HERCULES AND THE MASKED RIDER (1963)

In 16th century Spain, wealthy landowner Don Ramiro periodically delights in the sport of plaguing the peasants who live on his property with general plunder and mayhem. When Felipe and Dolores marry in secret and try to leave Ramiro's lands, he chases after them until they take refuge on the lands of the peaceful Don Francisco. Ramiro makes a show of giving Dolores to Francisco's daughter Blanca as a handmaid (and there is some mild joking made of the fact that Dolores and Felipe can't quite seem to find the time to consummate their marriage). Francisco calls for a holiday to celebrate the return of his nephew Juan from the wars in Flanders. Blanca expects to marry Juan (who gets Felipe as a servant), but her father asks her to consider Ramiro in order to peacefully consolidate his lands with Ramiro's. But Francisco doesn't know that Ramiro's plan is to get control of his lands by any means necessary. When Juan and Blanca try to elope in secret, they are caught and Francisco exiles Juan. In the woods, Juan falls in with a band of gypsies led by Estella, whose lover was killed by Ramiro's men. She agrees to help Juan fight the forces of Ramiro, and Juan dons a mask, becoming the masked rider of the title. Meanwhile, Ramiro, with the help of Captain Blasco, doesn't wait for his wedding and demands that Francisco sign over all his lands to Ramiro. A duel follows and Ramiro kills Francisco. Juan (sometimes with a mask, sometimes without) becomes a kind of Robin Hood/Zorro figure, with Estella and the gypsies as his "Merry Men." Juan and Estella infiltrate Ramiro's castle and soon, Captain Blasco falls for Estella, has a change of heart about Ramiro, and joins the gypsy rebels. When an envoy from the king comes to ensure that Ramiro's land grab is legal, and Ramiro finalizes his wedding date with Blanca, Juan and Estella lead a final rebel charge.

You may have noticed that, though I conjured up Robin Hood and Zorro in my plot summary, I never once mentioned Hercules. That’s because the character who is called Hercules in the movie (and Goliath in the original Italian version) isn't the mythical Roman figure but just a beefy shirtless guy who hangs out with the gypsies and helps out in the ass-kicking department. He really isn't in much of the movie, and when he is, I don't think he has any dialogue. That title is misleading in another way: Juan, the masked rider, rarely wears a mask. So if you think you’re getting a movie in which a Greek demigod meets Zorro, you will be quite disappointed. But if you can work your way past that, you'll find a moderately interesting adventure film, predictable but packed with plot and incident. Alan Steel (birth name Serigo Ciani, pictured above) was a legitimate Hercules figure in a handful of peplum films, and was especially good in HERCULES AND THE MOON MEN. He's attractive and beefy and kicks ass nicely, in one scene ripping up a gallows and tossing it around, but really adds little to the movie. Mimmo Palmara (Juan) played supporting roles in lots of Italian muscleman movies, but he lacks the looks, muscles and charisma to carry a leading role. José Greci is lackluster as Blanca which is partly the fault of the writing. Better are Pilar Cansino (Rita Hayworth's cousin) as the earthy Estella and Ettori Manni as Blasco, who has the looks of a leading man but is stuck in a fairly thankless secondary role. The swordplay is OK and there is an interesting battle, done for the entertainment of Ramiro, with men on horses forced to fight each other with whips until there is only one man standing—and he doesn't stand for long. There is also a gypsy knife-throwing dance in which all the knives wind in front of Ramiro, indicating that he is a person in need of punishment. The cherry on top is the last shot: Hercules tossing an effeminate comic relief gypsy over his shoulder to head into the sunset together with the other couples. The YouTube print is not great and not the right aspect ratio, but it's fun Saturday matinee viewing. [YouTube]