Nando Tamberlani Movies
In this fantasy, Hercules must fight the dreaded moon men who are sacrificing people in the hopes that their spilled blood will bring back their dead queen. He also battles a terrifying giant with a metal head, and several monsters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sergio Ciani
- 1963
This low-budget 16th century set epic follows the exploits of the conqueror Suleiman the Magnificent, the leader of the Ottoman Empire who tried to over take Europe. In this film, his target is the town of Szigetvar, a heavily fortified Christian outpost. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1963
In this epic costumer, a christianized Roman centurion fights back against those who would slaughter his fellow believers. His odyssey begins when Emperor Constantine dies and is replaced by a new Christian-hating Emperor. The centurion takes refuge in a barbarian camp. Later he returns to Rome as a gladiator and wins freedom for the Christians by beating three foes in the arena. Following a devastating earthquake, he is again sent to fight. The new emperor and most of Rome is destroyed. The brave Christian soldier is then free to preach the gospel. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1963
In this sword and sandal epic, a slave saves an enslaved princess from Roman invaders. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Centurions was initially released in the US The Centurion (some difference). Jacques Sernas heads the cast as a Roman gladiator sent on a diplomatic mission to Greece. Sernas's task is to convince the Greeks to acquiesce to Roman rule, but he is opposed by a group of freedom advocates (among them John Drew Barrymore). The plot congeals when Sernas falls in love with Gianni Santuccio, daughter of the head of the anti-Rome faction. Originally lensed in Italy as Il Conquistatore di Corinto, Centurions has also been exhibited under the literally translated title Conqueror of Corinth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Steve Reeves gives the most dramatically demanding performance of his career (and a surprisingly good one) in The Trojan Horse. Essentially a retelling of the final year of the siege of Troy from the point of view of Aeneas (Reeves), the movie is filled with fascinating portrayals. Aeneas, taking the interpretation from the poet Virgil, is the wisest of the Trojans and, after ten years of war, has become the leading advocate for finding an end to the fighting. His wisdom and nobility have earned him a place at the table with King Priam and the other rulers, which puts him at odds with the vain, jealous Paris and his Helen. Opening with the slaying of Hector by Achilles, the film is steeped in complex personal relationships and mythological conceits. John Drew Barrymore is the other "name" actor here, playing Ulysses as a clever, cynical, and bold warrior among the Greeks. Reeves brings real nobility to Aeneas and relies on his acting skills as much as his physique to bring off this movie, often mixing the two in a script filled with ironies, as when Aeneas must kill a Greek warrior for whom he earlier expressed respect. Along with Reeves' two Hercules films from the end of the 1950s, and Vittorio Cottafavi's Hercules and the Captive Women, this is one of the best examples of Italy's sword-and-sandal genre. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Credited in some source books to Lee Kresel, the French-made Prisoner of the Iron Mask was actually directed by Francesco DeFeo. This colorful if occasionally empty-headed swashbuckler concerns an evil count, who imprisons the patriot (Michael Lemoine) who bears proof of the count's perfidy. Few of the elements of the Alexandre Dumas novel The Iron Mask surface in this film, chiefly because it is based not on The Iron Mask but on another Dumas work, Ten Years After. Nor do D'Artagnan or the Three Musketeers make their anticipated appearances in this film. Rarely seen today, The Prisoner of the Iron Mask enjoyed its widest American exposure during the Color TV "boom" of the mid-1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this 16th-century swashbuckler, the trouble begins when a sea captain is unjustly sentenced to hang by the evil ruler of the Duchy of Doruzzo and his daughter. Meanwhile, the comely lass who believes herself the doomed captain's daughter is about to be sold to a harem when they are freed by a handsome hero whom the captain hopes will marry his daughter. Father and daughter then become pirates, and the hero is obligated to catch them, but when he falls in love with the girl, he switches allegiance and helps her attack the ruler's palace. The two then lead the other pirates, and the angry peasants in a revolt, resulting in the eventual death of the ruler, who confesses on his deathbed that the female pirate (the captain's supposed daughter) is his real daughter and heir to the Duchy; he then goes on to tell her that years before he had ordered the captain to kill her, but he refused and raised her instead. This confession so angers the other daughter that she goes into a convent; meanwhile the pirate lovers prepare for their wedding. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1960
The Nights of Lucretia Borgia and not her days in history are the openly seductive draw in this standard Italian costume drama with a rather weak storyline. Lucretia of the poisonous vial (Belinda Lee) lusts after the handsome swordsman (Jacques Sernas) who works for her nefarious brother Cesare. Lucretia's main problem, after her murderous inclinations, is how to snare the swordsman away from a gorgeous rival (Michele Mercier). This challenge is something that could promote a little sibling cooperation, since Cesare wants Lucretia's bewitching rival for himself. One of the more impressive aspects of this film is the music of Alexander Derevitsky played by the Rome Philharmonic Orchestra. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Belinda Lee, Jacques Sernas, (more)
- 1960
In this historical drama, a Viking prince returns to his homeland only to learn that his father has been murdered by King Sven of Norway. He then discovers that Sven is forcing his sister to marry in order to create an alliance with the Danes. The prince rallies his loyal fighters to storm the king's fortress in an attempt to rescue his sister. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Edmund Purdom, (more)
- 1945
Better known as one of Italy's most visionary producers, Giuseppe Amato was also a director of considerable skill. Filmed in 1945, Amato's Malia was released in the U.S. in 1952, on the coattails of his internationally successful Umberto D. Though Rosanno Brazzi is top-billed in the American version, the film's real star is Gino Cervi, cast as a Sicilian priest. Fighting strenuously against the ancient superstitions which hold his parishioners in thrall, the priest finds himself at odds with a local soothsaying quack (Virginia Balistreri). The ultimate test of religion vs. mysticism takes place when the priest tries to help a young girl suffering from malaria. Hemstitched into the proceedings is a gratuitous romantic triangle involving new a bride (Maria Denis), her philandering husband (Rosanno Brazzi), and her impressionable sister (Anna Proclamer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rossano Brazzi, Anna Proclemer, (more)
