Colossus and the Amazon Queen (1960)

a.k.a. La regina delle Amazzoni

Director: Vittorio Sala

Like that episode of Futurama but a lot crappier, this sword & sandal romp is about a group of men, led by a swarthy Rod Taylor hot on the heels of his sweet ‘n’ savory role in The Time Machine, being captured by a tribe of Amazons. The tone is oddly goofy for a lot of though which caught me off guard. I’m not the biggest fan of peplums to begin with but when they mix in low tier sitcom gags, it becomes even less appealing. Given that director Sala had never made a peplum before and would never make one again, mostly working in comedy and eurospy films instead, it makes sense why this one turned out to be such a dud.

Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory (1961)

a.k.a. Lycanthropus

Director: Paolo Heusch

I actually dug this one quite a bit. What we have here is a surprisingly vicious flick about a wolfman terrorizing a girls’ school killing off adorable doe-eyed waifs. It has a good grasp of tension building with some very nice black & white cinematography. Much better than its schlocky B-movie title makes it sound. Additionally Barbara Lass is absolutely adorable here and you really feel her panic and terror.

A Violent Life (1962)

a.k.a. Una vita violenta

Directors: Paolo Heusch & Brunello Rondi

A Violent Life is perhaps most notable for being co-written by Pier Paolo Pasolini, being based on his own novel. It’s a story of wayward youth that at first mirrors the Juvenile Delinquent films that were all the rage in the US a few years before but with a more grim, hopeless tone. It eventually morphs into something that owes as much to the neo-realist films of Italy than to the more exploitive youth gone wild American films or even the more freewheeling French New Wave films. It’s an interesting character study but does feel a little aimless at times. Additionally, it is definitely not what one would call a “fun” flick to watch but still good in its own way.

Mondo Cane n. 2 (1963)

Directors: Gualtiero Jacopetti & Franco Prosperi

The follow-up to the grand-daddy of mondo movies finds us in familiar territory with the usual cruelty to animals and weird native practices we’ve come to expect. A couple of things that did surprise me a little was that it was actually very skillfully made compared to many mondo movies and that it’s much lighter in tone in general despite some of the more lurid aspects. It really does try to show offbeat cultural elements beyond those that are just disturbing or gross (although it’s got plenty of that too… you wanna see a dude eat maggots and live bees on a taco? This won’t disappoint). Still, at the end of the day it’s a pretty straightforward mondo movie and either you like these or you don’t.

Hercules, Prisoner of Evil (1964)

a.k.a. Ursus, il terrore dei kirghisi

Directors: Antonio Margheriti & Ruggero Deodato

Here we have another peplum although this one has a tone similar to that of something like Santos vs the Vampire Women that’s as much horror as strongman camp. It also holds the distinction of being an early effort of both Antonio Margheriti (master of Italian gothic horror) and Ruggero Deodato (of Cannibal Holocaust fame). I actually liked this one. Had a good pace and a sense of fun without veering into stupidity too much. I thought it also had touches of Margheriti’s trademark atmospheric gothic horror (not a lot but it was somewhat noticeable).

Terror Creatures from the Grave (1965)

a.k.a. 5 tombe per un medium

Director: Massimo Pupillo

Speaking of Italian gothic horror, up next is another solid one starring the imitable Barbara Steele, the first lady of Italian gothic horror herself. From Massimo Pupillo (or if you prefer his nom de plume MAX HUNTER) who’s biggest claim to fame is probably Bloody Pit of Horror, this one keeps a solid pace with some nice atmospheric photography and Steele doing her special thing. Frankly I could watch Steele is just about anything. While this one doesn’t have quite the skill behind the camera of some of Margheriti’s finest like Long Hair of Death and Castle of Blood and the monster itself is pretty underwhelming, it’s still a solid effort worth watching for fans of this style of film.

Wake Up and Kill (1966)

a.k.a. Svegliati e uccidi

Director: Carlo Lizzani

Based on the true story of Luciano Lutring, a criminal who carried a machine gun in a violin case (who would end up with several movies based on his exploits), Wake Up & Kill is a solid poliziotteschi about the dangers of falling prey to the wiles of a sultry nightclub singer. It does feel a little bloated at times but overall is a good example of the genre with some nice action set pieces and a sprightly pace that rarely sags. While it lacks some of the stylistic flourishes of many later euro-crime films taking more of a neo-realist approach, it still offers a lot of excitement.

The Wild Eye (1967)

a.k.a. L’occhio selvaggio

Director: Paolo Cavara

This was a pretty interesting, fairly obscure curio. From one of the directors of the original Mondo Cane, this is an incredibly cynical indictment of mondo “documentarians” and the lengths they go to capture grim tragedy on film to exploit. Purely on a filmmaking level, it feels a little flat, and it does drag a little in places Despite that, it’s still worth watching for just how savage its criticisms of the genre are (there’s definitely no love lost between Cavara and Jacopetti & Prosperi).

The Sweet Body of Deborah (1968)

a.k.a. Il dolce corpo di Deborah

Director: Romolo Guerrieri

This giallo is a bit of a mixed bag about a couple on honeymoon that starts getting threats from an old acquaintance of the husband, accusing him of murder. Some of the twists were fairly interesting although a little implausible. It was also a little interesting to see so many shades of Hitchcock here with elements of both Vertigo and Rear Window mixed in. It also felt a little slow in places with a lack of a discernible style (Guerrieri is more known for his westerns and euro-crime flicks than gialli). Still, a chance to watch the luminous Carroll Baker for 90 minutes isn’t a total waste of time.

Orgasmo (1969)

Director: Umberto Lenzi

And speaking of Miss Baker, here we have another of her collaborations with genre maestro Umberto Lenzi. This pic really embraces the swingin’ sixties with Baker as a recently widowed American gold digger who travels to Italy and soon takes up with a lusty young stud and his “sister” (if you’ve seen any giallo, you should know where this is going). This was honestly fairly meh, possibly the weakest of the Baker/Lenzi team ups with an inconsistent pacing and a weird, random ending which was both somehow awful and amazing at the same time.