''Hercules Against the Mongols'' () is a 1963 Italian ''peplum'' film directed by

Domenico Paolella Domenico Paolella (18 October 1915 – 7 October 2002) was an Italian director, screenwriter and journalist. Born in Foggia, between 1933 and 1935 Paolella won several contests for amateur directors; in the same years he started working as a jour ...

Plot

The heirs of

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

conquered the city of Tudela and took prisoner Bianca (

José Greci José Greci (10 January 1941 – 1 June 2017) was an Italian film, television and stage actress. Life and career Born in Ferrara, Italy, as Giuseppina Greci, the daughter of the journalist and television writer Luigi. In 1956 at just fifteen yea ...

), the daughter of the king.

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 Gr ...

(

Maciste Maciste () is one of the oldest recurring characters of film, cinema, created by Gabriele d'Annunzio and Giovanni Pastrone. He is featured throughout the history of the cinema of Italy from the 1910s to the mid-1960s. He is usually depicted as a ...

(

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

) in the original version of the film) is sent to the rescue. Though Genghis Khan eventually sought peace with the West, his death in 1227 AD puts into power his three war-like sons: Sayan, Susdal, and Kin Khan. These sons quickly overrun the city of Tuleda and take prisoner Princess Bianca, though young Prince Alessio escapes. Hercules comes to the rescue of Bianca, winning her freedom in a tournament in exchange for becoming a slave himself. Forces from the West soon come to re-take Tuleda and Hercules — freed from his bonds — helps to dispatch Genghis Khan's three sons while again saving Bianca and reuniting her with her young brother.

Cast

as Hercules/Maciste *

Maria Grazia Spina Maria Grazia Spina (3 June 1936 – 13 March 2025) was an Italian television, film and stage actress. Life and career Born Maria Grazia Spinazzi in Venice, Spina debuted as an actress with the theatrical company Stabile di Trieste, then worke ...

as Ljuba * Ken Clark as Sayan *

as Bianca * Howard Ross as Susdal *

Nadir Moretti The nadir is the direction pointing directly ''below'' a particular location; that is, it is one of two vertical directions at a specified location, orthogonal to a horizontal flat surface. The direction opposite of the nadir is the zenith. Et ...

as Kin Khan *

Tullio Altamura Tullio Altamura (born 18 July 1924) is an Italian actor, best known for his roles in spaghetti westerns and action films in the 1960s. Life and career Born in Bologna, the son of a career officer in the Italian army, Altamura grew up in Rome ...

as Osvaldo *

Bianca Doria Bianca Doria (22 September 1915 – 2 February 1985) was an Italian actress. She appeared in more than forty films during her career. She appeared in the 1963 peplum '' Hercules Against the Mongols''.Hughes, Howard. ''Cinema Italiano: The Co ...

as Raja *

Giuseppe Addobbati Giuseppe Addobbati (31 December 1909 – 4 January 1986) was an Italian film actor known for his roles in Spaghetti Western and action films in the 1960s and 1970s. He was often billed as John MacDouglas for films released to an American audi ...

as The King

Release

The film was released in Italy on 29 November 1963.

References

Sources

External links

*
''Hercules Against the Mongols''
at

Variety Distribution Variety Distribution is an Italian-based film distribution company. It distributes Italian films worldwide, produced from the 1930s onward. History Variety Distribution (formerly Variety Film and Variety Communications) has been in the film ...

1963 films Films directed by Domenico Paolella Films scored by Carlo Savina 1960s adventure films Maciste films Films set in the Mongol Empire Sword-and-sandal films 1960s Italian films {{1960s-adventure-film-stub