''The Magnificent Gladiator'' ( it, Il magnifico gladiatore) is a 1964 Italian sword-and-sandal film written and directed by

Alfonso Brescia Alfonso Brescia (6 January 1930 – 6 June 2001) was an Italian film director. Brescia began working in film against his father's wishes, and eventually directed his first film '' Revolt of the Praetorians'' in 1964. Brescia worked in several gen ...

Plot

Attalus (or anachronistically "Hercules" in the English version) is captured by

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

soldiers on the frontier during the reign of

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; c. 218 – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empi ...

(AD 253-268). Attalus is brought back to Rome and forced to fight in the arena as a

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 ...

, but once there, he becomes embroiled in a plot to overthrow the emperor.

Cast

Mark Forest Lou Degni (January 6, 1933 – January 7, 2022), known professionally as Mark Forest, was an American actor, opera singer and bodybuilder — widely known as the protagonist in a series of 1960s sword and sandal or ''peplum'' movies — ...

as Attalus *

Marilù Tolo Marilù Tolo (born Maria Lucia Tolo; 16 January 1944) is an Italian film actress. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1960 and 1985. Life and career Born in Rome, Tolo, at a very young age, worked as an assistant of Mario Riva in the ...

as Velida *

Paolo Gozlino Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian language, Italian form of the name Paul (name), Paul. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Paolo Art *Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter *Paolo Abbate (1 ...

as Zullo *

Jolanda Modio Jolanda or Jolande is a feminine given name. It is a Dutch, Italian, and Swiss German cognate of Yolanda. Notable people with the name include: ;Jolanda Jolanda Adams, Actress * Jolanda Benvenuti, Italian film editor *Jolanda Čeplak (born 1976) ...

as Clea * Franco Cobianchi as

Oreste Lionello Oreste Lionello (18 April 1927 – 19 February 2009) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Lionello was born in Rhodes (which was then a possession of Italy), to Calabrian parents, and grew up in Reggio Calabria. He began his career a ...

as Drusius *

Nazzareno Zamperla Nazzareno Zamperla (25 April 1937 – 19 March 2020) was an Italian actor and stuntman. Career Born in Treviso into a circus family, Zamperla came to Rome in 1949 and worked primarily in the 1950s and 1960s as a stunt performer. His focus was on ...

as Horatius *

Fedele Gentile Fedele Gentile (1908–1993) was an Italian film actor.Kinnard & Crnkovich p.187 Selected filmography * ''The Man with the Claw'' (1931) * '' Captain Fracasse'' (1940) * ''Big Shoes'' (1940) * ''The Secret Lover'' (1941) * ''Fedora'' (1942) * ''B ...

as Arminius *

Giulio Tomei Giulio () is an Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Giulio Alberoni (1664–1752), Italian cardinal and statesman * Giulio Alenio (1582–1649), Italian Jesuit missionary and scholar * Giulio Alfieri (1924–2002), Italian ...

Renato Montalbano Renato Montalbano (born 17 May 1931) is an Italian character actor. Life and career Born in Catania, in 1955 Montalbano abandoned his university studies in medicine to attend at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, from which he ...

Release

''The Magnificent Gladiator'' was released in Italy on 31 December 1964.

Notes

References

External links