Woodyanders Review of Hercules and the Princess of Troy

Hercules and the Princess of Troy (1965 TV Movie)

A neat little fantasy adventure outing

[8/10 · 26 May 2009]

The people of Troy sacrifice fair maidens to a ghastly sea monster on a regular basis. It's up to the brave and mighty Hercules (a likable performance by the handsome and muscular Gordon Scott) to destroy the creature before Princess Diana (fetching blonde Diana Hyland) becomes its next victim. Director Albert Band relates the story at a snappy pace and maintains a serious tone throughout. Better still, the action scenes are staged with real flair (Hercules' strenuous big battle with the monster is quite stirring and spirited) and the tight 47 minute running time ensures that there's never any dreary lulls or needlessly talky padding. The solid acting from the capable cast rates as another substantial plus: Scott makes for a strong and credible Hercules, Hyland is both pretty and appealing as Princess Diana, Gordon Mitchell has a cool cameo as a pirate captain, plus there are sound contributions by Roger Browne as the courageous Ortag, Giorgio Ardisson as the proud, eager Leander, mart Hulswit as the excitable Ulysses, Paul Stevens as wise scientist Diogenes, and Steve Garrett as the shrewd, treacherous Petra. Fred Steiner's moody, soaring score does the rousing trick. Ditto Enzo Barboni's crisp cinematography. Special kudos are also in order for Carlo Rambaldi's impressively lifelike and hideously grotesque insectoid animatronic aquatic beast. A fun flick.