User Reviews

Take all the "Hercules" movies and boil them down to a series of plot essentials and you'll come up with something close to this movie. It has the muscular hero whose hairless chest is almost constantly on display and whose favorite wardrobe items are mini-mini-skirts and lace-up boots. The hero fights a few real beasts -- a lion and a bear -- as well as a mythical one: a dragon. He acquires a chubby, timorous sidekick who provides comic relief. He falls in love with the daughter of a king whose kingdom is taken over by a wicked queen. The hero becomes this queen's captive. She orders him to be pulled apart, wishbone-style, by teams of wild animals. (Elephants, this time, instead of horses.) The hero emerges unscathed from this ordeal. The queen falls in love with him but he remains true to the deposed king's daughter. The queen's slaves rise in revolt and her city is destroyed by a wave of lava. The hero and the king's daughter walk hand-in-hand to the cheers of the liberated citizenry.

So, if you see this movie, you've seen virtually all the other "Hercules" movies!

Dan Vadis lacks Steve Reeves' looks and charisma but he's in his physical prime here, looking appropriately brawny but not muscle-bound. Particularly noteworthy are his silver-dollar-sized nipples which punctuate his chest like a pair of decorative decals.

Ken Clark lists this movie on his filmography and the credits list a "Ken Klark" but if he's in here, he's hard to spot. Possibly he plays the evil general with the Fu Manchu make-up?

Son of the great man - Argolese (Vadis) - saves heiress Telca (Rozin) from the clutches of a fearsome bear and is granted her hand in marriage by her father the king (Sasso). Before they can marry, Argolese must recover the tooth from a dragon - which he duly does, but discovers on his return that the kingdom has been overrun by bandits and his wife-to-be, kidnapped and enslaved by the evil Queen Ella (Brown). Argolese must overcome not only the Queen, but her trusted right hand man (Clark) and his scheming daughter (Fiore) who has designs on the throne.

Vadis is a behemoth (and looks like he's just performed a thousand hack squats before each take), although not as anatomically gifted as Steve Reeves or Reg Park, he still towers above the rest, dispatching men, horses, bears, boulders - he is apparently impervious to just about anything (except a pair of elephants trained to tear his limbs off). Rozin is innocent and sweet, whereas Fiore is the smouldering siren, but with a megalomaniacal streak that makes her both feisty and attractive. Me thinks Argolese, the great chastity-breaker, should re-consider his choice of damsel.

If you're accustomed to the peplum genre, then this "Son of Hercules" tale will be no more, no less what you'd expect with another amiable muscleman, scantily-clad babes and the ubiquitous comedian covering all the bases adequately.

Super-buffed bodybuilder, Dan Vadis, as Argolese, certainly made for a mighty impressive son of Hercules, even though, according to ancient legend, Hercules never had any sons.

As our story in this Italian import unfolds - Argolese falls head-over-heels in love with Telca, daughter of King Tedaeo, whose great kingdom is being held in thrall by the fierce army forces of the evil queen, Etel.

Somewhere along the way Argolese (accompanied by his chubby, comic sidekick, Barbar), manages to fight off attacks from lions, bears, and even a nasty-tempered dragon, too.

Following his brief stint as a son of Hercules, chiseled muscleman Dan Vadis (1938-1987) went on to appear in 3 Clint Eastwood films - "High Plains Drifter", "Bronco Billy" and "Any Which Way You Can".

The soundtrack truly has beauty this movie almost doesn't deserve. This flick has Ercole fighting against a lion (to save the princess) and a bear, who follows the buffo for the honey the bad guys have smeared on his face before they tried to sacrifice him. There's also a scene where Vadis has to withstand 4 (!) elephants who try to tear him apart. The dragon-fight is taken as footage from the movie "Le fatiche d'Ercole", and the dancing scenes are also obviously "stolen" from another Italian masterpiece. You see Vadis running around in the caves of the cruel subterranean people (who love to sacrifice kids in order to gain their youth and women for their beauty) and beating up their soldiers, a cowardly comic relief character at his side who presents a contrast to Herc's unfailing braveness. The complete second half of the movie plays in the caves and becomes a little tiresome after a while. The opening sequence of the film is perfect though...in its own way.

