After the unexpected box office success of Hercules, produced in Italy in 1957 by Joseph E. Levine and starring former "Mr. Universe" Steve Reeves, the Italian film industry enjoyed a brief but prolific period in which countless sword and sandal epics (peplum) - many featuring American actors - were churned out for the international film market. Though many of these were based on myths and folklore, a few delved into ancient history, recreating incidents from the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. Among the latter category, one of the more offbeat entries was Gold for the Caesars (1964), released in Italy as Oro per i Cesari. Set in Spain in 96 AD, the film focuses on a period in Roman history when the empire was exploiting its slave laborers in construction and gold mining operations in often hostile territories. Lacer (Jeffrey Hunter), an educated slave who is skilled in architecture, has been assigned to build a new dam in the Valley of the Sil, but he's torn between his hatred of his oppressors and the enormous pride he takes in his work. His conflicted state of mind is further intensified by his lust for Penelope (Mylene Demongeot), the slave mistress of Roman officer Maximus (Massimo Girotti), and the constant threat of attack by Celtic warriors.

Certainly, Gold for the Caesars won't win any prizes for historical accuracy but fans of the genre will enjoy the film's campy take on the ancient past which is highlighted by slave revolts, swordfights, drunken orgies and the unlikely presence of Jeffrey Hunter in a toga. It all builds to a spectacular finish; the Celts mount an offensive and destroy the dam, creating a disastrous flash flood. However you're more likely to be amazed by the hilariously anachronistic dialogue (most of the European cast is dubbed though the English speaking actors speak in their own voices) in scenes like the first sexual encounter between Lacer and Penelope: "I've thought of at least six different ways of speaking to you but each of them ended with me getting slapped so go ahead, let's get it over with." (She slaps him hard, they kiss passionately then repel each other). Jeffrey Hunter, who was much more at home on the range in American Westerns like The Searchers (1956) and The True Story of Jesse James (1957), wasn't the only actor from the U.S. that tried his hand at sword and scandal epics; Alan Ladd, Dale Robertson, Gordon Scott and Broderick Crawford all ventured to Italy at some point in their careers to make movies like Duel of Champions (1961) and The Colossus of Rhodes (1961).

The credits for Gold for the Caesars acknowledge both Andre De Toth and Italian screenwriter Sabatino Ciuffini (he also penned The Tartars and The Giant of Metropolis, both 1961) as co-directors but Ciuffini's name was only listed in order to qualify for government subsidies. The film was one of several that De Toth made in Italy during the early sixties and included Morgan the Pirate and The Mongols, both 1961. Recalling his work on Gold for the Caesars with Jeffrey Hunter and Ron Randell (he plays the Roman soldier Rufus), De Toth said, " I loved Italy, I loved them and the dolce vita. I did what I could, I was up front, I didn't hoodwink them or myself. Those films served them and were good for me as an experiment." Unfortunately, De Toth broke his neck in an accident after Gold for the Caesars and didn't direct again until 1968 when he made Play Dirty, a pitch black anti-war drama starring Michael Caine.

Producer: Joseph Fryd
Director: Sabatino Ciuffini, Andre De Toth
Screenplay: Sabatino Ciuffini, Arnold Perl, based on the novel by Florence A. Seward
Art Direction: Ottavio Scotti
Cinematography: Raffaele Masciocchi
Editing: Franco Fraticelli
Music: Franco Mannino
Cast: Jeffrey Hunter (Lacer), Mylene Demongeot (Penelope), Ron Randell (Rufus), Massimo Girotti (Maximus), Giulio Bosetti (Scipio).
C-86m.