Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum, is a subgenre of largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budget Hollywood historical epics of the time, such as Samson and Delilah (1949), Quo Vadis (1951), The Robe (1953), The Ten Commandments (1956), Ben-Hur (1959), Spartacus (1960), and Cleopatra (1963). These films dominated the Italian film industry from 1958 to 1965, eventually being replaced in 1965 by spaghetti Western and Eurospy films.
Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero is a historical novel written by Henryk Sienkiewicz in Polish.
Yoko Tani was a Japanese-French actress and vedette, who had a career in both Japanese and European cinema during the 1950s and '60s.
Ettore Manni was an Italian actor, active in film and television from 1952 and 1979. He was a popular leading man during the 1950’s and ‘60s, when he was a star of the peplum genre. In the following decade, he primarily played supporting roles, with his last appearance in Federico Fellini's City of Women (1980).
Raimondo Crociani was an Italian film editor and occasional director.
Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan, also known as Samson and the Seven Miracles of the World, and Maciste at the Court of the Great Khan, is a 1961 international co-production starring Gordon Scott. The film reused the sets, extras and Yoko Tani as a princess from Marco Polo (1961) and Freda's The Mongols (1961). The film was distributed in the United States by American International Pictures.
Brothers of Italy is a 1952 Italian biographical war film directed by Fausto Saraceni and starring Ettore Manni, Paul Muller and Olga Solbelli. It depicts real life events of Austrian-born Italian irredentist and sailor Nazario Sauro. The film's sets were designed by the art director Piero Filippone.
Un uomo in ginocchio is a 1979 Italian crime-drama film directed by Damiano Damiani. For his performance Giuliano Gemma won the Grolla d'oro for Best Actor.
La lupa is a 1953 Italian drama film directed by Alberto Lattuada.
Hercules, Prisoner of Evil is a 1964 Italian peplum film directed by Anthony Dawson and an uncredited Ruggero Deodato. Deodato, the official assistant director, replaced Margheriti as he was busy with the completion of the film The Fall of Rome. Deodato actually directed most of the film in actuality but Margheriti was credited as the director. The film is filled with a variety of horrific themes and elements, featuring a killer werewolf, and is as much a horror film as it is a peplum.
Mariangela Giordano was an Italian film and television actress.
Crimebusters, is a 1976 Italian "poliziottesco" film directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini.
Last Plane to Baalbek is a 1964 Eurospy film directed by Marcello Giannini and Hugo Fregonese. It is a coproduction between Italy, France and Lebanon.
The End Is Known is a 1992 Italian-French mystery film directed by Cristina Comencini. It is an adaptation of the novel with the same name by Geoffrey Holiday Hall, in which the setting is moved from post-war America to 1980s' Italy.
Sexycop 1976 Italian crime comedy film directed by Duccio Tessari. It is based on the novel with the same name written by Massimo Felisatti and Fabio Pittorru.
Bali is a 1970 Italian romance film directed by Ugo Liberatore and Paolo Heusch.
The Ship of Condemned Women is a 1953 Italian historical adventure-melodrama film written and directed by Raffaello Matarazzo and starring Kerima, May Britt and Ettore Manni. It is loosely based on the novel Histoire de 130 femmes by Léon Gozlan. It was shot in Gevacolor. The film's sets were designed by the art director Piero Filippone.
The Spy Who Loved Flowers is a 1966 Italian/Spanish co-production science fiction-Eurospy film written and directed by Umberto Lenzi. Set in Paris, Geneva and Athens, it is the sequel to Super Seven Calling Cairo (1965). It starred Roger Browne and Yoko Tani.
The Warrior and the Slave Girl is a 1958 Italian-Spanish-French adventure film in Supercinescope and Eastman Color directed by Vittorio Cottafavi.
Charge of the Black Lancers is a 1962 swashbuckling adventure film directed by Giacomo Gentilomo and starring Mel Ferrer, Yvonne Furneaux and Leticia Román.
