Atlas Against the Cyclops (1961)

Strongman Maciste must battle the one-eyed Cyclops monster that is ravaging the land of Sadok, while at the same time fending off the advances of the evil Queen Capys, who wants to do a little ravaging of her own.

Director:

Antonio Leonviola (as Leonviola)

Writers:

Oreste Biancoli (story), Oreste Biancoli (screenplay)

Stars:

Gordon Mitchell, Chelo Alonso, Vira Silenti

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gordon Mitchell	...	Maciste (as Mitchell Gordon)
Chelo Alonso	...	Capys
Vira Silenti	...	Penope
Aldo Bufi Landi	...	Sirone
Dante DiPaolo	...	Iphitos
Giotto Tempestini	...	Aronio
Raffaella Carrà	...	Eber (as Raffaella Pelloni)
Paul Wynter	...	Mumba
Massimo Righi	...	Efros
Fabio	...	Baby Son of Penope eand Agisandro
Germano Longo	...	Re Agisandro
Aldo Pedinotti	...	Cyclops (as Aldo Padinotti)
Tullio Altamura	...	Captain of the Guard
Antonio Meschini	...	Soldier
Pietro Ceccarelli	...	Prison Guard

Storyline

Capys, la crudele regina di Sadok, erede di Circe, ha deciso di sacrificare all'ultimo dei ciclopi il piccolo figlio di Re Agisandro, ultimo erede di Ulisse. I guerrieri di Capys distruggono Coos, il villaggio di Agisandro, uccidendo quest'ultimo. Ma il ragazzo viene salvato ed affidato a Maciste. Il mitico eroe, benchè catturato, riesce a liberarsi ed a salvare dal feroce attacco degli uomini della perfida regina il piccolo e la madre di quest'ultimo.

---

Plot Keywords:

cyclops | man fighting lion | monster | greek mythology | burning village | 

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Romance

---

Certificate:

12

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

14 April 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Atlas Against the Cyclops

Filming Locations:

Istituto Nazionale Luce, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 2,607,002 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Panda Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 94 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The symbolic design on the large rayed solar disk which can be seen on a wall in the queen's palace imitates the font and spiral design found on the mysterious Phaistos disc (~1700 B.C.), which remains yet to be deciphered.

---

Goofs

In many shots during Maciste's fight with the lion, the lion can be heard roaring, even though it is clearly not roaring in the footage.

---

Quotes

Capys: Who are you?
Maciste: Maciste.
Capys: What an unusual name. Does it have any meaning?
Maciste: It means that I am born from the rock.

User Reviews

Chelo in Love

Strange «péplum», a bit on the sadistic side, made me feel terrible for the poor Cyclops, who is described as a captive freak, unlike the busy and aggressive creatures Ray Harryhausen created for «The 7th Voyage of Sinbad». For the proceeding, maestro Mario Serandrei's editing is rather lazy, especially in the action scenes, where the tempo of the cutting is not particularly inspired, and the shots linger on Gordon Mitchell's muscles. Even Chelo Alonso goes through a strange routine, from evil queen to woman in love, excluding the possibility of one of her sensual dance scenes; and Mitchell is one very strange looking fellow, with a gentle personality that seems at odds with his character, supposedly a lonely highlander. But «Maciste in the Land of the Cyclops» has ladies in distress chewing gum, «menacing» lions that resemble rugs, a villain (funny Dante DiPaolo) who is always smiling when he's saying his meanest dialog lines, and lights that follow the characters through kitsch settings and barren exteriors. So don't let it pass you: it has a lot to enjoy. Watch it!