Hercules Unchained (1959)
"Ercole e la regina di Lidia" (original title)

While negotiating peace between two brothers contesting the throne of Thebes, an amnesiac Hercules is seduced by the evil Queen Omphale.

Director:

Pietro Francisci

Writers:

Aeschylus (play), Ennio De Concini (screenplay),

Stars:

Steve Reeves, Sylva Koscina, Sylvia Lopez

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Reeves	...	Ercole (Hercules)
Sylva Koscina	...	Iole, bride of Ercole
Sylvia Lopez	...	Queen Onfale, of Lidia
Gabriele Antonini	...	Ulisse, son of Laertes
Primo Carnera	...	Anteo, the giant
Patrizia Della Rovere	...	Penelope
Sergio Fantoni	...	Eteocle
Fulvia Franco	...	Anticlea
Carlo D'Angelo	...	Creonte, High Priest of Thebes
Marisa Valenti	...	Blond Slave Girl
Mimmo Palmara	...	Polinice
Elda Tattoli
Daniele Vargas	...	Anfiarao
Andrea Fantasia	...	King Laerte
Gino Mattera	...	Orfeo

Storyline

En route to Thebes for an important diplomatic mission, Hercules drinks from a magic spring and loses his memory. He spends most of the movie in the pleasure gardens of Queen Omphale of Lydia. While young Ulysses tries to help him regain his memory, political tensions escalate in Thebes, and Hercules' new wife Iole finds herself in mortal danger.

---

Plot Keywords:

thebes | black magic | hero | seduction | fictional war | 

---

Taglines:

See the mammoth war of the chariots!

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Italy France Spain

Language:

Italian Spanish

Release Date:

13 July 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hercules Unchained

Company Credits

Production Co:

Galatea Film, Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France, Lux Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 97 min (2005 DVD release)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The score for this contains themes from its predecessor, Le fatiche di Ercole. They became the most famous compositions, internationally, for composer Enzo Masetti. Masetti retired after completing the score for this film.

---

Goofs

Watch closely the second time Hercules takes up Ulysses' challenge to bend the iron torch stand in an attempt to remember who he is. He successfully does so, and then unbends it just as easily, leaving a slight curve in the stem. However when he returns the stand to its original location, the stand is perfectly straight.

---

Connections

Referenced in Splatter Beach (2007)

---

Soundtracks

"Evening Star"
Music by Enzo Masetti
Lyrics by Mitchell Parrish
Sung by Sylva Koscina (dubbed by June Valli in the English version)

User Reviews

HERCULES UNCHAINED (Pietro Francisci, 1959) **1/2

The sequel to HERCULES (1958) is even less enthusing but remains, nonetheless, an adequate example of the peplum genre.

Sylva Koscina’s role of Iole, Hercules’ love interest, is diminished here since the most prominent female figure on display emerges to be the femme fatale-ish Queen of Lidia Omphale (the film’s original title, incidentally, translates to HERCULES AND THE QUEEN OF LIDIA) – the latter is played by another red-headed beauty Sylvia Lopez, who died of leukemia not long after the film’s release! Needless to say, the muscle-bound hero (Steve Reeves) falls under her spell after having conveniently drunk from a spring that renders him an amnesiac (though not before he’s been engaged in an irrelevant wrestling bout with ex-heavyweight champion Primo Carnera as an irascible giant!); his friend Ulysses, however, is on hand to watch over him (ostensibly in the function of Hercules’ deaf-mute slave). Meanwhile, back home in Thebes, two brothers fight it out over the throne – with Iole at the mercy of a cackling maniac (an over-the-top Sergio Fantoni)...

By the way, both of these Hercules films featured atmospheric cinematography by Mario Bava - who would himself direct one of the better adventures revolving around this mythical figure, HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD (1961) starring Reg Park. As for Francisci, he worked most often in this genre: from ATTILA (1954; co-starring Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren) – which is overdue for a reappraisal and has, incidentally, just been announced as an upcoming DVD release from Lionsgate! – to the low-brow HERCULES, SAMSON AND ULYSSES (1963; with Kirk Morris now as Hercules) and SINBAD AND THE CALIPH OF BAGHDAD (1973; his last film and which I recall watching eons ago on Italian TV).