Maciste nell'inferno di Gengis Khan

The print I looked at was of variable quality. Some of it seems to have been 16mm. pan-and-scan with failing color, while the last half-hour was widescreen and beautifully presented both in color and clarity. It's all dubbed into English. That will affect this review!

So. Mark Forest, who is Maciste or Hercules, depending on what language you're watching it in is in Poland. He's in love with José Greci , a poor woodcarver's daughter, whose father is the most respected man in the village. Forest, whoever he is in this movie, has just turned back the Mongol Hordes singlehandedly, but they're coming on again. It turns out that Miss Greci is actually Queen of Poland and....

Oh, why bother? It's all nonsense, and the point of this movie is the costume design, the strong men with their oiled torsos and the big fight scene at the end. Because that was the part that was in pristine condition, it looked good.

Sword and sandal film with Mark Forest as Maciste

In the German dub of this film by Domenico Paolella he is called Marko, but Mark Forest (1933-2022) actually plays Maciste, who has been haunting the Italian peplum genre since the monumental film "Cabiria" (1913) and helps out wherever a a very strong man is needed.

This time Marko/Maciste supports the Poles against the superior power of the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan (Roldano Lupi). In particular, it's about Maciste's love interest Arminia (Jose Greci (1941-2017), who played Jesus' mother Mary in "Ben Hur"), who turns out to be the Polish crown princess. The positive thing about this rather poorly made film is that Maciste has opponents on equal terms. Ken Clark (1927-2009), who was soon to start as Agent 077 alias Dick Malloy, spreads fear and terror as the nasty muscle man Kubilai. Howard Ross/Renato Rossini, born in 1941, is in no way inferior as Gason. Maciste has to face a really nasty fight to the death with a dark-skinned slave (the former football player Harold Bradley (1929-2021), who still had a long acting career ahead of him). And then there is the mysterious Arias (Gloria Milland/Maria Fie), who also causes surprises...

A not-so-well-done sword and sandal film from the late phase of the genre, which is interesting simply because the main actor Mark Forest (who trained as an opera singer during his time in Rome!) has to deal with three equal powerhouses.

Maciste / Hercules has a new battle to face against the Mongol Empire lead by Genghis Khan in the 12th century. Hercules must help to free Poland from the clutches of Genghis Khan and his band of Mongols.

I find this one better than Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World (1961). "7 Miracles" has Gordon Scott running around in a loin cloth in the entire film. "Barbarians" has Mark Forest wearing a bit more. "Barbarians" is a better made and acted out film - it also has a little bit better story. Both films have Maciste (Hercules/Samson) in a strange place and time era.

Not a lot here for me to enjoy though. I was uninterested in the film even though "Barbarians" is better than "7 Miracles" - I still did not enjoy either film.

1.5/10

When the Mongols invade Europe, they are defeated at Krakow for the first time after many victories. Kubilai (Ken Clark), the responsible commander, asks his emperor Genghis Khan for a second chance. Kubilai has two ideas how to avoid another defeat. First, he wants to eliminate Maciste (aka Hercules in the American dubbed version), the hero of the Polish people, played by Mark Forest. And then, Kubilai holds a prisoner who reveals an important secret: the princess and future queen of Poland lives in a village under false identity. The Mongols want to capture her, but of course, Maciste is a guardian to any maiden in distress...

Maciste is wrestling with a giant snake and a crocodile (yes, in Poland!); there is also a fight in an arena with spikes (spears) similar to the famous scene in 'Flash Gordon' (1980). This is all smoothly directed and well photographed. People who liked similar movies of the genre shouldn't be disappointed.

OK, so here's another Italian muscle-man Sword & Sandal Pelplum cheapie. It's a bit different in that it has an oriental setting and intrigue involving Gengis Kahn, the Mongols, a midget (err, little person) in a Harlequin costume -- very creepy -- and this weird story arc about a hero (called Maciste, Son of Hercules) who happens upon a wretched kingdom under the domination of Gengis Kahn, that is actually a group of warlords at each other's throat, under the domination of a very sinister & worldly Kahn who develops a sort of grudging respect for Maciste and allows him to fight fairly for his life against his finest warrior in some kind of gauntlet of knives, then locks Maciste up in a jail cell but allows the smoking red-hot Mongol babe to visit him with her secret ally the doctor, who plot to free Maciste so he can overthrow Kahn. Maciste runs around in a golden collared costume with a cape, there are sword fights galore, a Mongol princess with the hots for Maciste in addition to the Saracen queen whom Maciste falls in love with and is chosen by Kahn to be his wife, a renegade swordsman upstart challenging Kahn for the throne who is in cahoots with the foxy Mongol princess, lost of heroic jumps, back-flips and missions of derring-do, armies of thousands facing off on the battle plain to decide their fate, then turning heel on Kahn to try and wipe him out with Maciste as their star warrior, hoping to save the day and keep Kahn from marrying the sexy queen or killing her, whichever comes first.

If this sounds somewhat familiar, bingo: Mike Hodges and Dino DeLaurentis *PLUNDERED* this film for the script to their 1980 updating of FLASH GORDON, featuring music by Queen and Sam J. Jones as Flash Gordon, Quarterback, New York Jets, and the gosh-darned nicest guy to ever save the universe. All we need is a Brian May guitar solo during the heroic cavalry charge and we are talking deja vu all over again. Not that this is a bad thing, mind you, it's just that at about the scene where Flash -- I mean Maciste -- spares the Mongol warrior sentenced to kill him in the knife gauntlet or die himself and Kahn reacts with bemusement to his adviser ("Klytus I'm bored ...") I started saying to myself: "I've seen this somewhere before." Curious that the more familiar version of the form is the one that came after it.

But then again it makes sense, since FLASH GORDON is essentially a Peplum anyway, based on dime novella cartoons, made & produced by mostly Italians and essentially a fast paced, disposable little cartoon. FLASH GORDON even has a variation on the Veil Dance (here shown by oriental dancers spinning plates on sticks -- weird), the obligatory trial of strength whereby the hero shows his prowess by knocking down all the evil emperor's forces with little or no effort, the offbeat amusing friend/warrior whom Flash forms a sort of convenient alliance with, and of course the Standing Ovation ending where everyone gets to applaud Flash and thank him for saving the day. That scene is missing from the English version of HERCULES AGAINST THE BARBARIANS that I found, but all things being equal I think we can cut them some slack -- This is a fabulous, exciting, colorful, atypical and very rewarding little costumer, with a sort of unique agenda amongst the Peplum sub-genre in that it tells of a conflict which the hero gets caught up in rather than just providing set pieces for Gordon Mitchell to tear buildings apart using his bare hands. Again, nothing wrong with that mind you, but the sense of variety is refreshing, and the film has an interesting feel for using color, interior spaces and characterization beyond the muscle-man & his groupies that you don't see in a lot of these things.

8/10: Highly recommended.