Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908–1990

Produced in Italy from the turn of the 20th century, “sword and sandal” or peplum films were well received in the silent era and attained great popularity in the 1960s following the release of Hercules (1959), starring Mr. Universe Steve Reeves. A global craze for Bronze Age fantasy-adventures ensued and the heroic exploits of Hercules, Maciste, Samson and Goliath were soon a mainstay of American drive-ins and second-run theaters (though mainly disparaged by critics). By 1965, the genre was eclipsed by the spaghetti western, yet the 1960s peplum canon continues to inspire Hollywood epics. This filmography provides credits, cast and comments for dozens of films from 1908 through 1990.

Roy Kinnard is the author of many books on such topics as Flash Gordon, science fiction serials, Fay Wray, horror, silent films and Willis O’Brien. His essay on the Flash Gordon serials, written at the invitation of the Library of Congress, appears on the website of the National Film Registry. He lives in Chicago.

Commercial artist Tony Crnkovich, co-author (with Kinnard) of The Films of Fay Wray and The Flash Gordon Serials, has produced movie-related artwork and written articles for Classic Images. He lives in Chicago.

Roy Kinnard and Tony Crnkovich

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 256
Bibliographic Info: 95 photos, appendix, index
Copyright Date: 2017
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6291-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2704-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Introduction 1
The Silent Era 7
The Sound Era 15
Appendix: The 1980s Revival 197
Index 209