GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS (1959)

 

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

Steve Reeves's box office success with his first two Hercules films was followed by the equal profitability of this film, in which his 6th-century protagonist, one "Emiliano," was saddled with the name of the Biblical warrior Goliath. Because this movie made some money, the name "Goliath" was occasionally attached to other flicks with even less attachment to Biblical material, such as 1960's GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON.

The tribes of sixth-century Italy suffer the depredations of a band of barbarians known as Lombards, who in real history were Germanic, though the hairstyles and costumes of the movie's raiders made me think more of stock movie Mongols. Under the command of historical king Alboino (American Bruce Cabot), the Lombards kill many of the rustic Italians, but they make their big mistake when they kill the elderly father and mother of woodcutter Emiliano. The muscular swain swears vengeance upon the barbarians, but because he's read his Zorro, he decides to disguise himself with a lion-skin outfit that partly conceals his face. This distant ancestor of Tarantino's "Bear Jew" wreaks havoc upon the invaders, mostly by battering them with a club or with flung boulders rather than by hacking with a sword, so much so that the Lombards nickname their fearsome adversary "Goliath."

The villainous leaders go on the hunt for Goliath in his secret identity, but the first person to ferret out Emiliano is the imperious Landa (Chelo Alonso), daughter of the Lombard captain. Landa falls for Emiliano as soon as she sees the glint of sweat on his muscles. He resists somewhat, since Landa belongs to his enemies' people. Even after Landa learns the woodcutter's secret, she keeps quiet while her people capture Emiliano and put him to a strength-test to figure out if he's Goliath. (Said test involves a bunch of guys trying to tug-o-war Emiliano into a board covered with spikes.) Emiliano passes the test, but Landa's father is so impressed with the young man's heroism that he lets Emiliano go despite his filling all the boxes for Goliath.

Landa, despite being a forceful female who hunts on her own with bow-and-arrow, is not a "bad woman" like the many forceful females of later peplum. One memorable scene shows Landa using a short whip (and her authority as the captain's daughter) to rescue a less able female from an aggressive barbarian rapist. In many other adventure-films from the time, the less forceful woman would end up being the hero's lover, but this script finds someone else for the weaker female to hook up with.

Landa eventually convinces Emiliano to become her lover. Yet the Lombard incursions continue, and in the film's best dramatic scene Emiliano rejects Landa as an enemy of his people. However, by the end of the movie Emiliano is able to lead Italian soldiers against the invaders and kill all the prime movers, after which the hero is free to wed the delectable barbarian girl. Alonso, who also does some sexy dances, has good chemistry with the stolid Reeves, and the action scenes are decent though not overly memorable.