Starring a primed and fresh off his Tarzan movies Gordon Scott, Samson, a.k.a. Maciste, has strolled to China in order to help put an end to the oppression. If we use this film as a basis for reality, and I can see no reason why we wouldn’t, then the downfall of the Mongolian Empire was actually caused when Samson, after being buried by a dwarf, started punching the ground until he caused an earthquake, burst forth from his tomb, then lead the Chinese in revolt against their cruel masters. And oh yeah, he also rescued a beautiful princess, because that's what he does, and what's the point of overthrowing tyrants if you don't also get to liberate a beautiful princess?

The princess in this case is Eurasian Yoko Tani, a familiar face to many fans of European fantasy and spy films from the 1960s. She had been working in film since 1953, primarily in French productions but also with one Japanese movie (Women in Prison, 1956) and the Eastern European sci-fi adventure First Spaceship on Venus (1959) and a couple scattered English language productions on her resume, including a small role in the 1958 version of The Quiet American. Although she'd gotten some sword and sandal-esque experience in France while making a comedic version of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Seven Miracles is her first turn in a true peplum. Her only other sword and sandal credits include 1961’s Marco Polo directed by Witch's Curse director Piero Pierotti and 1962’s Ursus and the Tartar Princess directed by Remigo del Grosso, who went on to direct a whole slew of enjoyable spaghetti westerns and spy films during the remainder of the decade. Tani herself made the transition to Eurospy films and starred in a number of slick mid- to low-budget espionage thrillers, including turns in two British espionage series: the obscure but interesting Man in a Suitcase and the highly acclaimed Patrick McGoohan (The Prisoner series) show Secret Agent. She was active on and off through the decades until her death in 1999 after a bout with cancer.

Also on hand are a slew of peplum regulars. Helene Chanel makes as convincing a Mongol princess as I would, but she carried herself with typical grace and beauty, so it's not worth complaining about. Considering her filmography contains some of the weirdest sword and sandal films ever made, including Witch's Curse and Conquerors of Atlantis, passing herself off as Asian is the least of her stretches.

Samson and the Seven Miracles of the World benefits greatly from top-notch action scenes anchored by Gordon Scott and beautiful sets that look far more lavish than the budget should allow. The medieval Chinese towns and the mountain temple look thoroughly authentic, or at least as authentic as something you'd find in a Shaw Brothers kungfu film. Of course, there are a few missteps, the most obvious one being that there are apparently very few Asians in China, and there's not much attempt to hide he shortage of Chinese looking actors. A few Asian extras are sprinkled here and there amid a slew of Italians with Fu Manchu mustaches pasted on. Actually, some of the mustaches don’t even look like stereotypical Fu Mancho mustaches, leading one to wonder not so much why Maciste is in China, but instead why so many people in China look like Pancho Villa. Gabriele Antonini plays our nominal local hero, Cho. Never has a Chinese hero looked so much like a cross between Frankie Avalon and Ray Romano. Someone apparently thought that people might find all these Caucasian looking Chinese to be a bit suspicious, so they threw in a line for Cho where he sort of off-handedly says, "You know, I’m only half Chinese."

The film seems unconcerned with such trivialities, however, a disregard that is not all that important and is best exemplified by the scenes in which Maciste, towering over everyone else, clad in a loin cloth, and looking huge and Caucasian, "blends in" with the locals.

Labels: Set: Warriors