Maciste () is one of the oldest recurring characters of cinema, created by Gabriele d'Annunzio and

Giovanni Pastrone Giovanni Pastrone, also known by his artistic name Piero Fosco (13 September 1883 – 27 June 1959), was an Italian film pioneer, director, screenwriter, actor and technician. Pastrone was born in Montechiaro d'Asti. He worked during the era ...

. He is featured throughout the history of the

cinema of Italy The cinema of Italy (, ) comprises the films made within Italy or by List of Italian film directors, Italian directors. Since its beginning, Italian cinema has influenced film movements worldwide. Italy is one of the birthplaces of art cinema and ...

from the 1910s to the mid-1960s. He is usually depicted as a

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 ...

-like figure, utilizing his massive strength to achieve heroic feats that ordinary men cannot. Many of the 1960s Italian movies featuring Maciste were retitled in other countries, substituting more popular names in the titles (such as Hercules, Goliath or Samson).

Name origin

There are a number of references to the name in literature. The name of Maciste appears in a sentence in

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

's ''

Geographica The ''Geographica'' (, ''Geōgraphiká''; or , "Strabo's 17 Books on Geographical Topics") or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek in the late 1st century BC, or early 1st cen ...

'' (Book 8, Chapter 3, Section 21), in which he writes: – "And in the middle is the temple of the Macistian

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

, and the river Acidon." The epithet (''Makistios'', Latinized as ''Macistius'') is generally understood to be an adjective referring to a town called Μάκιστος (Makistos) in the province of

Triphylia Triphylia (, ''Trifylia'', "the country of the three tribes") was an area of the ancient Peloponnese. Strabo and Pausanias both describe Triphylia as part of Elis, and it fell at times under the domination of the city of Elis, but Pausanias ...

Elis Elis also known as Ellis or Ilia (, ''Eleia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it ...

. In the first volume of the ''Dizionario universale archeologico-artistico-technologico'' (1858) ''Macistius'' is given as one among several epithets of Hercules (''Ercole''). In the second volume of the same dictionary (1864) this name appears Italianized as ''Maciste'', defined as ''uno dei soprannomi d'Ercole'' ("one of the nicknames of Hercules"). According to William Smith's ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman mythology'', ''Macistus'' (Μάκιστος) was "a surname of

, who had a temple in the neighbourhood of the town of Macistus in Triphylia". Makistos was also the third child of

Athamas In Greek mythology, Athamas (; ) was a Boeotian king. Apollodorus1.9.1/ref> Family Athamas was formerly a Thessalian prince and the son of King Aeolus of Aeolia and Enarete, daughter of Deimachus. He was the brother of Salmoneus, Sisyph ...

and

Nephele In Greek and Roman mythology, Nephele (; ; corresponding to Latin ''nebula'') is the name of two figures associated with clouds, sometimes confused with each other, who figures respectively in the stories of Ixion and in the story of Phrixus and ...

, according to the

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 ...

. In the original draft outline of the 1914 movie ''

Cabiria ''Cabiria'' is a 1914 Italian Epic film, epic silent film, directed by Giovanni Pastrone and shot in Turin. The film is set in ancient Sicily, Carthage, and Cirta during the period of the Second Punic War (218–202 BC). It follows the story o ...

'' by director

, the muscular hero's name had been ''Ercole'' ("Hercules"). In the revised script, writer Gabriele d'Annunzio gave the character the name ''Maciste'', which he understood (based on the above or similar sources) to be an erudite synonym for Hercules. While subsequent screenwriters started using the same character for new movie plots, the original etymology of the name was generally forgotten, and a new

folk etymology Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...

was constructed based on the name's superficial similarity to the Italian word ''macigno'', which means "large stone"; in the first of the 1960s films, Maciste tells another character in the film that his name means "born of the rock", and in a later film, Maciste is actually shown in one scene appearing from within a solid rock wall in a cave, as if by magic. In the book ''Italian Cinema: Gender and Genre'', the Serena Professor of Italian Maggie Günsberg claims that Gabriele d'Annunzio used two sources: one from ancient Greek, ''makistos'', meaning "longer" (although the

Doric Greek Doric or Dorian (), also known as West Greek, was a group of Ancient Greek dialects; its Variety (linguistics), varieties are divided into the Doric proper and Northwest Doric subgroups. Doric was spoken in a vast area, including northern Greec ...

