The Barbarians (1960)

Director:

Rudolph Maté

Writers:

John Lee Mahin
Francis Van Wyck Mason (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

4 October 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | War

Plot:

Revak is an Iberian prince from Penda, a small island where the Carthagian fleet ransacked and enslaved the surviving native men...

Plot Keywords:

Carthage | Elephant | Beautiful Woman | Execution | Flogging

Cast

Jack Palance	...	Revak
Milly Vitale	...	Cherata
Guy Rolfe	...	Kainus
Austin Willis	...	Varro
Richard Wyler	...	Lycursus
Deirdre Sullivan	...	Valeria
John Alderson
Joseph Cuby	...	Babu
Georges Ehling
Frederic Ross
Melody O'Brien	...	Creoda
Richard Watson
Pietro Ceccarelli

Directed by
Rudolph Maté

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Lee Mahin
Martin Rackin
Francis Van Wyck Mason		novel (as F. Van Wyck Mason)

Produced by
John Lee Mahin	....	producer
Martin Rackin	....	producer

Original Music by
Franco Ferrara

Cinematography by
Carl E. Guthrie

Film Editing by
Gene Ruggiero

Art Direction by
Franco Lolli

Costume Design by
Mario Giorsi

Makeup Department
Cesare Gambarelli	....	makeup artist
Ada Palombi	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Piero Lazzari	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Roberto Fizz	....	assistant director (as Robert Fiz)
Franco Prosperi	....	assistant director

Art Department
Italo Tomassi	....	manager of art department (uncredited)

Sound Department
Claude Hitchcock	....	sound

Other crew
Yvonne Axeworthy	....	script supervisor (as Yvonne Axworthy)
Paolo Gargano	....	production assistant
Enzo Musumeci Greco	....	master of arms (uncredited)

Production Companies

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Distributors

• Sinister Cinema (2008) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R) (as Revak the Rebel)

Also Known As:

"Revak the Rebel" - USA (DVD title)
"Revolt of the Barbarian" - USA (alternative title)
"Rivak the Barbarian" - USA (TV title)

Runtime:

Italy:84 min | USA:90 min

Country:

USA | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Norway:15

Company:

National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies (2001)

THE BARBARIANS aka REVAK THE REBEL (Rudolph Mate', 1960) **

Jack Palance was one of the Hollywood stars to work most prolifically in Europe and, since the 1950s and 1960s were the cinema's Epic heyday, he was often asked to appear in this type of fare. The film under review, in fact, was the first of 3 he made in quick succession (and increasing merit) – with the others being SWORD OF THE CONQUEROR (1961; which shortly followed this viewing) and THE MONGOLS, dating from the same year.

Incidentally, since REVAK THE REBEL was better-known as THE BARBARIANS, I decided to watch a triptych of films by that name (one made prior to it, in 1953, and the other much later i.e. 1987, but all emanating from Italy)!; that said, REVAK itself has a fair number of significant credits allotted to Hollywood veterans – apart from director Mate' (who would later make the superior THE 300 SPARTANS [1962]), we have cinematographer Carl Guthrie and even scriptwriters John Lee Mahin and Martin Rackin! Unfortunately, the copy I acquired was far from optimal as the color of the print was so washed-out that the visuals came off almost as black-and-white: the only previous time I recall such a drastic deterioration was while watching DESERT LEGION (1953) – curiously enough, another spectacle from this era.

Anyway, as for the film itself, it proved rather a disappointment – a pale (read: low-brow) mix of perhaps the cycle's two most accomplished examples, namely BEN-HUR (1959) and SPARTACUS (1960). In fact, heir to the throne (of the Celts!) Palance is taken hostage by the invading Carthaginians (led by Guy Rolfe) but soon reduced to a mere slave – after his sister had already committed suicide on facing the prospect of being defiled! The rest sees him gaining allies, all similarly disgraced, within the court (a Roman noblewoman and an officer-turned-gladiator-trainer, as well as a Spartan mercenary) in order to turn the tables on his captors; in the meantime, his rebellious spirit also catches the eye of his nemesis' own sister. Still, the film ends up supplying far more talk than action (mainly relegated to the climactic bloodthirsty bout, which also has the leading lady marked for death, spared and ultimately dumped by the hero) and, as I said, basically hinges exclusively upon Palance's trademark intensity for the mild interest the picture elicits from its intended audience.