Medusa Against the Son of Hercules

Medusa Against the Son of Hercules (Italian: Perseo l'invincibile, lit. 'Perseus the Invincible', Spanish: El valle de los hombres de piedra, lit. 'The Valley of the Stone Men') is a 1963 Italian-Spanish sword and sandal film directed by Alberto De Martino and starring Richard Harrison. It is loosely based on the myth of Perseus and Medusa.^[1][2]

Medusa Against the Son of Hercules
Directed by	Alberto De Martino
Written by	Mario Guerra Luciano Martino Ernesto Gastaldi Vittorio Vighi
Starring	Richard Harrison
Cinematography	Dario Di Palma Eloy Mella
Edited by	Otello Colangeli
Music by	Carlo Franci
Release date	1963 (1963)
Countries	Italy Spain
Language	Italian

Plot

Medusa is a monster that haunts a lake and attacks a group of soldiers; her single eye is capable of turning her victims to stone and the kingdom of Argos uses her to impose suffocating tolls on those who pass through. Perseus, the missing son of the true king of Argos (murdered by a usurper who married his widow), is captured by the troops of an evil monarch and forced to fight as a gladiator. But he escapes and plots to overthrow the villain, still having time to face the Medusa and try his luck if he can bring the petrified soldiers back to life.

Cast

• Richard Harrison as Perseo
• Anna Ranalli as Andromeda
• Arturo Dominici as Acrisio
• Elisa Cegani as Danae
• Antonio Molino Rojo as Tarpete
• Leo Anchóriz Galenore
• Roberto Camardiel as Cefeo
• Ángel Jordán as Alceo
• Fernando Liger
• Bruno Scipioni
• Frank Braña
• Lorenzo Robledo

Production

The effects of Medusa, portrayed as a wandering tree creature with a single glowing eye, were created by Carlo Rambaldi who later worked on the films Alien and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.^[3]

Sources

• Kinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476662916.