THE THREE AVENGERS (1964)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *uncanny*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *sociological*

Considering that this film starts looking like an anticipation of the silly "Trinity" films-- which are almost nothing but endless slapstick fighting-- THREE AVENGERS proves to have a much more solid and inventive plotline than do most peplum-flicks.

The three characters of the title are the strongman Ursus (Alan Steel) and two comical acrobats, Pico and Manino, the latter of whom is apparently a mute. Though the film opens with the three of them fighting various opponents in the vaguely Middle Eastern city of Attra, Pico and Manino really aren't that important to the overall plot, so I consider them no more than subordinate allies, not central heroes in their own right. They do supply all of the comedy, though, and even Ursus gets a little more humor than a main hero usually does, complaining about how he's somehow become saddled with these ne'er-do-wells. A couple of lines-- probably inserted for the English dub-- make it sound as if this Ursus might be the son of Zeus himself, though at no time does the hero display Herculean levels of strength. 

The plot begins to thicken up as we learn that Attra's aged king Igos has married a much younger woman, Alina (Lisa Gastoni), much to the disgust of Igos' sole heir Dario (Vassili Karis). By sheer coincidence, Attra also plays host to a "False Ursus" (Mimmo Palmira), who's in command of Igos' army, and who once had a fling with Alina. There's no explicit explanation for the impostor, though I suppose it would have made sense to say that Ursus #2 was just some muscle-boy who decided to capitalize on the fame of the real thing. 

Though Real Ursus does hear the story of Fake Ursus, the two don't cross paths. Dario comes across Real Ursus and his companions, but even though they've been fighting with the city guards, Dario lets them escape the city. This proves fortunate later, when Dario has to go scouting for the camp of a local enemy, the Tenussi. Dario meets a haughty beauty, one Demora (Rosalba Neri), and sparks fly all over the place. But Demora's brother wants vengeance for past grievances against Attra, and only the lucky intervention of Ursus saves Dario's life.

Ursus returns to Attra, intending to have it out with his impostor, who has slain Igos and who intends to marry a captive Demora. Fake Ursus consults a local magician, who counsels the fake to slip a blinding-potion into the real hero's helmet when the two musclemen fight it out. The ploy succeeds, and the true Ursus is both blinded and imprisoned. Dario, the two acrobats, and Alina-- now sympathetic to Dario's cause, due to her former lover's apostasy-- contrive to set Ursus and return his eyesight, so that he can defeat the forces of the Fake.

The final combat between the "Ursi" is over rather quickly, but one doesn't feel the loss, since there's a much more thrilling sequence in the prison, as a guard fights it out with the still-blind hero and comes damn close to defeating the good guy. Neri and Gastoni are both scrumptious, and there's a mystery blonde girl who hangs around Ursus a couple times but disappears from the story. Director Gianfranco Parolina also scripted AVENGERS with two other credited writers, and the strong melodrama here may be said to presage Parolina's writing and directing on the first three SABATA spaghetti westerns.