Today, we are pleased to feature two classic trailers and an overview of the 1962 Steve Reeves sword-and-sandal movie The Slave, also known as The Son of Spartacus. The first trailer is from the “PEPLUM TV” Youtube channel:
This was one of several Italian “peplum” genre movies that 1947 Mr. America Steve Reeves starred in from the late 1950s to the early 1960s.
The second trailer is from the “cirothungol” Youtube channel:
While not necessarily as sophisticated, nor as well-written or well-produced, as the lavish big-budget historical epics that came out of Hollywood in those years, the “peplum” movies offered a couple hours of fun and colorful escapist entertainment and high adventure in an ancient setting. And unlike most Hollywood epics, the leading men in Italian “peplum” actually looked the part of larger-than-life legendary heroes, as these movies featured bodybuilders and actors with well-developed physiques such as Reg Park, Steve Reeves, Brad Harris, and Sergio Ciana, aka Alan Steel.
One of the better examples of the “peplum” genre, The Slave undoubtedly capitalized on the box office success of Stanley Kubrick’s 1960 film Spartacus by revealing that the renowned slave revolt leader’s son (presumably the infant shown at the end of Spartacus) has grown up to be a high-ranking Roman army officer without ever having known his true identity! The Slave features slave revolt scenes which are vaguely reminiscent of those in Kubrick’s film, along with a callback to a key phrase that was previously spoken by various characters in the original Spartacus.
You won’t find The Slave on DVD in regular retail stores, but thankfully, Warner Brothers has made the movie available on DVD via their “Archive Collection” manufactured-on-demand service. The anamorphic widescreen picture quality is quite good, and the movie makes for an entertaining and enjoyable romp. Link: https://www.wbshop.com/products/slave-the
