ULYSSES (1954)

This adaptation of Homer's Odyssey (not the James Joyce novel) is an early peplum film, shot in Italy with American actor Kirk Douglas in the lead, at least two Hollywood writers (Irwin Shaw and Ben Hecht) out of a total of seven, and a much bigger budget than such films would get in their heyday several years later. We begin with Penelope, watching the colors of the clouds at sunset for omens. She has been waiting ten years for her husband Ulysses to return from the Trojan Wars. We get some backstory as a poet sings of Ulysses' victory in the war via the Trojan Horse, his destruction of a statue of Neptune in defiance of the gods, and Cassandra predicting his death at sea. Twelve brawny and increasingly horny suitors have set up living quarters on Penelope's property, deciding it's time for her to choose one of them to marry so Ithaca will have a king again. Her son Telemachus tries to get rid of the men, but he's not yet mature enough to be a physical menace. We leave the palace to see where Ulysses is, washed up unconscious on the shore of Phaeacia. Having lost his memory, he is taken in by the royal family and plans on marrying Nausicaa, the king's daughter, but while standing by the sea one night, his memory begins to return and we get an extended flashback to his post-Cassandra sea adventures. First, he outwits Polyphemus, a giant cyclops who wants to eat Ulysses and his men. Next, the ship passes the rocks where the Sirens sing their songs that entrap sailors—the men plug their ears with wax while Ulysses, apparently to prove his toughness, has himself lashed to the mast so he can hear the Siren song but withstand it, even though the voices of Penelope and Telemachus can be heard in the cacophony. Finally, on land, they encounter the enchantress Circe who briefly turns the men into pigs and sleeps with Ulysses, bewitching him to stay on the island for six months. Circe conjures up spirits of the dead soldiers Ulysses fought with, but Ulysses' mother also appears and gives her son the strength to fight Circe. In Phaeacia, his memory intact, he leaves and makes his way back to Penelope. In the final sequence, he enters the palace in disguise, whips the asses of the suitors in an athletic challenge, then slaughters them all to take his rightful place next to his wife and son.

You don't have to have read the Odyssey to keep track of the events here, though some background is helpful. It took me a little while to get used to Kirk Douglas in the lead; his physique is not the kind that peplum heroes usually have. But he is sturdy enough and has a commanding presence throughout. His dialogue is dubbed into Italian by a different actor so it's a little disorienting not to hear his familiar voice. Silvana Mangano is quite good in a dual role as Penelope and Circe, and Franco Interlenghi does what he can with the underwritten role of Telemachus. Anthony Quinn (Antinous, the chief suitor, who plans to murder Telemachus once he is king) and Rosanna Podesta (Nausicaa) are underused. The big budget allows for some very good sets and nice use of colors, and decent special effects, especially with the Cyclops. Because it was not shot in widescreen, some of the interior setups feel a bit claustrophobic, reminding me of those in DeMille's later Ten Commandments. The climax, when Ulysses finally shows up in Ithaca, is very well done. Future director Mario Bava apparently did some of the camerawork. There is an English dub available on Blu-ray in which Douglas dubs himself, but I imagine the Italian cut is the definitive version. [TCM]