In their heyday, American International Pictures truly lived up to their name, by releasing hundreds of International genre productions for the North American drive-in circuit. The success of the original HERCULES (1957) catapulted audiences imaginations back to the time of the gladiator, and in the following years Peplums were a guaranteed return investment at the box office. In 1960, producer Samuel Z . Arkoff acquired the Italian epic, LA VENDETTA DI ERCOLE and renamed it GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON for U.S. distribution. As the film had some marketable American names, such as Mark Forrest and a slumming Broderick Crawford, Arkoff was sure the film would turn a profit. He hired a young animator named Jim Danforth to film some new sequences of the title critter, and then enlisted a Shakespearean theater troupe to handle the English dubbing. Arkoff also brought in Les Baxter to rescore the picture. The result is a muscleman epic that (except for a couple factors) stands the test of time. Except for Trimark’s box set of Hercules films, no other Peplum’s have surfaced on DVD. Leave it to Something Weird to set a new standard with a DVD so wild and weird as GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON. This DVD is a celebration of the overlooked Peplum genre, as it contains the feature shown uncut and in widescreen for the very first time. You also get another full length feature THE CONQUEROR OF ATLANTIS, a Peplum trailer collection, and a plethora of Peplum sights and sounds.

Eurystheus the Tyrant (Broderick Crawford) steals the blood gem from Goliath’s wind goddess, and buries it in the Caves of Moloch, knowing that when Goliath retrieves the sacred jewel, he will be crushed by the dragon that prowls the underground tunnels. Meanwhile, Goliath’s brother Illo (Sandro Moretti) pledges his love to Eurystheus’s daughter. After Goliath defeats the guardians of the Caves of Moloch and reclaims the blood gem (without facing the dragon), Eurystheus fumes with rage. Instead, he abducts Illio and plans to crush his head with a killer elephant. During this public execution, Goliath arrives and wrestles the elephant to the ground, then escapes with his brother. Eurytheus forges a pact with a shape-shifting Centaur called Polymorphus, and together they plot to kidnap Goliath’s wife, Dejanara (Leonora Ruffo). This time Eurytheus’ soldiers chain Dejanara up deep inside the Caves of Moloch. The dragon seeks to make a meal out of Dejanara, so it’s up to the might of Goliath to save the day!

GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON centers around a heroic central character who posseses super strength. As such, we witness Mark Forest wrestle with bears, throw boulders, topple pillars, and plow through stonewalls. The script also borrows from the Sinbad films, as Goliath combats various monsters from ancient mythology. In addition to the paper-mache dragon, Mark Forest tackles a three-headed monster dog, a centaur, a giant bat, and a runaway elephant. The production values for the film are high, except for the unconvincing creature effects scenes. Jim Danforth’s animated dragon effects are cool, but all too brief. The battles with these creatures are short, and poorly staged. But the other effects shots (like the destruction scenes) and even the backgrounds and set designs are genuinely striking. GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON also features some violent content. Eurytheus feeds victims to his poisonous snake pit. Other characters are impaled by swords or stabbed with flying daggers. An angry elephant crushes the heads of his victims (off-screen of course).

Vittorio Cottafavi is the talented individual who directed GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON. Cottafavi is a specialist in the Peplum genre, having written and directed such films as WARRIOR AND THE SLAVE GIRL (1958), LEGIONS OF THE NILE (1959), HERCULES AND THE CAPTIVE WOMEN (1963), and SON OF EL CID (1964). Cottafavi paints a big canvas for the action, drama, and scope of GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON. The script includes subplots about the Eurytheus’s oppressed subjects, Goliath running afoul of the Gods, and the power struggle among Eurytheus and his allies. The acting is fairly good for all involved, except for Broderick Crawford who is badly miscast. Crawford was near the end of his career, and really looks rather sickly. Mark Forrest, veteran of several muscleman epics fares better in the lead role than some (like Mickey Hartigay), but is not as good as Steve Reeves. GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON is essentially an ensemble piece, and the secondary characters are mostly female; Leonora Ruffo, Gaby Andre, and Federica Ranchi all deserve praise for their performances (and for looking good in those Roman outfits).

The DVD contains another full length film by Vittorio Cottafavi, CONQUEST OF ATLANTIS. This one has bodybuilder Kirk Morris in the title role as he battles futuristic opponents from Atlantis. This feature is shown full frame (except for the letterboxed opening credits), and the quality is nowhere near as good as GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON. Something Weird considers this secondary feature an extra, and the packaging does not exploit CONQUEST OF ATLANTIS as part of a double feature. Other short subjects on the disc include a short subject The Son of Hercules Vs. The Fire Monsters (FF, 9:43, Mono) that is a capsulized version of the full-length film of thesame name. The other short subjects are Hercules Oblivious (1.85.1, 4:29, Mono) and Muscleman Montage (FF, 9:43, Mono), which explores the pseudonyms of Hercules in Peplums (like Ajax, Maciste, Samson, etc.). Finally you can view the Gallery of Sword and Sandal Exploitation Art (FF, 6:52, Mono), which shows cool poster art and lobby cards for the most obscure films of this genre, all to the theme music of GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON. You can viewer trailers for:

• HERCULES OF THE DESERT (FF, 1:15, Mono)
• TROJAN HORSE (FF, 2:17, Mono)
• COLOSSUS AND THE AMAZON QUEEN (FF, 1:38, Mono)
• COLOSSUS OF THE ARENA (FF, 1:32, Mono)
• GOLIATH AT THE CONQEST OF DAMASCUS (FF, 1:35, Mono)
• HERCULES AGAINST THE MONGOLS (FF, 3:18, Mono)
• SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD (1.85.1, 2:00, Mono)
• ATLAS (1.85.1, 2:15, Mono)
• HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN (FF, 1:26, Mono)
• THE WITCH’S CURSE (2:35.1, 1:29, Mono)
• GIANT OF METROPOLIS (FF, 2:01, Mono)

-  Phil Chandler