20 October 1979) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Born in Naples, he directed 43 films between 1947 and 1971. Selected filmography * '' Vertigine d'amore'' (1949) * '' Flying Squadron'' (1949) * ...

and starring

Mickey Hargitay Mickey Hargitay (January 6, 1926 – September 14, 2006), born Miklós Karoly Hargitay, was a Hungarian-American actor and the 1955 Mr. Universe. Born in Budapest, Hargitay moved to the United States in 1947 and eventually became a U.S. citi ...

and José Greci.Marco Giusti, Steve Della Casa. ''Il grande libro di Ercole. Il cinema mitologico in Italia''. Edizioni Sabinae - Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, 2013. .

Plot

The film depicts the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...

in the 450s. The city of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

itself is besieged by

Genseric Gaiseric ( – 25 January 477), also known as Geiseric or Genseric ( la, Gaisericus, Geisericus; reconstructed Vandalic: ) was King of the Vandals and Alans (428–477), ruling a kingdom he established, and was one of the key players in the di ...

and his

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

. The empire is depicted as weak and corrupt, while under the control of the ineffectual emperor

Valentinian III Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying ...

and his wife Calpurnia. The Roman general Aetius manages to temporarily halt the advance of the Vandals. Fabius, a son of Aetius, falls in love with princess Priscilla, a daughter of the imperial couple. Genseric plans to marry his own son to Priscilla, in a plot to take over the Roman throne. Genseric fails to capture Priscilla, but captures Fabius instead. He uses torture while questioning Fabius about the princess' whereabouts. Priscilla surrenders herself to Genseric in exchange for Fabius' safety and freedom. Genseric seemingly agrees to her terms, but eventually double-crosses Priscilla. On her wedding day, Genseric offers Priscilla a

crucified Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

Fabius. Fabius' Roman allies soon arrive to rescue him and defeat the Vandals.

Cast

as Fabius * José Greci as Priscilla *

Livio Lorenzon Livio Lorenzon (6 May 1923 – 23 December 1971) was an Italian actor who was mainly active during the 1950s and 1960s. Biography He played minor roles in some memorable commedia all'Italiana movies directed by the likes of Dino Risi and ...

as Geiserik *

Renato Baldini Renato Baldini (18 December 1921 – 5 July 1995) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 87 films between 1950 and 1983. He was born in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''It's Forever Springtime'' (1950) - Un carabiniere al processo ...

as General Aetius *

Roldano Lupi Roldano Lupi (8 February 1909 – 13 August 1989) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1942 and 1967. He was born in Milan, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * '' Jealousy'' (1942) * ''Yes, Madam'' ...

as Valentinianus III *

Andrea Checchi Andrea Checchi (21 October 1916 – 29 March 1974) was a prolific Italian film actor. Biography Born in Florence, Checchi appeared in over 150 films in his lengthy career, which spanned from 1934 to his death in 1974. The son of a painter, ...

as Gabinus *

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 Shep ...

as Tidone * Andreina Paul as Calpurnia *

Mirko Ellis Mirko Ellis (4 September 1923 – 11 September 2014) was a Swiss-Italian film, stage and television actor. Born Mirko Korcinsky in Locarno to a family of Lithuanian origin, Ellis moved, after his studies, to Italy, where he made his film debut i ...

as Wilfried * Giulio Tomei as Priest *

Dante Maggio Dante Maggio (2 March 1909 – 3 March 1992) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 115 films between 1940 and 1975. Born in Naples into a family of actors, Maggio had a turbulent adolescence that led his father to send him in an institu ...

as Drinker at the Tavern *

Giovanni Cianfriglia Giovanni Cianfriglia (born 5 April 1935) is an Italian film actor. He has appeared in more than 100 films since 1958. Born in Anzio, Cianfriglia debuted as the body double of Steve Reeves in ''Hercules'', then he started appearing, often unc ...

as Fulvius *

Amedeo Trilli Amedeo Trilli (9 July 1906 – 30 November 1971) was an Italian film and television actor. Life and career Born in Ronciglione, Viterbo, at very young age Trilli worked as a circus artist, then in 1922 he studied performance at the Accademia ...

as Master the Fortress *

Bruno Scipioni Bruno Scipioni (29 July 1934 – 5 December 2019) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Rome, Scipioni graduated in accountancy and then, in 1958, he attended the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. He started his film car ...

References

External links

* 1964 adventure films Peplum films Films directed by Luigi Capuano Films set in the Roman Empire Films set in the 5th century Valentinian III Sword and sandal films 1960s Italian-language films 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-film-stub