Medusa Against the Son of Hercules

Medusa Against the Son of Hercules (it: Perseo l'invincibile) is a 1963 Spanish-Italian sword and sandal film directed by Alberto de Martino and starring Richard Harrison. It is loosely based on the myth of Perseus and Medusa.^[1][2]

Plot

Medusa is a monster that haunts a lake and attacks a group of soldiers; her single eye is capable of turning her victims to stone and the kingdom of Argos uses her to impose suffocating tolls on those who pass through. Perseus, the missing son of the true king of Argos (murdered by a usurper who married his widow), is captured by the troops of an evil monarch and forced to fight as a gladiator. But he escapes and plots to overthrow the villain, still having time to face the Medusa and try his luck if he can bring the petrified soldiers back to life.

Cast

• Richard Harrison
• Anna Ranalli
• Arturo Dominici
• Elisa Cegani
• Leo Anchóriz
• Antonio Molino Rojo
• Roberto Camardiel
• Ángel Jordán
• Fernando Liger
• Bruno Scipioni
• Frank Braña
• Miguel de la Riva
• José Luis Ferreiro
• Miguel González
• Rufino Inglés
• Enrique Navarro
• Ángela Pla
• Lorenzo Robledo

Production

The effects of Medusa, portrayed as a wandering tree creature with a single glowing eye, were created by Carlo Rambaldi who later worked on Alien and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.^[3]

Sources

• Kinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476662916.

References

1. *Martino, Alberto De (7 February 1963). "Perseo l'invincibile". Cineproduzione Emo Bistolfi, Copercines, Cooperativa Cinematográfica.
2. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, pp. 57–58.
3. Hughes, Howard (2011). Cinema Italiano : the Complete Guide from Classics to Cult. London: I.B. Tauris. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0857730442.