Thor and the Amazon Women (1963)

apparently May is Peplum" month now.  not something I was planning on, but I've got at least two or three more to review and they've been fun to watch, even the less sword and sorcery ones.  which isn't a bad thing, overall.  I remember when the existence of several of these movies was questionable, like SAMSON AND THE SLAVE QUEEN (yes, it's on the list).  thanks to cheapo PD DVD sets, many of them are easily seen.

I'm kind of surprised to learn Sinister Cinema is still in business, due to a lot of their movies being in the public domain.

anyway, I liked this movie.  it has to be a comedy, since it's so over the top in it's portrayal of, well, just about everyone in the cast.  you get exactly what the movie title says (the Italian title is "Le gladiatrici" which is apt as well).  I strongly suspect that this is also a "Tarzan" movie, since the follow up, "Taur the Mighty" was supposed to be one, and they were filmed at the same time, with the same principles.

mind you, this movie is nothing new or that great, but it seems like the people involved knew it and just went out of their way to have fun.  the English dubbing plays it very straight which helps matters.  it's not like it's a fall down laugh out loud comedy, but eventually it makes you start smiling in a "what else are they going to throw in here" way. 

it was shot on location in Yugoslavia, so there's an added cool element to the movie.  it also looks really cold there. suffering for art takes on a whole new meaning.

Joe Robinson as Thor/Taur/Tarzan isn't bad.  Harry Baird as Ubaratutu doesn't get to do much but be exactly what you think this role would be.  he had a better career outside of Italy.

worth checking out.