SON OF HERCULES IN THE LAND OF DARKNESS (1963)
(a.k.a. HERCULES THE INVINCIBLE / ERCOLE L’INVINCIBILE)
Article #1184 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-11-2004
Posting Date: 11-8-2004
Directed by Alvaro Mancori and Lewis Mann
Featuring Dan Vadis, Spela Rozin, Carla Calo

A son of Hercules named Argolese must rescue villagers who have been kidnapped by the denizens of an evil underground empire.

This movie appears to have been adapted for television for “The Sons of Hercules” series; it has a part one and part two, breaks for commercials, and it opens and closes with the rousing but hilarious “Sons of Hercules” theme song. Plotwise, it hits every cliche in the book; Argolese fights a lion, a dragon and a bear, pulls up a tree by the roots, catches the eye of an evil queen, falls in love with the daughter of a good king, throws a big rock, bends the bars back, etc.etc. He also has an annoying comic relief sidekick who is clumsy, cowardly and gluttonous, but still manages to help save the day. In some ways, it’s such a quintessential example of this sort of thing that I can’t help but like it. Besides, the ‘Son of Hercules” theme is worth the price of admission by itself.