Goliath and the Dragon (1960) User Reviews

Colorful muscle-man epic with the robust Mark Forest and well directed by Vittorio Cottafavi

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 17 August 2007]

This myth-opera Peplum deals about Hercules , he finishes the seven works going to inferno in the center of earth , a hell plenty of craters , volcano , yellow fume and red foggy in gaudy colors and groundbreaking atmosphere . There he battles can Cerbero with various heads spitting fire and a flying monster similar a large bat (creatures made by Carlo Rambaldi : ET) . Later on , there takes place a palace intrigue with a tyrant named Euristeo (a scarface Broderick Crawford , in the U.S. version, it's not his voice, but a voice actor impersonating him) attempting to rule over the city of Tebas and our hero unhesitatingly goes into action and must use his strength to save his wife and son of a cruel torture with elephants ; plus , he confronts Zeus represented by a great sculpture . Here Hercules is married to Deianira (Leonora Ruffo) and has a rebel and angry son (Moretti) facing off his father , but he's impeded on relationship with Thea and even he's tied a tree by Hércules . Finally , it takes place an exciting final confrontation into a snakes pit .

This muscle-man epic displays action , adventures , mythology, bizarre and luxurious scenarios and results to be quite amusing . The movie has not mythological accuracy , neither expectation historical . This film is listed among the 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made in Golden Raspberry Awards . Stunningly cheap special effects like the shots and close-ups of a giant bear that's a man suited struggling against Hércules . Besides , it appears usual Eurotrash babes such as Wandisa Guisa and Leonora Ruffo and a habitual Spaghetti Western : Robert Hundar as a centaur . Mark Forest is good and strong playing the mythical hunk who finds several risks while attempting to defeat his enemies and fighting monsters and numerous odds . Forest played the hero in great number of movies and was randomly assigned the identity of Hércules , Goliath , Samsom for US version . Bouncing and robust Forest was a muscle-man who allegedly left the Gladiators genre for the Opera and he currently teaches in the L.A. zone . He was one along with the biggest chests like are Gordon Scott , Alan Steel , Reg Park , Ed Fury , Dan Vadis , all of them to seek fortune acting absurdly mythological figures but nobody topped Steve Reeves in popularity .

This motion picture is an enjoyable sword and sandals story , being compellingly directed by Vittorio Cottafavi (1914-1998), he was a complete artist , painter and Peplum expert , as he directed : ¨Conquest of Atlántida¨ , ¨Legions of Cleopatra¨ , ¨Mesallina¨ and ¨Rebellion of gladiators¨ . Originally titled "Hercule's Revenge", but since Universal owned the rights to Hercules at the time, the title was changed and the name of the main character was changed to Goliath.

The names change, the muscles remain the same

[michael-3204 · 6/10 · 4 May 2016]

"Goliath and the Dragon" was one of two peplum films featuring Hercules (the other being "The Loves of Hercules') released in 1960, following the success of "Hercules" and its sequel both starring Steve Reeves. The original Italian title for this film is "La vendetta di Ercole" ("The Revenge of Hercules"), but U.S. distributor AIP changed the hero to Goliath for the American release, and added a stop-motion animation dragon not included in the Italian cut. Italian-American (Brooklyn-born) bodybuilder Lou Degni, billed as Mark Forest, takes over the role from Reeves. Forest starred in a dozen or so peplum films including "Maciste in the Valley of the Kings" released this same year and played Hercules again in 1964's "Hercules Against the Sons of the Sun." He is a more than passable stand-in for Reeves, impressively built if not quite as classically handsome or well-proportioned and able to pull off the macho arrogance of the character. The oddest thing about this film is the casting of American actor Broderick Crawford, with an enormous and distracting scar across his face, as Hercules's (or Goliath's ... whatever) nemesis. Crawford growls his way through the movie and generally seems like a grumpy old man. At least he gets to use his name, which neither the film nor the writers nor the lead actor nor the hero do -- co-writer Nicolo Ferrari is credited with the bizarre pseudonym Archibald Zounds Jr.! (Apologies to anyone actually named Archibald Zounds, Jr. or Sr.)

