''Hercules Unchained'' ( , "Hercules and the Queen of

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

") is a

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

Italian-French

epic fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Pres ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

starring Steve Reeves and Sylva Koscina in a story about two warring brothers and Hercules' tribulations in the court of Queen Omphale. The film is the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the Reeves vehicle ''

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 ...

'' (1958) and marks Reeves' second – and last – appearance as Hercules. The film's screenplay, loosely based upon various

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

and plays by

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

and

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

, was written by Ennio De Concini and Pietro Francisci with Francisci directing and Bruno Vailati and Ferruccio De Martino producing the film.

Plot

While travelling, Hercules is asked to intervene in a quarrel between two brothers,

Eteocles In Greek mythology, Eteocles (; ) was a king of Ancient Thebes (Boeotia), Thebes, the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia. Oedipus killed his father Laius and married his mother without knowing his relationship to either. When the ...

and Polynices, over who should rule Thebes. Before he can complete this task, Hercules drinks from a magic spring and is hypnotized by a harem girl who dances the "Dance of Shiva", loses his memory and becomes the captive of Queen Omphale of

. The Queen keeps men until she tires of them, then has them made into statues. While young Ulysses tries to help him regain his memory, Hercules' wife,

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

, finds herself in danger from Eteocles, current ruler of Thebes, who plans on throwing her to the wild beasts in his entertainment arena. Hercules slays three tigers in succession and rescues his wife, then assists the Theban army in repelling mercenary attackers hired by Polynices. The two brothers ultimately fight one another for the throne and end up killing each other; the good high priest Creon is elected by acclaim.

Cast

* Steve Reeves as

* Sylvia Lopez as Queen Omphale of

* Sylva Koscina as

* Sergio Fantoni as

* Mimmo Palmara as Polynices *

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 * Fulvio Carrara as Castor * Willi Colombini as Pollux * Gian Paolo Rosmino as Aesculapius * Gino Mattera as

Orpheus In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...

* Primo Carnera as

Antaeus Antaeus (; , derived from ), known to the Berbers as Anti, was a figure in Traditional Berber religion, Berber and Greek mythology. He was famed for his defeat by Heracles as part of the Labours of Hercules. Family In Greek sources, he was ...

* Cesare Fantoni as King

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. ...

* Daniele Vargas as

Amphiaraus Amphiaraus or Amphiaraos (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιάραος, Ἀμφιάρεως, "very sacred") was in Greek mythology the son of Oicles, a seer, and one of the leaders of the Seven against Thebes. Amphiaraus at first refused to go with Adr ...

* Carlo D'Angelo as High Priest Creon * Gianni Loti as Sandone * Fulvia Franco as Anticlea * Colleen Bennett as the prima ballerina * Nando Cicero as Lastene

Production

The tale of

and Queen Omphale is taken from the ancient Greek myth, of which there are several variations throughout history. Character names are drawn from a mixture of various Greek legends and plays, notably ''The

Seven Against Thebes ''Seven Against Thebes'' (, ''Hepta epi Thēbas''; ) is the third play in an Oedipus-themed trilogy produced by Aeschylus in 467 BC. The trilogy is sometimes referred to as the ''Oedipodea''. It concerns the battle between an Argive army, led by ...

'' by

and '' Oedipus at Colonus'' by

. Hercules' line "I wove the threads f my memorytogether" is a reference to his task of spinning thread and weaving with Omphale's attendants. The film is only very loosely based on the source material, randomly mixing events and featuring characterizations varying from those depicted in the sources.

Reception

Film critic Howard Hughes argues that due to a better script, "punchier action" and more convincing acting the film was "superior to its predecessor" ''Hercules''. Concerning the cast he praises in particular the French actress Sylvia Lopez ("movingly effective") whose career ended prematurely when in 1959, soon after finishing this film, she died at the age of 26 of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

. The film opened in New England on 30 June 1960 in 200 theaters grossing $500,000 in a week. The film was the third most popular movie at the British box office in 1960. In its opening in 39 theaters in the UK over the first August Bank Holiday weekend, it set 36 house records.

Legacy

''Hercules Unchained'' has been broadcast on American television and is available in both VHS and DVD formats. The film's Italian title means "''Hercules and the Queen of Lydia''". The film was also featured in an episode of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...

''.

Comic book adaption

Dell Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...

Four Color ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', is an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...

#1121 (August 1960)

Biography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hercules Unchained 1959 films 1950s fantasy adventure films 1950s historical fantasy films Italian fantasy adventure films 1950s Italian-language films Films directed by Pietro Francisci Films about Heracles Films set in ancient Greece Films adapted into comics Lux Film films French historical fantasy films Sword-and-sandal films Films based on works by Sophocles Films based on works by Aeschylus Films scored by Enzo Masetti 1950s Italian films Italian films based on plays French films based on plays 1950s French films Italian-language French films Italian sequel films French sequel films Mystery Science Theater 3000