Tonight's Saturday Night Special is a sword and sandal film that could actually also be considered a monster movie! It's called "Goliath And The Vampires," and it has got some extra weird stuff going on!
We've been through this before, whether you want to call him Maciste, Samson, or Goliath, it doesn't matter! What matters is that he's one bad cat just short of being super human!
This evil character looks like a cross between Obama and The Rock!
One of the first all-girl bands!
You've got to love a movie that moves seamlessly between evil monsters and nicely choreographed dance numbers!
This evil apparition is called Kobrak as played by Guido (HYPNOSIS, BARABBAS) Celano! He is a vampire of sorts! The gorgeous gal doing his bidding is Gianna Maria (HERCULES, LUST OF THE VAMPIRE) Canale as Astra!
Kobrak is not your typical vampire! He doesn't choose to suck blood from necks because he has other methods!
Time to go to the club, and another dance number!
Now this just might be the most interesting piece of music that was ever in a sword and sandal movie! I guess they got the sand part right because this sounds like it should have been in a movie called something like "Beach Blanket Babylon!" And no wonder since the music in the American version of this film was composed by Dungeon super hero Les (BEACH PARTY, BIKINI BEACH, MUSCLE BEACH PARTY, HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI) Baxter! Electric guitars B.C., I love it!!
Time to prepare the wench for his majesty!
Now this is a great shot! It looks like a guy breaking into a strip mall!
These cats were called the Blue Men! I think somebody in Vegas owes Ambrosiana Cinematografica Productions a little cash!
How'd you like to have this funny little monster nipping at your heels?
I'm almost done, and I haven't even mentioned the star of the show, Gordon (GOLIATH) Scott yet!
If you want to know a lot more about Gordon, then read this post of mine for the movie
"Danger!! Death Ray!" Out of all the guys to play Tarzan in the movies, Gordon Scott was always my favourite!!
He got caught, and now Goliath's on a bummer!
But this guy is no quitter! Talk about bringin' down the house!
Tricky Freakin' Kobrak comes back disguised as Goliath himself, and tries to cause a bunch of trouble! (Shows you the depth of Gordon Scott!)
Time for Gordon to go mano a mano with himself!!
BACKBREAKER!!
When stripped of his mask, Kobrak turns out to be one ugly sumbitch!
Peace Out Citizens!
Maciste For President!
8 comments:
As with All of your great posts, You have some of the Best images from these"little-known" films... One of your Best "attributes' (Please Keep on doing so)...
Just dropped by to wish you guys a great weekend, and apologize for Stacey having (somewhat) "lost it"... (at least we did not have to have another "short stay" at the Loony Bin, this time...
Thanx Doc! Stay well, and that's a very cool scarybet!
I don't know if it's correct, but I heard somewhere that the imposter character (in the next-to-last scene) is played by Steve Reeves in a cameo role.
A user review at imdb said that it was Reeves who played Maciste's/Goliath's double at the end.
I remember seeing it on the Saturday night TV late show when I was a kid. I think it was one of the first sword-and-sandal movies I ever saw, along with Hercules Unchained and (maybe stretching the definition a little) Jason & the Argonauts. I may have also seen Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules, but it wasn't until years later that I learned that "Maxxus," "Goliath," "Samson," etc., were all originally Maciste.
Gordon Scott played the "real" Hercules in Hercules and the Princess of Troy. It may have been a pilot for a possible TV series, and it appeared to be made in English, not dubbed. It was above average, IIRC.
Scott was in the last four Tarzan movies produced by Sol Lesser, and the first two produced by Sy Weintraub. So he got to play both versions of the character. The pidgin English ("Me Tarzan, you Jane") version, and the one who spoke in complete sentences.
I always thought Steve Reeves was bigger and more muscular than Gordon Scott, but I just saw a picture from "Duel Of The Titans" of them standing side by side, and they almost looked like twins, so I guess it's possible!
I always thought Reeves was bigger and more muscular than Scott, but maybe I was just assuming that "Hercules" would be more pumped up than "Tarzan."
I've always liked the villainess character played by Giana Maria Canale, who of course follows that tradition of falling for the hero and ending up on his side. Very often that's a cliche I DON'T like (I usually want a villainess to REMAIN one!), but it works very well in this particular story.
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