SAMSON AND THE SEVEN MIRACLES OF THE WORLD (1961)
Article #737 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-22-2003
Posting Date: 8-19-2003
Directed by Riccardo Freda
Featuring Gordon Scott, Yoko Tani, Helene Chanel

A strong man named Samson comes to the aid of the Chinese in the thirteenth century to help them throw off the yoke of the evil mongols.

Ever get the feeling of Deja Vu, that weird sense that you’ve lived through something before? When I watched HERCULES AND THE BARBARIANS, I asked myself how Hercules managed to find himself in thirteenth century China; now I find myself asking how Samson got there. Of course, the answer is the same; he’s not really Hercules/Samson, but just someone who is really strong that took on the name. Furthermore, the Italian titles on both the movies indicate that the hero is really Maciste, but that doesn’t really answer the question, as Maciste first appeared in Roman times in the movie CABIRIA. And the Seven Miracles? Well, I can’t tell you what they are, because the wise man who keeps track of them doesn’t appear until the last twenty minutes of the movie and we have to take his word that five of them have already happened. I suppose I shouldn’t complain; it’s sword-and-sandal, which usually means that what you get is a random assortment of action set pieces only vaguely tied together by a plot. Samson/Maciste uproots a tree, saves some Chinese rebels from a horrible execution (probably the most memorable scene of the movie), rings a bell, and causes an earthquake after being buried by a dwarf. And me, all I do is sit here and write reviews. Let’s face it; some people have more interesting lives.