A middling, typical Italian peplum film from director Ferdinando Baldi. DUEL OF CHAMPIONS benefits greatly from a spectacular opening and a rousing finale, but kind of loses it in the middle part which verges occasionally on becoming dull. Thankfully, it never does become boring, a fact which is mainly due to the efforts of Alan Ladd, the film's American import. Ladd - although the victim of a spectacular piece of miscasting, it has to be said - brings warmth and charisma to his role of Horatius, the cowardly but ultimately victorious warrior who saves Rome. Although Ladd, at approximately 50 years of age, is really ten to fifteen years too old to play the heroic lead, he puts in a fine performance on which the film hinges. Things become enjoyable in his presence.
Things start off brilliantly with a well-choreographed battle scene, employing a large cast and enlivened by a thunderous, sweeping score. They continue in a good vein with a tense sequence in which Roman reinforcements are ambushed in a ravine and forced to fight to the death in a violent battle, where they are shot with arrows and burning grasses threaten to kill them! It's at this point we are introduced to Ladd, who, after a spectacular bit of sword fighting, is injured and captured by the Albans.
He's immediately marched off to their city, where incredibly the sight of wrestling women passes for entertainment (not just Mexico then...). At this point comes one of the film's best scenes, where Ladd is thrown into a pit and is forced to fight off three hunger-starved wolves. Although it's clear that Ladd is never in the same shot as the wolves, the fight scene is expertly staged and highly exciting, culminating in a surprisingly brutal shot of Ladd bludgeoning one of the beasts to death with a rock! After escaping into the care of some hermit-like folk who live in the nearby mountains, Ladd regains his strength and rejoins his people. Here the film slows down a gear, introducing an interesting but ultimately unnecessary subplot about two Romeo and Juliet-like characters who fall in love but are separated by being on either side of the two armies. Meanwhile, the two kings of the city try to keep the peace and devise a plan to reveal the true ruling army, while Ladd must come to terms with his wife marrying his brother (!) and also trying to regain the favour of his people.
Thankfully, all of this doesn't drag on too far, and once again events are thrust into high-gear with a fantastic bout of sword fighting at the film's close. Three brothers from either army must fight it out to the death and in the initial duel, the atmosphere is electric and as good as any gladiator film I've seen. Sadly, the fights seem simply to consist of two men clashing swords together and have very little imagination, a few props here and there certainly wouldn't have gone amiss. There's a short nighttime interlude in some atmospheric woods where Ladd destroys two of his pursuers in a cat and mouse game (his other two brothers having already been murdered). Finally, he goes one on one with the last soldier in a fun battle, the climax of which is pretty obvious but it's pretty exciting anyway.
The film looks impressive, with good sets and scenery and costumes, which make the budget look big even if it probably wasn't (with, I'm sure, much of the money going towards Ladd's own personal pay cheque). The supporting cast of Italians is fine, with some heroic young men for the female viewers and some beautiful young women for the men. Despite being a pretty forgettable movie, this does throw up some interesting ideas and has strength in characterisation, unlike a number of similar peplums which are all-action and no depth. Ladd's presence is also a definite plus for this reviewer. Enjoyable.
Things start off brilliantly with a well-choreographed battle scene, employing a large cast and enlivened by a thunderous, sweeping score. They continue in a good vein with a tense sequence in which Roman reinforcements are ambushed in a ravine and forced to fight to the death in a violent battle, where they are shot with arrows and burning grasses threaten to kill them! It's at this point we are introduced to Ladd, who, after a spectacular bit of sword fighting, is injured and captured by the Albans.
He's immediately marched off to their city, where incredibly the sight of wrestling women passes for entertainment (not just Mexico then...). At this point comes one of the film's best scenes, where Ladd is thrown into a pit and is forced to fight off three hunger-starved wolves. Although it's clear that Ladd is never in the same shot as the wolves, the fight scene is expertly staged and highly exciting, culminating in a surprisingly brutal shot of Ladd bludgeoning one of the beasts to death with a rock! After escaping into the care of some hermit-like folk who live in the nearby mountains, Ladd regains his strength and rejoins his people. Here the film slows down a gear, introducing an interesting but ultimately unnecessary subplot about two Romeo and Juliet-like characters who fall in love but are separated by being on either side of the two armies. Meanwhile, the two kings of the city try to keep the peace and devise a plan to reveal the true ruling army, while Ladd must come to terms with his wife marrying his brother (!) and also trying to regain the favour of his people.
Thankfully, all of this doesn't drag on too far, and once again events are thrust into high-gear with a fantastic bout of sword fighting at the film's close. Three brothers from either army must fight it out to the death and in the initial duel, the atmosphere is electric and as good as any gladiator film I've seen. Sadly, the fights seem simply to consist of two men clashing swords together and have very little imagination, a few props here and there certainly wouldn't have gone amiss. There's a short nighttime interlude in some atmospheric woods where Ladd destroys two of his pursuers in a cat and mouse game (his other two brothers having already been murdered). Finally, he goes one on one with the last soldier in a fun battle, the climax of which is pretty obvious but it's pretty exciting anyway.
The film looks impressive, with good sets and scenery and costumes, which make the budget look big even if it probably wasn't (with, I'm sure, much of the money going towards Ladd's own personal pay cheque). The supporting cast of Italians is fine, with some heroic young men for the female viewers and some beautiful young women for the men. Despite being a pretty forgettable movie, this does throw up some interesting ideas and has strength in characterisation, unlike a number of similar peplums which are all-action and no depth. Ladd's presence is also a definite plus for this reviewer. Enjoyable.