''Hercules and the Princess of Troy'' is a 1965 Italian-American
made-for-television
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
fantasy film
Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually Magic (paranormal), magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The Film genre, genre is considered a form of speculative fic ...
directed by
Albert Band
Albert Band (born Alfredo Antonini; May 7, 1924 – June 14, 2002) was a French-born American film director and film producer. He was the son of artist Max Band, father of filmmaker Charles Band and of film composer Richard Band and the grandfath ...
. It was originally made as a
pilot for a
television series
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
which never materialized.
[Hughes, p.25] Albeit very short, the film was released to US television as a feature film. It is also referred to as ''Hercules vs the Sea Monster'' in reference books.
Plot
The film opens with the statement that the people of
Troy
Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
must once a month sacrifice a maiden lest a sea monster from destroying their city. Because of this, some families flee from Troy, only to be captured by
pirates.
Hercules (Gordon Scott), aboard the ''Olympia'', comes across one of these ships and frees the
Trojans aboard. Going to Troy, Hercules is given use of two horses that cannot be wounded by arrows. He then learns from Ortag (Roger Browne) the monster's weakness: its armor doesn't cover its belly.
Shortly afterwards, a
boxer named Botus tries to poison Hercules but is impaled on his own spiked
gloves and dies. Then Hercules and Ulysses (Mart Hulswit) are attacked by what appear to be thieves, and Diogenes (Paul Stevens) presents the theory that Petra (Steve Garrett) killed his brother, Linus, and is planning to have Princess Diana (Diana Hyland) killed. After this theory is revealed to Princess Diana, she is chosen for the ceremony, and the
high priest is killed. After challenging Petra, Hercules is captured and held in a metal hole, down which soldiers pour oil to keep Hercules from climbing out. Ortag rescues Hercules and dies fighting the monster which Hercules finally slays. Princess Diana becomes ruler of Troy, and Hercules continues on his way.
Cast
*
Gordon Scott as Hercules
*
Paul Stevens as Diogenes
*
Mart Hulswit as Ulysses
*
Diana Hyland as Princess Diana
*Steve Garrett as Petra
*
Gordon Mitchell as Pirate Captain
*
George Ardisson as Leander (as Giorgio Ardisson)
*
Roger Browne as Ortag
*
Jacques Stany as Argus (as Jacques Stanislawski)
*
Mario Novelli as Botus
*
Dan Christian as Boatswain
*
Everett Sloane as Narrator
See also
*
List of American films of 1965
*
List of films featuring Hercules
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
1965 films
1960s fantasy adventure films
English-language Italian films
Films about Heracles
Films set in ancient Greece
Italian fantasy adventure films
Films directed by Albert Band
Sword-and-sandal films
1960s Italian films
{{1960s-Italy-film-stub