La vendetta di Ercole (1960)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Vittorio Cottafavi

Writers:

Marcello Baldi (writer)
Mario Ferrari (writer)

Release Date:

November 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

The mightiest adventure of them all!

Plot:

A warrior returning home to his country must battle giant bats, three-headed dogs and a vicious dragon to save his wife, and his people, from the machinations of an evil ruler. |

Plot Keywords:

Dragon | Three Headed Dog | Dog | Giant Bat | Sword Fighting

Cast

Mark Forest	...	Ercole (Goliath)
Broderick Crawford	...	Re Eurito / King Eurystheus
Gaby André	...	Ismene
Philippe Hersent	...	Androclo
Leonora Ruffo	...	Dejanira
Giancarlo Sbragia	...	Tindaro
Wandisa Guida	...	Alcinoe
Sandro Moretti	...	Illo
Federica Ranchi	...	Thea
Carla Calò	...	La Sibilla
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Roberto Ceccacci		(as Roberto Checcacci)
Grazia Collodi
Graziella Cori
Salvatore Furnari	...	Il nano
Fedele Gentile	...	Un contadino
Michele Gentilini
Franco Loffredi
Nino Milano	...	Lica
Spartaco Nale
Piero Pastore	...	Un carciere
Ugo Sasso	...	Timocleo di Medar
Corrado Sonni
Renato Terra
Claudio Undari	...	Polimorfeo
Stefano Valle

Also Known As:

Goliath and the Dragon (USA)
Hercules' Revenge (USA)
La vengeance d'Hercule (France)
Vengeance of Hercules (USA)

Runtime:

USA:87 min | Italy:98 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Company:

Achille Piazzi Produzioni Cinematografica

Trivia:

For the U.S. version, it's not Broderick Crawford's voice, but a voice actor impersonating him.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the beginning of the film, when Goliath climbs down into the cave, a thin rope can be seen tied to him.

Movie Connections:

Edited into The Mighty Gorga (1969)

I waited thirty years for this!

I saw the poster for GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON outside a theater when I was a kid and was dying to see it. Unfortunately I had to wait over thirty years until just the other day when I found a cheap VHS copy in a video store. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely --- but not for the reasons I'd expected. In addition to the cool poster what intrigued me about the film were the Jim Danforth stop motion sequences added for the American release. Pictures of the dragon made it look pretty good. Unfortunately the model is poorly used in the film itself, and nowhere is it shown off to such good advantage as in the publicity stills. Animation-wise the film was a major disappointment.

And other-wise? Well, you gotta give this movie a big A for Ambition. Hercules (excuse me, GOLIATH) doesn't just duke it out with soldiers, he battles a three headed dog, a bat monster, a centaur, a bear, and at one point even wrestles an elephant to the ground! Unfortunately none of these conflicts is handled with anything like the skill needed to really bring them off, but you've gotta love them for trying. And the movie, goofy and slipshod as it is, never bores. Peplum fans should check it out.