''Goliath and the Vampires'' () is a 1961 Italian ''peplum'' film directed by

Sergio Corbucci Sergio Corbucci (; 6 December 1926 – 1 December 1990) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer. He was one of the main exponents of the Spaghetti Western genre during the 1960s and 1970s, with his most notable work ...

and

Giacomo Gentilomo Giacomo Gentilomo (5 April 1909 – 16 April 2001) was an Italian film director and Painting, painter. Early life He was born in Trieste. Gentilomo moved to Rome at a young age. Career At 21 years old he entered the cinema industry, working ...

. The film features the famed superhero

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 ...

as its main character, although the American release changes his name to

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 ...

, as

American International Pictures American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...

felt that the name "Maciste" was not significant to American audiences.

Plot

Set in the ancient world, this film follows a powerful muscular man out to battle a vampire and his forces that go from village to village taking slaves and female victims.

Cast

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- ...

Gianna Maria Canale Gianna Maria Canale (12 September 1927 – 13 February 2009) was an Italian film actress. Biography Canale was born in 1927 in Reggio Calabria. In 1947, she competed in the Miss Italia beauty contest, where she was runner-up to Lucia B ...

: Astra *

Jacques Sernas Jokūbas Bernardas Šernas (30 July 1925 – 3 July 2015), commonly known as Jacques Sernas and sometimes credited as Jack Sernas, was a Lithuanian-born French actor with an international film career. Biography He was born in Kaunas, Lithuania, ...

: Kurtick *

Leonora Ruffo Leonora Ruffo (13 January 1936 – 25 May 2007) was an Italian film actress. Career Born in Rome as Bruna Bovi, the daughter of Angelo Bovi, basketball coach of Ginnastica Roma, Italian Championship pluri-winner, Ruffo failed to obtain the main ...

: Guja * Annabella Incontrera: Magda *

Mario Feliciani Mario Feliciani (12 March 1918 – 11 August 2008) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Milan, after completing his classical education Feliciani attended the Accademia dei filodrammatici obtaining the diploma. He ...

: Omar

Production

Both

and

are credited as directors of the film. Barry Atkinson stated Corbucci's input to the film was minimal.

Release

''Goliath and the Vampires'' was released theatrically in Italy as ''Maciste control il vampiro'' on 21 August 1961. It was released theatrically in the United States in April 1964, with the main character's name redubbed to Goliath, as American International Pictures felt that Maciste was not significant to American audiences.

American International Television American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution comp ...

released the film to television as part of its 1968 ''Young Adult Theatre'' package as ''The Vampires''. The film was made available on home video by Something Weird.

Reception

From contemporary reviews, the ''

Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' stated that the film was a "mixture of handsomely decorated spectacle and the supernatural" with "first rate-editing". The review concluded that the reviewer "missed the guiding hands of a Bava or Cottafavi; and it seems probable that the film's intermittent drive and suspense can be more safely attributed to Corbucci than to his co-director, Giacomo Gentilomo" In ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', the reviewer "Tube." declared that "even the most ardent devotees of these overstuffed, simpleminded muscle spasms from Italy figure to be disenchanted with this latest entry in that league." The review found the film "ludicrously written and crudely executed" and that Gordon Scott's acting was unsubtle. From retrospective reviews, Howard Hughes wrote in his book on Italian cinema that

's performance was "above average" in comparison to other contemporary genre films. In their book on Italian Sword and Sandal Films, Roy Kinnard and Tony Crnkovich noted that the film's production design by

Kosta Krivokapic Kosta may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Kosta (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname * Kosta (surname), a list of people Places * Kosta, Estonia, a village * Kosta, Greece, a community * Kosta, Sweden, a village Other use ...

and

Gianni Polidori Gianni Polidori (1923–1992) was an Italian art director. He designed the sets for several films by Michelangelo Antonioni.Chatman p.266-67 Selected filmography * '' Bellissima'' (1951) * '' Honeymoon Deferred'' (1951) * ''The Overcoat'' (1952) ...

was aided by Alvaro Mancori's cinematography, which was described as "striking" and that the film was a memorable entry in the ''peplum'' film genre. The review also lamented that "most of the available prints have faded color." In his book on Italian ''peplum'' films, Barry Atkinson also praised the set design and cinematography as "an artful blend of creepy fantasy and Gothicism".

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* 1961 films Films directed by Sergio Corbucci Films directed by Giacomo Gentilomo Maciste films Italian vampire films Films scored by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino Sword-and-sandal films 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-film-stub