The Sons of Hercules
Encyclopedia
The Sons of Hercules was a syndicated
Embassy Pictures
television
show that aired in the United States of America
in the 1960s. The series repackaged 14 Italian
sword-and-sandal films by giving them a standardized theme song for the opening and closing titles, as well as a standard introductory narration attempting to relate the lead character in each film to the Greek demigod Hercules. These films however were not all originally made as "Hercules" films in Italy. Although two of them did originally feature Hercules
(and not his sons, strangely enough), four of the films were originally Maciste
movies in Italy, two of them were originally Ursus
movies, and the other six were just isolated gladiator
or myth
ological hero
movies that the American distributors didn't feel deserved a full-blown theatrical release in the USA.
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
Embassy Pictures
Embassy Pictures
Embassy Pictures Corporation was an independent studio and distributor responsible for such films as The Graduate, The Lion in Winter, This Is Spinal Tap and Escape from New York.-Founding:The company was founded in 1942 by producer Joseph E...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show that aired in the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 1960s. The series repackaged 14 Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
sword-and-sandal films by giving them a standardized theme song for the opening and closing titles, as well as a standard introductory narration attempting to relate the lead character in each film to the Greek demigod Hercules. These films however were not all originally made as "Hercules" films in Italy. Although two of them did originally feature Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
(and not his sons, strangely enough), four of the films were originally 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...
movies in Italy, two of them were originally 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...
movies, and the other six were just isolated 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...
or myth
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
ological hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
movies that the American distributors didn't feel deserved a full-blown theatrical release in the USA.
Films in the series
There were 14 films in the Sons of Hercules syndication package. The first title listed for each film was its American television title, followed by the original Italian title in parentheses:- Son Of Hercules In The Land Of Darkness (Hercules the InvincibleHercules the InvincibleHercules the Invincible is a 1964 Italian Sword and Sandal film directed by Alvaro Mancori and Lewis Mann and starring Dan Vadis....
) starring Dan VadisDan VadisDan Vadis was an actor of Greek descent with lineage tracing back to the infamous island of Chios in the Aegean Sea. This former U.S...
as Hercules
- UlyssesUlyssesUlysses is derived from Ulixes, the Latin name for Odysseus, a character in ancient Greek literature. For more on the name Ulysses, see Ulysses .Ulysses may also refer to:- Literature and film :...
Against The Son Of Hercules (Ulysses Against Hercules) starring Mike Lane as Hercules
- Mole Men vs. the Son of Hercules (Maciste, The Strongest Man in the World) starring Mark Forest as Maciste
- The Terror of RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
vs. the Son of Hercules (Maciste, Gladiator of SpartaSpartaSparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
) starring Mark Forest as Maciste
- Fire Monsters Against The Son Of Hercules (Maciste vs. The Monsters) starring Reg LewisReg LewisReginald "Reg" Lewis was an English footballer.Born in Bilston, Staffordshire, Lewis spent his entire career at Arsenal. He joined the club as a schoolboy in 1935, and scored on his debut against Everton on January 1, 1938. He made only four appearances in 1937-38, however, and as a result missed...
as Maciste
- Triumph Of The Son Of Hercules (The Triumph Of Maciste) starring Kirk Morris as Maciste
- Son Of Hercules In The Land Of Fire (Ursus In The Land Of Fire) starring Ed FuryEd FuryEd Fury , born Edmund Holovchik, was an American body builder and physique model who travelled to Italy to take advantage of the popularity of sword and sandal films...
as Ursus
- Ursus, Son Of Hercules (Ursus) starring Ed Fury as Ursus (released in Europe as "Mighty Ursus")
- The Tyrant Of LydiaLydiaLydia 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....
vs. The Son Of Hercules (Goliath and the Rebel Slave) starring Gordon ScottGordon ScottGordon Scott was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films of the Tarzan film series from 1955 to 1960.-Early life, education and military service:He was born Gordon Merrill Werschkul in Portland,...
as Goliath
- MessalinaMessalinaValeria Messalina, sometimes spelled Messallina, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Claudius. She was also a paternal cousin of the Emperor Nero, second cousin of the Emperor Caligula, and great-grandniece of the Emperor Augustus...
Against the Son Of Hercules (The Last Gladiator) starring Richard HarrisonRichard Harrison (actor)Richard Harrison is an American B-movie actor and occasionally a writer/director/producer.Harrison was very prolific and worked with most of the better-known names in European B-movies during the 1960s and 1970s, branching out to exploitation films shot all over the world in the early 1970s...
as Glaucus
- Devil of the Desert vs. the Son of Hercules (Anthar The Invincible) starring Kirk Morris as Anthar
- MedusaMedusaIn Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...
vs. The Son Of Hercules (Perseus The Invincible) starring Richard Harrison as PerseusPerseusPerseus ,Perseos and Perseas are not used in English. the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty of Danaans there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths of the Twelve Olympians...
- The Beast Of BabylonBabylonBabylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
vs. The Son Of Hercules (Hero Of Babylon) starring Gordon Scott as Prince Nippur
- Venus vs. The Son Of Hercules (Mars, God Of War) starring Roger Browne as Mars
External links
- The Many Faces of Hercules
- Review: Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules
- Sons of Hercules theme song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5L9pA4fqnw
See also
- Sword and SandalSword and sandalThe 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"...
- MacisteMacisteMaciste 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...
- SamsonSamsonSamson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
- HerculesHerculesHercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
- Steve ReevesSteve ReevesStephen L. Reeves was an American bodybuilder and actor. At the peak of his career, he was the highest-paid actor in Europe.-Childhood:...