Hercules, Samson And Ulysses

Herc and Uly set out to find and kill a local sea monster, Poseidon (who must be in league with Jehovah) decides to send the heroic crew to Judea where they find the Israelites being abused and subjugated by the Philistines. Their hero, the great Biblical Judge, Samson, is nowhere to be found. He is public enemy #1 to the oppressors, probably for burning their crops and murdering thousands of their soldiers and civilians (as recorded in the Bible.) Samson and Hercules have a lot in common. 1 - A direct connection to the Divine, 2 - are considered to be the mightiest of the ancient heroes, 3 - are endowed with mind boggling super human strength, and 4 - as noble as they are, they have psychological issues including uncontrollable bouts of rage, which often gets them into deep, deep doo doo. The Philistine King hires Hercules to find Samson and capture the marauding strongman. After Herc and Sam brawl it out, they decide to combine their strength against the Philistines. Delilah is included in this story too. Here she tries, unsuccessfully, to seduce the happily married Herc, settling instead on the single Sam. Herc gives Sam a warning about the temptress, but the look on Samson's face makes it obvious he won't heed the advice of the Son of Zeus. Where's Uly in all this? Well, this is long before the Trojan War, so the poor hero is still in his awkward, wussy Teen stage. He spends most of the movie being a captive, though he does get to show off his legendary ingenuity and archery talents. By the way, the Fall of the Temple of Dagon takes place in this film too. This time it's a joint effort by both Sam and Herc. The story takes place before the Iliad and the Odyssey, after the Twelve Labors and the Quest for the Golden Fleece, and before Samson's victory over the Philistines using only the Jawbone of an Ass, and his later tragic betrayal by the oh so sweet Delilah. Well, other than the fact that the "sea monster" was simply a giant elephant seal, the Philistines wear German war helmets and KKK like hooded capes, and the utter absurdity of combining Greek myth and Biblical Scripture (which I love by the way), this film stands as one of the better of the Italian muscleman movies. It's completely ridiculous, over the top, and enjoyable from start to finish, and fans of the Old Testament and the Greek Myths will have plenty to enjoy.

It is fitting that Director Pietro Francisci who gave us the original 'HERCULES' aka 'LE FATICHE DI ERCOLE' -1958 and its superb sequel 'HERCULES UNCHAINED' aka 'ERCOLE E LA REGINA DI LIDIA'- 1959 both starring Steve Reeves would return to the genre six years later to deliver one of the last and best of its type 'HERCULES, SAMSON, & ULYSSES' aka 'ERCOLE SFIDA SANSONE'- 1964. By this time the European sword and sandal pepla were in decline tag teaming every conceivable muscleman against hokey villains and card board monsters. Here we have a good script by Francisci making the film a prequel to the biblical Samson and Delilah story and intertwining it with characters of Greek mythology. The production values are excellent and the acting above average for a film of this type even making the English dubbing palatable. Kirk Morris who was no stranger to the genre having played in Director Ricardo Freda's underrated 'MACISTE IN HELL' aka 'MACISTE AL'INFERNO' -1963 (beware the wretched television print titled 'THE WITCH'S CURSE' which totally distorts the storyline) and many others. Liana Orfei makes a fetching Delilah and Samson and Ulysses are aptly portrayed by Richard Lloyd and Enzo Cerusico never burying the film in hokey shenanigans and comic relief which was so prolific in these final forays. Hercules's wife Iole and young son appear in cameo making this a sequel to the first 1950's films. With a rousing score by Angelo Francisco Lavagnino known for his melancholic music for Director Eugene Lourie's monster epic 'GORGO'- 1961 and crisp cinematography by Silvano Ippoliti , this film comes highly recommended for fans of these actioners. Warner Archive releases it in a flawless 1.85 DVD-R with a US trailer its only extra. Lets hope they continue to dive into their coffers and release more of these gems to collectors.

DVD arrived on time, very well packaged and played with no difficulties.

This has been hard to find and this version is a good clear copy. The only other copy I was able to find in English was converted from a VHS tape copied from TNT network. You either like these Peplum movies or you don't. This one mixes Greek mythology with the Bible, and is well done. This movie put the styrofoam industry on the map. Lots of styrofoam used in the fight and battle scenes to magnify the super-human strength of Hercules and Samson. The movie is the third in a Hercules trilogy. The first two starred Steve Reeves and this one Kirk Morris(Adriano Bellini) as Hercules. There are about five other actors that kept their same rolls from the first two movies. Morris and co-star Richard Lloyd(Iloosh Khooshaben/Samson) both appear to be good natural bodybuilders.

Fun movie, nice quality print 😊

I first saw this film when I was about 10, and I think I beg stole and borrowed to get some money to watch it time and time again. If you like these films. You will love this one. The quality of the film itself is outstanding, when you look at how many of these films have not been looked after or restored. Again, I say, if you like sword and sandle. You will love this one.

If you love Peplum, this is for you. Not the best in the Steve Reeves-Hercules mode, but quite fun nevertheless. The plot, if one can call it that, involves a journey by Hercules (Kirk Morris) and Ulyssses (comedian Enzo Cerusico) to catch a sea monster, a storm blows them off course, so, of course, they end up in Judea (!!!), where they get involved in a plot with Samson (!!!) to dethrone an evil ruler. (Yes, I'm dizzy from just telling about it.) Liana Orfei provides a very scrumptious and duplicitous femme fatale and even gets to perform a barely adequate hooch number. The production values are quite impressive for a peplum not starring Reeves. There are many lavish sets and hordes of extras involved in impressive battle scenes. Kirk Morris (not his real moniker) is just fine in the titular role (not a bad turn for an ex-gondolier muscleboy.) Believe me, you've seen worse (some of those Maciste fliks come to mind). The print by MGM is presented in an 1:85 anamorphic format, though I suspect the original was shot in a 2:35 aspect ratio, but you get a picture that will fill out your entire flat screen panel. It is sharp with good color and you won't miss anything on the sides (of the screen).

If there had been an original thought in the minds of the producers, this would have been a great film. Compared to today's bodybuilding , Kirk Morris looks alittle scrawny....but the other guy who plays Samson was fat. Looks more like someone you'd see on Saturday Morning wrestling. For his time, Kirk Morris had an awesome physique. And he was very good looking. He was actually "discovered" in his native Italy because he had the classic bodybuilder look, and also he was seen as a far more handsome version of Elvis Presley.