.gif)
Hercules (1958 film)
Encyclopedia
Hercules is a 1958 Italian epic fantasy feature film
based upon the Hercules myths
and the Quest for the Golden Fleece
. The film stars Steve Reeves
as the titular hero and Sylva Koscina
as his love interest Princess Iole
. Hercules was directed by Pietro Francisci
and produced by Federico Teti. The film spawned a sequel, Hercules Unchained , that also starred Reeves and Koscina.
Hercules made Reeves an international film star and effectively paved the way for the dozens of 1960s sword and sandal
flicks featuring oiled bodybuilders as mythological heroes and gladiator
s battling monsters, despots, and evil queens. Hercules has been broadcast on American television, is in the public domain, and is available in both VHS and DVD formats. In 1993 the film was lampooned on Mystery Science Theater 3000
. The film's Italian
title means "The Labors of Hercules".
. In both myths and epic poem, Hercules' role in the Quest for the Golden Fleece is marginal; he abandons the expedition early-on when Hylas
, his armor-bearer and eromenos , is lost on an island while searching for water. With Hylas conveniently absent in the film, Hercules' role is greatly expanded: he remains with the expedition for its duration, saves the Argo
from destruction in a storm, disciplines mutinous crew, and overwhelms enemy forces with brute strength in the film's finale. Twists on the sources include the introduction of Iole
into the tale as Pelias' daughter, the replacement of Hylas with young Ulysses
as Hercules' protege, and Hercules' renunciation of his immortality
in order to experience life as a mortal man.
) on the road to the court of King Pelias
of Iolcus (Ivo Garrani
) to tutor Pelias' son Prince Iphitus (Mimmo Palmara) in the use of arms. Pelias' beautiful daughter Princess Iole (Sylva Koscina
) updates Hercules on the history of her father's rise to power and the theft of the kingdom's greatest treasure, the Golden Fleece. Some suspect—and it eventually proves true—that King Pelias has acquired the throne through fratricide
. Hercules and Iole are attracted to each other and a romance eventually develops.
King Pelias is warned by a seeress (Lydia Alfonsi) about a stranger wearing one sandal who will challenge his power. When his nephew Jason, the rightful King of Iolcus, (Fabrizio Mioni) arrives in town wearing one sandal, Pelias takes fright and packs him off to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the distant land of Colchis
. Jason and Hercules sail aboard the Argo
with their friends Ulysses
and his father Laertes
(Gabriele Antonini and Andrea Fantasia), Argos
(Aldo Fiorelli), the twins Castor and Pollux
(Fulvio Carrara and Willi Colombini), the lyre-strumming Orpheus
(Gino Mattera), the physician Aesculapius (Gian Paolo Rosmino) and others.
After weathering a tempest at sea, the Argonauts
dally in a lush garden-like country with Antea, the Queen of the Amazons
(Gianna Maria Canale
) and her ladies (Gina Rovere and Lily Granado). Jason falls in love with Antea, but, when the Amazons plot the deaths of the heroes, Hercules forces Jason to board the Argo and secretly set sail in the night. On the shores of Colchis, the heroes battle hairy ape-men while Jason slays a dragon and retrieves the Golden Fleece. The Argonauts embark for home with their prize.
In Iolcus, the populace greet the returning heroes but Pelias and his henchman Eurysteus (Arturo Dominici
) steal the Golden Fleece, deny Jason's claim, and plot his destruction. A tense battle between Pelias' forces and the heroes follows. Hercules halts Pelias' cavalry dead in its tracks by toppling the portico of the palace upon them. The defeated Pelias drinks poison. Jason ascends the throne while Hercules and Iole set sail for new adventures.