"Hercules falls for the daughter of a deposed king whose kingdom is held in thrall by an evil queen. The Queen captures our hero and orders him torn apart like a wishbone by wild elephants. He survives, and the queen falls for him, but he is true to his love. The queen's subjects rise up in arms and her realm is engulfed in a volcanic eruption. Somewhere along the way, Hercules and his chubby comic companion fight off lions, bears, and an angry dragon," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Re-titled "The Land of Darkness" for US TV viewing as two parts of "The Sons of Hercules" series (with a mighty catchy theme song). A patchily-edited lion fight signals, early in the running time, that you're not in for high quality product. With his golden beard, Dan Vadis (as Ercole aka Hercules) looks a little like the lions they used, and none are too ferocious. Silly John Simons (as Babar) is Mr. Vadis' gluttonous comic sidekick, and shapely Spela Rozin (as Telca) is the attractive leading lady.

* Ercole l'invincibile (3/19/64) Alvaro Mancori ~ Dan Vadis, John Simons, Spela Rozin, Carla Calo

In this peplum movie Hercules saves a king's daughter from a lion attack. The king offers him her hand in marriage if he can slay a dragon. Hercules goes off to do just that but while he is away the kingdom is over-taken by the forces of an evil queen, who takes everyone hostage to her subterranean lair below a volcano.

I don't truthfully know an awful lot about the Hercules movies. It seems from what I can gather though that this one is both very typical but also pretty bad. Seemingly, the plot synopsis above is interchangeable with many of the films from the sub-genre. To be fair, I certainly didn't find this to be a good film but it has some moments. Hercules gets to fight a lion, a bear and a dinosaur-like dragon before taking on the forces of the evil queen. Unfortunately, he also has another typical feature of these types of movies - a comedy relief side-kick. I say 'unfortunately' because this character – like most of his ilk – is an appallingly tedious presence, who at no point could genuinely be classified as a relief from anything. If you take him out of the equation though then you have a moderately entertaining bit of sword and sandal nonsense. It also has a silly, cheesy theme tune which was quite amusing.

Hercules the Invincible finds Dan Vadis cast as the demigod son of Zeus who saves the life of a princess by slaying a couple of lions. Her father is ever so grateful, but asks him if he could do just one more little job for him, slay a dragon and yank out a back tooth which is said to be charmed. Hercules takes the contract and the dragon is summarily dispatched.

But while the dragon is being slain, some nasty dudes carry off the king, the daughter, and all other able bodied folks as slaves for their queen who lives inside a hollow volcanic mountain with her subjects. All they leave behind is John Simons who then becomes Hercules's companion.

Simons is about as useful to Hercules as Pancho was to the Cisco Kid. But the reason he was left behind is he's hardly a valiant types. The men of the kingdom eat the hearts of the valiant in the belief it will increase their courage. This guy will put it in the negative.

The rest of the film is concerned with the rescue with Hercules battling a bear, two elephants, and the volcano itself. He proves to be quite invincible.

Simons provides some nice comic relief for the audience. The big guy is stoic throughout Simons's cowardly goofiness.

Peplum fans should like this one.

Not sure this is simply a Hercules film or not as I saw it under the title, Sons of Hercules in the Land of Darkness and the character was referred to as Argolese; however, here it is listed as Hercules the Invincible. Pretty sure it is in the realm of Hercules movies though as sometimes they package those Machista films as Hercules films when they are two different heroes. Pretty sure that is not the case here, but I am also certain they did use footage from the very first Hercules film in this one as that battle with the dragon looked awfully familiar...

The story here has a rousing song about the sons of Hercules as they show scenes from other films. My guess this is only on certain cuts of the film, so who really knows how it opened with the exception of those who saw the film in Italy. Hercules battles a lion right off the bat to save what turns out to be a princess of a kingdom of poorly designed houses. The king offers his daughter's hand in marriage, which Hercules or whatever his name is accepts, if whatshisname can go kill the previously killed dragon. While he does battle with the previously seen dragon, another group raids the kingdom and burns it down, but for some reason leaves a very annoying man named Babar who becomes Hercules sidekick as Hercules goes to the kingdom to rescue the people and comes across an evil queen as he is prone to do...

The film is not that good. This Hercules films just get worse as they progress along. Of course, during this time sequels did tend to get worse and cheaper as they went along so I guess it checks out. The guy they got to play Hercules or Argolese looks the part physique wise, but not as good as the original. This one has a halfhearted attempt at a beard. Lots of bulked up dudes back in the day, if only Vince had the WWE up and running then, he could have given these guys a main spot on the roster so they wouldn't have to do this by the numbers Hercules films.