The story is particularly baroque, involving forbidden romance, double-crossing courtiers, an over-large cast of characters that becomes cumbersome to keep straight, and some vague plans to defeat Hercules and conquer Thebes, but the overall motif (in keeping with the Italian title) is revenge, with Hercules at one point destroying the statue of the God of Vengeance after it falls on him -- twice! The real attraction here, though, is not the complicated plot but the dizzying array of cheesy monsters Hercules gets to fight, beginning with a sequence in the "cave of horrors" where the big man defeats a three-headed beast that is probably supposed to be Cerebus, though not identified as such (another pseudonymous indignity) and a very strange man-sized bat-like creature that at first I thought was a unique take on the dragon, but as it turns out a more conventional (though, frankly, pretty hilarious) dragon turns up later. Along the way, Hercules also defeats a giant bear-like monster and spears a centaur, who is the most convincing and strangely affecting of all the creatures that populate the film. The bat-thing and the bear-thing are clearly stuntmen in silly costumes, but the dragon (aside from the brief stop-motion sequence) is a giant puppet that Forest does a great job trying to battle convincingly. Other peplum tropes include the obligatory dancing girls and Hercules practically tearing down a city with his bare hands. Though much cheaper looking and cheesier than the two Reeves films that preceded it, this is actually pretty fun and peppy peplum entry helmed by director Vittorio Cottafavi.

A good opening, a good ending, but dull in between

[bensonmum2 · 5/10 · 19 June 2009]

For a sword and sandal movie, Goliath and the Dragon has about the most convoluted and ridiculously hard to follow plot that I can remember. It was kind of like watching two or more different movies at the same time where the pieces just never seem to fit into a cohesive whole. Based on what I did get out of it, King Eurystheus (Broderick Crawford) has it out for Goliath. He kidnaps Goliath's brother Illus and, when that doesn't work, he kidnaps Goliath's wife. King Eurystheus also has the hots for a babe about a third his age who just happens to be in love with Illus. To win her over, King Eurystheus takes the reasoned approach of having her imprisoned as well. In the meantime, Goliath is off doing battle with a three-headed dog, a giant flying bat creature, a wife-snatching centaur, and a dragon that can't seem to decide whether it's a stop-motion creature or a big, goofy looking puppet. In the end, Goliath literally brings down the walls of King Eurystheus' fortress and, with the help of an army from Thebes, saves the day.

Overall, Goliath and the Dragon is a real mixed bag – hence my very average 5/10 rating. There's a lot about the movie I enjoyed. The beyond cheesy fight scenes with the various creatures I mentioned is an obvious place to start. These scenes are just plain old fun. I also enjoyed the scenes of prisoners being crushed by a trained elephant. You don't see stuff like that everyday. Watching Goliath tackle the elephant was a hoot. But when Goliath and the Dragon is bad, it's real bad. Some of the acting is painful. Mark Forest, the requisite body in this sword and sandal epic, is about as wooden as you'll find in one of these movies. He moves in a very unnatural manner that looked odd to me for lack of a better word. And what's Broderick Crawford doing in this movie? He's so out of place I often felt embarrassed for him. Another big negative for me is how deathly dull much of the movie is. When Goliath's not fighting some creature, the movie can be terribly sleep inducing. Too many unnecessarily confusing plot points, too many characters I didn't know or care about, and too many scenes with nothing going on – not the sign of a what I'd call a good movie. Like I said, Goliath and the Dragon is a real mixed bag.

" By The Gods, I shall Have my Revenge or they will have My Death "

[thinker1691 · 11 July 2011]

In the 1960's as a child I and dozens of theater goers were watching this interesting Movie called " Goliath and the Dragon " when a small fire in the building sent everyone racing out in a panic. Although, I got the price of admission back, (15 cents) I never did get to finish the film. Due to the fact, I was very young, I was most impressed with the parts of the movie I did get to see. It is years later and I finally got to see the entire movie completely. I am surprised to sit through the entire film without yawning. The scenes which intrigued and captivated me as a child, were laughable as an adult. However, I am impressed with the story of how Goliath or Hercules was able to mesmerize young impressible audiences with such a small budget and hokey special effects. Still, as a grown-up I would quickly recommend this film to young members of the audience as they have not lost their imagination or have forgotten what it means to be inspired by flickering images. During the Sword and Sandal era, these movies are the very inspiration we received when it was needed most. How else could Gods, Goddesses, Monsters, Centars and heroic deeds have impressed us so much? Recommended! *****

GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON (Vittorio Cottafavi, 1960) **