μάκιστος actually means "greatest", "tallest", or "longest in time"), and the second from a supposed Latin word, ''macis'', meaning "rock". Still, no such word as ''macis'' exists in Latin. The

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

word ''macigno'' ultimately derives from Latin ''machina'', which is commonly used in the sense of "millstone".

''Cabiria''

Maciste made his debut in the 1914

silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical silent comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in summer 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and S ...

classic ''

''. ''Cabiria'' is a story about a slave named Maciste (played by Bartolomeo Pagano) who was involved in the rescue of a

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

girl named Cabiria (played by Lidia Quaranta) from an evil Carthaginian

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

who plotted to sacrifice her to the cruel god

Moloch Moloch, Molech, or Molek is a word which appears in the Hebrew Bible several times, primarily in the Book of Leviticus. The Greek Septuagint translates many of these instances as "their king", but maintains the word or name ''Moloch'' in others, ...

. The film was based very loosely on '' Salammbo'', a

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...

, and had a plot and screenplay by Gabriele D'Annunzio. Maciste's debut set the tone for his later adventures. Including ''Cabiria'' itself, there have been at least 52 movies featuring Maciste, 27 of them being pre-1927 silent films starring Bartolomeo Pagano and the other 25 being a series of sound and color films produced in the early 1960s. Typical plots involve tyrannical rulers who practice vile magical rituals or worship evil

god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

s. Typically, the young woman who is the love interest runs afoul of the evil ruler. Maciste, who possesses superhuman strength, must rescue her. There is often a rightful king who wants to overthrow the evil usurper, as well as a belly dance scene. There is often an evil queen who has carnal designs on the hero. These films were set in locales including

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

Bartolomeo Pagano's Maciste films

As a character, Maciste had two distinct moments in the spotlight. The first was in the Italian silent movie period, in which the original Maciste from ''Cabiria'', the muscular actor Bartolomeo Pagano, starred in a series of at least 26

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 ...

s over the period from 1915 through 1926. Then decades later, (following on the heels of the success of the two 1950s Steve Reeves "Hercules" films) Maciste was revived by Italian filmmakers for a series of 25 sound films (all made between 1960 and 1965). The Bartolomeo Pagano silent Maciste films established the character as someone who could appear at any place and at any time. Some of the earlier ones, made during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, had the distinct flavour of

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

, and cast the hero in the role of a soldier. Later films in the series return to

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

, but the fantasy was not always mythological. Maciste appears as an Olympic athlete, in contemporary settings, or in the

afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...

. His character and his plots remained consistent in whatever setting; he was always a

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

Hercules, using his physical prowess to overcome the evil ruses of effete

aristocrats Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

and authority figures.

Revival of the 1960s

The character was revived in the 1960s. In 1957,

Steve Reeves Stephen Lester Reeves (January 21, 1926 – May 1, 2000) was an American professional bodybuilder and actor. He was famous in the mid-1950s as a movie star in Italian-made sword-and-sandal films, playing the protagonist as muscular characters ...

' ''

'', an Italian production, created a minor boom in Italian dramas featuring American bodybuilders in vaguely

mythological Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

or classical

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

subjects. Maciste was the hero in 25 of these films. Other films starred such heroes as Ursus, Samson, Hercules and Goliath. Maciste was never given an origin, and the source of his mighty powers was never revealed, nor was he confined to one specific time period or setting in his adventures. However, in the first of the 1960s Maciste films, he mentions to another character that the name "Maciste" means "born of the rock" (almost as if he was a god who would just appear out of the earth in times of need). One of the 1920s silent Maciste films was actually entitled "The Giant from the Dolomite" (another reference that he was not born as an ordinary mortal man would have been). Hence it is hinted that Maciste is more god than man, which would explain his great strength. This

sword and sandal Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum (: pepla), 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 Holly ...

