THE REVOLT OF THE SLAVES / LA RIVOLTA DEGLI SCHIAVI (1960)

With that title, the review writes itself: ‘Yes, the slaves ARE revolting!’  Haha.  But this post-HERCULES/’58 entry in the onslaught of Sword-and-Sandal WideScreen Peplum is a step-and-a-half up from the usual CineCittà Roman Epic of the period.  Filmed not in Italy, but in Spain, it’s impressive looking, the big Roman interiors neither repurposed nor Las Vegas tacky, and its proverbial cast of thousands for the usual Romans vs. Early Christians set-tos, not only big, but unexpectedly integrated since this Emperor mistrusts the Pretorian Guard and opts for African Mercenaries.  Better yet, their leader gets a whopping big supporting part as the film’s main villain. A sexy beast with a model-worthy Black consort and a roving eye that has him making moves on the film’s tempestuous/ambivalent red-headed, fading Hollywood ringer, Rhonda Fleming.  Pretty daring interracial stuff for the international market circa 1960.  Alas, that concludes our positive comments.  For the rest, Fleming is stuck playing patrician daughter whose hot-and-cold response to Christian slave Lang Jeffries generates zero on-screen chemistry.  (Off-screen, Lang became Mr. Fleming for a couple of years.)  At 66, director Nunzio Malasomma was winding down a long, local Italian career while composer Angelo Francesco Lavagnino (of Orson Welles’ OTHELLO/’51), brings little fresh invention to his 13th film of the year.  Plenty of red meat toward the end (maybe you CAN have your Christian Martyrs AND eat them too!), but the only interesting bit sees our neurasthenic Emperor constantly ‘worry’ an itchy skin rash.  Nice touch.

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: Our poster (see above) has one of those old-fashioned come-ons to highlight every atrocity: SEE Christians sacrificed in the Coliseum!  SEE man-eating lions!  And so on.  But they miss the best: SEE St. Sebastian martyred with multiple wounds as arrows pierce flesh!  And such a beefy unæsthetic Sebastian for a target!