[Bunuel1976 · 5/10 · 5 April 2007]

I had previously watched this in Italian during a pretty disastrous screening at the B-movie retrospective at the 2004 Venice Film Festival where the whole audience howled with laughter; in hindsight, I have to say that watching it on the big screen certainly magnifies its inherent faults tenfold. Actually, now that I've given it another look, it's not worse than most other peplums - though certainly not up to Cottafavi's best work, THE 100 HORSEMEN (1964) but his offbeat framing and vivid sense of color enlivens several sequences to be sure. For the record, Cottafavi also made that which is arguably the best Hercules film of all, HERCULES AND THE CAPTIVE WOMEN (1961), whose shortened US version (alas) has just been released on R1 DVD.

Anyway, the plot kicks into action immediately as Mark Forest (playing the titular he-man, named Hercules in the original Italian-language version) goes to recover a diamond from a monster-infested cave which includes a hilarious large cat creature with bat wings which I clearly recall sending the Venice Film Festival audience in hysterics! The villain of the piece is Broderick Crawford who naturally chews up the scenery and approaches the role as if he were playing a gangster; at one point he even puts down his equally crooked, if actually brighter, henchman by calling him a "moron"...after which Crawford is apparently revitalized and inspired into devising newer and more ingenious traps to spring for Hercules...er...Goliath! The busy plot line, of course, involves several action set-pieces, court intrigues, much invoking of the Greek gods, women threatened with torture...and more laughable monsters (the dragon of the English title is so cheap that only its head ever makes any significant appearance). There is the usual coterie of maidens in these mythological epics who, thankfully, are very easy on the eyes here especially Leonora Ruffo (as Goliath's wife; she went on to repeat the role in Mario Bava's HERCLUES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD [1961]) and Gaby Andre' (as a duplicitous slave who also falls for Goliath).

The version I watched this time around, via Alpha's DVD, was the AIP English-dubbed and rescored one (by the ubiquitous Les Baxter); surprisingly, it was a widescreen print - but the colors were way too much on the red side so that I had to tone down the colors on my TV set to make the whole thing viewable!

P.S. Amusingly, my father and I attended a multi-part course on film appreciation some 10 years ago and when the lecturer mentioned such peplums in a positive light, my father, knowing the man to be a University professor, exclaimed loudly: "Don't tell me you appreciate that stuff?"

"....and the walls came a tumblin' down."

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 7 December 2010]

For a guy who was a villain in the Bible, Goliath in Goliath And The Dragon pursues a biblical strategy in defeating the evil king, played by Broderick Crawford. His just desserts were positively biblical themselves.

Goliath as played by Mark Forest is a one muscular dude who is consecrated to the pagan Gods and he performs a number of tasks for them that are keeping him from home and hearth. While he's gone Broderick Crawford has usurped the throne in his home town, but the people aren't thrilled with their new monarch. What to do, but marry the daughter of the guy he killed to get the throne to legitimize himself.

But she loves Goliath's little brother and that gets the big guy all kinds of mad. Still his obligations to the various pagan deities keep interfering and he decides to revolt against them as well.

There are all kinds of little ins and outs of peplum politics in Goliath And The Dragon and Goliath has to face a three headed Cerberus dog, a big flying bat, a centaur, an elephant as preliminaries before he gets to the main event with the dragon. After that in the siege against Crawford's city Goliath goes underground and knocks down the support pillars to the walls of his city. Joshua wouldn't have needed trumpets had Goliath been working for the Israelites. The walls come down and Crawford becomes history.

Broderick Crawford definitely knew this film was not anything approaching All The King's Men and he overacts outrageously to get through the film. He had just finished his five year run on Highway Patrol and I can't believe this was the best his agent could do for him.

Hercules versus Broderick Crawford

[wes-connors · 3/10 · 17 February 2010]

"King Eurystheus rules the land with cruelty and terror, using his monsters to keep the people under his control. Goliath returns home to find his wife and the people in peril from the monsters and vows to defeat the creatures and overthrow the wicked king. Our hero is faced with the task of fighting a three-headed fire-breathing dog, a giant bat, a centaur, and finally a dragon before he can confront King Eurystheus for the fate of the kingdom," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Re-titled "Goliath and the Dragon" for American International Pictures release, this Italian film arrived as the Herculean "sword and sandal" genre was gaining steam. There are some good locations and sets; but, the overall production is nothing special. As mini-skirted Mark Forest (as Hercules aka Goliath) goes through the regular routine, the plot interest is on brother Sandro Moretti (as Illo aka Illus) and lover Federica Ranchi (as Thea), who is forcibly betrothed to... Broderick Crawford!

