Duel of Champions (1961)

Obviously we know historically how things turn out in the Roman-Alban conflict, so that element of the plot is obvious. Costumes and sets are very well prepared and the musical score is fairly good. Great job casting Alan Ladd. The supporting cast is also quite good. It's the story of the brothers that is quite moving and lends a unique touch to this film (no spoilers, go watch the movie for yourselves). The film quality on the version I saw was a little low-resolution and with subtitles, but I believe that there's a fairly decent English translation available here through IMDB.

A middling, typical Italian peplum film from director Ferdinando Baldi. DUEL OF CHAMPIONS benefits greatly from a spectacular opening and a rousing finale, but kind of loses it in the middle part which verges occasionally on becoming dull. Thankfully, it never does become boring, a fact which is mainly due to the efforts of Alan Ladd, the film's American import. Ladd - although the victim of a spectacular piece of miscasting, it has to be said - brings warmth and charisma to his role of Horatius, the cowardly but ultimately victorious warrior who saves Rome. Although Ladd, at approximately 50 years of age, is really ten to fifteen years too old to play the heroic lead, he puts in a fine performance on which the film hinges. Things become enjoyable in his presence.Things start off brilliantly with a well-choreographed battle scene, employing a large cast and enlivened by a thunderous, sweeping score. They continue in a good vein with a tense sequence in which Roman reinforcements are ambushed in a ravine and forced to fight to the death in a violent battle, where they are shot with arrows and burning grasses threaten to kill them! It's at this point we are introduced to Ladd, who, after a spectacular bit of sword fighting, is injured and captured by the Albans.He's immediately marched off to their city, where incredibly the sight of wrestling women passes for entertainment (not just Mexico then...). At this point comes one of the film's best scenes, where Ladd is thrown into a pit and is forced to fight off three hunger-starved wolves. Although it's clear that Ladd is never in the same shot as the wolves, the fight scene is expertly staged and highly exciting, culminating in a surprisingly brutal shot of Ladd bludgeoning one of the beasts to death with a rock! After escaping into the care of some hermit-like folk who live in the nearby mountains, Ladd regains his strength and rejoins his people. Here the film slows down a gear, introducing an interesting but ultimately unnecessary subplot about two Romeo and Juliet-like characters who fall in love but are separated by being on either side of the two armies. Meanwhile, the two kings of the city try to keep the peace and devise a plan to reveal the true ruling army, while Ladd must come to terms with his wife marrying his brother (!) and also trying to regain the favour of his people.Thankfully, all of this doesn't drag on too far, and once again events are thrust into high-gear with a fantastic bout of sword fighting at the film's close. Three brothers from either army must fight it out to the death and in the initial duel, the atmosphere is electric and as good as any gladiator film I've seen. Sadly, the fights seem simply to consist of two men clashing swords together and have very little imagination, a few props here and there certainly wouldn't have gone amiss. There's a short nighttime interlude in some atmospheric woods where Ladd destroys two of his pursuers in a cat and mouse game (his other two brothers having already been murdered). Finally, he goes one on one with the last soldier in a fun battle, the climax of which is pretty obvious but it's pretty exciting anyway.The film looks impressive, with good sets and scenery and costumes, which make the budget look big even if it probably wasn't (with, I'm sure, much of the money going towards Ladd's own personal pay cheque). The supporting cast of Italians is fine, with some heroic young men for the female viewers and some beautiful young women for the men. Despite being a pretty forgettable movie, this does throw up some interesting ideas and has strength in characterisation, unlike a number of similar peplums which are all-action and no depth. Ladd's presence is also a definite plus for this reviewer. Enjoyable.

In the ancient Rome , during the pre-Republic period , general Horatio (Alan Ladd) is wounded and imprisoned by Albanos and accused as cowardice by Romans. The prodigal Horacio fled and he has come home but the Romans distrust . Then Horacio is redeemed on the final confrontation . Then , a combat takes place in order to put an end to the long and bloody war between the Romans and the Albans . The king of Rome , Tulio Hostilio (Robert Keith) accords King of Alba-Longa a challenge between three members of Horatius family (Jacques Sernas , Ladd) and three brothers Albanos (Franco Fabrizi , among others). They fight a duel to decide who will rule . At the ending happens the fierce and lethal battle . This unforgettable heroic action was immortalized by French painter Louis David in the painting titled 'Under oath of the Horacios' . This is a sword and sandals movie with action , adventures , fighting and based on legendary deeds in which three different brothers are chosen for each side : the Romans choose the Orazi and The Albans are represented by the Curiazi . The film shows difference between cultured Romans and savage and illiterate Albanos , but this question is historically contradictory . The Paramout star , Alan Ladd , was in frank decadence , he plays with apathy and indifference and acted without wage various weeks when the production was declared insolvency . After that , he played 'Carpetbaggers' and suddenly died by alcoholism . His sister Alana Ladd plays as Scilla . The screenplay is written by prestigious writers with future and important careers , such as : Carlo Lizzani , Guliano Montalvo and Luciano Vincenzoni (Sergio Leone's usual) . Spectacular musical score by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino (Peplum's habitual) . The film was directed by Terence Young and Ferdinando Baldi . Subsequently , Young directed successful James Bond films : ¨Bond vs Dr No¨ and ¨From Russia with love¨. In the Italian version only appears as filmmaker Ferdinando Baldi , he's an expert director of Peplum (Arminius , massacre in Black Forest , Son of Cleopatra , David and Goliath) and Spaghetti Western (Viva Django, Adios Texas).The picture set during first Roman epoch with the king Tulio Hostilio. Formerly ruled Romulo and Numa Pompilio (events developed in 'Romulo and Remo' by Sergio Corbucci with Steve Reeves and Gordon Scott) , after succeeded the king Tarquino (deeds narrated in 'Mucius Scevola' by Giorgio Ferroni with Gordon Scott , also starring of 'Coroliano'). Other movies about the Roman pre-Republic , the Roman monarchy , are the followings : 'Kidnapping of Sabinas' (1961 , Richard Pottier with Jean Marais and Roger Moore) and 'Virgins of Rome' (1966, Vittorio Cottafavi with Louis Jordan) , among them.

This international co-production tells of a "famous" duel between two sets of three brothers (one from each side of the Romans and the Barbarians) which was to decide the fate of the ongoing war between them. While the production values sounded promising on paper – co-director Terence Young, American actors Alan Ladd and Robert Keith (whose last film this turned out to be), French star Jacques Sernas, ex-Fellini alumnus Franco Fabrizi, four noteworthy screenwriters, etc – the film comes off as a rather talky and undernourished affair which cannot hope to do justice to its mythical subject.A visibly tired Alan Ladd, then, is evidently miscast and seems to be playing his role as if he has just stepped in from the American West rather than being at the head of a Roman legion! The hokey, would-be tragic "Romeo and Juliet" subplot involving Ladd's sister and Barbarian Fabrizi doesn't help matters either; on the plus side, however, is a sequence early on where Ladd is teared at by a pack of hungry wolves and the forest hunt by the three barbarian brothers for Ladd (after having killed his two siblings) which rebounds on themselves – with our hero, naturally, emerging victorious at the end to walk off into the sunset with his beloved.