*Samson And The Slave Queen (1963) and 50 similar items

Vintage original 8 x 10 in. US single-weight glossy photograph from the 1960s Italian-produced action/adventure drama, ZORRO CONTRO MACISTE (US: SAMSON AND THE SLAVE QUEEN), released in the US in 1964 by American-International Pictures (AIP) and directed by Umberto Lenzi. The image features a great exterior action shot of a bare-chested Samson (Sergio Ciani) about to throw a man on top of another during a fight scene. It is in fine+ condition as shown. Great gay interest! One of a load of ab-normal muscular men who stood on the Neopolitan pectoral pedestal during the sword-and-sandal craze of the early 1960s, Sergio Ciani was born in Italy and went by the aptly-named stage moniker "Alan Steel" while in the meat of his film career. Playing assorted mythological demigods in cheaply-made but highly popular spectacles of the early 1960s, the actor also occasionally went by his birth name. Riding on a cinematic tidal wave ignited by Montana-born bodybuilder and one-time "Mr Universe" Steve Reeves in the cult hit Hercules (1958) [aka Hercules], Steel was actually one of the very few native Italians to play these colossal he-men as most were transported from America or England. The king of Nogara dies, leaving behind a will naming one of his nieces as his successor. Will it be blonde and virtuous Isabella or evil, dark-haired Malva? Each woman relies on a hero to locate the will. Malva hires the bare-chested strongman Samson while Isabella relies on the masked El Toro (a.k.a. Zorro) even though her heart belongs to the mild-mannered poet, Ramon. Malva's ruthless desire for the throne soon alienates Samson and he and El Toro then team up to bring about a proper resolution to the Nogara succession. Meanwhile, Isabella learns El Toto's true identity, an identity which both surprises and pleases her.