Hercules Against the Mongols

source: Hercules Against the Mongols

Maciste contro i Mongoli

Maciste contro i Mongoli (1963) or Hercules Against the Mongols (USA) uses the same two sons of Genghis Khan that were in Hercules Against the Barbarians (1964). Mark Forest as Hercules/Maciste is again a stiff bore. Hercules/Maciste fights against the three sons of Genghis Khan. Not much happens. Scenes are recycled from this and put into Hercules Against the Barbarians (1964). Sub-standard peplum/Sword-and-sandal flick that has nothing to do with the Sword-and-sandal genre. I think it's just a re-titled Maciste (a Hercules-like figure) flick. Hercules aides the Russians against a Mongol invasion in the 13th century. Mark Forest plays Hercules and he's a complete bore. Most scenes are dull and boring. There's a bit of interest in the Mongol bad guys played by a few hefty European or American weight lifters, other than that, it's sub-standard stuff.

Annoying music, decors and costumes used in hundreds of other movies, idiot script, zero quality actors, a terrible boredom. I can not even call it a movie.

Or as the Mystery Science Theater guys say, "Ma-cheese-steak". To cash in on the Hercules phenomenon, there were several offshoots that were called "The Sons Of Hercules", most notably being Maciste. Maciste even showed up during the witch trial in England during "The Witch's Curse", which also starred Mark Forest. A few years ago, TNT showed a 12 hour "Herc-A-Thon", and a lot of these "Sons of Hercules" movies were shown during it. If you like campy Muscleman/Sword and Sandal/Gladiator/Conan type movies, then these are a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon trying to create drinking games and making fun of the Styrofoam tree trunks and boulders. Check this site for more Maciste and Son of Hercules movies!

Genghis Khan is dead but his 3 sons Sayan, Susdal, and Kin Khan live on to continue their reign of terror. Hercules/Maciste is out to stop the Mongols again. I find this film is about as good as Hercules Against the Barbarians (1964) and much better than Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World (1961), which all films have a Genghis Khan story. This is another averaged story peplum film. Love the costuming, props and sets as I usually do. The battles are entertaining. There are better sword and sandal film of the time era to watch but this one is okay enough for a different one to pop on now and again. 1.5/10

I don't think I know how many of these exist. I do know I've wached many as a kid and thought or maybe believed I could be this guy. The all powerful male, fighting for the good or at least against evil. Not sure if I watched this specific one as a kid. Probably not, but I did watch it recently, as it is part of a 16 movie collection I purchased many years ago. So another Sword and Sandal movie. It's quite decent, with the obvious fights but also some humor in spaces. It is what it is

Maciste (Mark Forest) comes to the rescue of Princess Bianca who is threatened by the 3 sons of Genghis Khan. Maciste uses the opportunity that the 3 sons are rivals in a fight for leadership and becomes a slave for one of them to fight the others, see Bianca and plan her escape at a tournament. Little does he know that the princess trusts a traitor instead of him... Maciste's name is changed to 'Hercules' in some countries again, which doesn't make much sense as the legends of Hercules are set approximately 3000 years before Genghis Khan lived. Nevertheless, this is one of the better productions of the series. The idea to have several villains instead of the usual usurper of the throne makes the story slightly less predictable, and the production value with many horses and extras is above average. The typical human touch - Maciste, helper of the poor - is introduced nicely in the first scene when Maciste builds a bridge.