AMAZONS OF ROME (1961)

In 476 B.C. Rome is fighting for its existence against the combined forces of the Etruscans, the Greeks, and some barbarians. Drusco, the barbarian leader, casually eats his snacks while he sets his men against the troops of the Roman soldier Horatio. Etruscan leader Porcenna wants a truce, with Rome to send 1000 hostages, including women. Rome agrees, and lots of blaring trumpets announce the truce—and when one of the barbarians sees the women with their dolled-up hair and short skirts, he says, "Hey, this war's gonna be fun!" Drusco, overseer of the female prisoners, falls for Clelia. Lucilla, an Etruscan woman who had been captured by Rome some time ago, wants a stronger vengeance against the Romans even as Porcenna advocates for a lasting peace. Soon, the female hostages, fearing that drunken soldiers will assault them (which is just was Lucilla wants), escape and in the final battle, Drusco throws his support to the Romans. I learned a strange lesson from this movie: in the peplum genre: a better made movie is not necessarily a better movie. This film has strong production values, a fairly literate script, and a big name star (Louis Jourdan as Drusco), but this slicker and glossier movie isn't as much fun as a more rough and ready production might be. Jourdan, much better known at the time as a charming gentleman in movies like Gigi and The Swan, doesn't have the build or carriage of a peplum hero, let alone a barbarian. Sylvia Syms, also known for more civilized roles, is not right for the part of Clelia—at times, she reminded me of Julie Andrews, partly due to the dubbed voice. The few battle scenes, at the beginning and end, are OK, and I liked Ettore Manni as the one-eyed Horatio.  The title is a bit weird; the women do wind up being warriors, but the original Italian title, Le Virgini di Roma, translates as Virgins of Rome, which generally seems more appropriate, though I agree with one online reviewer that darn few of those gals are probably still virgins. Pictured are Syms and Jourdan. [YouTube]