Hercules and Cinema

As most of us know from our childhood or film and TV Hercules (or Heracles) is a mythical Greek hero who is the illegitimate son of Zeus and Alcmene. The mortal son of a God, estranged from his father whose feats of strength, courage and his sexual conquests have been a fascination to both men and women for thousands of years.

Most famous for his 12 labours:

Slay the Nemean Lion.
Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra.
Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis.
Capture the Erymanthian Boar.
Clean the Augeanstables in a single day.
Slay the Stymphalian Birds.
Capture the Cretan Bull.
Steal the Mares of Diomedes.
Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.
Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon.
Steal the apples of the Hesperides(he had the help of Atlas to pick them after Hercules had slain Ladon).
Capture and bring back Cerberus

He was an Argonaut on Jason’s quest for the golden fleece (one of my all-time favourite films by the way) and many other adventures. Hercules story is a classic tale of the rites of passage that has fascinated film and television leading to many retellings and I have found this brief research fasimating as to how many times this story has been retold.

Below I have compiled a list from brief research using mainly Wikipedia (accepted not always the most reliable but adequate for this quick and dirty summary).

Italian Sword and Scandal movies – films are listed below by their American release titles, and the titles in parentheses are the original Italian titles with English translation.

Hercules(Le fatiche di Ercole / The Labors of Hercules, 1957) starring Steve Reeves
Hercules Unchained(Ercole e la regina di Lidia / Hercules and the Queen of Lydia, 1959) starring Steve Reeves
Goliath and the Dragon(La vendetta di Ercole / The Revenge of Hercules, 1960) starring Mark Forest (this Hercules film had its title changed to Goliath when it was distributed in the U.S.)
Hercules Vs The Hydra(Gli amori di Ercole / The Loves of Hercules, 1960) co-starring Mickey Hargitay & Jayne Mansfield
Hercules and the Captive Women(Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide / Hercules at the Conquest of Atlantis, 1961) starring Reg Park (alternate U.S. title: Hercules and the Haunted Women)
Hercules in the Haunted World(Ercole al centro della terra / Hercules at the Center of the Earth) 1961 (directed by Mario Bava) starring Reg Park
Hercules in the Valley of Woe(Maciste contro Ercole nella valle dei guai / Maciste vs Hercules in the Vale of Woe) starring Frank Gordon as Hercules, 1961
Ulysses Against the Son of Hercules(Ulisse contro Ercole / Ulysses vs Hercules) starring Mike Lane, 1962
The Fury of Hercules(La furia di Ercole / The Fury of Hercules) starring Brad Harris, 1962 (alternate U.S. title: The Fury of Samson)
Hercules, Samson and Ulysses(Ercole sfida Sansone / Hercules Challenges Samson) starring Kirk Morris, 1963
Hercules vs Moloch(Ercole contro Molock / Hercules vs Molock) starring Gordon Scott, 1963 (a.k.a. The Conquest of Mycenae)
Son of Hercules in the Land of Darkness(Ercole l’invincibile / Hercules the Invincible) starring Dan Vadis, 1964. (This was originally a Hercules film retitled “Son of Hercules” for inclusion in the U.S. syndicated television package The Sons of Hercules).
Hercules vs The Giant Warriors(il trionfo di Ercole / The Triumph of Hercules) starring Dan Vadis, 1964 (alternate U.S. title: Hercules and the Ten Avengers)
Hercules Against Rome(Ercole contro Roma / Hercules vs Rome) starring Alan Steel, 1964
Hercules Against the Sons of the Sun(Ercole contro i figli del sole / Hercules vs the Sons of the Sun) starring Mark Forest, 1964
Samson and His Mighty Challenge(Ercole, Sansone, Maciste e Ursus: gli invincibili / Hercules, Samson, Maciste and Ursus: The Invincibles) starring Alan Steel as Hercules, 1964 (a.k.a. Combate dei Gigantes or Le Grand Defi)
Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon(Ercole contro i tiranni di Babilonia / Hercules vs the Tyrants of Babylon) starring Rock Stevens, 1964
Hercules and the Princess of Troy(No Italian title) starring Gordon Scott, 1965 (a.k.a. Hercules vs the Sea Monster) — This U.S./ Italian co-production was made as a pilot for a Charles Band-produced TV series that never materialized & it was later distributed as a feature film.
Hercules the Avenger(Sfida dei giganti / Challenge of the Giants) starring Reg Park, 1965 (This film was composed mostly of re-edited footage from the two 1961 Reg Park Hercules films.

Also, the following Italian films were released with Hercules names attached although there was no intention them being Hercules film buy the Italian filmmakers.

Hercules Against the Moon Men, Hercules Against the Barbarians, Hercules Against the Mongolsand Hercules of the Desert were all originally Maciste films in Italy. (See “Maciste” section below)
Hercules and the Black Pirateand Hercules and the Treasure of the Incas were both originally Samson movies in Italy. (See “Samson” section below)
Hercules, Prisoner of Evilwas originally an Ursus film in Italy. (See “Ursus” section below)
Hercules and the Masked Riderwas actually originally a Goliath movie in Italy. (See “Goliath” section below)

Other non-Italian and Hollywood films featuring Hercules:

The Warrior’s Husband(1933), directed by Walter Lang, in which Hercules, played by Tiny Sandford, is a clumsy, cowardly, comic character.
The Three Stooges Meet Hercules(1962), American comedy with the Three Stooges and Samson Burke playing Hercules.
Jason and the Argonauts(1963), with Hercules as a member of crew of the Argo, searching for the golden fleece but leaving before they get there.
Hercules in New York(1970), with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Hercules(1983) and its sequel The Adventures of Hercules (1985) with Lou Ferrigno as the title character.
Hercules(1997), American animated feature, produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation.
The Amazing Feats of Young Hercules(1997), in which Hercules must complete four feats of heroism with his weasel companion Falina.
Jason and the Argonauts(2000), in which Hercules (Brian Thompson) travels all the way to Colchis with the Argonauts.
Little Hercules(2009), Little Hercules travels from Mt. Olympus to live life as a mortal in Los Angeles played by Richard Sandrak.
Immortals(2011), in which Heracles is played as one of the Olympian gods by Steve Byers.
The Legend of Hercules(2014), directed by Renny Harlin and played by Kellan Lutz.
Hercules(2014), directed by Brett Ratner and played by Dwayne Johnson. Based on the comic series by Steve Moore.
Hercules Reborn(2014), directed by Nick Lyon and played by John Morrison.
Hercules(2014), a Bengali film where the timid lead is called Hercules in jest

Television too has featured Hercules, perhaps most famously Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spin off Xena: Warrior Princess, although a comprehensive list is below:

The Mighty Hercules, an animated series produced in 1963 byAdventure Cartoon Productions in connection with Trans-Lux Television.
The Sons of Hercules, a 1970s television series
Hercules(1995), based upon Hercules’s fulfillment of the twelve labours.
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, a TV series and several made-for-television movies in 1995–1999 starringKevin Sorbo.
Hercules: The Animated Series, a TV series based upon the 1997Disney
Young Hercules, a spin-off ofHercules: The Legendary Journeys which aired on Fox Kids from September 12, 1998 to May 12, 1999, starring Ryan Gosling.
Hercules(TV miniseries), a 2005 television mini-series done by Hallmark Entertainment.
Hercules is the mentor and ancestor of Herry Hercules fromClass of the Titans.
Hercules appears in theBBC One series Atlantis where he is portrayed by Mark Addy.
Hercules appears in theABC fantasy drama Once Upon a Time, portrayed by Jonathan Whitesell.