Hercules, Samson & Ulysses 1963

In this adventurous story set off the coast of Greece, Hercules isliving with his wife Iole and their young son at the court of King Laertes. When a delegation of fishermen comes to complain about a terrifying sea monster that has been destroying their boats and lives, Hercules boldly steps forward to tackle the beast. Laertes provides him with a ship and crew, and as they set sail, a young boy named Ulysses, the son of Laertes, joins them, bringing homing pigeons to aid in their journey.

Hercules successfully spears the sea monster, but their victory is short-lived as a violent storm erupts, causing the creature to die and their ship to be wrecked. Only six men, including Hercules and Ulysses, survive by clinging to a fragment of the wreckage. They are washed ashore on the coast of Judea, where they walk to a village occupied by the Danites, a community being oppressed by the Philistines. The group manages to acquire horses from a Philistine trader and rides toward Gaza, hoping to find salvation through the local Philistine ruler, known as Seren.

During their journey, the Greek group encounters a fierce lion, which Hercules kills with ease. This feat causes the Philistine horse-owner to mistake Hercules for the legendary Samson, leading to dangerous misunderstandings. As Philistine soldiers search the Danite village for Samson, they find another dead lion, kill many villagers—including children—set fire to the village, and capture many able-bodied adults to sell as slaves. During this chaos, Samson, upon seeing the attack, kills all the soldiers while rescuing a woman. His mighty acts lead him to believe the Greeks are spies for the Philistines, and suspicion grows.

In Gaza, Seren challenges Hercules to prove he is not Samson. He offers a deal: if Hercules can bring Samson before him within three days, the Greeks will be released and granted safe passage back home. Delilah, Liana Orfei, Seren’s girlfriend, initially plots to help Hercules by pretending to be a poor woman in distress, aiming to lure Samson out. Her plan succeeds when Samson, convinced by her deception, challenges Hercules to a fierce battle. They pelt each other with boulders, topple pillars, and engage in combat with iron weapons — all while realizing they share a common goal of fighting for Danite freedom and standing against Seren’s tyranny.

As their fight reaches a climax, Delilah attempts to flee and warn Seren about Hercules’s plan, but she is captured and forced to reveal her deception. Meanwhile, she tries to convince Samson to let her go, promising to help the Greeks escape. Hercules and Samson devise a plan to pretend they are delivering Samson to Seren, but their true intent is to facilitate the prisoners’ escape and destroy Seren’s forces.

Back at home, Iole and the others learn of the Greeks’ whereabouts through the pigeons and are provided with a ship and crew by Laertes to rescue their loved ones. As Hercules and Samson approach Gaza, they wait for Ulysses and the others to be safely onboard before staging a fake capture of Samson, tying him up to fool Seren. However, Delilah betrays them by appearing in armor and alerting Seren’s soldiers, who then capture Hercules and Samson once again. The Philistine soldiers also conceal themselves on the Greeks’ ship with deadly intent to kill everyone.

Ulysses, noticing the treachery, swiftly warns Hercules and Samson. A fierce fight ensues on a nearby hill below the temple of Dagon, where the heroes help each other fling stones and topple the temple’s iron beam, causing an avalanche that crushes Seren’s soldiers. The fleeing Philistines set fire to the ship, forcing the Greeks to dive into the sea to escape. Despite their escape, Seren wounds Ulysses from the shore, and Samson, in a final act of bravery, throws a spear that fatally wounds Seren.

On the rescue ship, Samson declares Iole as a heroine of the battle, but Hercules warns him against trusting Delilah’s treachery. As the Greeks sail away, Samson dives into the water, swimming ashore to continue his fight against evil, while Hercules, forever a hero, reflects on the deeds and sacrifices of their adventure.