*** La vendetta di Ercole (8/12/60) Vittorio Cottafavi ~ Mark Forest, Broderick Crawford, Sandro Moretti, Leonora Ruffo

One of the more spectacular swords and sandals films is worth a look for the various monsters

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 22 February 2009]

Mark Forest as Goliath in a more spectacular than usual sword and sandal production. The film co stars Broderick Crawford as the villain trying to take over Goliath's kingdom while he is out battling monsters in order to complete a task for favored goddess.

The film and the plot are typical for the genre, however the film has a larger than normal number of supernatural creatures including gods, multi-headed dogs, winged monsters, and a dragon. The film also has some large scale action set pieces that make it clear they spent a couple of bucks on the film. In no way serious or deep, its the sort of mindless spectacle that you can let wash over you on a Sunday afternoon. I've seen most of the films in the swords and sandal cycle and this is one of the most enjoyable and best made. Worth a look-especially if you can get one of the great looking letterboxed editions floating around.

Pathetic and stupid...and good for a laugh

[planktonrules · 1/10 · 5 June 2010]

Why "The Vendetta of Hercules" was changed to "Goliath and the Dragon" is explained in the IMDb trivia section and you will immediately notice that Broderick Crawford is dubbed by someone other than himself--which is odd since he was an American. The guy who dubbed for him actually was somewhat close to Crawford's voice--all deep and grumbly.

Goliath is sent on a mission that will surely kill him--to destroy the dragon and bring back the Blood Diamond. However, two things go wrong. First, instead of just a dragon, there is a funny looking guy in a bat costume that you just have to see to believe. Second, Goliath kills the goofy looking batty-thingie and gets the diamond and is NOT killed in the process. If he HAD been killed, you might have been spared a lot! Yes, the movie is that stupid! But, for fans of silly and stupid films, it's worth seeing this one through to the end.

When Hercules, I mean 'Goliath' returns, his brother Illus is oddly indifferent. Apparently Illus is an annoying and pouty young man who is easily influenced by Thea--a bad girl who has twisted Illus' mind against Goliath. In addition, there are some other baddies (led by Crawford) who want to kill Goliath. I never really understood the intrigues and frankly I don't think this was really my fault--the plot was pretty crazy and confusing. Instead, watching Goliath fight against guys in bear suits and a lot of other stupid creatures is THE reason to watch this very bad film.

Pathetic and stupid--this is among the worst of the Hercules/Goliath/Maciste films. If you enjoyed laughing at this mess of a film, also try "Hercules Vs. the Moon Men"--perhaps the only movie of this type that is even stupider than this one!

The Monsters Alone Makes This Film Worth Watching

[Rainey-Dawn · 6/10 · 21 January 2017]

The monsters alone make this film worth watching. Story is fun enough and it plays out well. Costuming, sets, props nice as usual - lavish. The cinematography, directing and editing are just as tolerable as any one of the other many 1960s peplum.

I enjoyed this film as much as Hercules the Invincible (1964) - in-fact, I think I like this one a little bit better than "Invincible" due to the many monsters and the darkness of some of the scenes. They are comparable films and would be a great double feature together.

The film is not great but I found it enjoyable, entertaining and that is all that really counts.

6.5/10

Bizarre and beautiful, like a dream

[steven-222 · 8/10 · 5 February 2006]

I saw the Alpha Video DVD of GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON, which is from a well-preserved widescreen print, and it's dazzling to look at! To be sure, the color balance goes a bit wonky in a few outdoor scenes, but the aquamarine trees and purple skies almost seem intentional, given the strangeness of director Vittorio Cottafavi's vision. If all the old sword and sandal epics were in this good a shape, the genre would attract many more fans.

The movie itself is a delirious muscleman fantasy from start to finish. A bearded Mark Forest shows off the biggest pecs and widest lats of his generation, and melts everyone with his smile (except scar-faced Broderick Crawford as the cranky villain). The costumes are beautiful, the sets are extravagant, the exterior landscapes are a lush paradise, the monsters are huge puppets, and just when you think the story can't become more bizarre...it does! An absurdly majestic music score by Les Baxter strives to match the melodrama of a hero who dares to revolt against the gods themselves.

Cottafavi will try just about anything to dazzle and disorient the viewer. In one scene, as our hero approaches, looms above, and then passes over the camera, the point of view turns completely upside-down; the effect is so audacious I had to laugh out loud! This is fearless (and yes, perhaps sometimes mindless) film-making, and the result is truly dreamlike, if not downright mythic.

A monster of a king, more deadly than the real monsters.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 27 May 2023]

How did Broderick Crawford end up being probably the only Oscar winning actor cast in a Peplum film only a decade after taking home the award? He's completely over the top as the evil king Eurystheus, a man so consumed by power and lust that he tortures his enemies before their death by having an elephant slowly approach to crush their face and forces a woman to marry him by having her dipped into a pit of poisonous snakes. Quite wicked, and fun to watch, but his acting is anything but subtle. It's his goal to kill the title character (Mark Forrest) who has been traveling around the world dealing with dragons, giant bats and three headed dogs.

A colorful production with gorgeous landscapes (particularly the mountainous regions and forests of trees with purple flowers), fantastic sets and realistically staged acting. The monsters gain some laughs for their silliness, but there are some good special effects of certain mystical creatures suddenly appearing and changing their form. Rugged Forrest proves that evil Crawford is no match for him, but it takes a long time for their confrontation. Beautiful women (surprisingly none of them presented as evil) and strong, barely clad men are definite eye candy, leading up to the dragon battle and of course Crawford facing his comeuppance. Shame though that the dragon looks like a gecko photographed in weird angels with a fake head being used for other scenes.

Why Did I Watch This?

[iquine · 3/10 · 23 June 2017]

(Flash Review)

I knew this wouldn't be stellar by any means but it wasn't as kitschy funny as I thought. I think this was made for Japan so it was dubbed for them but then dubbed yet again for America is my best guess; they appear to be American actors too. Odd. Anyway, Goliath is just shy of Arnold's muscle size at his peak. He battles some corny dragon and a three headed wolf-dog creature. All within a battle for the Roman throne currently occupied by an evil ruler who tries to take out Goliath. Don't bother, no giggles to be found.

Hercules becomes Goliath but the monsters stay the same.

[Nozze-Foto · 18 May 2002]

Broderick Crawford plays his role of a corrupt would-be emperor like he were still playing a 20th century gangster. Watch him bark orders to soldiers like he were plotting a gangland rubout. Meanwhile Mark Forest is the hero called "Emilius" who is nicknamed Goliath because he is so strong and (apparently) immortal. He also has a younger brother is is neither superstrong nor immortal and a mortal wife who is not bothered by the fact that she will eventually grow old and die but he won't. Go figure. Most of us watch these movies for the monsters and oft-times the cheesier the better. After a mechanical 3 headed fire breathing dog (ahem, that is NOT Cerberus!), a man in suit giant bat and a centaur (which had to have been the most uncomfortable costume in the bunch) seeing a dragon that is partially stop motion animated was a real treat. Oh yeah, in closeups it is a giant rubber prop but those few moments of animation make it worthwhile. There is enough plot here for 2 movies and it does not always make perfect sense but the action will keep your attention. Oh and look closely at that dragon. David Hewitt borrowed some of the stop-motion scenes for his no budget thriller THE MIGHTY GORGA.

Goliath and the Dragon

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 24 December 2023]

Goliath is at war with King Eurystheus and vows revenge for the death of his parents. After been sent on a quest to retrieve the Blood Diamond for the god of vengeance, his wife is kidnapped by Polimorfeo and given to Eurystheus to be given to the Dragon so Goliath heads to caves to kill the Dragon and save his wife.

Mark Forest stars as Goliath and he's quite the heroic sort, fighting three-headed dogs, wrestles an elephant, a giant bat like creature, pulls at pillars when he's angry and really doesn't want his brother to woo princess Thea, as he believes her father killed his parents. It's the usual colourful drama you find in this type of film. It's quite well-mounted, imaginative, though it could've had a better build-up of the back story. It can be confusing with the back story expressed in talking. I liked the villainy here, their schemes, and heading this is Broderick Crawford whose idea to get Thea to marry him is by threatening to throw her fellow prisoner - a female slave - in a pit of snakes. Charming. His fellow villain is just as bad, he comes up with the plans.