So, of the Hercules or whatever films, this one is one of the worst I've seen. I was not wild about the reuse of footage, the sidekick was annoying yet somehow more effective than Herc and Herc's great feats of strength are few and far between. They make such a big deal out of pulling a tree out of ground, yet the Marvel comic Hercules could do this feat with minimal effort. I will give this film its due though, it does feature a random bear attack...

This is easily among the lamest peplums to emerge out of Italian cinema during that subgenre's heyday: in this respect, muscular lead Dan Vadis certainly proved consistent since his efforts in this vein are all quite terrible! Anyway, this starts off with one of the most side-splitting Anglicized cast lists ever that bears repeating in full here: apart from Vadis himself, we have Ken Klark, Jannette Barton, Red Ross, Sand Beanty, Kirk Bert, Kriss Moss, Jannette Le Roy, Paul Mac Lee, Pat Kein, Angel Pat, Flow Garden, Tago Convers, Albert Cardiff and, finally, Al World for director!! – but equally hilarious are the hero's intermittent fights with a variety of incredibly fake-looking wild animals (a lion and a bear) and monsters (a dragon that looks more like a dinosaur!)…though he also survives getting torn apart by a bunch of real elephants in the arena! Worse still is the obligatory comic relief courtesy of a cowardly elderly sidekick that is truly unbearable to behold. Having watched a handful of such undemanding and virtually interchangeable fare back-to-back, I can hardly recall what the plot was all about: I do know, however, that much is made of the fact that the aforementioned dragon's smallest tooth has all-important magic powers that, needless to say, are craved by a Fu Manchu-type potentate who incongruously turns up at some point, to little effect

Made towards the close of the great Italian Peplum films, "Hercules the Invincible" is one of the unsung gems. Leading man Dan Vadis lends his spectacular physique to the proceedings with fine results.

While many of the more "respectable" sword and sandal films revolved around historical fact (the rise and fall of ancient Rome), or Greek mythology (as in the original "Hercules" with Steve Reeves), these smaller films succeeded in creating a special magic of their very own.

This film is a wonderful Saturday matinee fantasy with color, action and an enormously entertaining commentary on what corrupt rulers of a country are like. There are some fine special effects throughout, most notably in the stone drawbridge which allows horsemen to traverse a river of molten lava.

Millennials and Generation Z will absolutely hate this movie; they have neither the attention span or the innocence to lose themselves in a charming beefcake fairy tale. Instead, they will spoil their own enjoyment by obsessing over the film's budget, dubbing and photographic effects. That's their problem - don't let it be yours. Make some popcorn, pour a glass of Orange Crush and go back to an era when it was all about storytelling and eye candy!

Sword and Sandal films are perhaps the most nerve-wracking movies to try and track down. They usually have numerous different titles, versions and edits. This one is a prime example. Many of the reviews here trashing it for "stealing scenes" from other flicks (including the iconic 1958 Hercules starring Steve Reeves) are actually reviewing the more commonly available US TV Edit by Joseph E Levine which did in fact replace scenes from this flick with that previous one, which he also did US distribution for. In such a case when you are literally viewing half the movie, not just the edits but the chopping off of half of the screen to get a cinemascopic picture to fit to a 4x3 TV, one's assessment can be unfairly ravaged because you are only seeing fragments of what a movie is meant to be! I was fortunate enough to catch the original and superior Italian version which is likely to please anyone who finds a title like "Hercules The Invincible" tantalizing enough to merit a watch in the first place. Although the Italian version is missing the groovy narration added to the US Version - guaranteed to take you back to your childhood living room floor in front of the old TV set - it is an overall better viewing experience.

HERCULES THE INVINCIBLE stars Dan Vadis as everyone's favorite pile of muscles.

Watch! As Hercules battles a lion, pelting it with boulders! Tossing them as though they were made of papier mache!

See! Hercules reduce a dragon to cold cuts, in five seconds flat!

Witness! The mighty Hercules save enslaved people from their eeevil king!

Stand agog! While Big H bends iron bars like rubber!

Indeed, men are crushed, as big heavy things are thrown all over the place! Hercules does all of this while sporting the latest in earth tone mini-dresses!

Of course, there's also an obligatory "test of strength". This time, involving elephants! Annnd, the final, apocalyptic battle must not be missed!

A later entry in the genre, but worth seeing for the diehard devotee...

