Strange things are going on so Androcles, the King of Thebes and friend to Hercules, enlists the help of the muscleman to figure out what is going on. Hercules throws a wrench into the works because he does not want to leave his wife and son behind but nobody says no to the king so he slips Hercules a little something and kidnaps him away to accomplish the task. So it is that they are on their way to Atlantis and while Hercules has every right to be mad, he seems a little nonchalant until they start to run into some real trouble along the way. As it is, they do make it to Atlantis though Androcles is feared lost, Hylas, the son of Hercules is discovered on board and a girl named Ismene is rescued and she just so happens to be the daughter of Antinea, the queen of Atlantis. Things get a little complicated, especially when Hercules learns that Antinea wants him to stay with her and that she is planning to conquer the world with her army of supermen. Suffice it to say, it is a good thing that Hercules has a moral compass that never steers him wrong.

Reg Park, a former and future Mr. Universe when this film was released, stars as Hercules and while the man would never win an Academy Award for his performances as the Grecian hero, he always did a fine job at making viewers believe he could very well be the son of Zeus. Here, Hercules would be called upon to save the day as usual but it would not start out as such, featuring a somewhat lackadaisical hero. Perhaps family life made him a little soft but once things started to pick up, Hercules could not be stopped once he got going. Opposite Park would be the beautiful Fay Spain as the villain of the picture playing Antinea, Queen of Atlantis and not the bad guy that a person would expect. Given that though, who better to face off against Hercules than a woman with more than a few wiles at her disposal. Also starring would be Laura Efrikian as Ismene, Ettore Manni as Androcles, Luciano Marin as the son of Hercules and Salvatore Furnari as the comedy relief in Timoteo. Overall, there were not that many laughs to be had, maybe the dubbing lost something in the translation or the script not being all that good and it is true, it could have been a little stronger when it came to the dialogue but one does not watch a sword and sandal epic for the comedy.

Directed by Vittorio Cottafavi with cinematography by Carlo Carlini, the movie is beautifully shot with bright, vibrant colours throughout and locations that one cannot help but call dream-like so gorgeous are they. The sets are great and the costumes even better, especially when it comes to the Atlantean super-soldiers under Antinea’s command. As Hercules comes to do battle, they are well choreographed and makes the audience yearn for more in the picture given how slowly it all started but once it gets going, the second half of the film passes by at a good pace. The main weakness of the entire affair is the first act and the dreary speed with which it passes by. When it comes to peplum and the like, one tunes in for epic battles and fights with men and monsters, not mere jesting in court and the like. Still, that little bit aside, the rest was quite entertaining.

At the time of its release, Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis or Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide was retitled Hercules and the Captive Women for the US market. It would be a strange decision as it featured no captive women other than Ismene whom Hercules would rescue from a shapechanger named Proteus in one of the film’s best bits. When all is said and done, Reg Park and company deliver one of the more entertaining entries to feature the legendary Hercules on the big screen.

3.5 out of 5