The Revenge of Ursus
| The Vengeance of Ursus | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Luigi Capuano |
| Produced by | Splendor Film |
| Written by | Luigi Capuano Marcello Ciorciolini Roberto Gianviti Nino Scolaro |
| Starring |
Samson Burke Livio Lorenzon Wandisa Guida Gianni Rizzo Nerio Bernardi |
| Music by | Carlo Innocenzi |
| Cinematography | Oberdan Trojani |
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Release date
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April, 1961 |
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Running time
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98 minutes (uncut) |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
La vendetta di Ursus (The Revenge of Ursus), internationally released as The Vengeance of Ursus and The Mighty Warrior, is a 1961 Italian peplum film directed by Luigi Capuano. It starred Canadian-born actor Samson Burke as Ursus, and Livio Lorenzon as the evil King Zagro. (Samson Burke later played Hercules in the American comedy film The Three Stooges Meet Hercules.)
The evil King Zagro (Livio Lorenzon) asks the king of a neighboring country (King Alteo) for permission to wed his daughter, the beautiful Princess Sira (Wandisa Guida), a political union that will join their two countries together. The mighty warrior Ursus, who fought for years in the army of King Alteo, has retired from the military to run a farm in the countryside with his little brother Dario. Ursus had once asked Alteo for the hand of the princess himself, but the king turned him down because Ursus was not of noble birth.
After Princess Sira travels to Zagro's kingdom to be wed, she learns that Zagro plans to assassinate her father after the wedding and then dispose of her at a later time, leaving Zagro in complete control of both countries. Zagro has a spy in Alteo's kingdom, the king's foppish advisor Licurgo, whom he uses to influence Alteo's decisions.
Ursus learns of the plot and wants to warn Alteo of the danger he is in, but Zagro captures Ursus' brother and threatens to kill the boy if Ursus does not surrender. Ursus turns himself in, and is forced to become a slave in Zagro's prison camp. When some rebels in Zagro's court free the boy from his captivity, Ursus is able to escape from the slave camp without fear of endangering his brother's life, and the two head back to King Alteo's kingdom, to warn him that he is about to be assassinated.
Licurgo uses his influence to make Alteo doubt Ursus' warning however, telling him that Ursus is lying about Zagro because he wants to marry the princess himself. Soon after, Licurgo arranges for an assassin to murder the king, and is able to frame Ursus for the assassination.
To prove his innocence, Ursus undergoes several tests of strength in an arena, the greatest of which involves being tied to an elephant which then drags Ursus closer and closer to a wooden wall bristling with razor-sharp knives. Ursus uses his great strength to resist the mammoth creature, and succeeds in convincing the people that Zagro was behind the assassination of their king. Enraged, Zagro stabs his confederate Licurgo to death.
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