Sylva Koscina Movies

The Russian Czar's special courier, Jurgens, is entrusted with an important message destined for the Czar's troops and he sets off across the Tartars' land with Page in this 19th century setting. ~ All Movie Guide

Sonia (Sylva Koscina) is quite a woman, if not perhaps the "Female Three Times" of the title. The captain of a Soviet female basketball team, Sonia joins her teammates on a goodwill visit to Rome. Here she is captivated by the sights, sounds and sensual pleasures of the Eternal City. When Sonia falls for a handsome Roman, it takes a veritable battalion of Russian commissars to bring her back to the Glorious Motherland. Unfortunaetly for the Soviet cause, the commissars, in true Ninotchka fashion, likewise succumb to the allure of Rome. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Heralding a decade of Italian-made sword-and-sandal films, Hercules -- as it's been known in the United States since its 1959 release -- draws most of its plot from the legend of Jason and the Golden Fleece. Hercules, the half-immortal son of Jupiter (or Zeus) rescues Iole, the daughter of Pelias, the king of Jolco, when the horses pulling her chariot run wild. Returning her to the court, he is engaged by Pelias to train his vain, arrogant son in the use of arms, that he may one day become a warrior king. Pelias' hold on power is very uncertain, owing to the way he became king -- his brother, the previous monarch, was murdered by persons unknown in the palace -- and he looks to leave a dynasty. The prince is later killed through his own foolishness, however, and the blame falls on Hercules. In order to win back the grieving heart of Iole, Hercules surrenders his immortality and manages to triumph in a savage test of his strength against the Cretan Bull. One day, a stranger arrives in Jolco claiming to be Jason, Pelias' nephew, and son of the murdered king -- and the rightful king. To prove his claim, he vows to sail to the ends of the Earth and reclaim the Golden Fleece, the symbol of rightful rule in Jolco, which was stolen on the night that his father was murdered. A crew is assembled that includes various legendary figures out of Greek mythology, with Hercules at the head of the list. They survive encounters with sea storms and a predatory race of women, the machinations of a traitor in their ranks, and Pelias' treachery, and Jason slays the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece. On their return, however, the Fleece is stolen and Hercules is imprisoned. Jason and his men are surrounded by Pelias' soldiers and a battle ensues. Iole frees Hercules, who comes to the aid of Jason and restores him to the throne that's rightfully his. This battle features one of the best action sequences in the film as Hercules, his wrists still in the shackles and chains that bound him in Pelias' dungeon, first kills the man who murdered the old king and then, faced with mounted cavalry charging him on the steps of the palace, pulls down the pillars supporting the facade and wipes out the cavalry. Pelias, unable to contain his own guilt, commits suicide and Iole, seeing the truth about her father, goes to Hercules and accepts him as her husband. Ray Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts, made six years later, told the same story with far superior effects and a less conclusive ending, but Hercules is a fun movie in its own right, and Steve Reeves cuts a stunning figure, even if his voice is dubbed. Curiously, there are two different dubbed versions of Hercules in circulation, one of which (the one that was on television in the early '60s, and was on the VidAmerica videocassette) features a simpler range of English dialogue that works better. The other version occasionally uses more florrid language (and appeared on the Image Entertainment letterboxed laserdisc), which doesn't really resonate well. The giveaway comes in the scene where Hercules prays to Jupiter at the temple, surrendering his powers. The simpler, better track has the echoed voice come back "the Cretan Bull awaits." ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

The titular "dangerous wives" of this light farce from writer/director Luigi Comencini are Claudina (Giorgia Moll), Tosca (Sylva Koscina), and Ornella (Dorian Gray). While their husbands enjoy a hunting trip, the wives discuss the men's fidelity. Claudina, sure of her Federico (Renato Salvatori), wins a bet on his truthfulness and makes Tosca pay up by performing an exotic dance that was her specialty when she was younger. Tosca's husband, Pirro (Nino Taranto), frets that his boss Bruno (Franco Fabrizi) is attracted to her, which increases the antipathy against Tosca held by Ornella, Bruno's wife. It is the smitten Federico who tries to rendezvous with Tosca, but the unexpected appearance of Pirro and Bruno puts an end to that, and all the husbands return to their respective wives. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide

In this Italian sci-fi comedy, Toto is not a little dog, but an enormously popular comedian. The story centers on him as he and another embark upon a space race. Their efforts are hampered by aliens who clone the heroes to keep them from exploring further. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Michel Serrault plays the title character in Le Naif Aux 40 Enfants (The Innocent with 40 Children). The hero is a naïve young teacher who hopes to impose modern methods on a small-town school. Instead, he falls in love with the gorgeous mother (Silva Koscina) of one of the students. His subsequent dereliction of duty results in professional disaster, but there's a happy ending all the same. Despite the considerable thespic talents of stars Michel Serrault and Silva Koscina, Le Naif Aux 40 Enfants is effortlessly stolen by its dozens of child performers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Five romantic and funny vignettes comprise this Italian anthology that is set amidst the beauty and fun of the famed French coastline. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Love indeed has surprises in this romantic comedy from writer/director Luigi Comencini. The lively Didì (Dorian Gray) is engaged to Ferdinando (Walter Chiari), a mousy teacher; her romantic pal Marianna (Sylva Koscina) is engaged to the womanizing Battista (Franco Fabrizi). The women decide that the best thing to do is to trade fiancés. Didì has little trouble raising Battista's interests, but Ferdinando frets over his responsibilities both to Didì and to his pal Battista. Ultimately, Marianna has second thoughts and marries Battista after all. Ferdinando, however, takes off with the servant girl Mariarosa (Anna Maria Ferrero), leaving Didì to look for someone new. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide

The long-forgotten Italian historical epic Herod the Great (AKA Erode il Grande, 1960), dramatizes the dark final years of the title figure, an evil Judean Tetrarch notorious for sending Christ to the cross in league with Pontius Pilate. The story begins with Herod (Edmond Purdom) and Antony's shared defeat by Rome (when the two men foolishly decide to form an allegiance and go head to head with the colossal Empire), and ends with Herod's slide into insanity following Christ's death. Throughout, the ruler exhibits utter lunacy, raving constantly and spewing forth torrents of unbridled anger; the picture's overtone thus remains bleak, despairing and relentlessly gloomy throughout (take it or leave it). Arnaldo Genoino directs; Damiano Damiani, Federico Zardo, Tourjansky and Fernando Cerchio co-scripted. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

In spite of its title, this sex comedy by director Luciano Salce is not another mythic costume drama with Steve Reeves in the lead. Instead, those little pills mentioned in the title are Herculean in their impact on the sexual drives of anyone who takes them. According to this tale, long before Viagra became a household word, the Chinese had potent pills for the impotent of any age. The comedy follows the effects of this medicinal substance on the guests at an Italian hotel in a resort town. Up for special attention is a man, his French mistress Odette (Jeanne Valerie), and his wife Silvia (Sylvia Koscina). Nino Manfredi and Vittorio De Sica star as the principal male protagonists. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide