SYNOPSIS

Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World (1961), originally released in Italy as Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan, is an Italian-French adventure film directed by Riccardo Freda and written by Oreste Biancoli and Duccio Tessari. The film stars Gordon Scott as Maciste, renamed Samson for the American release, with Yôko Tani as Princess Lei-Ling, Hélène Chanel as Liu Tai, Dante DiPaolo as Bayan, and Gabriele Antonini as Chu. Produced by Ermanno Donati and Luigi Carpentieri, the film is a colorful example of the Italian peplum cycle, combining heroic adventure, palace intrigue, romance, and spectacular displays of physical strength.

The story is set in medieval China, where Emperor Wung calls upon the Mongol Great Khan to help defend his empire against invading Tartars. The Khan instead betrays and kills the emperor, seizes the throne, and attempts to eliminate the legitimate heirs, Prince Tai Sung and Princess Lei-Ling. Maciste becomes involved in the struggle after rescuing the young prince and joining forces with Chu, leader of a resistance movement. When Lei-Ling is captured and forced into the Khan's plans for her, Maciste becomes determined to overthrow the usurper and restore the rightful rulers.

Photographed in Eastmancolor and Dyaliscope by Riccardo Pallottini, the film emphasizes expansive sets, colorful costumes, large groups of extras, swordplay, physical feats, and elaborate action sequences. Carlo Innocenzi composed the original Italian score, while the American version used a revised score by Les Baxter. Although the film was made primarily as an adventure spectacle, Freda's direction and the production's visual scale have led it to be regarded as one of the more accomplished entries in the Maciste cycle.

PLOT (Spoiler Alert)

The film opens in China during a period of political instability. Emperor Wung fears an invasion by the Tartars and seeks assistance from the powerful Mongol Great Khan, Garak. The Khan agrees to help but betrays the emperor, having him murdered and taking control of the Chinese throne himself. He then attempts to eliminate the emperor's children, Prince Tai Sung and Princess Lei-Ling, so that no legitimate claimant can challenge his rule. Maciste arrives in the region and rescues Tai Sung from execution, placing him under the protection of the Buddhist priest Tao. Lei-Ling escapes and joins the rebels led by Chu, who is fighting against the Mongol occupation.

The Khan eventually captures Lei-Ling and forces her into his power, while his forces continue suppressing resistance throughout the country. Maciste and Chu organize a rebellion, aided by Tao and an elderly hermit who reveals the existence of the legendary Bell of Liberty, whose ringing is intended to summon the people to revolt. The rebels suffer severe setbacks, however. Tai Sung is killed when the Mongol forces attack the Buddhist monastery, while Lei-Ling is forced into marriage with the Khan. Maciste eventually discovers the enormous bell hidden beneath the forest and manages to ring it, calling the people to arms. He is struck by the bell's massive clapper and appears to die from his injuries.

The Khan orders Maciste's body buried beneath the royal palace, but the hermit intervenes and Maciste mysteriously returns to life. Reinvigorated, he launches a final assault against the Mongol forces almost single-handedly. His enormous strength allows him to overcome the Khan's soldiers while the rebellion spreads throughout the city. A violent earthquake strikes, damaging the palace and helping destroy the Khan's power. Maciste confronts the Great Khan and Bayan, and both are ultimately defeated. With the tyrant dead, Lei-Ling becomes the legitimate ruler of China, while Chu, who has fought beside Maciste throughout the rebellion, becomes her husband. Maciste departs after helping restore the rightful order.

PRODUCTION

Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan was produced by Ermanno Donati and Luigi Carpentieri for Panda Cinematografica of Rome and Gallus Films of Paris. The screenplay was written by Oreste Biancoli and Duccio Tessari, from a story by Biancoli, and Riccardo Freda directed the production. The film was conceived during the height of the Italian peplum boom, when muscular heroes such as Maciste were being revived for international audiences. Its production also made use of sets, extras, and other resources associated with large-scale historical adventures being produced in Italy at the time.

The cinematography was by Riccardo Pallottini, with Stelvio Massi serving as camera operator. The film was photographed in Eastmancolor and Dyaliscope, with production design by Piero Filippone and costumes by Massimo Bolongaro. Ornella Micheli edited the film, while Carlo Innocenzi composed the original Italian score. The American release substituted music by Les Baxter.

RELEASE

Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan was released in Italy on October 31, 1961, with distribution handled by Jolly Film in Rome and Unidis throughout Italy. The film was subsequently distributed internationally under several titles, including Maciste at the Court of the Great Khan, Goliath and the Golden City, and Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World. The American version was distributed by American International Pictures and renamed the character Maciste as Samson for English-speaking audiences.

