bkoganbing For a guy who was a villain in the Bible, Goliath in Goliath And The Dragon pursues a biblical strategy in defeating the evil king, played by Broderick Crawford. His just desserts were positively biblical themselves.Goliath as played by Mark Forest is a one muscular dude who is consecrated to the pagan Gods and he performs a number of tasks for them that are keeping him from home and hearth. While he's gone Broderick Crawford has usurped the throne in his home town, but the people aren't thrilled with their new monarch. What to do, but marry the daughter of the guy he killed to get the throne to legitimize himself. But she loves Goliath's little brother and that gets the big guy all kinds of mad. Still his obligations to the various pagan deities keep interfering and he decides to revolt against them as well.There are all kinds of little ins and outs of peplum politics in Goliath And The Dragon and Goliath has to face a three headed Cerberus dog, a big flying bat, a centaur, an elephant as preliminaries before he gets to the main event with the dragon. After that in the siege against Crawford's city Goliath goes underground and knocks down the support pillars to the walls of his city. Joshua wouldn't have needed trumpets had Goliath been working for the Israelites. The walls come down and Crawford becomes history.Broderick Crawford definitely knew this film was not anything approaching All The King's Men and he overacts outrageously to get through the film. He had just finished his five year run on Highway Patrol and I can't believe this was the best his agent could do for him.

ma-cortes This myth-opera Peplum deals about Hercules , he finishes the seven works going to inferno in the center of earth , a hell plenty of craters , volcano , yellow fume and red foggy in gaudy colors and groundbreaking atmosphere . There he battles can Cerbero with various heads spitting fire and a flying monster similar a large bat (creatures made by Carlo Rambaldi : ET) . Later on , there takes place a palace intrigue with a tyrant named Euristeo (a scarface Broderick Crawford , in the U.S. version, it's not his voice, but a voice actor impersonating him) attempting to rule over the city of Tebas and our hero unhesitatingly goes into action and must use his strength to save his wife and son of a cruel torture with elephants ; plus , he confronts Zeus represented by a great sculpture . Here Hercules is married to Deianira (Leonora Ruffo) and has a rebel and angry son (Moretti) facing off his father , but he's impeded on relationship with Thea and even he's tied a tree by Hércules . Finally , it takes place an exciting final confrontation into a snakes pit .This muscle-man epic displays action , adventures , mythology, bizarre and luxurious scenarios and results to be quite amusing . The movie has not mythological accuracy , neither expectation historical . This film is listed among the 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made in Golden Raspberry Awards . Stunningly cheap special effects like the shots and close-ups of a giant bear that's a man suited struggling against Hércules . Besides , it appears usual Eurotrash babes such as Wandisa Guisa and Leonora Ruffo and a habitual Spaghetti Western : Robert Hundar as a centaur . Mark Forest is good and strong playing the mythical hunk who finds several risks while attempting to defeat his enemies and fighting monsters and numerous odds . Forest played the hero in great number of movies and was randomly assigned the identity of Hércules , Goliath , Samsom for US version . Bouncing and robust Forest was a muscle-man who allegedly left the Gladiators genre for the Opera and he currently teaches in the L.A. zone . He was one along with the biggest chests like are Gordon Scott , Alan Steel , Reg Park , Ed Fury , Dan Vadis , all of them to seek fortune acting absurdly mythological figures but nobody topped Steve Reeves in popularity .This motion picture is an enjoyable sword and sandals story , being compellingly directed by Vittorio Cottafavi (1914-1998), he was a complete artist , painter and Peplum expert , as he directed : ¨Conquest of Atlántida¨ , ¨Legions of Cleopatra¨ , ¨Mesallina¨ and ¨Rebellion of gladiators¨ . Originally titled "Hercule's Revenge", but since Universal owned the rights to Hercules at the time, the title was changed and the name of the main character was changed to Goliath.

PrincessAnanka Mark Forest, aka Lou Degni from the Bronx, made his movie debut in this colorful swords and sandals saga and became an overnight sensation. No one had ever seen muscles that big--or beautiful--with a body and a sensually beautiful face to go along with it. No, not even Steve Reeves could match Forest in this department. His torso is incredible. With the biggest pectorals and lats in the business and a justly famed ridged stomach. Although born in the Bronx, he became the most sought after physique model of the 50s and later won Mr. America and Mr. Universe. Everyone agreed it wasn't just his stupendous physique that made him a sensation. He had a smile and charisma to burn. This is captured in this film and he went on to make a string of highly successful muscle men features, the best of them, "Kindar the Invulnerable" and "Hercules versus the Mongols" and "Hercules versus the Barbarians." Forest left Italy at the peak of his career to return to America to study opera and performed all over Europe. Today, he still teaches voice and sings and works--surprise--as a personal trainer to a handful of lucky stars in Los Angeles.. Reeves may have been the king of Italy's muscle movies during the 60s but his prince was Mark Forest--perhaps the biggest and most fabulous of them all.

mhrabovsky1-1 After the amazing success of "Goliath and the Barbarians" with Steve Reeves, American International pictures decided to go "Goliath" again and picked up the option on "Goliath and the Dragon".....Reeves was offered the role but due to conflicts with another film, American muscleman Mark Forrest took the role of Goliath. Talk about a goofy film.....Forrest certainly has the muscles for the role, but the cardboard sets, bats and monsters flying in on a wire you can see....and a man in a bear suit fighting Goliath....geez!!! Broderick Crawford dropped his Highway Patrol microphone and played Eurytus, a maniac despot with a penciled in scar on his face who tries to get rid of Goliath anyway he can, including sicking his pet dragon on Goliath. Goliath fights elephants, centaurs, bats, bears and manages to pull down two giant trees with a rope to the ground!! On well, if Steve Reeves could pull a tree out of the ground in "Hercules" I guess Goliath could pull down a couple too...... Absolute silly scene with Forrest as Goliath fighting a rubber dragon with a plastic knife breathing fire.....phoniest dragon up close you have ever seen!! Producers even used the same musical sound track for this film as "Goliath and the Barbarians" to save a few bucks I guess. Forrest went on to star in a number of muscleman flicks that Reeves apparently wasn't interested in making. Forrest appeared as Goliath again in "Goliath and the Sins of Babylon" again for American International pictures......guess they tried to milk the Goliath role for all they could get!!!