Erik the Viking (1965)

Original title: Erik, Il Vichingo

Peplum/Vikings. Italy. Starring Giuliano Gemma, Gordon Mitchell, Eleonora Bianchi, Eduardo Fajardo & Carla Calò. Directed by Mario Caiano.

Parade (Italy). Italian language. Fullscreen.

This is what happened when the vikings first discovered America according to the folks at Cinecittà. Their guess is as good as anybody's I guess... If you can accept Gemma as a viking chieftain (I have no objections!) this is a fun, minor viking peplum. Gordon Mitchell clearly enjoys himself in another villanois role. One of few italian viking films NOT to star Cameron Mitchell. 3/5

Two Gladiators (1964)

Original title: I Due Gladiatori

Peplum. Italy. Starring Richard Harrison, Piero Lulli, Moira Orfei, Mimmo Palmara & Giuliano Gemma. Directed by Mario Caiano.

ERA Home Video (Taiwan). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

Mediocre gladiator flick which left no permanent place in my memory. 2/5

Original title: Maciste, Gladiatore di Sparta

Peplum. Italy/France. Starring Mark Forest, Marilù Tolo, Elisabetta Fanti, Claudio Undari & Jacques Stany. Directed by Mario Caiano.

EVC (Holland). English dubbed. Widescreen.

The gladiator Maciste, played by Mark Forest, fights a gorilla and saves some christians from the evil and cunning roman emperor. One of the more entertaining christians Vs. Praetorians flicks out there. 3/5

Erik the Viking (1965)

Original title: Erik, Il Vichingo

Peplum/Vikings. Italy. Starring Giuliano Gemma, Gordon Mitchell, Eleonora Bianchi, Eduardo Fajardo & Carla Calò. Directed by Mario Caiano.

Unicorn Video (USA). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

This is what happened when the vikings first discovered America according to the folks at Cinecittà. Their guess is as good as anybody's I guess... If you can accept Gemma as a viking chieftain (I have no objections!) this is a fun, minor viking peplum. Gordon Mitchell clearly enjoys himself in another villanois role. One of few italian viking films NOT to star Cameron Mitchell. 3/5

Maciste, Gladiator of Sparta (1964)

Original title: Maciste, Gladiatore di Sparta

Peplum. Italy/France. Starring Mark Forest, Marilù Tolo, Elisabetta Fanti, Claudio Undari & Jacques Stany. Directed by Mario Caiano.

EVC (Holland). English dubbed. Widescreen.

The gladiator Maciste, played by Mark Forest, fights a gorilla and saves some christians from the evil and cunning roman emperor. One of the more entertaining christians Vs. Praetorians flicks out there. 3/5

Ulysses Against Hercules (1962)

Original title: Ulisse contro Ercole

Peplum. Italy/France. Starring Georges Marchal, Mike Lane, Alessandra Panaro, Gabriele Tinti, Raf Baldassarre, Gianni Santuccio & Yvette Lebon. Directed by Mario Caiano.

Star Video (Finland). English dubbed. Fullscreen. US TV-version.

I only needed to hear the "Mighty Sons of Hercules"-song in the beginning to get in a good mood from this film. A really pulpy and entertaining peplum with some fantastic ingredients, my favorites being the vulture-people and their bigbreasted queen (who of course falls in love with both Hercules and Ulisses). The non-plot is basically that Hercules is on a mission from the gods to find and capture Ulisses for blinding the Cyklops. Ulisses outsmarts Hercules and manages to escape, encounters some fantastic creatures or evil queens, is captured again, outsmarts Hercules, escapes, encounters creatures etc. in absurdum. Of course the two heroes finally becomes the best of friends and joins forces to defeat the evil king Lagos (wonderfully played by Gianni Santuccio), a sweaty, sickly and rambling madmen who likes to torture women and uses his army of neanderthal men to pillage the nearby villages in quest for total power. Silly fun. 3/5

Duel at the Rio Grande (1963)

Original title: Il Segno di Zorro

Zorro adventure. Spain/Italy/France. Starring Sean Flynn, Helga Liné, Folco Lulli, Carlo Tamberlani, Mario Petri & Piero Lulli. Directed by Mario Caiano.

Star Video (Finland). English dubbed. Letterboxed.

Fake Zorro film (the hero hardly ever wears the mask) starring Erroll Flynn's son Sean - a better journalist than an actor who died as a Vietcong POW documentaring the war. The movie plays more like an american western with some swordfights: passable entertainment, but not much more. 2/5

Two Gladiators (1964)

Original title: I Due Gladiatori

Peplum. Italy. Starring Richard Harrison, Piero Lulli, Moira Orfei, Mimmo Palmara & Giuliano Gemma. Directed by Mario Caiano.

PVP (Greece). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

Mediocre gladiator flick which left no permanent place in my memory. 2/5