fad continued for about six years, until the new fad for

spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

s and spy films took over the attention of the

Italian cinema The cinema of Italy (, ) comprises the films made within Italy or by List of Italian film directors, Italian directors. Since its beginning, Italian cinema has influenced film movements worldwide. Italy is one of the birthplaces of art cinema and ...

industry. The name Maciste was not in the title of the English versions of most of these films: when the films were imported into the US and dubbed in English, the hero's name was often changed to Hercules,

Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

Goliath Goliath ( ) was a Philistines, Philistine giant in the Book of Samuel. Descriptions of Goliath's giant, immense stature vary among biblical sources, with texts describing him as either or tall. According to the text, Goliath issued a challen ...

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

, Ulysses, or Colossus, because the name Maciste was not widely recognised in the USA. Some Italian sword and sandal films were not theatrically released in the USA; rather they premiered on American television in a syndication package called '' The Sons of Hercules'', usually broadcast on Saturday afternoons. Best remembered for its stirring theme song, films originally featuring Maciste were dubbed into a variety of different "Sons of Hercules" pictures, with stock narration at the opening attempting to tie the film's lead character in to Hercules any way they could. A number of Italian musclemen played Maciste in the 1960s films, but Mark Forest was the actor who played Maciste the most (7 times). The other actors included

Gordon Scott Gordon Scott (born Gordon Merrill Werschkul; August 3, 1926 – April 30, 2007) was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films (and one compilation of three made-as- ...

Reg Park Roy "Reg" Park (7 June 1928 – 22 November 2007) was an English bodybuilder, businessman, and actor. His first title was Mr. Britain in 1949. He then won Mr. Universe in 1951, 1958, and 1965. He went on to star in five films. Later in lif ...

, Gordon Mitchell, Reg Lewis, Kirk Morris,

Samson Burke Samson Burke (born Samuel Burke; 6 April 1930) is a Canadian bodybuilder, swimmer, wrestler and actor. Biography Born Samuel Burke in Montreal Canada on 6 April 1930, Burke earned a college degree in physical education. In the 1950s, Burke wr ...

, Alan Steel, Richard Lloyd, Renato Rossini and Frank Gordon.

Influence

* The ''Cabiria'' scene in which Maciste pushes a mill wheel for ten years may have inspired

John Milius John Frederick Milius (; born April 11, 1944) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is considered a member of the New Hollywood generation of filmmakers. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s for writing the scripts for ''The L ...

, who shot a similar one for his movie ''

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...

'' (1982). *

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...

said that '' Maciste all'inferno'' (1925) was the first movie he remembered seeing as a child.Fellini, Making a Film, Contra Mundum Press, 2015, p. 66 His 1954 film ''

La Strada ''La Strada'', also translated into English as ''The Road'', is a 1954 Italian Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Federico Fellini and co-written by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. The film tells the story of Gelsomin ...

'' features a brutish strongman performer. * The 1960s adventures have been enjoyed mostly by devotees of

camp Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

style. Two of the films, ''Maciste contro i cacciatori di teste'' (translated as '' Colossus and the Headhunters'') and ''Maciste e la regina di Samar'' (as ''

Hercules Against the Moon Men ''Hercules Against the Moon Men'' (, "Maciste and the Queen of Samar") is a 1964 Franco-Italian international co-production sword and sandal film. It was directed by Giacomo Gentilomo in his final film and stars Alan Steel and Jany Clair. The En ...

'') appeared on the comedy television program ''

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 ...

'' in the 1990s. In ''Colossus and the Headhunters'', the pronunciation of Maciste's name was frequently mocked as "my cheesesteak." * The Belgian strongman John Massis based his pseudonym on Maciste. * The 2006 film ''

The Caiman ''The Caiman'' (, referring to the caiman) is a 2006 Italian satirical comedy-drama film directed by Nanni Moretti and starring Silvio Orlando and Margherita Buy. Focusing on Silvio Berlusconi's vicissitudes, it was released just before the be ...

