Francesco Thellung Movies
- 1963
"There will always be...SONS OF HERCULES!!!" So goes the tacked-on TV theme music of the Italian sword and sandal opus Invincible Gladiators. One of those sons of Hercules is herein played by Richard Lloyd (though Herk's name is never alluded to in the dialogue). A beautiful princess has been kidnapped, and a handsome prince is beside himself. Lloyd offers his services to the prince, doing battle with the minions of an evil queen. Hopefully, when you catch up with Invincible Gladiators, the film's color process won't have faded into living brown, as has happened with many entries in the "Sons of Hercules" TV package. ~ Hal Erickson, 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
- 1959
This sword and sandal epic set in 217 AD follows the exploits of a courageous gladiator who is taken prisoner on behalf of the Queen of Palmyra. To win her confidence, the gladiator pretends to hate his Roman masters, but as soon as she trusts him, he has his soldiers take her prisoner. Because he has fallen for her, the gladiator has her released and then saves her by claiming that her crimes against the Empire were precipitated by her counselor. Fortunately, the Senates believe it and romance ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anita Ekberg, Folco Lulli, (more)
- 1958
The ancient Roman empire is the setting for this sword-and-sandal costume drama about the villainous Princess Amira (Gianna Maria Canale) who plans to poison the rightful heir to the Armenian throne, her younger brother. She has cast her lot with the Scythians, a foreign tribe who want to expand their territory. But a resistance movement is led by Asclepio (Georges Marchal), and when the Roman tribune Marcus Numidius (Ettore Manni) thunders in to set things right, he has Asclepio's underground force as an ally. Large-scale battles and smaller contests in the gladiatorial arena provide plenty of rousing action. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gianna Maria Canale, Georges Marchal, (more)
