Hercules the Invincible (1964)

Really Surprised!

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Right off the bat I have to say this is not about Hercules but about the SON OF Hercules Ercole/Argolese. Most likely "son of" refers to a follower of Hercules. Like father, like son - Argolese is like his "father" so I guess it is a Hercules movie in a way.This one does have some light comedy in it - including the man in the bear suit scenes. Babar gives us some comical lines and looks - the real comic relief of the film.Not only does this peplum action-adventure "Hercules" film give us some light comedy, it is a fantasy film since we have a witch and a dragon. It does feel like a Dungeons and Dragons movie in it's way. And it has all the makings for a film that I enjoy. This one might be my favorite "Hercules" film from the 60s series.6/10

Since there were more Peplum extravaganzas than the U.S. market could absorb, television got into the act with a syndicated series called "The Sons of Hercules," which were 14 Italian Peplum not released theatrically in the U.S. that were re-dubbed as a loose series of 28 episodes with a catchy theme. "Hercules the Invincible" (Italian title: "Ercole l'invincibile") became "Son of Hercules in the Land of Darkness," starring big Dan Vadis as the hero renamed Argoles, who was supposed to be one of the sons of Hercules. This is the only version I've seen, so I can't really comment on the Italian original, but based on the material as presented, I can't imagine it was any good. This is one of the worst in the Hercules series, even though it packs in plenty of action. Unfortunately, it is almost all uninspired, unimaginative and very cheap-looking, with lots of running about and lots of dead spots. This has one of the worst fights with a lion in any Peplum film -- director Alvaro Manori either didn't know how it was done, or didn't care to make it look vaguely realistic or threatening. None of the considerable number of action sequences build any suspense, nor are they staged and filmed in a way that offers any tension or excitement. Even the obligatory dance number is anemic, consisting mostly of women rolling around on the floor. The look of the film, and the set designs, are equally as unimpressive.The one thing this has going for it is large number of feats-of- strength opportunities for our hero (whatever you want to call him), and Vadis makes the most them, with the camera ogling and caressing his muscles. The biggest problem for Vadis is that he's sporting an extremely unflattering beard. This was his first of two times as Hercules. Perhaps someone thought that the best Hercules's -- Steve Reeves and Reg Park -- have beards, so Vadis should too. It was a colossal mistake in judgment. Despite the scruffy rug on his face, Vadis cuts an imposing figure as the legendary strongman. There's only one other moderately intriguing character in the whole movie, Maria Fiore as a conniving courtesan so desperate to become queen of the land Hercules invades that, once she achieves her goal she barely notices her kingdom falling down around her. But that's not enough to save this below-par entry in a genre that was rapidly becoming played out.

This is easily among the lamest peplums to emerge out of Italian cinema during that subgenre's heyday: in this respect, muscular lead Dan Vadis certainly proved consistent since his efforts in this vein are all quite terrible! Anyway, this starts off with one of the most side-splitting Anglicized cast lists ever that bears repeating in full here: apart from Vadis himself, we have Ken Klark, Jannette Barton, Red Ross, Sand Beanty, Kirk Bert, Kriss Moss, Jannette Le Roy, Paul Mac Lee, Pat Kein, Angel Pat, Flow Garden, Tago Convers, Albert Cardiff and, finally, Al World for director!! – but equally hilarious are the hero's intermittent fights with a variety of incredibly fake-looking wild animals (a lion and a bear) and monsters (a dragon that looks more like a dinosaur!)…though he also survives getting torn apart by a bunch of real elephants in the arena! Worse still is the obligatory comic relief courtesy of a cowardly elderly sidekick that is truly unbearable to behold. Having watched a handful of such undemanding and virtually interchangeable fare back-to-back, I can hardly recall what the plot was all about: I do know, however, that much is made of the fact that the aforementioned dragon's smallest tooth has all-important magic powers that, needless to say, are craved by a Fu Manchu-type potentate who incongruously turns up at some point, to little effect

And look at that, it's another Hercules movie, though this time it's billed as Son of Hercules. I can't imagine why film makers rallied around the original Steve Reeves "Hercules" flick to spin off nearly an additional two hundred more of these beefcake bashes. I've only seen a half dozen or so myself, but they're all starting to look pretty much the same. This one's at the low end of the scale, and let's face it, the scale is pretty low to begin with.The standard stuff seems to be here - a love interest for Argolese (Dan Vadis), a wicked queen who attempts to kill him, various beasts to fight and defeat, and even a sidekick, though this time he seems more embarrassing than helpful. The casting of Babar (John Simons) seems to beg the question, 'What were they thinking?'I'm always intrigued when I see Hercules or one of his stand ins use the old speed dial to reach one of the Olympian gods. In this flick, Argolese is about to be pulled apart by elephants when he summons the heavens for help and wouldn't you know it, the chains simply break apart. I mean there wasn't even a pause to reflect on the request and build suspense.I'm sure there are better prints of the film than the one I viewed. It had some jarring jump cuts and a decidedly red hue in many scenes. It started out with a Part 1, signaling to me that perhaps it was made in a serial style format. There were even scenes of coming attractions for Part 2, however the film was spliced together in such a way that the action just continues, only to show those highlight scenes once again in due course. It all seemed quite annoying.There's really no reason to see this flick, and recommending it would be a disservice. My motivation rested simply in the fact that it was one of fifty movies packaged together under the 'Sci-Fi' collection put out by Mill Creek Entertainment/Treeline Films. The only positive worth noting is the catchy little theme song - 'There Be Sons of Hercules'.Hey, was that a real bear or a man in a bear suit?