Richard Harrison Movies
Though Richard Harrison is perhaps best remembered by American audiences as a footnote in most biographies of Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood (he recommended Eastwood for the lead in Leone's Fistful of Dollars), the ruggedly handsome actor enjoyed one of the longest film careers of any American expatriate performer. Born in Utah in 1935, Harrison relocated to Los Angeles and worked as a fitness trainer and physique model before moving onto bit parts in television and films like South Pacific and Kronos. He married Loretta Nicholson, daughter of American International Pictures chief James Nicholson, and was on the verge of becoming an AIP stock player when he received an offer from Italian producer Italo Zingarelli to come to Europe and star in The Invincible Gladiator, one of a host of sword-and-sandal films made in the wake of Steve Reeves' Hercules (1958). Harrison's toned (but not overdeveloped) build, male-model good looks, and physical prowess helped make the film into a success, and he would star in several more "peplum" before making the transition to Italian Westerns and spy pictures in the mid-'60s. Though virtually unknown in the United States, Harrison quickly became a top draw in the rest of the world, and remained a leading man well into the late '70s. Under the name James London, Harrison also wrote and directed Two Brothers in Trinity, (1972), a broad Western-comedy co-starring Donald O'Brien. As the '70s drew to a close, Harrison made films in Yugoslavia, Turkey (Una donna per sette bastardi), and later the Philippines and Hong Kong, where he appeared in two films for the Shaw Brothers, including Marco Polo (1975). While in Hong Kong, he made the acquaintance of Godfrey Ho, who directed him in Inferno Thunderbolt, a low-budget martial arts film which was incorporated into at least nine other films, each touting Harrison as the star without his knowledge. Harrison returned to the United States in the early '90s, a wealthy man from his adventures in Europe; aside from a few friendly appearances for Fred Olen Ray and a pair of bids for mayor of Palm Springs, he is content to enjoy his life in well-deserved anonymity. Harrison's son Sebastian also had a brief acting career in Europe; among his credits is the 1987 Western Scalps, directed by Bruno Mattei, and featuring a script co-written by his father. ~ Paul Gaita, All Movie Guide
Richard Burton co-directed (along with Nevill Coghill) this labor of love that records a performance given by Burton at Oxford University in 1966 of Christopher Marlowe's 400-year-old verse play. Burton plays Faust, a medieval doctor who sells his soul to Mephistopheles (Andreas Teuber) in exchange for mastering all human knowledge. The Devil tempts Faust at every turn by confronting him with the seven deadly sins and Helen of Troy (Elizabeth Taylor), who appears throughout the film in various stages of undress as Doctor Faustus stands firm. The production was filmed in Rome, with the majority of the cast Oxford University amateur actors. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, (more)
- 1968
In this spaghetti western, a nameless stranger begins looking for revenge against the man who brutally murdered his friend. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harrison
- 1966
In this mystery, an insurance company hires a detective to investigate the strange deaths of several heavily insured clients. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Richard Harrison is Maciste, Hercules' offspring (or so the theme music would have you believe), in this sword-and-sandal opus. Marilou Toro is the wicked, seductive Messalina, who uses her wiles to gain power in Rome. But Harrison is impervious to Messalina's charms; his only interest is in the just and true. The fight scenes are adequately staged, even if the blood looks more like cranberry sauce. Empress Messalina was given its widest American exposure as part of the ubiquitous "Sons of Hercules" TV package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
In this espionage drama, an American CIA agent must find the whereabouts of valuable microfilm that was smuggled over by two Russian scientists who had been hoping to defect. Unfortunately, they died for their efforts and the film fell into the greedy hands of a Lebanese business magnate who is also killed. In desperation the agent convinces the dead man's niece that he needs that film and she tells him where it is located. Just as he is about to get the film, a Russian spy grabs it, tells him that he is a double agent, grabs the niece, and rushes off in a stolen speed boat. Fortunately, a helicopter is nearby and the good agent jumps in and flies off after the fleeing spy. In the end the CIA agent gets it all and saves the Western world. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harrison, Dominique Boschero, (more)
- 1964
In this sword and sandal adventure, an emissary must find the twin brother of the recently deceased ruler Marcus Aurelius so that he can rule in his stead. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Steve Reeves clone Richard Harrison stars in the sword 'n' sandal Giants of Rome. The Eternal City is threatened by a modernistic doomsday weapon. Harrison decides to investigate, cutting a swath through various well-armed antagonists. It turns out that the horrible weapon turns out to be little more than an outsized catapult. There was a huge built-in audience for this sort of fare back in 1964, so it hardly matters whether or not Giants of Rome is any good...though it is better than most of its kind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harrison
- 1964
A slave unites the people of Rome against their emperor, Messalina. The Italian film was dubbed into English. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harrison, Lydia Alfonsi, (more)
- 1964
When a man is killed, his wife and son set out to get revenge. ~ All Movie Guide
