Hannibal [Annibale] ** (1959, Victor Mature, Gabriele Ferzetti, Rita Gam) – Classic Movie Review 3499

Victor Mature packed up his trunk and went off to Belgrade, Serbia, to film directors Edgar G Ulmer and Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia’s 1959 Italian historical adventure movie about the Carthaginian general Hannibal (247-182 BC).

In the story, Hannibal crosses the Pyrenees and the Alps with a herd of elephants and his vast army of 40,000 and trounces the Roman forces at Trasimene and Cannae during the Second Punic War in 218 BC.

A few well and excitingly staged battle sequences enliven a cheap-looking biographical costume action adventure, with a muddled screenplay by Mortimer Braus and Alessandro Continenza, some unexciting characterisations and too few extras.

Alas, this is a movie where the elephants rather out-perform and out-charm the paid players. Nevertheless, however, Victor Mature, Rita Gam as Sylvia, Gabriele Ferzetti as Fabius Maximus, Milly Vitale as Danila, Rik Battaglia as Hasdrubal, Mario Girotti [Terence Hill] as Quintilius, Franco Silva as Maharbal and Mirko Ellis as Mago are still welcome company.

It was filmed at the Avala Studios, Belgrade, Serbia.

Ulmer said that Warner Bros recut the film for American distribution in a way that he barely recognised it when he saw it in a cinema there.

It’s the first movie to co-star film partners Terence Hill and Bud Spencer, but they share no scenes and didn’t meet until eight years later. It’s the last film of producer Jack Dietz.

Sultry star Rita Gam died on 22 March 2016, aged 88.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3499

Link to home page for more reviews derekwinnert.com