Synopsis

While traveling through the kingdom of Nisia, Hercules learns that the late king's adviser, Menisto, has seized control and reduced the people to misery. With help from Daria and the local rebels, Hercules challenges the tyrant's mercenary forces and sparks an uprising. Menisto retaliates by targeting Daria, but Hercules leads the final struggle against his oppressive regime.

Factoids & Trivia

• Although the German release title calls him Samson, the original Italian film presents the hero as Hercules. The same production also circulated under titles including The Fury of Hercules, Fury of Samson, and Hercule se dechaine.

• The film was an Italian-French co-production made by Cineproduzioni Associate and Comptoir Francais du Film Production.

• The production was photographed in color using Totalscope and Ferraniacolor, reflecting the widescreen spectacle favored by Italian sword-and-sandal films of the early 1960s.

• Serge Gainsbourg appears as the villain Menisto. The role is one of the singer-songwriter's unusual screen appearances before his later reputation became centered primarily on music.

• The Italian release was certified on March 23, 1962, while the German theatrical release followed on January 11, 1963.

• Contemporary Italian criticism acknowledged the film's substantial production design and spectacle, while finding little else of lasting interest.