Sunday, July 09, 2017

The Bloody Pit #56 - HERCULES, PRISONER OF EVIL (1964)


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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