The Loves of Hercules (1960)

Too much of everything

Memorable, crazy movie

A Disappointing Continuation

Blistering performances.

"The Loves of Hercules" was one of two peplum films featuring Hercules (the other being "Goliath and the Dragon") released in 1960, following the success of "Hercules" and its sequel both starring Steve Reeves. This marks American sex-symbol/actress Jayne Mansfield's only peplum entry, because, I guess, what to do when you have a hunky slab of bodybuilder beef lying around the house but cast him as the legendary strongman and play his main squeeze? It's a good idea on paper.Mansfield and Hungarian bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay married in 1956 and this was the second film they made together. Both have been better elsewhere, but let's face it, their most enduring and worthwhile contribution to the performing arts was producing daughter Mariska. It certainly isn't this turkey, which sees Herc buffeted by a succession of women who do him wrong. Indeed, the theme here seems to be that musclemen should stick to slaying monsters and performing heroic feats because women will just mess with you. Hargitay, despite his build, is not very convincing in the role -- he has a round, boyish face that in this context makes him look more like a lost and confused lad than a god among men. Mansfield's performance is too self-absorbed and anachronistic to be anything but distracting. She has a dual role as the good Queen Deianira and the evil Queen Hippolyta and neither Hercules nor viewers can tell them apart. (Hint: her hair color changes.) Oddly, the two real life partners have no on-screen chemistry here.None of the rest of the cast are particularly interesting, the set pieces are unremarkable, as are the set design and costumes. The tree-monsters the Amazons transform men into are a little spooky, and the large cast of extras look like they are having fun. Despite being filmed at Cinecitta, this looks as cheap as it probably was -- especially the monsters Hercules battles, which includes the paperiest of paper mache Hydras and an emaciated looking gorilla suit. The only energetic fight sequence is when Hargitay dispatches Mansfield's blowhard fiancé by picking him up, spinning him around a bit and throwing him across the room. This is the only moment the film manages to sell the idea that you shouldn't tangle with Hercules. This is only for Hercules and/or Mansfield or Hargitay completists -- everyone else can skip it.

I came across this movie on Netflix streaming movies, with the title "Hercules vs The Hydra." I was curious for several reasons, and two of the biggest are because of Jayne Mansfield. Jayne Mansfield was probably most noted for her very large breasts which when displayed next to actresses of "normal" endowment actually makes those actresses look flat chested. But as large as they were, Jane carried them very well. And, while she was often considered a "dumb blonde" she in fact was very smart, and was a fine actress. I remember when she died, in 1967, in a car wreck in Louisiana, not very far at all from where I was working on a post-graduate summer Chemistry project.In this movie Jayne Mansfield is dark-haired Queen Deianira. When her husband, the King, is killed she becomes the sole ruler of the small kingdom. From some other battles with his people, Mickey Hargitay (who in real life was Mansfield's actual husband) plays the part of Hercules , seeking justice. Massimo Serato is the traitor Licos , a member of the King's own inner circle, he had the King killed so that, once he romanced Deianira and married her, the kingdom would be his. But after a side trip, and an encounter with the Hydra, plus an encounter with an Amazon who made herself look like Deianira (Mansfield also played the seductress, Hippolyta, with red hair) to entrap Hercules, he made it back to Deianira and helped defeat the traitor Licos. The ending was like an American Western, with Hercules and Deinira on a horse, riding into the sunset with lush music playing. By today's standards this is not a good movie at all, the sets looks fake, most of the action looks amateurish, as well as most of the acting. But it is a good watch for Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield, icons of a bygone era, plus it shows how far production values have come in 50+ years.

Perfectly awful peplum/Hercules-movie: you know you're in trouble when leading lady Jayne Mansfield's prominent bust (forever on the verge of bursting through her togas) commands greater attention than the plot, the action or the special effects!; of course, the fact that the muscular hero is played by her real-life husband – Mickey Hargitay – adds to the fun quotient (of the unintentional kind, that is)…for rarely has there ever been an actor so clueless as to how to approach this mythical part! Usually seen as a blonde, Mansfield here dons a black and a red wig: she appears as a couple of sovereigns – the heroine and an Amazonian (though the latter is technically played by another actress who takes up Mansfield's appearance via a magic potion in order to ensnare Hargitay). Of mild interest is the fact that the latter has a penchant of disposing of her lovers by having them turned into living trees – as if one needed further proof of how wooden this thing could be, the plot here takes it to a literal level! The chief villainous role in this one is entrusted to Massimo Serato, often a reliable presence in this type of flick, but in this case sporting long curly hair – which only serves to enhance the film's overriding camp factor. Also in the cast, as one of Serato's advisors, is Giulio Donnini from the obscure peplum FRINE, CORTIGIANA D'ORIENTE (1953) – which I watched as part of last month's "Epic Movie Challenge" (in time for the Easter period); incidentally, I had intended to rent the 5-Disc/7-Film set among which this was included back then but it wasn't available.By the way, THE LOVES OF HERCULES was also known as HERCULES VS. THE HYDRA: this monster, which appears fairly early on in the game, is one of the worst of its kind ever constructed – what's the point of having a three-headed menace if lopping one of them off kills it instantly! Indeed, the mechanical creation is so bulky that it can barely move and so obviously fake that one is liable to burst out laughing at the mere sight of it, as I did, thus effectively destroying the illusion of the entire scene! Another hilarious obstacle the hero has to overcome during the course of the film is a meek-looking cow absurdly sprayed black by the penny-pinching film-makers in a lousy attempt to pass it off for a menacing bull!

I love Italian movies, and the sword-and-sandal epics constitute a very special subset of this, the greatest of all national cinemas. There is something hysterical or nonsensical going on every minute. Don't blink your eyes, or you'll miss Jayne Mansfield with PURPLE HAIR. AT HER Fiancée'S FUNERAL! Then there's the Hydra, with only three heads, that can barely move, and Mickey Hargitay (as Hercules, natch) has to run around like an idiot and pretend to be crushed under its foot. Then he gets rescued by cave-dwelling, bird-headed Amazons who turn men into trees ... for some reason. And if that doesn't do anything for you, wait until you see Bigfoot! Jayne Mansfield has huge breasts, though. And she's really pretty. So we forgive her. (Did anybody see "Primitive Love"? Now that's a cult movie!) This movie cracks me up, even more than "Hercules Against the Sons of the Sun." I have to give it a TEN!