The Warrior Empress

When HERCULES, starring Steve Reeves and directed by Pietro Francisci, became a phenomenon, a dizzying number of Sword & Sandal (also known as Peplum) films soon followed. Nearly 300 such films were made between 1958 and the mid-1960s thanks to the success of HERCULES. It's one of the most unique film trends ever seen in cinematic history. Not even STAR WARS generated so many films after its massive success. The Peplum genre was diversified and many sub-genres proliferated, such as Peplum/Comedies, Peplum/Sci-fi, Peplum/Historical and most notably the Peplum/Romance sub-genre. Most Peplum films were made with kids or male viewers in mind but female viewers were actually quite important for the success of the genre and it was only logical that S&S films specifically made for female audiences were also produced. And this film is part of that Peplum/Romance sub-genre.

Known as THE WARRIOR EMPRESS in the US, which doesn't make any sense. There is no Empress in the movie and even less a Warrior Empress. The original Italian title translates to SAPPHO, VENUS OF LESBOS, which is what I'll use for this review.

SAPPHO, VENUS OF LESBOS is one satisfying S&S film. Directed also by Pietro Francisci, SAPPHO is fast, kitschy fun and dreamy. I'm memorized by it. After I initially saw it, I watched it once a day 4 days in a row. Regardless of the fact that there are no bare-chested men in it (which is THE main ingredient for a Peplum) SAPPHO hits all the right Peplum notes. Even if it's a romantic film filled with the usual conflicts of two men fighting over Sappho, it still has a lot of sword fights, chariot race, an impressive big battle, ramming ships and, of course, killer lions, all set to a great swirling score.

Take the beginning, for example, which I find brilliant. The set-up is amazing: the first 10 minutes has minimal dialogue, mainly music and sound. It introduces the characters in action and creates a wonderful world that swept you up and never lets go till the end of the film. The direction is mesmerizing.

All the main actors give their all. Tina Louise is perfect as Sappho, "the world's boldest beauty", as the film's tag-line says. The handsome Kerwin Mathews (who died last year, RIP) gives a thoughtful energetic performance. Kerwin was definitely an overlooked actor.

But best of all is the uniquely dashing Riccardo Garrone as Hyperbius, who almost steals the film from the American actors. Garrone gives a forceful performance that could have easily fallen into caricature but here he's totally believable. In contrast, the actor who plays the King is a caricature and is one of the weak notes in the film. Susy Andersen (credited as Susy Golgi), the actress who plays Actis, Sappho's close friend, is a stunning beauty. What happens to her character is one of the most pivotal moments.

This film has the best named cast of characters ever: Sappho, Phaon, Hyperbius, Actis, Laricus, Melanchrus, etc.

The soldiers' costumes are some of the coolest ever designed. Dark and detailed, with impressive Rooster-like helmets and short skirt line which accentuates, if anything else, the men's legs. And the girls' unique blue & black "nightgowns" are fetching even if they're probably not historically accurate.

The score by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino is truly a thing of beauty. Lavagnino is, like so many who worked in the Peplum genre, underrated, to say the least.

By now this film is totally forgotten. Heck, this will be the first review here at IMDb. And it's a shame because it's great fun and near perfect Peplum kitsch!

Thanks Pietro Francisci!

In ancient Mytilene, on the island of Lesbos, handsome warrior Kerwin Mathews (as Phaon) is wounded in battle. Luckily, the scantily-clad women of the island find Mr. Mathews and nurse him back to health. Mathews grows attracted to friendly, voluptuous and arousing Tina Louise (as Sappho). The feeling is mutual, which irks Ms. Louise's sub-textual female companion. To make matters worse, Louise's male companion was set to be Riccardo Garrone (as Hyperbius), who is Mathews' deadly enemy...

This was directed by Pietro Francisci and photographed by Carlo Carlini. They sometimes give it a dreamy quality, but this no Fellini. In fact, it's below average for the genre...

Mathews strolls through the part, impressing only because he's been good in previous adventures. Louise impresses in her looks alone; ludicrous but sexy, she did not forward her serious acting career with this one. The small-scale production saved money by having Mathews and the men go without pants; instead, they simply wore lower armored vests and pulled their shirts down. There are dozens of full-figured young running around braless in their satiny nighties. And, almost everyone gets to show some cheek.