The action is fairly satisfying, though some of the fights with the creatures is quite lame. The best monster, from a distance, though, as close-up it's a lethargic puppet, is the Dragon; the stop animation is done by Jim Danforth and Wah Wah Ming. It won't give Ray Harryhausen a run for his money but it's better than the giant bat monster and the three headed dog.

Fabulous Mark the MIghty!

[PrincessAnanka · 10/10 · 26 March 2007]

Mark Forest, aka Lou Degni from the Bronx, made his movie debut in this colorful swords and sandals saga and became an overnight sensation. No one had ever seen muscles that big--or beautiful--with a body and a sensually beautiful face to go along with it. No, not even Steve Reeves could match Forest in this department. His torso is incredible. With the biggest pectorals and lats in the business and a justly famed ridged stomach. Although born in the Bronx, he became the most sought after physique model of the 50s and later won Mr. America and Mr. Universe. Everyone agreed it wasn't just his stupendous physique that made him a sensation. He had a smile and charisma to burn. This is captured in this film and he went on to make a string of highly successful muscle men features, the best of them, "Kindar the Invulnerable" and "Hercules versus the Mongols" and "Hercules versus the Barbarians." Forest left Italy at the peak of his career to return to America to study opera and performed all over Europe. Today, he still teaches voice and sings and works--surprise--as a personal trainer to a handful of lucky stars in Los Angeles.. Reeves may have been the king of Italy's muscle movies during the 60s but his prince was Mark Forest--perhaps the biggest and most fabulous of them all.

Cheesy Italian peplum imported by American International Pictures gets a rebirth on widescreen DVD.

[TheVid · 26 April 2002]

Broderick Crawford is a slimy politician in a toga and Mark Forest (bodybuilder Lou Degni) is muscleman Goliath in this kitsch epic from Italy, exploited to the max in the U.S. by American International pictures during the drive-in heydays of the late 50's and early 60's. This one's quite a potboiler, with a various assortment of cheesy monster creations (including some very brief stop-motion footage by Jim Danforth), the usual buxom babes with big Roman hairdos and, of course, the solid and stiff muscleman hero performing various feats of strength (like wrestling a bear suit and, rather impressively, genuinely warding off a real elephant!). It's all a lot of nostalgic fun and the new DVD release is a revelation in quality, bringing back the bright color and widescreen TotalScope ratio of the original theatrical presentation. The DVD is also packed with campy tributes to the whole muscleman, sword-and-sandal genre, including a gallery of trailers, shorts and even an entire second strongman feature, the truly ridiculous CONQUERER OF ATLANTIS! Get ready for a great late-night schlockfest with this package!

Exciting peplum, full of spectacle and outlandish events

[Leofwine_draca · 8/10 · 23 July 2016]

A well-made (for the genre), expensive-looking (apart from the special effects) peplum vehicle for Mark Forest, here dressed up to look just like Steve Reeves. GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON is one of the more impressive peplum adventures and contains some very good scenes in its running time. Sure, the expected court shenanigans, romance, and plot twists are all present and correct, but the action - when it comes - is very good indeed and a must-see for fans of cheesy monsters.

The opening couldn't be better, as it has Goliath climbing down a huge pit to retrieve the stolen "blood diamond" from the statue of his beloved wind goddess. It turns out that the diamond was stolen by the troops of Eurystheus (Broderick Crawford) and thrown into the pit for Goliath to retrieve. You see, there's a dragon lurking in the pit which Eurystheus hopes will kill Goliath. What do you think will happen? You're right, Goliath will manage to kill the dragon single-handedly, but that doesn't happen until the end of the film. For now we have to make do with some cool, impressive stop-motion animation of the dragon hunting through the cave; a first for the peplum genre? I've a feeling that this may have been inserted by American producers as I've certainly never seen any sign of stop-motion in other Italian peplum movies (they didn't have the budget for one thing). Still, it's a big surprise and a big plus for the film as I love stop-motion.

