The kingdom of Zimba is ruled by a benevolent king. The empire possesses a vast gold mine. Riad (Elio Jotta) is a nobleman who thirsts for power and riches. He contacts Fazira (Wandisa Guida) the leader of a warrior tribe to enlist her help in making his desires comes true. Needing her warriors, he makes a pact with her to share in Zimba’s riches and power. Riad leads Fazira and her warriors through secret passages and into the heart of the palace. They kill the king and take over the kingdom. The citizens of Zimba are enslaved and forced to work in the mines, extracting gold.
One of the king’s faithful soldiers, Abucar (Bruno Piergentilli), rushes to the chambers of the king’s son, Vazma (Loris Loddi), and his caretaker, Samara (Eleonora Bianchi). He tells Samara to take Vazma to safety and to find his friend, Maciste (Reg Park) and ask him to rush to his aid. Samara and Vazma end up separated in the jungle. Vazma is found by a peaceful tribe and taken in. Samara comes face to face with a lion and passes out. Maciste finds her. He wrestles with the lion and carries Samara to the same friendly tribe. In her fevered state Samara mumbles that Abucar needs his help. Maciste heads for Zimba.
By now Abucar has been captured and Riad tortures him, trying to find out where Vazma is. When he refuses to comply, he is sentenced to death. Maciste arrives just in time to save him but is captured himself. As punishment he is tied between two teams of horses. His super strength allows him to escape being torn in half. Fazira is impressed by Maciste’s muscles and tries to get him to partner up with her to get rid of Riad and rule Zimba with her. When he refuses, she puts a spell on him and turns him into a zombified slave working in the gold mine.
“Maciste in King Solomon's Mines” AKA “Maciste nelle miniere del re Salomone” AKA “Samson in King Solomon’s Mines” was released in 1964 and was written and directed by Piero Regnoli. It is an Italian Sword and Sandal film.
The film has a similar scene as “Goliath and the Barbarians” 1959 where Steve Reeves is tied between two teams of horses. The feat was also done in “Triumph of the Son of Hercules” 1961 where, this time Kirk Morris, is tied between two sets of horses. Morris did it again in the film “Atlas Against the Czar” 1964. There may be other films with similar tests of strength, but I can’t recall them.
This is another standard but still decent peplum movie. Reg Park is not known for his acting skills but fills the bill as muscle man Maciste, or Samson depending on which version of the film you’re watching. The actual highlight of the film is Wandisa Guida, who plays the very nasty but beautiful Fazira. Her specialty is torture and there are plenty of examples of it in the movie. Still, she’s not enough to carry the whole film. The setting in Africa, including some actual African footage, added a little something but it too didn’t carry the plot very far. I think what made it more standard than it should have was copying Kirk Morris’ iconic “tied to horses” stint.