Gordon, the Black Pirate (1961)

Original title: Gordon, il Pirata Nero

Pirate yarn. Italy. Starring Ricardo Montalban, Vincent Price & Liana Orfei. Directed by Mario Costa. Standard Video (Holland). English dubbed. Letterboxed (slightly).

Italian pirate film that plays everything just the right way. And it has Vincent Price as the villian! 4/5

Cavalier in Devil's Castle (1959)

Original title: Il Cavaliere del Castello Maledetto

Sword. Italy. Starring Massimo Serato, Luisella Boni, Pierre Cressoy, Livio Lorenzon,
Carlo Tamberlani & Luciano Marin. Directed by Mario Costa.

Video For Pleasure promo (Holland). English dubbed. Widescreen.

Colorful, fast-paced and all around fun swashbuckler made just the way you want 'em. Recommended! 4/5

Queen of the Pirates (1961)

Original title: La Venere dei Pirati

Pirate yarn. Italy/West Germany. Starring Gianna Maria Canale, Massimo Serato, Scilla Gabel, Livio Lorenzon, Paul Muller, Moira Orfei & Andrea Aureli. Directed by Mario Costa.

Original Video (Greece). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

Gianna Maria Canale is great as the masked female pirate in this fun, colorful pirate swashbuckler. Another Costa winner. I don't know if it's healthy for an adult male to be so exited over this type of pulp adventure film for kids, but I don't care! 4/5

Kerim, Son of the Sheik (1962)

Original title: Il Figlio dello Sceicco

Peplum/Arabian adventure. Italy/France. Starring Gordon Scott, Gordon Mitchell, Moira Orfei, Alberto Farnese & Jany Clair. Directed by Mario Costa.

Video Alsen (Greece). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

Arabian adventure with some peplum under- and overtones. Mario Costa and Gordon Scott delivers another good one! 3/5

The Kings of France (1959)

Original title: I Reali di Francia

Sword. Italy. Starring Rik Battaglia, Chelo Alonso, Gérard Landry, Livio Lorenzon, Liana Orfei & Carlo Tamberlani. Directed by Mario Costa.

EKO (UK). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

I had a really hard time sitting through this film, due to the completely worthless dubbing. Two or three bored dubbers do all the voices with a complete lack of feeling - and you could still hear the italian dub in the background! My grade represents this crap version of the film. 2/5

Knights of Terror (1964)

Sword. Italy/France/Spain. Starring Tony Russell, Yves Vincent, Scilla Gabel, Carla Calò & Pilar Clemens. Directed by Mario Costa.

EVC (Holland). English dubbed. Letterboxed.

Superior gothic swashbuckler. Recommended! 4/5

Kerim, Son of the Sheik (1962)

Original title: Il Figlio dello Sceicco

Peplum/Arabian adventure. Italy/France. Starring Gordon Scott, Gordon Mitchell, Moira Orfei, Alberto Farnese & Jany Clair. Directed by Mario Costa.

Western Video (Finland). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

Arabian adventure with some peplum under- and overtones. Mario Costa and Gordon Scott delivers another good one! 3/5

Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West (1965)

Original title: Buffalo Bill, L'eroe del Far West

Western/Adventure. Italy/France/West Gerany. Starring Gordon Scott,Mario Brega, Piero Lulli, Hans von Borsody & Ingeborg Schöner. Directed by Mario Costa.

Salut (Denmark). Selltape. English dubbed. Fullscreen. Not the best looking print.

Generally considered the first spaghetti western, this plays much more like an adventure film. Not so strange considering the director is adventure expert Mario Costa, the casting of peplum star Gordon Scott and the fact that Leone hadn't hit us with his "dollar" films yet. Some people go into this hoping for something Leone-essque and are dissapointed when they get an innocent adventure film in western settings. But for me who likes adventure it's a surprisingly well-crafted and all around fun film... one of Costa's best! 4/5

Conqueror of Corinth (1961)

Original title: Il Conquistatore di Corinto

Peplum/Historical. Italy/France. Starring John Drew Barrymore, Geneviève Grad, Gianna Maria Canale, Gordon Mitchell & Jacques Sernas. Directed by Mario Costa.

VTC (Sweden). English dubbed. Letterboxed. Very nice print!

Lots of talk and treason in the roman senate. Not one of adventure expert Mario Costa's more exciting films. 2/5

Gordon, the Black Pirate (1961)

Original title: Gordon, il Pirata Nero

Pirate yarn. Italy. Starring Ricardo Montalban, Vincent Price & Liana Orfei. Directed by Mario Costa.

Standard Video (Greece). English dubbed. Letterboxed (slightly).

Italian pirate film that plays everything just the right way. And it has Vincent Price as the villian! 4/5