The Sons of Hercules
The Sons of Hercules was a syndicated Embassy Pictures television show that aired in the United States of America in the 1960s. The series repackaged 14 Italian sword-and-sandal films by giving them a standardized theme song for the opening and closing titles, as well as a standard introductory narration attempting to relate the lead character in each film to the Greek demigod Hercules. These films however were not all originally made as "Hercules" films in Italy. Although two of them did originally feature Hercules (and not his sons), four of the films were originally Maciste movies in Italy, two of them were originally Ursus movies, and the other six were just isolated gladiator or mythological hero movies not released theatrically in the US.
Films in the series
There were 14 films in the Sons of Hercules syndication package. The first title listed for each film was its American television title, followed by the original Italian title in parentheses:
- Ursus, Son of Hercules (Ursus) 1961, starring Ed Fury (a.k.a. Mighty Ursus in England)
- Mole Men vs the Son of Hercules (Maciste, the Strongest Man in the World) 1961, starring Mark Forest
- Triumph of the Son of Hercules (The Triumph of Maciste) 1961, starring Kirk Morris
- Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules (Maciste vs the Monsters) 1962, starring Reg Lewis
- Venus Against the Son of Hercules (Mars, God Of War) 1962, starring Roger Browne
- Ulysses Against the Son of Hercules (Ulysses against Hercules) 1962, starring Mike Lane
- Medusa Against the Son of Hercules(Perseus The Invincible) 1962, starring Richard Harrison
- Son of Hercules in the Land of Fire (Ursus In The Land Of Fire) 1963, starring Ed Fury
- Tyrant of Lydia Against The Son of Hercules (Goliath and the Rebel Slave) 1963, starring Gordon Scott
- Messalina Against the Son of Hercules (The Last Gladiator) 1963, starring Richard Harrison
- The Beast of Babylon Against the Son of Hercules (Hero Of Babylon) 1963, a.k.a. Goliath, King of the Slaves, starring Gordon Scott
- Terror of Rome Against the Son of Hercules (Maciste, Gladiator of Sparta) 1964, starring Mark Forest
- Son of Hercules in the Land of Darkness (Hercules the Invincible) 1964, starring Dan Vadis
- Devil of the Desert Against the Son of Hercules (Anthar the Invincible) 1964, (a.k.a. The Slave Merchants, a.k.a. Soraya, Queen of the Desert) starring Kirk Morris, directed by Antonio Margheriti
See also
- Samson
- Steve Reeves
- Sword and Sandal