Samson and His Mighty Challenge
Encyclopedia
Samson and His Mighty Challenge is an Italian
sword and sandal
film, released in 1964. Its original title was Ercole, Sansone, Maciste e Ursus gli invincibili (Hercules
, Samson
, Maciste
, and Ursus
: the Invincibles).
who thinks that his son should follow the road of virtue. Instead, Hercules follows the road of pleasure which leads him to the city of Lydia
. There he falls in love with the princess Omphale
and he asks from her mother Nemea
permission to marry her. Although Nemea is thrilled with the idea of having a demigod
as a husband for her daughter, Omphale doesn't even want to hear about it because she is in love with Inor the barbarian
prince. So the couple crafts a cunning plan.
They hide their dwarf friend under the statue of Zeus and he tells Hercules that in order to marry Omphale he must battle with the most powerful man in the world: Samson. Hercules agrees and the queen sends a messenger to tell Samson about the fight. Samson agrees, although his wife Delilah
thinks that it is not a good idea because her husband has a taste for beautiful women. So Delilah cuts his hair and makes him weak. However, the messenger does not know this, and he thinks that his wife doesn't let him go. In order to return to Lydia with Samson, he hires the troublemaker Ursus who recently lost a fight to Maciste to kidnap him.
. The original dialogue was overdubbed by Australian actors and a number of extra scenes were filmed.
Cinema of Italy
The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...
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"...
film, released in 1964. Its original title was Ercole, Sansone, Maciste e Ursus gli invincibili (Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
, Samson
Samson
Samson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
, Maciste
Maciste
Maciste is one of the oldest recurring characters in cinema. He cuts a heroic figure throughout the history of the cinema of Italy from the 1910s to the 1970s, even if most of the movies that featured him are considered to be of poor artistic quality...
, and Ursus
Ursus (film character)
Ursus is a fictional character featured in a series of Italian sword and sandal films produced in the early 1960s. The character was an archetypical Greco-Roman warrior, similar to the mythical Hercules or Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian...
: the Invincibles).
Synopsis
Hercules argues with his father ZeusZeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
who thinks that his son should follow the road of virtue. Instead, Hercules follows the road of pleasure which leads him to the city of Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
. There he falls in love with the princess Omphale
Omphale
In Greek mythology, Omphale was a daughter of Iardanus, either a king of Lydia, or a river-god. Omphale was queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor; according to Bibliotheke she was the wife of Tmolus, the oak-clad mountain king of Lydia; after he was gored to death by a bull, she continued...
and he asks from her mother Nemea
Nemea
Nemea is an ancient site near the head of the valley of the River Elissos in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. Formerly part of the territory of Cleonae in Argolis, it is today part of the prefecture of Corinthia...
permission to marry her. Although Nemea is thrilled with the idea of having a demigod
Demigod
The term "demigod" , meaning "half-god", is commonly used to describe mythological figures whose one parent was a god and whose other parent was human; as such, demigods are human-god hybrids...
as a husband for her daughter, Omphale doesn't even want to hear about it because she is in love with Inor the barbarian
Barbarian
Barbarian and savage are terms used to refer to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...
prince. So the couple crafts a cunning plan.
They hide their dwarf friend under the statue of Zeus and he tells Hercules that in order to marry Omphale he must battle with the most powerful man in the world: Samson. Hercules agrees and the queen sends a messenger to tell Samson about the fight. Samson agrees, although his wife Delilah
Delilah
Delilah appears only in the Hebrew bible Book of Judges 16, where she is the "woman in the valley of Sorek" whom Samson loved, and who was his downfall...
thinks that it is not a good idea because her husband has a taste for beautiful women. So Delilah cuts his hair and makes him weak. However, the messenger does not know this, and he thinks that his wife doesn't let him go. In order to return to Lydia with Samson, he hires the troublemaker Ursus who recently lost a fight to Maciste to kidnap him.
Cast
- Sergio Ciani (Alan Steel) as Hercules
- Howard RossHoward Ross (actor)Howard Ross is an Italian actor who has appeared in numerous films including Lo squartatore di New York, 5 bambole per la luna d'agosto, La lupa mannara, and I guerrieri dell'anno 2072....
as Maciste - Nadir Baltimore as Samson
- Yann L'Arvor as Ursus
Reinterpretation
In 1993 this film was re-released as a comedy under the name Hercules ReturnsHercules Returns
Hercules Returns is a 1993 Australian comedy film directed by David Parker, starring David Argue, Michael Carman, Bruce Spence and Mary Coustas. The film has a cult following in Australia and other countries...
. The original dialogue was overdubbed by Australian actors and a number of extra scenes were filmed.