The Loves of Hercules

The Loves of Hercules
Directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia
Produced by Alberto Manca[1]
Screenplay by
Story by Alberto Manca[1]
Starring
Music by Carlo Innocenzi[1]
Cinematography Enzo Serafin[1]
Edited by Renato Cinquini[1]
Production
companies
  • Grandi Schermi Italani
  • Contact Organization
  • Paris Productions (PIP)[2]
Release date
  • 19 August 1960 (1960-08-19) (Italy)
Running time
 97 minutes
Country
  • Italy
  • France[2]

The Loves of Hercules (Italian: Gli amori di Ercole)[1] is a 1960 international co-production film starring Jayne Mansfield and her then husband Mickey Hargitay.[2] The film was distributed internationally as Hercules vs. the Hydra.[1][2]

Plot

While Hercules (Mickey Hargitay) is away, his village is plundered and his wife is killed by the army of Ecalia as the first part of a scheme by the treacherous Licos (Massimo Serato) to gain the throne of Ecalia for himself. Licos plans that Hercules will come to Ecalia for vengeance and murders King Eurysteus himself to save Ecalia from his revenge. Hercules learns of the murder of his wife and seeks vengeance, but is thwarted when the King's daughter and heir to the throne, Queen Deianira, offers herself rather than her realm of Ecalia as the guilty party. In accordance with the law Deianira must face the wrath of Hercules; she is bound to a wall as Hercules throws axes at her that miss Deianira proving her innocence in the eyes of the gods.

Hercules admires Deianira and her bravery. When escorting Deianira back to her capital they come across a band of peasants who have been attacked by a monster. As Hercules seeks the monster their cattle is stampeded and Hercules kills a wild bull with his dagger. Arriving in the city Hercules discovers Deinaira is betrothed to Acheloo and leaves.

The resourceful Licos hatches another scheme where he murders Acheloo with the dagger Hercules left behind in the bull; not only casting guilt on Hercules but making Deianira available for marriage to him. The actual murderer, Philoctetes, is sent by Licos to the Underworld with the plan that Hercules can only prove his innocence by going to the Underworld where no mortal has ever returned from due to the monstrous Hydra.

Philoctetes is killed by the Hydra. Hercules kills the Hydra, but his battle weakens him into unconsciousness, and he's rescued by the Amazons, ruled by Queen Hippolyta (Tina Gloriana). Hippolyta turns her lovers into living trees after making love to them, but Hercules is only interested in Deinaira. Angered that a man is not interested in her but determined to make love to Hercules and turn him into a tree, Hippolyta's advisor suggests the only way she can gain the attention of Hercules is to change her face and body through magic into resembling Deianira (Mansfield with red hair). Hercules manages to escape with his life due to the help of the Amazon Némée (Moira Orfei), while Hippolyta is done in by one of the trees. Hercules eventually returns to free Queen Deainira and Ecalia.

Attempting to escape with Ecalia, Licos is strangled by the monster, Alcione, who is in turn killed by Hercules as he rescues Deianira.

Production notes

This was one of the earlier movies to follow from Italy in the wake of the success of Hercules (1958) starring Steve Reeves, and marked an attempt to add some star power to the notion of a muscleman movie, not so much in the title role as the female lead.

Filmed on location in Italy during the height of the sword and sandal craze, this was not one of Mansfield's "loan out" films. Mansfield was offered the film while she was shooting The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw in Spain; she agreed on the condition that her husband Mickey Hargitay played Hercules.[3] She received a fee of $75,000 for starring in the movie. Mansfield received permission from her studio 20th Century Fox to film this movie in the early weeks of 1960 whilst she was four months pregnant[4] A hit in Italy, it was later broadcast as a movie of the week in 1966 on American television and has since gained a cult following.

The scene where Mickey Hargitay wrestles a bull was prepared by treating the animal with tranquilizers first.[5]

On April 14, 2017, the film was featured in the eleventh season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 as episode 1108.

Main cast

ActorRole
Mickey HargitayHercules
Jayne MansfieldQueen Deianira / Hippolyta
Massimo SeratoLicos
René DaryGeneral
Moira OrfeiNémée
Gil VidalAchilles

Release

The film was released in Italy on August 19, 1960 with a 97 minute running time. [1] The film was released in the United States in 1966 with a 98 minute running time.[1]

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 95.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 96.
  3. ↑ p.85 Faris, Jocelyn Jayne Mansfield ABC-CLIO, 01/01/1994
  4. ↑ p. 108 Strait, Raymond Here They Are Jayne Mansfield SP Books, 1992
  5. ↑ Hughes, p.6f

Sources

  • Hughes, Howard (2011). Cinema Italiano - The Complete Guide From Classics To Cult. London - New York: I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84885-608-0.
  • Kinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN 1476662916.
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