The film earned approximately 467.2 million Italian lire during its original Italian theatrical run. Contemporary British criticism was relatively favorable toward its visual qualities, particularly its color photography, sets, and compositions, and the film has subsequently been regarded as one of Riccardo Freda's stronger contributions to the peplum genre. It has remained available through television, home-video releases, DVD, and later Blu-ray editions.

CAST

Gordon Scott as Maciste / Samson

Yôko Tani as Princess Lei-Ling

Hélène Chanel as Liu Tai

Dante DiPaolo as Bayan

Gabriele Antonini as Cho / Chu

Leonardo Severini as Garak, the Great Khan

Valéry Inkijinoff as Tao, the High Priest

Chu Lai Chit as Prince Tai Sung

Franco Ressel as Captain of the Khan's Guards

Ely Yeh as Emperor Wung

Luong Ham Chau as Buddhist High Priest

Sergio Ukmar as Man Attacking Lei-Ling

Tonino Cianci as a Mongol Warrior

Giacomo Tchang as Old Chinese Priest

Tonino Chou as a Mongol

Wilbert Bradley as Dancer

Cho Cha Lung as Buddhist Monk

CREW

Director: Riccardo Freda

Producers: Ermanno Donati, Luigi Carpentieri

Writers: Oreste Biancoli, Duccio Tessari

Story: Oreste Biancoli

Cinematographer: Riccardo Pallottini

Camera Operator: Stelvio Massi

Editor: Ornella Micheli

Music: Carlo Innocenzi

American Version Music: Les Baxter

Production Designer: Piero Filippone

Costume Designer: Massimo Bolongaro

Assistant Director: Giuliano Betti

Production Companies: Panda Cinematografica; Gallus Films

Distributor: Jolly Film / Unidis (Italy); American International Pictures (U.S.)

Release Date: October 31, 1961 (Italy)

Country of Origin: Italy / France

Running Time: 94 minutes

Budget: N/A

Box Office Return: 467.2 million Italian lire (Italian theatrical gross)

IMDb Rating

IMDb Rating = 4.8 / 10

TRIVIA

The film's original Italian title was Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan, meaning approximately Maciste at the Court of the Great Khan.

Gordon Scott played Maciste, but the character was renamed Samson for the American release.

Maciste is an Italian fictional strongman who originated in Giovanni Pastrone's 1914 silent film Cabiria, where the character was played by Bartolomeo Pagano.

Scott had previously played Tarzan in several films before becoming one of the principal stars of the Italian peplum cycle.

The film was one of several Maciste productions made during the enormous international popularity of Italian muscleman adventures in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The production reused sets, extras, and other resources from large-scale historical productions, helping reduce the cost of creating a new epic adventure.

Yôko Tani was retained from other Italian historical productions and became one of the film's principal attractions as Princess Lei-Ling.

The film was photographed using Dyaliscope, a French anamorphic widescreen process comparable to other widescreen systems used during the period.

The original Italian soundtrack was composed by Carlo Innocenzi, while the American version replaced his music with a score by Les Baxter.

The spectacular climax in which Maciste's strength contributes to an earthquake is one of the film's most distinctive departures from realistic historical adventure.

The film was released under several different titles internationally, including Goliath and the Golden City and The Giant at the Court of Kublai Khan.

The film's historical setting is loosely based around the era of the Mongol conquest of China, but the story is primarily fictional and makes no attempt to provide a historically accurate account of Kublai Khan's reign.

Contemporary British criticism considered the film one of the better Italian spectacles of its period, particularly praising its color photography, elaborate sets, and compositions.

With the massive exterior sets, lavish interior sets and a multitude of Asian extras left over from Marco Polo (1962), Panda Productions had writers Oreste Biancoli and Duccio Tessari fashion a sword-and-sandal/mythological muscleman epic - a genre that had become highly popular around the world - placing hero Maciste in a Chinese setting. Genre specialist Riccardo Freda was brought in to direct, Gordon Scott was cast as Maciste (renamed "Samson" for the U.S. version) and Yôko Tani was kept on as the female lead.

American International Pictures, as with several of their imports, assigned staff composer Les Baxter to re-score much of the film, but retained a substantial amount of music from the original Italian score. The main title, for example, is by Carlo Innocenzi, whilst the end title is a re-working of Baxter's "I Did It All For Her" track from Marco Polo (1962). The rest of the score is a mix of contributions from both composers.

British distributor Anglo-Amalgamated submitted the American International dubbed version Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World to the British Board of Film Censors who decided on certificate "U" (after certain cuts) on 14 February 1963. Anglo and co-distributor Warner-Pathé shortened the release title to Samson and the 7 Miracles and it opened in London on 13 January 1964 at ABC's Prince of Wales, Harrow Road. The chosen supporting feature was Danish monster movie Reptilicus (1961).

Italian censorship visa # 35995 delivered on 25-10-1961.