'' features an Italian exploitation film producer who made the film ''Machiste Against Freud''. * In the 2013 film '' Il Futuro''

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor, with a career that spanned over 170 roles across nearly 50 years, beginning in 1969. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. H ...

plays a retired actor and bodybuilder nicknamed "Machiste" for having starred in the role in the 1960s. The film is based on

Roberto Bolaño Roberto is an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish variation of the male given name Robert. Notable people named Roberto include: * Roberto (footballer, born 1912) * Roberto (footballer, born 1977) * Roberto (footballer, born 1978) * Roberto (footb ...

's '' A Little Lumpen Novelita'', featuring the character.

Filmography

The silent film series (in chronological order)

*''

'' (1914) introduced the Maciste character *''Maciste'' (1915) aka "Marvelous Maciste, the Giant of Cabiria" *''Maciste bersagliere'' ("Maciste the Ranger", 1916) *'' Maciste alpino'' (1916) aka "Maciste The Warrior" *''Maciste atleta'' ("Maciste the Athlete", 1917) *''Maciste medium'' ("Maciste the Clairvoyant", 1917) *''Maciste poliziotto'' ("Maciste the Detective", 1917) *''Maciste turista'' ("Maciste the Tourist", 1917) *''Maciste sonnambulo'' ("Maciste the Sleepwalker", 1918) *''Il Testamento di Maciste'' ("Maciste's Last Will and Testament", 1919) *''Il Viaggio di Maciste'' ("Maciste's Journey", 1919) *''Maciste I'' ("Maciste the First", 1919) *''Maciste contro la morte'' ("Maciste vs Death", 1919) *''Maciste innamorato'' ("Maciste in Love", 1919) *''Maciste salvato dalle acque'' ("Maciste, Rescued from the Waters", 1920) *''La Rivincita di Maciste'' (" The Revenge of Maciste", 1921) *''Maciste in vacanza'' (" Maciste on Vacation", 1921) *''Maciste e la figlia del re della Plata'' ("Maciste and the Silver King's Daughter", 1922) *''Maciste und die Javanerin'' (" Maciste and the Javanese", 1922) *''Maciste contro Maciste'' ("Maciste vs Maciste", 1923) *''Maciste und die chinesische truhe'' (" Maciste and the Chinese Chest", 1923) *''Maciste e il nipote di America'' (" Maciste's American Nephew", 1924) *''Maciste imperatore'' (" Emperor Maciste", 1924) *''Maciste contro lo sceicco'' ("Maciste vs the Sheik", 1925) *''Maciste all'inferno'' (" Maciste in Hell", 1925) *''Maciste nella gabbia dei leoni'' (" Maciste in the Lion's Cage", 1926) *''il gigante delle dolomiti'' (" The Giant of the Dolomites", 1927)

The 1960s film series (in chronological order)

There were a total of 25 Maciste films from the 1960s peplum craze. By 1960, seeing how well the two Steve Reeves ''Hercules'' films were doing at the box office, Italian producers decided to revive the 1920s silent film character ''Maciste'' in a new series of color and sound films. Unlike the other Italian peplum protagonists, Maciste appeared in a variety of time periods ranging from the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

to 16th Century Scotland. Maciste was never given an origin, and the source of his mighty powers was never revealed. However, in the first film of the 1960s series, he mentions to another character that the name "Maciste" means "born of the rock", as if he were a god who would appear out of the earth itself in times of need. One of the 1920s silent Maciste films was entitled "The Giant from the Dolomite", suggesting that Maciste may be more god than man, which would explain his great strength. The first title listed for each film is the film's original Italian title along with its English translation, while the U.S. release title follows in bold type in parentheses (Maciste's name in the Italian title is usually altered to an entirely different name in the American title): * '' Maciste nella valle dei re'' / ''Maciste in the Valley of the Kings'' ( Son of Samson, 1960) a.k.a. ''Maciste the Mighty'', aka ''Maciste the Giant'', starring Mark Forest & Chelo Alonso * ''

Maciste nella terra dei ciclopi ''Atlas in the Land of the Cyclops'' (Italian: ''Maciste nella terra dei ciclopi'') is a 1961 Italian epic film, epic adventure film starring Gordon Mitchell and Chelo Alonso. Plot Queen Capys is doomed to a life of slavery by the Powers of Dark ...