Goliath's first obstacle is a dangerous, fire-breathing three-headed dog which is guarding the entrance to the cave. After a few thwacks from Goliath's sword, it immediately "plays dead" thus letting him enter - still, it provided a nice spectacle. Incidentally, spectacle is what GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON is all about and it provides oodles of it, which is why I rate it so highly; it may be cheesy and unrealistic, but the spirit of the film is action-packed and a whole lot of fun! Goliath wanders into some very impressive mist-enshrouded underground caverns, full of bubbling lakes and lurking danger. Sure enough, he's soon attacked by a cheesy, flying winged monster but beats it out of the sky! After retrieving his precious diamond, Goliath retreats, and the rest of the film (until the ending) takes place above-ground with some (less impressive) more standard human intrigue.

Broderick Crawford hams for all his worth as the cruel tyrant Eurystheus (whom one character so memorably calls "a mass of fat and muscle, full of violence and brutality"!). Crawford is miscast, yes, but provides a worthwhile villain for Goliath to face - the only trouble is that he looks so physically unfit that you feel he might keel over and die at any minute! The rest of the cast is made up of Goliath's trouble-seeking younger brother (who doesn't share his sibling's love of body-building, obviously), some supposed Italian beauties, and lots of marching soldier types. Amid all the usual dialogue, near-death moments, and swooning females, Goliath proves his worth by chucking rocks, pulling down trees and temples, and fighting a grizzly bear (or a man-in-a-suit, depending on how gullible/perceptive you may be)! Great fun, worth watching.

Eventually, Eursytheus kidnaps Goliath's brother and has him tied to a cross, intending to make an elephant trample him in a surprisingly grisly little moment. Thankfully Goliath comes to the rescue on his chariot, fighting off the elephant single-handedly - well he makes it sit down in the end! - and escaping again. But the fun isn't over yet. You see, Crawford has a creepy snake pit in his dungeon, into which he lowers beautiful women as a torture device! This means that Goliath is up to his arms in rescuing people and righting wrongs.

In a memorable plot twist, Goliath actually falls foul of the gods, causing the sky to turn purple - cool! A centaur (seen only at a distance) called Polymorphus appears to kidnap Goliath's love interest, only to receive a spear in the back for its troubles. It hands over the fainted lady to Crawford before dying, who proceeds to chain her up as dragon bait. This leads to another cool scene, in which Goliath bravely battles the (mechanical) monstrosity, which is defeated fairly easily, it has to be said! It's all about spectacle again...after Goliath slays the dragon (and has his girlfriend kidnapped AGAIN), he storms Crawford's palace with his small army, but not before single-handedly destroying the foundations of the place from underground.

A well-staged battle ensues, and the film culminates with Crawford falling into his own snake-pit and dying - a hilarious sight. Somewhat bizarrely, the most beautiful actress is also bitten and dies, but I guess even Goliath can't have everything! The Les Baxter score is appropriately spooky and exciting when needs must, Mark Forest looks the part and has some choice dialogue as Goliath, and the sets and costumes are spot-on. In all, an action-packed and fast-paced adventure, and in my mind one of the best films of the genre! I highly recommend Something Weird Video's print of this movie, which is, as they say, crystal clear and impressively letterboxed - go get it!

I waited thirty years for this!

[horrorfilmx · 8 March 2006]

I saw the poster for GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON outside a theater when I was a kid and was dying to see it. Unfortunately I had to wait over thirty years until just the other day when I found a cheap VHS copy in a video store. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely --- but not for the reasons I'd expected. In addition to the cool poster what intrigued me about the film were the Jim Danforth stop motion sequences added for the American release. Pictures of the dragon made it look pretty good. Unfortunately the model is poorly used in the film itself, and nowhere is it shown off to such good advantage as in the publicity stills. Animation-wise the film was a major disappointment.

And other-wise? Well, you gotta give this movie a big A for Ambition. Hercules (excuse me, GOLIATH) doesn't just duke it out with soldiers, he battles a three headed dog, a bat monster, a centaur, a bear, and at one point even wrestles an elephant to the ground! Unfortunately none of these conflicts is handled with anything like the skill needed to really bring them off, but you've gotta love them for trying. And the movie, goofy and slipshod as it is, never bores. Peplum fans should check it out.

