[ IMDB | Stream (Amazon I, Amazon II) | Stream (Dailymotion) | Stream (Internet Archive) | Stream (YouTube I, YouTube II) | Wikipedia ]
Also known as: The Slave Merchants
This movie had the worst prints of all I’ve watched so far. Almost unwatchable, which was frustrating because I found images online (at Cool Ass Cinema, which I’ll steal below) that are pristine. The only likely source I could find was a Spanish DVD/BluRay copy, which I am not going to purchase just for this viewing. Amazon streams were $3 each, and are usually the same as the poorer prints out there, so I didn’t even try. The Dailymotion is the same as the YouTube II print, Both with washed out color, sepia tones, and a distortion line down the center of the screen throughout the film. It seemed to be the least cropped of the options. I eventually went with YouTube I. Best colors, but still pretty cropped and horribly low resolution. I found the Internet Archive copy after I’d already watched and should have used it. Better color and resolution, no cropping.
Cast:
- Antonio Margheriti – director. Also directed Cannibal Apocalypse and Wild, Wild Planet (referenced here).
- Georges Garvarentz – soundtrack. Also wrote the soundtrack to Eyes Wide Shut.
- Kirk Morris – Anthar (of Dathea? Ethea?), Son of Hercules. Also in Hercules of the Desert and many, many others, bodybuilder, discovered while working as a Venetian gondolier.
- Roberto Dell’Aqua – Aimu, the mute sidekick to Anthar.
- Michele Giradon – Princess Soraya, daughter of the sultan. At 20 won “the most photogenic girl in France” competition, also in the early French New Wave film Le signe du lion, committed suicide at 36.
- Manuel Gallardo – Prince Daikor, son of the sultan. Died just 3 weeks ago on 21 Aug 2020.
- Mario Feliciani – Ganor, advisor to the sultan and usurper.
- Jose Jaspe – Akrim, slave merchant.
- Aldo Cecconi – Abdul, Akrim’s assisstant. Also had a small role in Hercules Conquers Atlantis (1961) and in Hercules vs. the Giant Warriors (1964, with Dan Vadis as the lead).
- Renato Baldini – Kamal, the sheikh who purchases Soraya as a slave.
Notes:
- My theory that Hercules’s love interest is always blonde is proved wrong in this film.
- Humorous sidekick Aimu, like Babar in Hercules the Invincible. Heroic sidekicks: Namar in Beast of Babylon, Paul Wynter in Mole Men.
Story:
Sultan’s advisor Ganor stages a coup against King Sandor. His head of the army starts killing royal guards as riders approach the city to attack. The sultan is killed but Prince Daikor continues to fight the insurgents, ultimately getting captured and thrown in prison. Two royal soldiers sneak away after the city is overrun by Ganor’s soldiers. Soraya flees Ganor’s advances and jumps out a window into the river.
Anthar and Aimu fishing on the other side of the river find her floating off shore. Revive her. Aimu goes to get food but is knocked out by a the Murat and other agents of slave trader Akrim who then kidnaps the princess. Anthar fights them but is unable to stop her abduction.
Akrim’s encampment. Abdul plans for the next day’s slave auction as Murat brings in the princess. Sheik Kamal assesses that she is the most beautiful and therefore most valuable of all his slaves and hands her over the Adonna to prepare her for the auction.
Anthar and the mute find the slave trader’s camp as the princess is about to be auctioned off by Abdul. Anthar, covered in a cloak to hide his identity from the slavers, sees her brought to the auction stage. She is sold to Kamal who, before matching the final bid, declares “with that sum of money I could buy all of the slaves in the Orient!” She is taken to the Sheik’s caravan. Anthar is despondent but follows with Aimu.
The sheik brings Soraya to his tent and starts atacking her just as Anthar unties the Sheik’s horses and starts a stampede through the camp. Free her. Flee back across narrow bridge.
Back in the city, a soldier (one that had fled originally?) attempts to sneak arms into the city but is discovered and barely escapes, though is shot in the back. His horse takes him to an oasis (Hacien?, other Salene?) where Anthar and Soraya are resting.
Kamal goes to get his money back from Akrim because ancient tradition does not allow princesses to be sold as slaves. Akrim refuses and as Kamal attacks him, he is stabbed in the back. Mute takes Soraya to mountain tribes for safety. Anthar goes to help win back the city. Sneaks in through the front gate and starts a fire to distract the guards. Enters through the harem’s bathing quarters.
In the royal hall. Dance scene! Akrim comes to see Ganor to confess that Soraya was sold as a slave and is now with Anthar. Akrim asks for money to keep the secret that Ganor was the real slave merchant, but Ganor traps him in the hall of mirrors then enters and kills him. Anthar watches from a ledge above. He goes to free Daikor and overhears Ganor confessing that he plans to attack the mountain tribes and enslave the women. He asks Daikor to abdicate the throne but Daikor declines to give an answer. Anthar frees him and they plan to escape through the bottom of the slave girls’ pool in their bathing quarters. Daikar makes it but Anthar is captured.
The women of the mountain tribes are captured, so Daikor and the men ride to liberate the city.
Anthar must fight a rhinocerous in a pit (that was unexpected). The guards find out that the rebels have attacked the city and in the subsequent chaos, Anthar escapes the pit. He then flees, Prince of Persia-like, through the city. Outside, Aimu conveys to Daikor that they create a ladder of spears in order to climb up the city walls and stop the archers. Aimu leads and opens the gates to let the others in. Sword battles throughout the streets.
Anthar chases Ganor into the hall of mirrors and reveals him by smashing them all. Ganor, terrified, backs away and then falls out a window to his death. Soraya, along with Daikor and Aimu, finds Anthar and embrace.