**** The Warrior Empress/ Saffo, Venere di Lesbo (1960-08-24) **WC-Db4: Pietro Francisci ~ Kerwin Mathews, Tina Louise, Riccardo Garrone, Enrico Maria Salerno

To begin with, I watched this patiently expecting the titular figure to turn up somewhere along the line but, after 90 minutes, no such luck! For what it is worth, the film does mark a potentially intriguing overlap of epic exponents – namely director Francisci (who, with HERCULES {1957}, led the peplum into its most popular phase) and star Kerwin Mathews (who had been the protagonist in many an effects-filled fantasy/adventure). However, what we have here is a thoroughly routine effort with the emphasis on romance and dancing – the heroine (played by Tina Louise) is one of a group of scantily-clad Vestal Virgins-cum-Amazonians (they even get to demonstrate their ostensible ruggedness by organizing a chariot race amongst themselves!) who, while engaged to soldier Riccardo Garrone (best-known as a comic and for his TV ads publicizing coffee in the guise of Saint Peter!), becomes involved with wounded fugitive agitator Mathews when he takes refuge in their remote temple ("an island within an island", as Garrone describes it solely for the viewer's benefit).

A semi-interesting revelation concerns Mathews' true métier; however, the film falters mainly because we are supposed to believe that the people are oppressed yet, not only do we get scarce evidence to this end but the tyrant (hammily played by Enrico Maria Salerno) is, at best, an eccentric obsessed with his own cleanliness (he is constantly asking whether his bath has been prepared)! In fact, the potentate is merely exiled at the end, leaving the jilted Garrone to bear the brunt of the villain's expected come-uppance (at the hands of a lion, since a den filled with these animals conveniently lies just outside the Vestals' temple-gate, presumably to prevent anyone entering or exiting). By the way, the original Italian title of this one is highly suggestive – SAPPHO, VENUS OF LESBO (for the record, a real-life Greek poetess/muse)! – but the only other tell-tale sign (apart from the girls' afore-mentioned athletic prowess) of any homosexual activity going on behind closed doors is the fact that Louise's room-mate proves jealous of her attentions for the hero, reports him to the naturally-annoyed Garrone (though he fails to notice her own pining for his fiancée!) and, predictably, gets her just desserts by eventually becoming lion-fodder.

The other reviews pretty much covered the story of the movie. Kerwin Mathews has stated in several interviews..."I am NOT a Mr. Anything". Apparently the producers wanted a body builder lead for this movie during the Hercules era and because Mathews was American he must be Mr. Something. Also, the costumes were very accurate for the period 1,000BCE in that part of the Medetrainian. The female costumes were exactly like the ones on Crete as seen in wall murals in the palace of Knossos. Also the inverted red columns were in style at that time as well. They were just painted tree trunks that were placed upside down to give more room around the bottom. Plus being in an earthquake zone, a lot of wood was used in construction in order to absorb the shocks. When I visited Lesbos, I didn't see any girls as good looking a Tina Louise. I have also added a few new stills to the gallery.

This is the second of the Italian epics Tina Louise made for director Pietro Francisci for the year 1960. While IMDb lists the above American title, the actual translated Italian one actually says "Sappho-Venus of Lesbos". And, no, there's no girl-on-girl action here though one of Sappho's friends, Actis (Susy Golgi Andersen), seems to have somewhat of a crush on her. But Tina's character is actually smitten with a wounded man named Phaon (Kerwin Mathews) who stumbles into their women-only island. But she's promised to another man named Hyperbius (Riccardo Garrone). I'll stop there and just say that I wasn't as involved in the story as the previous Louise-Francisci collaboration, L'assedio di Siracusa (Siege of Syracuse), but I still liked many of the action scenes, the romantic sequences, and the once again beautiful score by Angelo Francesco Lavagino. And, hey, there's plenty of other fine-looking women other than Ms. Louise who wear clothing that accentuate their cleavage and legs to the utmost effect! So on that note, The Warrior Empress/Sappho-Venus of Lesbos is worth a look.