Hercules
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Pietro Francisci
Sylva Koscina
Fabrizio Mioni
Arturo Dominici
Gino Mattera
Lydia Alfonsi
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Fantastical adaptation of the adventures of the mythological hero.
Director
Pietro Francisci
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
This was the first film shot in Italy in the French Dyaliscope anamorphic widescreen system.
The roar of the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece is actually Godzilla'a roar from _Godzilla King of the Monsters (1956)_ . Joseph E. Levine had acquired and released that film three years earlier.
Joseph E. Levine acquired the U.S. distribution rights to this film, which he retitled "Hercules", for $120,000.
Writer-director Pietro Francisci was having trouble finding just the right person to portray Hercules. The problem was solved when his daughter suggested American bodybuilder-turned-actor Steve Reeves whom she had seen in the MGM musical Athena (1954).
To take maximum advantage of the extensive (and expensive) television and radio campaign launched to promote the film in the USA, Joseph E. Levine pioneered the technique of "saturation booking" by using over 600 prints of "Hercules" (1959). This was an unheard number of prints for a U.S. release in the days of full size movie theatres (not the small multiplexes we know today).
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1958
Re-released in United States Summer 1959
Joseph E Levine bought the film, based on the legend of the Argonauts, for $120,000, dubbed in English dialogue and made millions from its American release and subsequent sequels.
dubbed
Dyaliscope
Released in United States 1958
Re-released in United States Summer 1959
