TheSmutPeddler

While it was great seeing Rula Lenska* in a choice role pulling out all the stops, the production is a dreary misfire, full of imagery that bores rather than intrigues. A half hour's with of story is dragged out to a length that felt far longer than the running time. If you care to watch, fast forward to all of Lenska's scenes. The rest is, sadly, not to be recommended.

*I was a member of the Rula Lenska Fan Club here in the United States, a kind of parody of fan clubs since Lenska was only known for her Alberto VO5 TV ads in which she introduced herself, "I'm Rula Lenska," to a befuddled but bemused American public that had never heard of her before-her lack of notoriety became, itself, a sensation and a punch line for late night comedians like Carson. What the RLFC did successfully, with tongue in cheek, was humanize the actress with bits of news and background. Lenska already had a career overseas, so we heard about that too. I drifted away as I grew older and the novelty wore off. Lenska didn't catch on in a big way in the States, and years went by. First with video and flash forward to now with streaming, vintage overseas entertainment has thankfully become ever more readily available.

Brad Harris repeatedly demonstrates his impossible strength throughout this peplum piece along with he-man co-star Sergio Ciani. Lots of wrasslin' and clobberin' for those who enjoy musclemen movies. There's nothing cerebral going on here, but there's fun to be had. Plus, court intrigue, a rebellion, pageantry, an evil queen, and Serge Gainsbourg as the villain. The comedy spots are sometimes awkward and puerile but not entirely unwelcome. The score from time to time gets a bit goofy but is adequately bold and triumphant when needed. There are several brief moments of focus problems, but this is otherwise richly colorful widescreen entertainment and the image quality streaming is good. Lower your expectations and disregard historical accuracy, and let the youngster in you enjoy this early 60's Hercules spinoff.

The only copy of "Arabella" available on the international market seems to be a shoddy Region 2 Pan-And-Scan version of a reportedly inferior print. Probably the print I saw on TV when I was a kid and became enchanted with the truly wacky film, gorgeous Virna Lisi, the fantastic costumes, wigs, jewelry, and the continental settings circa 1928. Above all, I loved Ennio Morricone's score for this film, from kooky to romantic and everything in-between. The melodic "flapper" theme that seems to surround Arabella and her schemes has haunted me for over 40 years, and when watching it recently (thanks to our frenemies in Russia having posted a copy of the shoddy DVD release), I found myself wanting to DEMAND this film be restored and released to blu-ray in its correct aspect ratio. So here I am putting in my two cents. Media Gods, MAKE IT HAPPEN! For Ennio's sake, if for no other reason. I should also note that while a ton of Morricone's music has been released digitally, the score for Arabella never even saw vinyl back in the day; that too must be released!