Subplots involve the death of Pelias' headstrong son Prince Iphitus, and exploits for Hercules resembling the Labors of the Nemean Lion
and the Cretan Bull
. Cast includes (Lidia Alfonsi) as Iole's Maid, (Afro Poli
) as Jason's mentor Chiron
, Aldo Pini as Tifi, Spartaco Nale and Paola Quattrini in the uncredited role of Young Iole.
acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the film, and, due in part to his "saturation" promotional campaign (the film opened in 175 theaters alone in the New York City area), Hercules became a major box-office hit.
Reeves was an accomplished horseman, and did all his own horse stunts. His voice was not used however, and his lines were dubbed into whatever language was required for local distribution. According to Reeves, the chains attached to his wrist bands for the climax were made of wood and painted to look like metal, but he held back with his movements during the climax when he was swinging them at the actors playing his enemies, which annoyed the director, who instructed Reeves to actually hit the actors and hit them as hard as he could. When Reeves replied that he didn't want to hurt them, the director said in broken English "They don't get hurt, they don't get paid!"
comic book adaptation with illustrations by John Buscema
and a 33 RPM long-playing RCA Victor recording of the film's soundtrack.
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
based upon the Hercules myths
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
and the Quest for the Golden Fleece
Golden Fleece
In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece is the fleece of the gold-haired winged ram, which can be procured in Colchis. It figures in the tale of Jason and his band of Argonauts, who set out on a quest by order of King Pelias for the fleece in order to place Jason rightfully on the throne of Iolcus...
. The film stars Steve Reeves
Steve Reeves
Stephen L. Reeves was an American bodybuilder and actor. At the peak of his career, he was the highest-paid actor in Europe.-Childhood:...
as the titular hero and Sylva Koscina
Sylva Koscina
Sylva Koscina was an Italian actress.-Biography:...
as his love interest Princess Iole
Iole
In Greek mythology, Iolë was the daughter of Eurytus, king of the city Oechalia. According to the brief epitome by the so-called Apollodorus, Eurytus had a beautiful young daughter named Iole who was eligible for marriage. Iole was claimed by Heracles for a bride, but Eurytus refused her hand in...
. Hercules was directed by Pietro Francisci
Pietro Francisci
Pietro Francisci was an Italian film director, best remembered for the film Hercules which inspired the sword and sandal boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Born in Rome, his career took a distinct turn for the worse after he directed the science-fiction film 2+5 Missione Hydra, released in...
and produced by Federico Teti. The film spawned a sequel, Hercules Unchained , that also starred Reeves and Koscina.
Hercules made Reeves an international film star and effectively paved the way for the dozens of 1960s sword and sandal
Sword and sandal
The Peplum , also known as Sword-and-Sandal, is a genre of largely Italian-made Historical or Biblical Epics that dominated the Italian film industry from 1957 to 1965, eventually being replaced in 1965 by the "Spaghetti Western"...
flicks featuring oiled bodybuilders as mythological heroes and gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
s battling monsters, despots, and evil queens. Hercules has been broadcast on American television, is in the public domain, and is available in both VHS and DVD formats. In 1993 the film was lampooned on Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
. The film's Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
title means "The Labors of Hercules".
Source material
The film's screenplay is loosely based upon the myths of Hercules and the Greek epic poem Argonautica by Apollonius of RhodesApollonius of Rhodes
Apollonius Rhodius, also known as Apollonius of Rhodes , early 3rd century BCE – after 246 BCE, was a poet, and a librarian at the Library of Alexandria...
. In both myths and epic poem, Hercules' role in the Quest for the Golden Fleece is marginal; he abandons the expedition early-on when Hylas
Hylas
In Greek mythology, Hylas was the son of King Theiodamas of the Dryopians. Roman sources such as Ovid state that Hylas' father was Hercules and his mother was the nymph Melite, or that his mother was the wife of Theiodamas, whose adulterous affair with Heracles caused the war between him and her...