'' / '' Maciste in the Land of the Cyclops'' ( Atlas in the Land of the Cyclops, 1961) starring Gordon Mitchell & Chelo Alonso * '' Maciste contro il vampiro'' / '' Maciste Vs. the Vampire'' ( Goliath and the Vampires, 1961) starring Gordon Scott * ''

Il trionfo di Maciste ''Triumph of the Son of Hercules'' () is a 1961 Italian peplum film directed by Tanio Boccia and starring Kirk Morris.Michele Giordano. ''Giganti buoni''. Gremese Editore, 1998. . Plot Cast * Kirk Morris as Maciste *Cathia Caro as Ante ...

'' / ''The Triumph of Maciste'' ( Triumph of the Son of Hercules, 1961) starring Kirk Morris * '' Maciste alla corte del gran khan'' / '' Maciste at the Court of the Great Khan'' ( Samson and the Seven Miracles of the World, 1961) starring Gordon Scott * ''

Maciste, l'uomo più forte del mondo ''Mole Men Against the Son of Hercules'' (/ ''Maciste, the Strongest Man in the World'') is a 1961 Italian ''peplum (film genre), peplum'' film directed by Antonio Leonviola and starring Mark Forest. Plot summary The young Princess Saliura has ...

'' / '' Maciste, the Strongest Man in the World'' ( Mole Men vs the Son of Hercules, 1961) starring Mark Forest * '' Maciste contro Ercole nella valle dei guai'' / '' Maciste Against Hercules in the Vale of Woe'' ( Hercules in the Vale of Woe, 1961) starring Kirk Morris as Maciste * '' Totò contro Maciste'' / '' Toto vs. Maciste'' (No American title, 1962) starring Samson Burke; this was a comedy satirizing the peplum genre (part of the Italian "Toto" film series) and was never distributed in the USA; it is apparently not available in English * '' Maciste all'inferno'' / ''Maciste in Hell'' ( The Witch's Curse, 1962) starring Kirk Morris * '' Maciste contro lo sceicco'' / '' Maciste Against the Sheik'' ( Samson Against the Sheik, 1962) starring Ed Fury * '' Maciste, il gladiatore più forte del mondo'' / ''Maciste, the World's Strongest Gladiator'' (

Colossus of the Arena ''Colossus of the Arena'' (, also known as ''Death on the Arena'') is a 1962 Italian peplum film directed by Michele Lupo and starred by Mark Forest. Synopsis In the small kingdom of Mersabad, a man named Oniris leads a group of conspirators ...

, 1962) starring Mark Forest * '' Maciste contro i mostri'' / '' Maciste Against the Monsters'' ( Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules, 1962) starring Reg Lewis * ''

Maciste contro i cacciatori di teste ''Colossus and the Headhunters'' (), is a 1963 Italian sword-and-sandal film written and directed by Guido Malatesta and starring Kirk Morris. Plot The heroic Maciste arrives on an island, only to find it rocked by a catastrophic volcanic erup ...

'' / '' Maciste Against the Headhunters'' ( Colossus and the Headhunters, 1962) starring Kirk Morris * '' Maciste, l'eroe più grande del mondo'' / ''Maciste, the World's Greatest Hero'' (

Goliath and the Sins of Babylon ''Goliath and the Sins of Babylon'' () is a 1963 peplum film directed by Michele Lupo.Zorro contro Maciste'' / '' Zorro Against Maciste'' (

Samson and the Slave Queen ''Samson and the Slave Queen'' () is a 1963 Italian '' peplum'' directed by Umberto Lenzi. It was originally made as a Maciste film in Italy, in which the fabled strongman meets Zorro. It was redubbed into a "Samson" movie for distribution in the ...

