When is an Antonio Margheriti movie NOT an Antonio
Margheriti movie? When it's HERCULES, PRISONER OF EVIL (1964).
As followers of this podcast will have noticed I am a fan of
the films of Mr. Margheriti and have an ongoing thread of shows covering his work
with co-host John Hudson. Our plan is to slowly (oh, so slowly) review each of
his movies in no particular order. So imagine my surprise when Mr. Adrian Smith,
my co-host from last year's CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST episode, said he wanted to cover
something directed by the man! Was Adrian trying
to muscle into Hudson 's
job? Nope! It turns out that although Antonio's Anthony Dawson pseudonym is in
the credits of this peplum adventure it seems he didn't actual direct it. Margheriti
was far too busy completing a different movie and handed the reins of this one over
to his assistant director Ruggero Deodato! And that's not the only interesting info
Mr. Smith has found about this film.
So join Adrian
for his second dip into The Bloody Pit as we explore this prime example of an
Italian sword and sandal epic. We discuss the various pseudo Hercules
characters (Ursus, Samson, Machiste, Flintstone, etc.) that were all
transformed into Hercules in the English dubs. We run through this film's story
pointing out where the movie adheres to the peplum template and the few places
it deviates. This movie sports a monster, some unexplained magic and a few sexy
ladies so if you are already a fan of the genre you know what you're in for. We
had a few technical issues while recording but I think you'll find the show to
be perfectly listenable and pretty informative. The majority credit for this
one goes to Adrian who, besides working on his doctoral thesis, has started a
blog focused on Margheriti movies called - Blogeriti. Or The Antonio Margheriti Blog. Whichever title
seems less silly. I can't wait to see what he has to say about more of my
favorites as he covers the man's career.
Thank you for downloading and listening to the show. If you
have any comments or suggestions the email address for the show is
thebloodypit@gmail.com. Let us know what you think and what your favorite
peplum adventures are. We'll talk to you next time.
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