, his armor-bearer and eromenos , is lost on an island while searching for water. With Hylas conveniently absent in the film, Hercules' role is greatly expanded: he remains with the expedition for its duration, saves the Argo
Argo
In Greek mythology, the Argo was the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to retrieve the Golden Fleece. It was named after its builder, Argus.-Legend:...
from destruction in a storm, disciplines mutinous crew, and overwhelms enemy forces with brute strength in the film's finale. Twists on the sources include the introduction of Iole
Iole
In Greek mythology, Iolë was the daughter of Eurytus, king of the city Oechalia. According to the brief epitome by the so-called Apollodorus, Eurytus had a beautiful young daughter named Iole who was eligible for marriage. Iole was claimed by Heracles for a bride, but Eurytus refused her hand in...
into the tale as Pelias' daughter, the replacement of Hylas with young Ulysses
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
as Hercules' protege, and Hercules' renunciation of his immortality
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
in order to experience life as a mortal man.
Plot and cast
The film opens with Hercules (Steve ReevesSteve Reeves
Stephen L. Reeves was an American bodybuilder and actor. At the peak of his career, he was the highest-paid actor in Europe.-Childhood:...
) on the road to the court of King Pelias
Pelias
Pelias was king of Iolcus in Greek mythology, the son of Tyro and Poseidon. His wife is recorded as either Anaxibia, daughter of Bias, or Phylomache, daughter of Amphion. He was the father of Acastus, Pisidice, Alcestis, Pelopia, Hippothoe, Asteropia, and Antinoe.Tyro was married to Cretheus...
of Iolcus (Ivo Garrani
Ivo Garrani
Ivo Garrani is an Italian actor. In films since 1952, Garrani is possibly best known for his role as Prince Vajda in Mario Bava's Black Sunday .-External links:...
) to tutor Pelias' son Prince Iphitus (Mimmo Palmara) in the use of arms. Pelias' beautiful daughter Princess Iole (Sylva Koscina
Sylva Koscina
Sylva Koscina was an Italian actress.-Biography:...
) updates Hercules on the history of her father's rise to power and the theft of the kingdom's greatest treasure, the Golden Fleece. Some suspect—and it eventually proves true—that King Pelias has acquired the throne through fratricide
Fratricide
Fratricide is the act of a person killing his or her brother....
. Hercules and Iole are attracted to each other and a romance eventually develops.
King Pelias is warned by a seeress (Lydia Alfonsi) about a stranger wearing one sandal who will challenge his power. When his nephew Jason, the rightful King of Iolcus, (Fabrizio Mioni) arrives in town wearing one sandal, Pelias takes fright and packs him off to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the distant land of Colchis
Colchis
In ancient geography, Colchis or Kolkhis was an ancient Georgian state kingdom and region in Western Georgia, which played an important role in the ethnic and cultural formation of the Georgian nation.The Kingdom of Colchis contributed significantly to the development of medieval Georgian...
. Jason and Hercules sail aboard the Argo
Argo
In Greek mythology, the Argo was the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to retrieve the Golden Fleece. It was named after its builder, Argus.-Legend:...
with their friends Ulysses
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
and his father Laertes
Laertes
In Greek mythology, Laërtes was the son of Arcesius and Chalcomedusa. He was the father of Odysseus and Ctimene by his wife Anticlea, daughter of the thief Autolycus. Laërtes was an Argonaut and participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar...
(Gabriele Antonini and Andrea Fantasia), Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
(Aldo Fiorelli), the twins Castor and Pollux
Castor and Pollux
In Greek and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux or Polydeuces were twin brothers, together known as the Dioscuri . Their mother was Leda, but Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, king of Sparta, and Pollux the divine son of Zeus, who visited Leda in the guise of a swan...
(Fulvio Carrara and Willi Colombini), the lyre-strumming Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
(Gino Mattera), the physician Aesculapius (Gian Paolo Rosmino) and others.
