By Fred Blosser
In the 1960s,
Hollywood studios were ingenious in retooling foreign B-movies for American
drive-ins and double-feature bills. For a perfect case study in their techniques, you would have to look no further
than “Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World,” which American-International
Pictures released here in 1962. The
original Italian version was called “Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan,” or
“Maciste in the Court of the Great Khan” (1961), directed by Riccardo Freda. To some extent, it was already
made-to-order for small-town U.S. ticket-buyers. The star, Gordon Scott, was
well known from his iconic role as Tarzan in five popular films from 1955 to
1960. His co-star, the
French-born Japanese actress Yoko Tani, had recently been top-billed in “The
Savage Innocents” (1960), “First Spaceship on Venus” (1961), and “Marco Polo”
(1962). Moreover,
although critically scorned, strongman epics like this one had a reliable
market among eleven-year-olds and undemanding adults. On the other hand, although
beloved in Italy, the character “Maciste” had no brand-name value on these
shores, and at 98 minutes, the film was too long to fit into its designated
position as half of a thrifty double-feature. No problem. As it had done in acquiring an
earlier Maciste production, known here as “Son of Samson,” AIP substituted
“Samson” for “Maciste,” and replaced the original title with one more likely to
resonate on drive-in marquees. Twenty-two
minutes of footage were removed, eliminating some colorful but tedious back
story, and a pulpy, dramatic lobby poster was commissioned. The graphics were classic. As a muscular, loin-clothed
Gordon Scott pushes over a pillar, a winsome beauty in a harem costume watches.
The girl looks only vaguely Asian and not at all like Yoko Tani.
In the film, Samson
turns up in medieval China where the Mongols have taken over the royal court. The young Chinese prince Tai
Sung is emperor in name only, and his sister Lei-ling has been banished to a
Buddhist convent. The
real power behind the throne is Garak, the tyrannical Great Khan of the
Mongols, who rules as regent, with ruthlessly astute guidance from his mistress
Liu Tai. When rebellious
Chinese peasants mount a feeble resistance, Garak decides it’s time to up his
game. Tai Sung will
“accidentally” die during a tiger hunt, and Mongol soldiers masquerading as
rebels will attack the Buddhist convent and kill the princess. Enter Samson to rescue the
prince from the tiger (as Scott gamely wrestles with an actual, drugged tiger
in some shots, and with a life-sized, stuffed replica in others), while
Lei-ling escapes the massacre at the convent and finds refuge with the freedom
fighters. If this sounds
like the usual playbook for the Samson, Hercules, and Goliath epics of the
1960s, it could also describe any of the “Star Wars” movies. Ditch the tiger, insert a
Wampa or a Rancor instead. George
Lucas’ original trilogies and their sequels from Disney may be more to the
tastes of modern audiences but they’re just as simplistic at heart, when you
come right down to it.
A new Blu-ray edition
from Kino Lorber Studio Classics presents the movie in both its original,
98-minute Italian version and its 76-minute AIP edit, both in the widescreen
2.35:1 format. One
caveat: purists may be disappointed by the soundtrack for the Italian version. It’s an intermediate
English-language track where the hero is still called “Maciste,” perhaps from
the 1964 U.K. release, and not the original Italian voice track. Opening and closing credits
for the AIP edit are inserted from what appears to be an old VHS or television
print. In either version,
attention should be paid to Hélène Chanel as the Khan’s mistress Liu Tai. We may commend the Italians
for casting Yoko Tani as the captive princess Lei-ling at a time when it was
rare to find Asian characters actually played by Asian actors in prominent
roles, but Chanel has the more dynamic female role, and she makes the most of
it with her slinky costumes and icy beauty. The AIP edit features audio
commentary from Tim Lucas, who unpacks a bounty of information about the film
in both iterations. Helpfully
for those of us who might be hard-pressed to identify any of the miracles
promised by American-International, he lists all seven.
The Kino Lorber
Blu-ray also features captions for the deaf and hearing impaired, several
trailers (although oddly, none for “Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World”
itself), and a reversible sleeve. The wonderful AIP poster art appears on one side, and alternative art
from the Italian poster on the other.
Click here to order from Amazon
Fred Blosser is the author of "Sons of Ringo: The Great Spaghetti Western Heroes". Click here to order from Amazon)