, 1963) starring Alan Steel * '' Maciste contro i mongoli'' / '' Maciste Against the Mongols'' ( Hercules Against the Mongols, 1963) starring Mark Forest * '' Maciste nell'inferno di Gengis Khan'' / '' Maciste in Genghis Khan's Hell'' ( Hercules Against the Barbarians, 1963) starring Mark Forest * '' Maciste alla corte dello zar'' / '' Maciste at the Court of the Czar'' ( Atlas Against The Czar, 1964) starring Kirk Morris (a.k.a. '' Samson vs. the Giant King'') * '' Maciste, gladiatore di Sparta'' / ''Maciste, Gladiator of Sparta'' (

The Terror of Rome Against the Son of Hercules ''The Terror of Rome Against the Son of Hercules'' () is a 1964 peplum film directed by Mario Caiano and starring Mark Forest and Marilù Tolo. Plot The hero Maciste suffers with the Christians the persecution from the Roman Empire. He, as a ...

, 1964) starring Mark Forest * '' Maciste nelle miniere de re salomone'' / ''

Maciste in King Solomon's Mines ''Samson in King Solomon's Mines'' () is a 1964 Italian peplum film written and directed by Piero Regnoli. Cast * Reg Park as Maciste * Wandisa Guida as Fazira * Dan Harrison as Abucar * Giuseppe Addobbati as Namar * Eleonora Bianchi as Samar ...

'' ( Samson in King Solomon's Mines, 1964) starring Reg Park * '' Maciste e la regina de Samar'' / '' Maciste and the Queen of Samar'' (

, 1964) starring Alan Steel * '' La valle dell'eco tonante'' / ''Valley of the Thundering Echo'' ( Hercules of the Desert, 1964) starring Kirk Morris, a.k.a. ''Desert Raiders'', a.k.a. in France as ''Maciste and the Women of the Valley'' * '' Ercole, Sansone, Maciste e Ursus: gli invincibili'' / '' Hercules, Samson, Maciste and Ursus: The Invincibles'' ( Samson and His Mighty Challenge, 1964) starring Renato Rossini as Maciste (a.k.a. ''Combate dei Gigantes'' or ''Le Grand Defi'') * '' Gli invincibili fratelli Maciste'' / ''The Invincible Maciste Brothers'' ( The Invincible Brothers Maciste, 1964) a.k.a. ''The Invincible Gladiators'', starring Richard Lloyd as Maciste * '' Maciste il Vendicatore dei Mayas'' / '' Maciste, Avenger of the Mayans'' (has no American title, 1965) (This Maciste film was made up almost entirely of re-edited stock footage from two older Maciste films, '' Maciste contro i mostri'' and ''Maciste contro i cacciatori di teste'', so Maciste switches from Kirk Morris to Reg Lewis in various scenes; this movie is very scarce since it was never distributed in the US and is not available in English.)

The 1973 films of Jesús Franco

In 1973, the Spanish cult film director

Jesús Franco Jesús Franco Manera (12 May 1930 – 2 April 2013), also commonly known as Jess Franco, was a Spanish filmmaker, composer, and actor, known as a highly prolific director of low-budget exploitation and B-movies. He worked in many different gen ...

directed two low-budget "Maciste" films for French producers: ''Maciste contre la Reine des Amazones'' (''Maciste vs the Queen of the Amazons'') and ''Les exploits érotiques de Maciste dans l'Atlantide'' (''The Erotic Exploits of Maciste in Atlantis''), both starring Wal Davis as Maciste. The films have almost identical casts and appear to have been shot back-to-back. Despite their titles, the plots were totally unrelated to the 1960s Italian Maciste series. Maciste was presented as a 16th-century French adventurer who travels overseas to exotic lands. ''Maciste contre la Reine des Amazones'' was distributed in Italy as a "Karzan" film (a

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

imitation), while ''Les exploits érotiques de Maciste dans l'Atlantide'' was released, also in France, in a second version with hardcore pornographic inserts entitled ''Les Gloutonnes'' (literally: "The Gobblers").

References

External links

The Many Faces of Hercules at Brian's Drive-In Theater

Santo and Friends
, website on Mexico's equivalent of the 1950s-1960s pop culture Hercules {{Authority control Cinema of Italy Fantasy film characters Film characters introduced in 1914 Gabriele D'Annunzio Film superheroes Sword-and-sandal films Italian film series Moloch in literature and popular culture