After weathering a tempest at sea, the Argonauts
Argonauts
The Argonauts ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, the Argo, which was named after its builder, Argus. "Argonauts", therefore, literally means...
dally in a lush garden-like country with Antea, the Queen of the Amazons
Amazons
The Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
(Gianna Maria Canale
Gianna Maria Canale
Gianna Maria Canale was an Italian actress.- Biography :Canale was born in Reggio Calabria. In 1947, at the Miss Italia beauty contest, won by Lucia Bosè, she placed second. Canale received publicity in many Italian magazines after this. Her looks were compared to those of Ava Gardner...
) and her ladies (Gina Rovere and Lily Granado). Jason falls in love with Antea, but, when the Amazons plot the deaths of the heroes, Hercules forces Jason to board the Argo and secretly set sail in the night. On the shores of Colchis, the heroes battle hairy ape-men while Jason slays a dragon and retrieves the Golden Fleece. The Argonauts embark for home with their prize.
In Iolcus, the populace greet the returning heroes but Pelias and his henchman Eurysteus (Arturo Dominici
Arturo Dominici
Arturo Dominici was an Italian actor and dubbing artist.Born in Palermo, Dominici became best known for his many villainous roles in horror and fantasy films. He is best remembered for his performance as the monstrous Igor Javuto in Mario Bava's Black Sunday...
) steal the Golden Fleece, deny Jason's claim, and plot his destruction. A tense battle between Pelias' forces and the heroes follows. Hercules halts Pelias' cavalry dead in its tracks by toppling the portico of the palace upon them. The defeated Pelias drinks poison. Jason ascends the throne while Hercules and Iole set sail for new adventures.
Subplots involve the death of Pelias' headstrong son Prince Iphitus, and exploits for Hercules resembling the Labors of the Nemean Lion
Nemean Lion
The Nemean lion was a vicious monster in Greek mythology that lived at Nemea. It was eventually killed by Heracles. It could not be killed with mortal weapons because its golden fur was impervious to attack...
and the Cretan Bull
Cretan Bull
In Greek mythology, the Cretan Bull was either the bull that carried away Europa or the bull Pasiphaë fell in love with, giving birth to the Minotaur.- Origin :...
. Cast includes (Lidia Alfonsi) as Iole's Maid, (Afro Poli
Afro Poli
Afro Poli was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.-Life and career:...
) as Jason's mentor Chiron
Chiron
In Greek mythology, Chiron was held to be the superlative centaur among his brethren.-History:Like the satyrs, centaurs were notorious for being wild and lusty, overly indulgent drinkers and carousers, given to violence when intoxicated, and generally uncultured delinquents...
, Aldo Pini as Tifi, Spartaco Nale and Paola Quattrini in the uncredited role of Young Iole.
Production notes
American producer Joseph E. LevineJoseph E. Levine
Joseph E. Levine was an American film producer.He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His Embassy Pictures Corporation was an independent studio and distributor responsible for such films as Hercules , The Carpetbaggers, Harlow, The Graduate, A Bridge Too Far and The Lion in Winter.Levine is famous...
acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the film, and, due in part to his "saturation" promotional campaign (the film opened in 175 theaters alone in the New York City area), Hercules became a major box-office hit.
Reeves was an accomplished horseman, and did all his own horse stunts. His voice was not used however, and his lines were dubbed into whatever language was required for local distribution. According to Reeves, the chains attached to his wrist bands for the climax were made of wood and painted to look like metal, but he held back with his movements during the climax when he was swinging them at the actors playing his enemies, which annoyed the director, who instructed Reeves to actually hit the actors and hit them as hard as he could. When Reeves replied that he didn't want to hurt them, the director said in broken English "They don't get hurt, they don't get paid!"
Merchandise
In America, the film generated a DellDell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
comic book adaptation with illustrations by John Buscema
John Buscema
John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...
and a 33 RPM long-playing RCA Victor recording of the film's soundtrack.
External links
alternative link- New York Times Tribute to Steve Reeves Retrieved 29 August 2008.