Colossus and the Amazon Queen (1960)
Director - Vittorio Sala
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The Plot
Pirro (Rod Taylor) and Glaucus (Ed Fury) are shanghaied and taken to the land of the Amazons, where all the men are slaves keeping house for the warrior women.
Film Notes
Colossus Who?
No character is named Colossus in Colossus and the Amazon Queen.
It's a strange film even for this genre, seeming to aim at a mix of comedy and mythic adventure. However, it doesn't really manage to be either funny or exciting in any way. It's more like a few musclemen, curvy females and an army of Paul Lynde wannabes prancing about a Mediterranean locale on Spring Break.
If you choose to view this twisted monstrosity of a movie, be look for Professor Edison J. Nello's version, where he has worked his mytho-cinematic editing skills to bring it into a more watchable form.
Oh, My Aching Rod
What was Rod Taylor thinking about doing this film?
The lead in a number of Hollywood "A" films such as The Birds, Hotel, Sunday in New York and The Time Machine, Mr Taylor reportedly couldn't resist a free ticket to Italy to be with his then girl friend Anita Ekberg. Be sure to watch Professor Nello's pithy film commentary before the film for insight into the phenomenon of Rod Taylor.
Ed Fury (Glaucus) was born Edmund Holovchik. He graced the insides and outsides of many a he-man physique magazine in the 1950s. But if you were a well muscled American Man/Boy you headed to Italy in the early 1960s. That's where Mr Fury played Ursus, Samson and Maciste in a succession of epics.
-- Ed Schneider
Cast & Production Credits
| Rod Taylor | Pirro |
| Ed Fury | Glaucus |
| Dorian Gray | Antiope |
| Gianna Maria Canale | Queen |
| Alberto Farnese | Pirate Captain |
| Ignazio Leone | Sofo the Egyptian |
| Adriana Facchetti | High Prestess |
| Alfredo Varelli | Merchant |
| Gino Buzzanca | Merchant |
| Marco Tulli | Innkeeper |
| Renato Tagliani | Nando |
| Daniela Rocca | Melitta |
| Vittorio Sala | Director / Screenwriter |
| Enzo Merolle | Producer |
| Ennio De Concini | Screenwriter |
| Fulvio Fo | Screenwriter |
| Bitto Albertini | Cinematographer |
| Roberto Nicolosi | Composer |
| Mario Serandrei | Editor |
| Ottavio Scotti | Art Direction |
| Gaia Romanini | Costume Design |
For information on
Hercules...
Learn about ( and link to) Ingmar Ozu-Bresson's experimental film meditation on Hercules: Herculin/Feminin