Samson and the Slave Queen

Samson and the Slave Queen is a 1963 Italian peplum directed by Umberto Lenzi. It was originally made as a Maciste film in Italy, in which the fabled strongman meets Zorro. It was redubbed into a "Samson" movie for distribution in the U.S. and "Samson" meets "El Toro"

Plot

The king of Nogara dies, leaving behind a will naming one of his nieces as his successor. Will it be blonde and virtuous Isabella or evil, dark-haired Malva? Each woman relies on a hero to locate the will. Malva hires the bare-chested strongman Samson while Isabella relies on the masked El Toro even though her heart belongs to the mild-mannered poet, Ramon. Malva's ruthless desire for the throne soon alienates Samson and he and El Toro then team up to bring about a proper resolution to the Nogara succession. Meanwhile, Isabella learns El Toto's true identity, an identity which both surprises and pleases her.

Cast

Alan Steel as Maciste
Pierre Brice as Zorro/Ramon
Moira Orfei as Malva
Maria [Grazia Spina] as Isabella
Andrea Aureli as Rabek
Andrea Scotti as Pedro
Aldo Bufi Landi as Deikor
Ignazio Balsamo as Joaquim
Attilio Dottesio as General Saveria
Loris Gizzi as Don Alvarez
Nello Pazzafini as Rabek's Henchman
Nazzareno Zamperla as Sadoch

Release

Zorro contro Maciste was released in Italy on 23 August 1963. It was released in the United States as Samson and the Slave Queen as a double feature with Goliath and the Sins of Babylon on December 13, 1963. It opened in New York on 4 March 1964.
The Italian version's music is composed by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino while the American version of the film has a score by Les Baxter.

Reception

From contemporary reviews, Howard Thompson of The New York Times reviewed the film under the title of Samson and the Slave Queen, describing the film as an "old-fashioned, prettily colored and costumed and pleasingly mounted dud". Thompson noted that there was no slave queen promised by the American title of the film. "Robe." of Variety declared the film to have "enough vim and vigor, thanks to a spirited performance by Pierre Brice as Zorro, to please the less-demanding beefcake-and-biceps aficionados." The rest of the review found that Lenzi focused on keeping the cast moving with emphasis on the fighting, and that the rest of the cast outside Brice was "only adequate".