Hercules and the Rise of the “Peplum” Film

(Summer 2023) Now on display in the Upper Lobby: a new vintage poster exhibition from collector Barry Yuen.

Hercules movies, also referred to as Sword and Sandal Films, Gladiator Films, and, to those in the know, “Peplum” * films were a trend that began in the late 1950’s and continued on into the mid-60’s. These films have been largely forgotten by most people except for the die-hard fans (like yours truly) who have kept demand up for these films through the various home-video markets. The last time they were part of pop culture was via a joke in the movie AIRPLANE! (1980) where a gay character makes advances with the line “Do you like Gladiator movies?” (also, in the 90’s, a few of these Hercules movies were shown as part of Mystery Science Theater 3000, but that’s something of a cult-y TV show that not everyone knows about. And of course, Disney took a crack at it with an animated version in the 90’s, but to this date there have been no announcements about them turning HERCULES into a Broadway musical) Although the main attraction of these movies was to showcase the muscularity (or hyper-masculinity, even) of the main actors, they were not considered in the minds of the public at the time to be a gay attraction. They fell under the category of “Family-Friendly” movies. There was even a Hercules cartoon for kids that made Hercules very similar to the comic book Superman. (and what is Superman but an updating of the Hercules myth?) However, there’s no denying that there did exist an underground gay audience for this type of film, who would get their thrills in a more covert manner. So maybe it’s appropriate that we showcase these movies in June, which is now known as Pride Month.

These movies paved the way for the concept of “The Bodybuilder as Movie Actor.” Steve Reeves was the most famous of these bodybuilder/actors, since he was the first in line to play Hercules, in 1959. Gordon Scott (who was also a movie Tarzan) was also famous for appearing in these films. And then there were the others, like Reg Park, Alan Steel**, and Mark Forest, eventually leading to the appearance of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the very minor film HERCULES IN NEW YORK. Arnold would become the most famous and popular of a second wave of bodybuilder/actors in the 1980’s. (think of Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Carl Weathers, Dolph Lundgren….) So although the Historical backdrop of the Ancient World has vanished, we still have muscled-up heroic characters acting out scenarios of good vs. evil. (Today we have Chris Pratt in the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY movies, for instance).

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