Ursus

Ursus, Maciste, Goliath, Samson, Hercules, Atlas, wow, those Italian muscle man producers must have had a hard time figuring out what to call the musclebound actors who played all these legendary muscleman heroes.....In the "Mighty Ursus" Ed Fury, formerly Ed Holovochick, has to find his former fiancé and attack some nasty villains in the process....this is a typical sword and sandal movie of the time....Fury was a decent actor but nowhere nearly as muscular as Gordon Scott, Mark Forrest and Steve Reeves who made the bulk of these "epics" so to speak.......the public back in the early 60s loved these sword and sandal epics....the budgets were very skimpy for these films, but handsome musclebound actors and women running around in skimpy costumes made the male audiences flock into the theater..... The plots were mostly all the same, a damsel in distress, evil rulers overthrowing a population and our hero coming to the rescue....Steve Reeves, Gordon Scott, Mark Forrest, Richard Harrison, and Fury made a flock of these films. Ursus proved a popular title and several "Ursus" films were made with a few different actors. In some of these Italian films the muscleman was called "Maciste"...go figure.....Fury got tired of these cheap, low budget sword and sandal flicks and went back to Hollywood for a little success.

I taped this off late-night TV 10+ years ago, and dusted it off recently on a free evening for a return engagement. Maybe I was distracted the first time I watched it back then, because I was quite impressed with it this time around. First, although Ed Fury's acting is sometimes criticized by writers about the peplum genre, he handles the role with the seriousness it deserves, yet has an undeniable charm that such a hero needs on

the screen. I need to dig out some more of his films. Second, the sets are quite imaginative for a low budget film and are able to suggest much more than they actually show. Third, the plot has a number of nice twists in its final third, and the film culminates in a genuinely exciting climax and satisfying resolution. Story-writer Guiseppe Mangione was also responsible for such offbeat items as Tony Anthony's first two "Stranger" films, Barbara Steele's "Angel for Satan," the interesting "Hypnosis," and others. Finally, director Carlo Campogalliani has credits dating back to the silent era, and he manages to use his directorial sleight-of-hand to make the film seem much bigger budgeted than it actually was... always the sign of a true professional and artist. The bullfight scene was very well done, with a combination of Fury, a stuntman, and a stuffed Ed Fury doll (at least, I'm guessing that was how it was done). The editing is fine in that scene also. Computer effects have spoiled many young film fans today--this kind of combination of director and editor creating a magical sleight-of-hand that makes us "see" what isn't actually happening is always worthy of praise and is exciting to watch. In short, an excellent entry in the sword-and-sandal genre, and a credit to star Ed Fury (who has always reminded me of a muscular version of Edd Byrnes or the young 1950s Clint Eastwood)

I rated this on the quality of film-making, especially dialog & special effects. Based on sheer entertainment value, it's a 7 or better. I haven't had the opportunity to see it with fresh, adult eyes & see just how funny it remains. But when I was about 6 years old, I watched it with my older siblings many times; we found it hysterical.

To defend his countrymen, mighty Ursus goes off to war in a foreign land, a war that will last several years. Victorious, he returns home planning to marry his fiancée Attea, only to learn that she has been kidnapped in his absence by a bizarre religious cult living on a far-off island. Ursus enlists the aid of a young blind slave girl, Doreide, whom he used to know as a child, and together they embark on a quest to look for and rescue his lost Attea.

Ursus and Doreide finally arrive on the island, only to be captured by the villians, led by their masked queen, an evil woman who orders the sacrifice of virgins to her bull-god. But Ursus soon takes the bull by the horns and turns the table around ...

Ed Fury joins the muscle and toga brigade, which consists of Steve Reeves, Gordon Scott and Mark Forest to name a few, in this peplum that follows the well-worn path of this genre, but it has some good moments such as the desert sequence where Ursus and the blind girl are thirsty, the adventure and landscapes and the exquisite palace of the femme fatale. There's a rather horrid Queen who predictably keeps Ursus alive longer so she can have fun time with him. But then there's a twist concerning Ursus' kidnapped girlfriend- it took me by surprise. The film ends with a bullfight - poor stuntman earns his dinero as he gets tossed around in all different directions! - and a mass attack. Ed Fury is competent in the role of Ursus, though in his dialogue - the dubbed English - he states the bleeding obvious and his booming voice reminds me of Roger Ramjet. The acting honours go to Maria Luisa Merlo who plays the blind girl who helps Ursus in his quest.

There's nothing quite like these "maciste" style films from the early 60's; they have a unique charm to them. Great sword & sandals adventure, featuring a muscle bound hero, often a name from Greek Mythology. Ursus was the son of Hercules, and his name means bear; appropriate since that's how strong he is. Ed Fury plays our hero with all the humanity and heroism required. Ursus has weaknesses and is mortal (unlike his Mt. Olympis ancestry) but he can whup the bad guys just fine, thank you.

In addition to the muscular lead, some other familiar but always appealing sword and sandal elements are here. The women are insanely beautiful, and their flowing dresses and magic hair styles supplement this. The blind servant girl is very sympathetically and believably played by pretty Maria Merlo, best in the cast. She captures many difficult emotions; her facial expressions in the Ursus vs. animal death match are spot on. Raven haired knockout Moira Orfei, who appeared in several of these films, plays the kidnapped betrothed of Ursus; whom he sets out to rescue. Along the way, the son of Herc encounters cults, a femme-fatale queen, and an evil empire that needs to be overthrown. Every sub-plot works, and contributes to the story.

For a low budget film, this one surprises. There are a few editing goofs (most notably in the soundtrack music), but the translation dubbing is remarkably well done. A few bits of dialogue are awkward, but yet again it's in a charming fashion that you can't help but love. The "You filthy murderers!" exclamation is perfect, and sets off one of the best mass-mayhem battle scenes ever.

One of the very best of these Italian and Spanish made mythological adventure movies. Very re-watchable stuff.