Maciste contro lo sceicco

Ed Fury already had two "Ursus" films under his peplum and still had one more to go when he tossed off this entry in the sword-and-sandal field which moved the action to the Spanish-Moorish world of the late 1500s. Despite the change in sets and costumes, the story is the usual mishmash of kidnapped princesses, evil tyrants, feats of strength, duplicitous noblemen, etc. It's passably diverting for fans of this genre but no one really seems to have his heart in the proceedings.

Fury doesn't make his appearance until the second reel and it takes him a bit longer to get his shirt off. After that, he's frequently bare-chested. There's no background or depth to his character which gives him a vaguely "cartoony" quality but, as one might expect, he's subjected to a dose of beefcake-bondage. In one scene he's chained to the wall of a dungeon and threatened with two sharpened points about to be rammed into his eyes. In a later scene he has to fight off six hulking warriors. The last of these warriors gives Fury seventeen lashes with a whip as Fury writhes on the ground but the whip is obviously just a piece of rope and so this torment has little impact. Finally Fury has to lift back into place a fallen stone obelisk. This isn't very plausible, even for a "Maciste," but it is a unique moment in films.

Fury performs with his usual off-hand charm but he seems out-of-place, somewhat uncomfortable, and occasionally bored. For those trying to follow the overly-tangled story, "Ramiro" is the Spanish plotter who's trying to take over the Dukedom of Malaga and "Zuleima" is the beautiful Arab girl who helps Maciste at a key moment.

This review is based on, alas, a black-and-white VHS tape which seemed to be missing bits and pieces of footage.