A quick note: the Blu-ray edition of THE WONDERS OF ALADDIN will be available on November 17. I already pre-ordered it. I will report on it after my break. No screengrabs available yet.
Category: vintage brand
7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD…a hit!
Advertising placed in a Hollywood trade publication in 1957 touting the success of 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD. I love these ads. They say more about the movie than the movie itself, even if these ads were stuff straight from the publicity department of the studios, in this case COLUMBIA PICTURES.
Looking for…
Update: Tim has sent me a link to the original movie hosted at Britannica’s website.
‘Examine the ways in which mythology functioned for the ancient Greek population’
—–
…Encyclopedia Brittanica’s school film series about Greek Myths.
Someone uploaded a clip from one of these films on Greek myth to Youtube, Theseus and the Minotaur, and though the image is super murky it looks quite interesting and promising. The uploaded wrote that the films are in color. If anyone has any info or at least great copies of these Greek myth movies please contact me.
Here’s the video:
Here are two shots from it:
Still waiting…
November 2019 KINO LORBER announced the 4K restoration of GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES (1961), renamed here as SAMSON AGAINST THE VAMPIRES. As the screenshot shows, the movie was supposed to be released in 2020, or early 2020. As of October 8, 2020, there’s still no news about it.
People posted messages supporting this news and added how much they would love to see more PEPLUM movies get the same treatment and yet nothing is done about it. There’s a HUGE market for these movies around the world, including North America, and no one is capitalizing on it. Like I’ve said so many times, the PEPLUM genre gets no respect.
Upcoming movie: SPARTACUS…
A 1959 edition of MOVIE NEWS magazine, a publication printed in Singapore, had an article on SPARTACUS. It has some interesting bits of info, including the fact that Tony Curtis had been injured and was walking on crutches. The article sorta contradicts itself, claiming the movie will cost $27 million and $18 million which seems to be a lot in both cases.
Anyway, read on…
THE SILVER CHALICE, Paul Newman and a $1200 ad…
Here’s a screengrab of text from the book, PAUL NEWMAN: A LIFE by Shawn Levy describing Newman’s hatred for the first movie he ever starred in, THE SILVER CHALICE (1954). I won’t reprint the text here. Read it. It’s quite funny and sad.
Did Paul hate the movie because critics thought he looked a lot like Marlon Brando? Yes, the movie itself is not successful in a standard narrative kind of way. But the movie is sometimes visually fascinating. It’s amazing that he spent that much movie for an ad and it created the opposite effect: people who caught the ad now wanted to see the movie.
His statement about ‘wearing a cocktail dress’ pretty much sums up the way many view PEPLUM movies. Modern day audiences have trouble seeing men in clothes from Antiquity.
Paul Newman and Pier Angeli
Delilah…who’s your favourite
Delilah of the Bible is one of the most famous female characters ever and has been often portrayed on screen, at the movies or on TV. Which of the following Delilahs is your favourite? Now, this is not a critique of the movies themselves, meaning one could like a Delilah and not necessarily care for the final movie…or like the actress and like the movie but her portrayal is not the ultimate one.
Hedy Lamarr in SAMSON AND DELILAH (1949)
Liana Orfei in HERCULES, SAMSON & ULYSSES (1963)
Rosalba Neri in THE GREAT LEADERS OF THE BIBLE (1965)
Belinda Bauer in SAMSON AND DELILAH (1984; TV)
Elizabeth Hurley in SAMSON AND DELILAH (1996; TV)
Caitlin Leahy in SAMSON (2018)
My favourite, of course, is Hedy Lamarr. Then it’s Rosalba Neri, who’s really good in that role. And in third it would be Elizabeth Hurley, not necessarily because of her portrayal but because of the direction, by Nicolas Roeg, makes the whole project interesting.
I like Liana Orfei and I really like HERCULES, SAMSON & ULYSSES but her portrayal is more campy or comical than tragic. As for Belinda Bauer, well, she’s my least favourite for sure. I can’t say anything of Caitlin Leahy.
Note: I didn’t include Suzzanna from SAMSON AND DELILAH (1987) because that movie is insane.
The Last Days of Sodom & Gomorrah novelization…
I like collecting all things PEPLUM and I came across this novelization of the movie SODOM AND GOMORRAH (1962). I’m like ‘cool, I want it.’ For some reason, this book is expensive on eBay, at least the shipping is expensive for such a pulp publication. Has anyone read it? How does it differ from the movie.
Now, just by accident, I came across this other pulp publication.
It doesn’t have anything to do with the movie. It was published first but still I was wondering if it has any connection with the movie. How different is it from the screenplay for the 1962 movie.
Also, are there any other novelizations of PEPLUM movies? I’d be interested in them.
Upcoming Blu-rays…
There are a couple of titles to be released on Blu-ray or Ultra-HD Blu-ray (aka 4K).
Two Kirk Douglas movies. SPARTACUS will be released in 4K and ULYSSES (1954) will finally have an official Blu-ray release in the US. This was probably prompted with Douglas’ recent death. Good news for the latter. If it’s as good as the one in Europe or Japan, I won’t need to buy them.
Click on title for more information.
Two Maria Montez movies coming on Bl-ray. These should be nice to watch in HD.
ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES
And this one as well…
No other European PEPLUM titles on the horizon…
Steve Reeves TV Times…
I collect vintage magazines from the 1950s and 1960s, always hoping to find some cool stuff that pertains to the PEPLUM genre. In a vintage VIM magazine, they wrote about recent TV appearances of Steve Reeves…
Steve appeared on the Ray Bolger show, and on the Steve Allen show in support of ATHENA! I have to find some footage of these appearances, if they still exist.
In the same issue, they also mention future PEPLUM star Ed Fury who made an appearance on MY LITTLE MARGIE show. I have the clip of that appearance.