I only saw this movie because I heard it was the worst Hercules movie ever made, or the worst movie made based on Greek mythology. Whatever the standards, this is quite bad. The biggest drawback is the special effects. I mean, that has to be the fakest looking dragon I've ever seen in my whole life. This movie fails because the buildup is so poor. Almost everything is talked about in the first ten minutes and then the plot just goes from random place to random place. There's little point in keeping up, because you're so uninvested. Many scenes just go on way too long for no reason, especially the parts with the elephants and Hercules opening the door.

This film also lacks humor in every sense of the word. For all the flak I give this, I will admit that the backgrounds and sets are actually quite good. They really do come off as quite colorful. That's certainly not enough to save this. I'm used to seeing bad movies like this on MST3K, but not this time. Why didn't they ever use this on the show or even Rifftrax? Maybe they will someday. *1/2

Since there were more Peplum extravaganzas than the U.S. market could absorb, television got into the act with a syndicated series called "The Sons of Hercules," which were 14 Italian Peplum not released theatrically in the U.S. that were re-dubbed as a loose series of 28 episodes with a catchy theme. "Hercules the Invincible" (Italian title: "Ercole l'invincibile") became "Son of Hercules in the Land of Darkness," starring big Dan Vadis as the hero renamed Argoles, who was supposed to be one of the sons of Hercules. This is the only version I've seen, so I can't really comment on the Italian original, but based on the material as presented, I can't imagine it was any good. This is one of the worst in the Hercules series, even though it packs in plenty of action. Unfortunately, it is almost all uninspired, unimaginative and very cheap-looking, with lots of running about and lots of dead spots. This has one of the worst fights with a lion in any Peplum film -- director Alvaro Manori either didn't know how it was done, or didn't care to make it look vaguely realistic or threatening. None of the considerable number of action sequences build any suspense, nor are they staged and filmed in a way that offers any tension or excitement. Even the obligatory dance number is anemic, consisting mostly of women rolling around on the floor. The look of the film, and the set designs, are equally as unimpressive.

The one thing this has going for it is large number of feats-of- strength opportunities for our hero (whatever you want to call him), and Vadis makes the most them, with the camera ogling and caressing his muscles. The biggest problem for Vadis is that he's sporting an extremely unflattering beard. This was his first of two times as Hercules. Perhaps someone thought that the best Hercules's -- Steve Reeves and Reg Park -- have beards, so Vadis should too. It was a colossal mistake in judgment. Despite the scruffy rug on his face, Vadis cuts an imposing figure as the legendary strongman. There's only one other moderately intriguing character in the whole movie, Maria Fiore as a conniving courtesan so desperate to become queen of the land Hercules invades that, once she achieves her goal she barely notices her kingdom falling down around her. But that's not enough to save this below-par entry in a genre that was rapidly becoming played out.

Right off the bat I have to say this is not about Hercules but about the SON OF Hercules Ercole/Argolese. Most likely "son of" refers to a follower of Hercules. Like father, like son - Argolese is like his "father" so I guess it is a Hercules movie in a way.

This one does have some light comedy in it - including the man in the bear suit scenes. Babar gives us some comical lines and looks - the real comic relief of the film.

Not only does this peplum action-adventure "Hercules" film give us some light comedy, it is a fantasy film since we have a witch and a dragon. It does feel like a Dungeons and Dragons movie in it's way. And it has all the makings for a film that I enjoy. This one might be my favorite "Hercules" film from the 60s series.

6/10

Hercules (Dan Vadis) strangles a lion to save Princess Telca (Spela Rozin). Her grateful father promises him the hand of his daughter, but only if Hercules can slay a dragon, too. Hercules falls in love with Telca's beautiful blue eyes and decides it's worth trying. He makes the acquaintance of a witch in a cave. After a few evil 'Ha! Ha!' laughs, she provides Hercules with a spear that can kill the dragon - actually a clumsy dinosaur who lives in a remote valley, doing no harm. When Hercules returns, Telca and the king have been abducted by people from the 'Land of Darkness' who always need victims for their blood rituals. Of course, Hercules follows the raiders, determined to rescue the princess. Evil queen Melissa has other plans, though...

Colourful adventure with a lot of action and just enough comic relief. Sometimes movies of this genre drag on and on with pathos and too much dialog, but this is not the case here. It was good fun watching it. I'd like to see the Italian original though, because the American version seems to be re-edited and several minutes shorter.