Il Gigante di Metropolis [The Giant of Metropolis] ** (1961, Gordon Mitchell, Roldano Lupi, Bella Cortez, Liana Orfei, Marietto) – Classic Movie Review 7938

Perfectly developed bodybuilder Gordon Mitchell from Denver, Colorado, stars as muscleman Ohro, who goes to the capital of Atlantis to attack its godlessness and battles its evil lord Yotar or Yoh-tar (Roldano Lupi), in director Umberto Scarpelli’s moderate if colourful 1961 Italian fantasy adventure.

Director Umberto Scarpelli [R Nichols]’s 1961 Il Gigante di Metropolis [The Giant of Metropolis] is yet another of the popular Sixties Italian muscleman movies, with Colorado bodybuilder Gordon Mitchell starring as the giant muscleman Obro, who battles the evil King Yotar (Roldano Lupi) and the death-ray wielding ruler Princess Mecede (Bella Cortez) in the sinful lost city of Atlantis.

Il Gigante di Metropolis [The Giant of Metropolis] is quite a busy and often amusingly bizarre fantasy adventure that entertains modestly. The statuesque Liana Orfei (cousin of Moira Orfei) plays Queen Texen. Born on 6 January 1937, she is also known for Hercules, Samson & Ulysses (1963), Hercules in the Valley of Woe (1961) and Pirates of the Coast (1960).

The performances and effects are reasonably modest, but the production is handsomely designed by Giorgio Giovannini and photographed in Eastmancolor by Oberdan Troiani and Mario Sensi. It was released internationally in the English language dubbed version The Giant of Metropolis in the UK in 1962 and in the US in 1963.

Also in the cast are Marietto as Elmos, Furio Meniconi as Yotar’s father Egon, Mario Meniconi as Obro’s father, Omero Gargano, Carlo Tamberlani, Luigi Moneta, Ugo Sasso, Renato Terra and Carlo Enrici.

Il Gigante di Metropolis [The Giant of Metropolis] is directed by Umberto Scarpelli, runs 98 minutes, is made by Centroproduzione, is released by Warner-Pathé (UK) and Goldstone Film Enterprises (US), is written by Emimmo Salvi, Sabbatino Ciuffino, Ambrogio Molteni, Oreste Palella and Gino Stafford (story and screenplay), is shot by Oberdan Troiani and Mario Sensi, is produced by Emimmo Salvi and is scored by Armando Trovajoli, with production design by Giorgio Giovannini.

After Steve Reeves’s Hercules (1958) was such a huge hit, reviving the muscleman genre, the non-Italian-speaking Gordon Mitchell (1923–2003) went to Italy in 1961 and began appearing in the same type of badly dubbed sandal-and-spear epics.

Unable to learn his dialogue in Italian, the 6′ 3″ Gordon Mitchell (real name Charles Allen Pendleton) recited bawdy limericks during his scenes, instead of the real Italian dialogue, which was dubbed in later. To be fair, even so he is still adept at showing off the heroics.

He started off in extra work in The Man with the Golden Arm and Cecil B DeMille’s The Ten Commandments, and Mae West chose him to appear in her nightclub act. He died of a heart attack on 20 September 2003, aged 80.

 © Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7938

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