who is pursued with Julia into the desert, where they become disori- ented in a sandstorm. They fall un- derground and discover a secret race of Blue Men—humanoids bred by Kobrak from the bodies of abducted victims. Among them is Kurtik, who is himself a more human, white- skinned Blue Man who rules their le- gion, determined to cure the others with a potion only one ingredient shy of perfection.
Kurtik has abducted Astra from the palace and lowers her into a pit with a giant insect creature, but Maciste in- tervenes, refusing to see her murdered. He promises to find the ingredient and leads an army of Blue Men back to Salmanac, but in a haunted forest out- side the kingdom they are overcome by a larger horde of Kobrak’s faceless warriors. Young Giro is actually killed in this battle. Maciste is placed in a pit, where Kobrak tries to deafen him with strikes against a giant lowered bell, but Astra (who has found her way back to the monster’s side, but has fallen in love with Maciste) saves the hero by secretly providing him with wax to plug his ears. Thinking himself victorious, Kobrak assumes the form of Maciste to take a false and destructive chemi- cal to Kurtik, but the real Maciste ar- rives in time to best the demon in battle, unmasking him and delivering the in- gredient needed to complete Kurtik’s formula. Humanity is restored to Maciste’s people and his victory is cel- ebrated with the unveiling of a statue in his likeness.
Produced by Paolo Moffa for Società Am- brosiana Cinematografica at the newly built studios of Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica. Maciste contro il vampiro is an entertaining peplum that finds the genre wildly fusing aspects of horror, fantasy, and science fiction, in ways that exceed even the fecund imagination of Francisci’s Ercole e la regina di Lidia. Gordon Scott was born Gordon
Werschkul, in Portland, Oregon, on August 3, 1927. Though he matured into quite a good actor, he never as- pired to be a movie star; he was a former Las Vegas lifeguard who, after