BOX OFFICE SMASH WITH MONSTER AND INTRIGUE

[larryanderson · 9/10 · 16 November 2022]

This is Mark Forests first movie which was originally titled VENDETTA DI ERCOLE, REVENGE OF HERCULES but was changed to GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON. Stop motion animation and a lively musical score brought this story to life and propelled it to a great box office run. The original story was about Hercules only wanting to return home to rest with his family. The DRAGON story has the hero battling all sorts of strange monsters and leading his armies to defend his city of Thebes. (the one in Greece). Mark Forest fell off a horse and broke his leg during filming so they had to shoot around him to complete the movie. Mark Forest then went on the make THE SON OF SAMSON (filmed in Egypt), which was another smash hit. Mark's real name is Lou Degni, a famous body builder and opera singer. This movie is well worth viewing again just for the monster scenes.

"Hear Me Goddess! It Is Goliath Calling You!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 17 June 2021]

GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON is another Hercules movie with the hero's name altered for American audiences. It stars Mark Forest as the enormous hero.

The action starts right away, with Hercu-liath battling a three-headed, fire-breathing dog monster! This takes about ten seconds, as it's more of a big, three-headed sausage.

Golia-cles is seeking the fabled "blood diamond", and must face the dreaded bat-man beast! It lasts for almost five seconds before being crushed

Meanwhile, the devilish King Eurystheus (Broderick Crawford) plots destruction and doom. He's sort of the Al Capone of the ancient world, and will do anything to stay in power.

For his part, our hero, after returning the aforementioned gem to its rightful owner, only wants some rest and relaxation. This is cut short when Eurystheus abducts his brother! Now, Her-goliath-cles must save his sibling, as well as everyone else.

A decent entry in the genre, with plenty of action, monsters, and battle sequences. Forest is, as always, larger than life. The "elephant" scene is fun, though it seems likely that the poor creature was either sleep deprived or heavily drugged prior to filming!

As for the dragon, it's fairly well-realized, utilizing both stop-motion and a large, animatronic head. It takes an entire twenty seconds for it to meet its maker!

Of course, there's a huge, "battle royal" finale, where Gol-herc-iath-cles gets his chance to toss his opponents around like meatballs!

An entertaining romp...

Goliath and the Dragon

[mhrabovsky1-1 · 11 December 2006]

After the amazing success of "Goliath and the Barbarians" with Steve Reeves, American International pictures decided to go "Goliath" again and picked up the option on "Goliath and the Dragon".....Reeves was offered the role but due to conflicts with another film, American muscleman Mark Forrest took the role of Goliath. Talk about a goofy film.....Forrest certainly has the muscles for the role, but the cardboard sets, bats and monsters flying in on a wire you can see....and a man in a bear suit fighting Goliath....geez!!! Broderick Crawford dropped his Highway Patrol microphone and played Eurytus, a maniac despot with a penciled in scar on his face who tries to get rid of Goliath anyway he can, including sicking his pet dragon on Goliath. Goliath fights elephants, centaurs, bats, bears and manages to pull down two giant trees with a rope to the ground!! On well, if Steve Reeves could pull a tree out of the ground in "Hercules" I guess Goliath could pull down a couple too...... Absolute silly scene with Forrest as Goliath fighting a rubber dragon with a plastic knife breathing fire.....phoniest dragon up close you have ever seen!! Producers even used the same musical sound track for this film as "Goliath and the Barbarians" to save a few bucks I guess. Forrest went on to star in a number of muscleman flicks that Reeves apparently wasn't interested in making. Forrest appeared as Goliath again in "Goliath and the Sins of Babylon" again for American International pictures......guess they tried to milk the Goliath role for all they could get!!!

One of the more fun and entertaining peplums

[fwmurnau · 16 September 2011]

Mark Forest looks incredibly handsome and acts very competently in his first peplum outing. His physique is awesome and he handles the fights and action sequences with aplomb, even battling silly rubber monsters with passion and conviction.

The two things that make so many peplum movies boring -- talky court intrigue and confusing, interminable battle scenes -- are kept to a minimum here, which make this faster-moving and more entertaining than most.

The film serves up of a lot of what most of us watch peplum for: crazy monsters and imaginative, surreal action scenes like the one where Forest demolishes a palace by knocking down the stalactites in the cave beneath it.

Definitely recommended for fans of the genre. One thing I don't understand, though. Goliath's wife dies near the end, but in the final shot we see her alive again, smooching with her husband. Was this contrived "happy ending" created by moving a shot from early in the film to the end? I haven't seen anyone else comment on this.