Here are some examples of a peculiar sub-genre.

“Peplums” are a term for low-budget Italian-made ‘sword and sandal’ historical epics.  The peak “peplum” period was the 60s, when hundreds of such movies featuring Biblical stories and/or Greco-Roman mythical heroes were made.

These attempted to copy the success of Hollywood epics such as Ben Hur or The Ten Commandments, only at a fraction of the cost!

Characteristic of “peplums”  were’ muscle-bound strong-men’ lead characters, such as Hercules or Samson, formulaic plots that played loosely with history, rubbish special effects, and generally very lousy dubbing. Many featured body-builders as the star, most notably American Steve Reeves, but also many Italian actors who took on Westernised pseudonyms.

La Bataille De Corinthe (a.k.a The Centurion) is a 1961 production that takes huge liberties with an actual historical event. Ursus L’Invincible (a.k.a. The 3 Avengers) stars Italian body-builder Sergio Ciani, billed as “Alan Steel”.  La Revolte De Sparte (a.k.a Gladiators Seven) meanwhile stars Tony Russel, who has the distinction of being one of several American actors to have turned down the lead in A Fistful Of Dollars – a decision I’m sure he came to regret!  

I’ve never seen any of these movies, and am highly unlikely to ever do so. Chances are, they may have a certain kitsch charm, but none of them are likely to be viewing essentials, to say the least. They do, however, make for fun posters for home decor, most notably the Corinthe French ‘grande’, by the renowned artist Constantin Belinsky. 

All of these can be found for sale here.