‘Since we’ve left, you’ve wasted your time with those cucumbers.’
Years have passed since the kingdom of Nefur was defeated by the army of Babylon. The conquerers extract an annual tribute of thirty beautiful virgins, but the latest consignment goes astray after the intervention of a mighty hero…
Muscleman Mark Forest returns to the role of Maciste for the fourth time. Director Michele Lupo takes on his second of the series, and the cast is filled with many familiar faces from the world of ‘Sword and Sandal’.
The people of the kingdom of Nefur strain under the yoke of the Babylonian empire. Unfortunately, King Pergasos (Piero Lulli) is only happy to placate their overlords, willingly procuring thirty beautiful virgins each year for slimy Babylonian official, Morakeb (Erno Crisa). When one of the girls makes a break for it, she is defended in the marketplace by Maciste (Forest), a newcomer unaware of the local situation. Surrounded by soldiers, he’s carried to safety by revolutionaries, Alceas (Mimmo Palmara) and Xandros (Giuliano Gemma).
Agents of the planned insurrection have infiltrated the ranks of Lulli’s gladiators, as ordered by the wily Evandro (Livio Lorenzon). Lulli remains on the throne only so long as his niece, the headstrong Princess Regia (José Greci), remains unmarried. As part of the annual festivities, she offers her hand in marriage to any charioteer who can defeat her in the arena. The rebels have placed their hopes on Gemma, even though he secretly loves Kalmira, one of Greci’s ladies in waiting. But Lulli and Crisa will go to any lengths to prevent a change in the status quo.
It’s old home week for the cast of ‘Maciste, the World’s Strongest Gladiator/Maciste, l’uomo più forte del mondo/Colossus of the Arena/Death on the Arena (1962) as most of the principals reunite here with director Michele Lupo. Forest, Greci, Crisa and Alfio Caltabiano all return, and Palmara, Lorenzon, and Lulli are all familiar faces from multiple other Peplum features. There’s even some battle footage from the previous film, as Dan Vadis can be spotted in a few shots near the climax.
If this all sounds a bit second-hand, it’s pleasing to report that this is no ‘copy and paste’ effort mindlessly recycling bits from the first film, nor is it a direct sequel. Only Forest plays the same character, although most of the others are cast in similar roles. Events don’t stray too far from the familiar Peplum formula, either, but the story does avoid most of the usual clichés. Where older footage is used, it’s integrated pretty neatly, the most obvious example being the chariot race in the arena, which uses shots from Riccardo Freda’s ‘Theodora, Empress of Byzantium/Teodora, imperatrice di Bisanzio’ (1954).
If the film appears a little disjointed at times, it’s most likely the result of edits carried out for the American release, which brought the running time down to 80 minutes from the original 92. Cuts may have included more setup for the Gemma-Greci romance (Kalmira is simply the Queen in disguise, in case you hadn’t figured it out) and justification for some curious choices at the climax. As in the previous film, there’s no triumphant ‘trial of strength’ for Forest, but he doesn’t get to fight the two main bad guys, either! Gemma goes one-on-one against Captain of the Guard, Meneos (Alfio Caltabiano), and Palmara settles with the evil Crisa. In fact, Forest is pretty much surplus to requirements for the last ten minutes.
As in the previous film, there’s a healthy dose of comedy alongside the action, mainly centred on the activities of midget actor Arnaldo Fabrizio. The humour primarily consists of the usual quota of obvious physical gags, but, on the whole, his character is written as brave, heroic and loyal. The problem comes with the reaction of his so-called brothers-in-arms. Whatever Fabrizio does or contributes to the cause, he remains a source of amusement to our heroes, who patronise him at every opportunity with smug grins and laughter. At the film’s end, he introduces them to his intended bride, which is super funny because two tiny people are even more hilarious than one. Obviously.
Leaving aside the painfully dated attitudes, Lupo stages one of two very effective sequences. The most notable is where Forest is strapped to a table beneath a rack of spears suspended in the ceiling. His friends must cut the ropes one at a time to prove their loyalty to the enemy, without knowing if the falling spear will miss its target or transfix his body. Lupo lets the scene play out at some length, which provides heightened suspense and some excellent sound FX seals the deal. The chariot race is another highlight, even with shots edited in from another movie.
Lupo began his screen career as a second Assistant Director on the musical drama ‘Napoli è sempre Napoli’ (1954) and graduated to the main seat the first time he brought Maciste to the screen. He remained with his feet firmly fixed in the sands of Peplum until the craze ran its course. Then he marshalled Italian comics Franco and Ciccio in their best Spaghetti Western spoof ‘For A Fist in the Eye/Per un pugno nell’occhio/Fistful of Knuckles’ (1965). Other trips out West followed, along with crime thrillers, comedies and romantic dramas. He also contributed to the Giallo sub-genre with the sly spoof ‘The Weekend Murders/Concerto per pistola solista’ (1970). He made his last film in 1982 and passed away seven years later at the age of 56.
Gemma’s athletic prowess saw him excel in many sports, work in a circus and enter the film industry as a stuntman in the late 1950s. Recognising his leading man potential, director Duccio Tessari cast him as the star of the fun tongue-in-cheek Peplum adventure ‘My Son, the Hero/Arrivano i titani’ (1962), which led to supporting roles in similar projects. The two combined again for the essential Spaghetti Western ‘A Pistol for Ringo/Una pistola per Ringo’ (1965) and for ‘in name only’ sequel ‘The Return of Ringo/Il ritorno di Ringo’ (1965), which was another high watermark of the European Western. Gemma became a fixture in cowboy roles over the next decade but mixed it up with other genres, reuniting with Lupo for the crime thriller ‘A Man to Respect/Un uomo da rispettare’ (1974) and adventure film ‘Africa Express’ (1975). He also played a significant role in Dario Argento’s high-class Giallo ‘Tenebrae’ (1982), and that’s only a small selection of his work. He passed away in 2013 in a car accident.
A step down from Lupo’s previous Peplum entry, but still one of the better examples of the genre.