Hercules in the Haunted World (1961)

Hercules must journey in Hades itself to retrieve the magic stone that will free his love from the powers of darkness.

Director:

Mario Bava

Writers:

Mario Bava (story), Sandro Continenza (screenplay) (as Alessandro Continenza)

Stars:

Reg Park, Christopher Lee, Leonora Ruffo

Cast

Cast overview:
Reg Park	...	Ercole
Christopher Lee	...	Re Lico
Leonora Ruffo	...	Principessa Deianira
George Ardisson	...	Teseo
Marisa Belli	...	Aretusa
Evelyn Stewart	...	Persefone (as Ida Galli)
Franco Giacobini	...	Telemaco
Mino Doro	...	Keros
Rosalba Neri	...	Elena (as Rosalba Neri c.s.c.) (credit only)
Ely Drago	...	Giocasta (as Ely Dracò)
Gaia Germani	...	Medea
Raf Baldassarre	...	Un mercenario
Elisabetta Pavan	...	Tamar
Aldo Pedinotti	...	Sunis (as Aldo Padinotti)
Claudio Marzulli

Storyline

Upon his return from battle in the previous film, the great warrior Hercules learns that his lover, Daianara, has lost her senses. Acording of the oracle Medea, Dianara's only hope is the Stone of Forgetfulness which lies deep in the realm of Hades. Hercules, with two companions, Theseus and Telemachus, embarks on a dangerous quest for the stone, while he is unaware that Dianara's guardian, King Lico, is the one responsible for her condition and plots to have the girl for himself as his bride upon her revival.

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male bondage | muscleman | hades | greece | ancient greece | 

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Taglines:

Superhuman Strength Versus Supernatural Evil!

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Horror

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

April 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hercules in the Haunted World

Company Credits

Production Co:

SpA Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Reg Park had to do all of his own stunts, as was common in "sword-and-sandal" movies. There were simply no Italian stuntmen available who were big enough to double for such massive, imposing body builders as Park and his colleagues.

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Goofs

When Thesus attacks the stone creature his sword breaks in half, but later in the film his sword is intact.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Medea: This is Italia, a kingdom city of ancient Greece in an age of myth and legend. It is a time when Olympian gods and demigods rule over the elements of nature and control the destinies of men.

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Connections

Edited into Hercules the Avenger (1965)

User Reviews

Fairy tale Images

Not really an action movie as you might be led to believe by the title and given the fact that these epics were invariably promoted with chunky poster art of Hercules holding a boulder aloft ready to drop it on some unfortunate adversary. In fact, he does manage to fill the mandatory quota of rock throwing in this particular sword and sandal outing but at other times it's a bit slow moving. Not that it really matters because it still has a lot going for it.

Apart from anything else, it's a gorgeous looking film. The sets, costumes, special effects and camera work are a joy to behold and director Mario Bava's distinctive style is very much to the fore. Bava specialized in the creation of surreal and subtly sinister atmospherics and there's plenty of that.

Reg Park had a vibrant and attractive screen presence and turned in a convincing performance as the muscle bound super hero. His fellow players were also well cast and provided (dare I say it ?) "strong" support. And there are enough suspenseful moments along the way to keep the sandman at bay.

You could never say that "Hercules in the Haunted World" moves along at a cracking pace. It's more like a pleasant, slow boat ride through a kaleidoscope of fairy tale images.