Wednesday, December 4, 2013

ERCOLE ALLA CONQUISTA DI ATLANTIDE - Armando Trovajoli & Gino Marinuzzi - "Hercules And The Conquest Of Atlantis" (1961)

Over the years, there have been scores of films, TV shows, cartoons, and video games, all about the cat with the amazing strength named Hercules!

"Hercules And The Captive Women" made in 1961 is a classical example!
An alternate title for this movie is "Hercules And The Conquest Of Atlantis!" The strange music was composed by Gino Marinuzzi Jr. and Armando Trovajoli! Armando just passed away this year at the age of 95! Armando had 218 music credits that included a lot of Dungeon faves like "Werewolf In A Girl's Dormitory," "Mole Men Against The Sons Of Hercules," and "Toto Vs. Maciste!" Gino only had 26 musical credits, but that list includes "Planet Of The Vampires," "Kommissar X - Drei Gelbe Katzen," and "The Son of Hercules vs. Venus!" Pretty heady stuff!!!


Hercules says "Really?"

This particular adventure brings Hercules to the shores of some distant beach water, where he must deal with a woman known as Antinea, The Queen of Atlantis!

Laura Efrikian as the Queen's daughter Ismene, has been imbedded in the side of a hill! Hercules to the rescue!

Herc says "What The Heck?"

This olde geezer is pulling all the strings, including the ones on the condor Herc fights along with a snake and a lion! But that's just all fodder for the proverbial Herculean cannon!

Time to literally break out the big guns! Herc now has to do battle with this mini-dinosaur creature, and he uses his big guns to break off the creature's horn, which renders it useless, kind of like shooting a zombie in the head, but not without an epic struggle of massive proportions first!! The best Hercules movies always contain some kind of fantasy elements, and this one is no exception!

Message to tough guys: It's really hard to look menacing when standing with your hands on your hips!

Hercules doesn't look exactly macho in this outfit either! The Playboy centerfold pose circa 1961 doesn't help!

The Queen of Atlantis looks like a small UFO has landed in her hair! The Queen was played by bad girl fave, Fay (Dragstrip Girl, Teenage Doll) Spain!

The guys on the island are all plagued with bad acne, and none of the girls want to go out with them!

Hercules gets real confused and almost busts a brain cell!

And then it dawns on him, "What am I doing here? Help Mr. Custer!"

 Give the makers of "Ercole Alla Conquista Di Atlantide" credit for employing lots of extras just like in "The Walking Dead!" I like that guy laying up there on that whatever-the-Hell-that-is outcropping!

The Queen's Army of super secret special forces shows up and tries to give Herc a bad time!

When the Queen's guards take their helmets off, they all kind of look like the same guy! WTF?!!

Now Herc is really confused! This was Reg Park's first on screen appearance as Hercules! He would go on to reprise the role four more times in "Hercules In The Haunted World," "Samson In King Solomon's Mines," "Hercules, Prisoner Of Evil," and  "Hercules The Avenger!" Whether you call him Ercole, Ursus, Samson or Maciste, it's all the same guy, good ole Hercules!!

Aw, what the Hell? It all turned out to be a big joke! Smile Herc, you're on "Candid Camera!"

No comments:

Monster Music

Monster Music
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Ya'll Come On Back Now, Y'Hear??