ATLAS (1961)

In ancient Greece, Proximedes (Frank Woolf) is known as a tyrant—we know the definition of the word as any leader who seizes power in a non-democratic way, but here it seems to be his official title. He and his men have been trying to take over the walled city of Thenis, ruled by King Telektos, for months and the battle has come to a standstill. Proximedes agrees to a two-man combat to the death to settle the war. Whichever group's champion loses will give up the fight. The tyrant, his philosopher Garnis, and his lover Candia (Barboura Morris) head to the Olympics and talk a wrestler named Atlas (Michael Forest, at left) into being their man. He agrees to fight but says if he wins, he won't kill his opponent, Indros. Atlas wins and indeed spares Indros. Telektos lets Proximedes' men into the city, and the first thing they do is show up at a royal banquet and turn it into a bit of an orgy. The next thing some of them do is, following Proximedes' orders, put on disguises and start a fake revolt, giving Proximedes a reason to attack, slaughtering most of the town's army and executing Telektos. Candia, who has fallen in love with Atlas, tries to leave with him for Egypt; they are caught by soldiers but freed by real rebels, led by Proximedes' former champion Indros, and they join forces to expel the tyrant.

This is an outlier for producer and director Roger Corman. He was known for horror, sci-fi, and teen angst, but for this sword-and-sandal peplum movie, he kept his usual strategy of low budgets and quick production times. It's not a bad movie, exactly, but it can’t really stand up to the better films in the genre. For starters, Atlas is not the Atlas of mythology, just a moderately buff guy with that name. And he isn't even especially buff; he's lithe and a little hairy but he's no one’s idea of the average peplum muscleman. Ultimately this is less a traditional Italian muscle movie and more a drama of political intrigue, sort of. The plot is a little easier to follow than some of the Italian hero films (this was apparently actually filmed in Greece) and the character development, especially of Atlas, is a bit stronger, but the adventure thrills are mostly missing. Using only 50 extras, the crowd and battle scenes are shot mostly in claustrophobic close-up (with occasional repetition of footage) that is not especially effective. In the lead, Forest underacts; as the antagonist, Woolf overacts, not exactly chewing scenery but still feeling like he's trying really hard to be evil. Barboura Morris is out of place with her modern look and her perky demeanor, but honestly she gives the movie a needed jolt from time to time, and it's almost worth watching just for her. The swords and shields that the armies and rebels use look like props from a community theater storage room, and the extras sometimes seem fairly inept—I think you have to be very poorly directed to be an extra and seem inept. Still, there are mild thrills and pleasures to be had now and then. [TCM]