Four writers are to credit for this unsuccessful sword-and-sandal feature starring Richard Harrison. Set in the 1st century A.D., Sparta is under the tyranny of the Roman Empire. With the help of six other gladiators, Spartan Darius (Harrison) is determined to make a small contribution to the welfare of mankind by engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the local brutes. The dubbing is uneven in this historical actioner that follows the same pattern as many of the low-budget features of this genre. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harrison, Loredana Nusciak, (more)
- 1963
Don't expect to hear "Marching to Pretoria" in the Italian Revolt of the Praetorians. This is a sword-and-sandal affair, set in the first few centuries AD. All Rome trembles under the rule of a tyrannical emperor. That's until the arrival of a mysterious masked do-gooder known only as --ta da!--The Red Fox. Richard Harrison, Moira Orfel and Giuliano Gemma, veterans all of the Muscleman Movie genre, star in Revolt of the Praetorians. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
The early '60s saw a plethora of sword-and-sandal adventure movies coming out of Italy, all featuring professional bodybuilders-turned-actors playing super-strong heroes out of the ancient Greek or Roman legends. Medusa Against the Son of Hercules, as this movie was generally released in the United States, was recut as part of a package for television and shown broken into five "episodes," presented nightly under the series title The Sons of Hercules. The movie is a retelling of the legend of Perseus and the Medusa, in which the hero is defending the besieged kingdom of Seriphos. Its people are near starvation, under siege by the army of Argus on one side, a huge dragon on another side, and the hideous Medusa on another. The king is about to give his daughter, Andromeda (Anna Ranalli), to the evil Galinor, king of Argus, as a bride for his son, in order to open up a route for trade. Perseus (Richard Harrison), the son of the murdered king of Argus, vows to avenge his father's death, stop the usurper Galinor's subjugation of Seriphos, and free both kingdoms. To do this, he must slay the dragon and then destroy the Medusa, which will restore her victims -- Seriphos' best soldiers -- who have been transformed into stone in her valley, to flesh-and-blood, so that they can defeat the army of Argus. First, however, he must defeat the evil son of Galinor in a tournament and win the trust of Andromeda's father. The action is a little clunky and the music too repetitive by half, and the dragon looks like a nasty version of Cecil the Sea Serpent from Beany & Cecil, but the Medusa, created by Carlo Rambaldi (who subsequently worked on E.T.), is an inspired vision, a giant hydra-like creature with tentacles for legs and an evil, glowing eye at its center. The scenes in the fog-shrouded valley where it claims its victims are particularly eerie. The presence of Perseus' mother as a half-mad queen also adds to the sense of verisimilitude with the ancient Greek origins of the story. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 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
- 1963
The Spanish/Italian Gringo stars Richard Harrison as a combatant in the Mexican civil war. In between bloody skirmishes with the enemy, Harrison takes time out to settle a personal score with his hated foster father. With its Lone Avenger protagonist and its excessive violence, the film has all the earmarks of a "spaghetti western"--even though it was filmed in 1963, a year before Sergio Leone popularized that gore-encrusted genre. Gringo was not released in the US until 1968, after the success of Leone's Clint Eastwood vehicles. Originally released as Duello Nel Texas, Gringo is currently available on videotape under the title Gunfight at Red Sands. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harrison, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, (more)
- 1961
Master of the World was adapted by Richard Matheson from two Jules Verne novels, Robur le Conquerant (1896) and its sequel, Maitre du Monde (1904)--with more than a little of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea thrown in. Set in 1868, the story is galvanized by an ominous warning of impending doom, delivered in a disembodied but resonent voice from a huge mountain just outside Morgantown, Pennsylvania. Hoping to find the source of the warning, the members of the Weldon Balloon Society, headed by munitions manufacturer Prudence (Henry Hull), send a motorized balloon to investigate. Also aboard Prudence's balloon is his daughter Dorothy (Mary Webster), her fiance Philip (David Frankham), and taciturn pilot Strock (Charles Bronson). Before long, the little party is captured by the brilliant but unbalanced Robur (Vincent Price), captain of the gigantic, state-of-the-art airship "Albatross." Robur explains that he is a man of peace, and that he is using his huge airship to wipe out all warfare by obliterating every weapon of mass destruction on earth--and never mind that a few innocent bystanders may also be killed in the process. Admiring Robur's intentions if not his methods, Strock bypasses every opportunity to stop the madman in his tracks, and for this he is branded a coward by the hotheaded Philip, sparking a battle of words and fists that will persist throughout the film. Meanwhile, Robur attacks such strategic military locations as Paris, Madrid and North Africa (courtesy of stock footage from other films), and as the carnage continues, Prudence renounces his war-profiteering ways. As for Strock, his admiration for Robur does not prevent him from a desperate climactic effort to rescue Prudence, Dorothy and Philip by planting a time bomb in the "Albatross"--a bomb that very well may go off before the "good guys" get off. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, (more)
- 1960
In this adventure, a daring nobleman returns to his castle after visiting Venice and learns that the Saracen pirates have taken it over. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
