EDITOR’S NOTE: The Giant of Metropolis was on Chiller Theater on Saturday, January 15, 1972 at 1:00 a.m., Saturday, July 28, 1973 at 1:00 a.m., Saturday, May 3, 1975 at 1:00 a.m. and Saturday, January 15, 1977 at 1:00 a.m.
Directed by Umberto Scarpelli and starring Denver, Colorado’s Gordon Mitchell as Obro, this flick is less a sword-and-sandal movie and more science fiction, as our strongman wanders into the “metropolis” of Atlantis. There, he crosses paths with the evil ruler, Yotar (Roldano Lupi), who has enslaved everyone. Our hero decides that his enemy isn’t evil, just blinded by science. And this is after he’s killed all of Obro’s friends with a force field.
Yotar also wants to put his father’s brain into his son. Where will he put his son’s brain? Is he his own grandpa?
Obro likes getting captured so much in this movie that I started to wonder if he was a power bottom.
The action features everything from our protagonist fighting a giant and a ray of light to getting swarmed by a half-dozen flesh-eating pygmies. Gordon Mitchell reportedly spent his scenes reciting bawdy English limericks because he didn’t bother learning his Italian dialogue. But thanks to production designer Giorgio Giovannini and cinematographer Oberdan Troiani, the movie is a riot of lurid colors, bizarre architectural sets and Egyptian-meets-space-age costumes.
Also: Everyone in Metropolis is a reanimated dead person.
Don’t tell our hero, who has hooked up with the bad guy’s daughter, Mecede (Bella Cortez). Speaking of our barbarian peplum good guy, he’s a monotheist and anti-science kind of dude. Did he do his own research? Does he realize he’s in an Italian sword-and-sandal movie? There’s also a mass wedding, a dance scene and some enormous sets. And as you probably already know, every woman in it is gorgeous in the way that heavy-makeup Italian actresses of the 60s always are.
You can watch this on Tubi.
