Hercules the Invincible
1964 film by Alvaro Mancori

Hercules the Invincible (Italian: Ercole l'invincibile) is a 1964 Italian Sword and Sandal film directed by Alvaro Mancori and Lewis Mann and starring Dan Vadis. It is the first of two directing credits for cinematographer Alvaro Mancori.
The film was later released to American television retitled Son of Hercules in the Land of Darkness as part of the Sons of Hercules TV syndication package.
Plot
Hercules saves a woman named Telca from a lion and arrives in triumph in her village. Telca's father King Tedaeo offers Hercules Telca's hand in marriage, if he brings back the tooth of a dragon. Hercules seeks help from a witch who gives him a spear that will kill the dragon but wants the same tooth as her reward. As Hercules has promised the tooth to King Tedaeo the witch warns him that the magic of the tooth will only work once.
In Hercules' absence Telca's village has been pillaged and all the survivors –save Babar, the comedy relief – are taken as prisoners to the Demulus, a tribe that lives inside a mountain and eats the hearts of their prisoners.
Cast
Dan Vadis as Ercole (Argolese)
Spela Rozin as Telca
Carla Calò as Ella, Queen of the Demulus
Ken Clark as Kabol, Melissia's Father
Jon Simons as Babar
Maria Fiore (billed as Jannette Barton) as Etel
Ugo Sasso as King Tedaeo, Telca's Father
Howard Ross as Telca's Brother
Olga Solbelli as The Oracle
Alberto Cevenini as Capt.
The public source identifies “Hercules the Invincible” as 1964 film by Alvaro Mancori. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Hercules, Invincible and film.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Hercules the Invincible”, the useful work is to connect “1964 film by Alvaro Mancori” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q779761. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1964.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Hercules the Invincible”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Hercules the Invincible primary sources, Hercules the Invincible archive and Hercules research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hercules the Invincible”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Hercules the Invincible” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.