Toto vs. Maciste

Toto vs. Maciste
Toto vs. Maciste
Directed by	Fernando Cerchio
Written by	Bruno Corbucci; Giovanni Grimaldi ; Ugo Liberatore; Gastone Da Venezia
Story by	Ottavio Poggi
Starring	Totò; Nino Taranto
Cinematography	Angelo Lotti
Music by	Francesco De Masi ; Armando Trovajoli
Release date	February 28, 1962;
Running time	101 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

Toto vs. Maciste (Italian: Totò contro Maciste) is a 1962 Italian adventure-comedy film directed by Fernando Cerchio. It is a parody of the Sword and Sandal cinema, which was highly successful at the time in Italy.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Plot

Totokamen is an entertainer and an illusionist who performs in various Egyptian nightclubs assisted by his manager, Tarantenkamen. Taking advantage of cheesy tricks, Totokamen pretends to be the son of the god Amun and to have divine superpowers. The Pharaoh Ramsis is in the meanwhile facing the betrayal by the strongman Maciste, who has inexplicably joined Egypt's historical enemies (the Assyrians) and is guiding them to an unstoppable attack to the country. This is orchestrated by Ramsis' unfaithful wife, who has resorted to witchcraft to charme Maciste and achieve absolute power over the country. On the other hand Ramsis' daughter Nefertite is secretly in love with the strongman. Upon hearing from a minister about Totokamen's spectacle and claims of demigod status, the pharaoh decides that he should guide Egyptian defense against the invaders. Totokamen and Tarantenkamen try to avoid the dangerous assignment and to buy time in all possible ways, but the Assyrians continue their campaign and the invasion eventually reaches the crucial point of a duel between Totokamen and Maciste, in front of the whole royal court. Luckily the effect of Maciste's charming runs out at the last possible moment, and the plans of Ramsis' wife gets exposed. The Pharaoh remains in power, Maciste is pardoned, and Totokamen manages to exploit the confusion in order to escape from palace before being exposed as a fraud.

Cast

Totò as Totokamen / Sabakis, Totokamen's father
Nino Taranto as Tarantenkamen
Samson Burke as Maciste
Nadine Sanders as Pharaoh's wife
Nerio Bernardi as Pharaoh Ramsis
Gabriella Andreini as Nefertite
Luigi Pavese as owner of the nightclub
Nino Marchetti as the great dignitary
Piero Palermini as Baitan
Carlo Taranto as Assyrian counsellor

References

^ Alberto Anile (1998). I film di Totò (1946-1967): la maschera tradita. Le mani, 1998. ISBN 8880120808.
^ Roberto Poppi, Mario Pecorari (2007). Dizionario del cinema italiano. I film. Gremese Editore, 2007. ISBN 978-8884405036.
^ Paolo Mereghetti (2010). Il Mereghetti - Dizionario dei film. B.C. Dalai Editore, 2010. ISBN 978-8860736260.

External links

Toto vs. Maciste at IMDb

This article related to an Italian comedy film of the 1960s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Alberto Anile (1998). I film di Totò (1946-1967): la maschera tradita. Le mani, 1998. ISBN 8880120808.

[60-69_z-2] Roberto Poppi, Mario Pecorari (2007). Dizionario del cinema italiano. I film. Gremese Editore, 2007. ISBN 978-8884405036.

[Mereghetti-3] Paolo Mereghetti (2010). Il Mereghetti - Dizionario dei film. B.C. Dalai Editore, 2010. ISBN 978-8860736260.

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