This is a weird duck. Billed as (and expected to be) a typical Italian Hercules sword and sandal epic, this turns out to be a Zorro/Robin Hood mutant crossbreed movie that happens to have a "Hercules-ish" character in it. I feel jobbed.

And now on to our show...

Our plot concerns two neighboring kingdoms in Medieval Spain. One of them is a very bad place to live, ruled with an iron fist by the Duke Don Romero. The Duke is a bastard of a man, willing and capable of killing and enslaving his own people to further is own power and wealth. His army is mostly made up of paid mercenaries, who are just fine with torturing, raping and plundering as long as they get paid.

Don Romero, the Duke.
Across the river is the peaceful kingdom of "Valverde", ruled by the benevolent Don Fernando. An elderly man, Fernando has kept the peace and security in this kingdom for many years and will do much anything to preserve that peace.

Even if it means marrying his only daughter (he has no sons) off to the vile Duke to preserve the peace. His daughter, recently returned from a convent where she surely learned how to brush her hair better that we see her here, is a young beauty named Dona Blanco. She's played by 24-year old Jose Greci (star of Bury Them Deep, Hercules Against the Mongols, and Death on the Fourposter). She's a big-boned reddish brunette with a fiery eyes and full chest, though prone to overacting and pouting through her lines. Thankfully, she has really little to do in this film other than sulk and cry and lament her fate in life.

Dona Blanco.
There's a young girl named Dolores, a refugee from the Duke's lands, who is Blanco's servant. This girl will be by her side the entire movie and provides some exposition and prop-holding duties when needed. She's a much better actress than Dona Blanco.

Dolores.

Dolores: "Do you like girls, too?"
Donna: "Well, I don't know, maybe...".
Dona Blanco's current problem is that she doesn't want to marry the Duke because she's in love with her cousin! Yes, her cousin! Isn't that a bit icky, sharing genetic material and all, should cousins be allowed to get this close? Anyway, her cousin is Don Ferdinand's nephew, the dashing princely Don Juan, who will prove to be our film's hero.

Don Juan is played by 36-year old Mimmo Palmara (star of I'll Kill You and Recommend You to God, The Beautiful the Bad and the Idiotic, Hercules Unchained, and Slave Girls of Sheba). Palmara often acted under the stage name "Dick Palmer", which is just the greatest gay pornstar name ever! Don Juan is a rugged, muscled, swarthy Latin lover type, with his shirt perpetually open and his pants too tight. He looks like a young John Travolta, with Elvis hair. He's not a bad actor, either, which helps in this role.

Don Juan.
So, Don Juan has been out of the country for a while, but is now returning from a war up in Flanders. Coming alone, he's more than happy to be back with his fair Blanco after being gone for nearly a year. But, much to his anger, he finds that Blanco's father has already promised her to the Duke. Don Ferdinand doesn't want to do this really, but he's determined to try and avoid a war with the Duke.

This, predictably, doesn't sit well with Don Juan, and he forces an awkward confrontation with Ferdinand. The result is that Don Juan is banished from the kingdom, disowned in disgrace and sent packing. He doesn't even have a chance to say goodbye to Blanco. Taking what appears to be just a sword and the clothes on his back (!), he rides off into the woods.

Don Juan doesn't leave alone, however, he's accompanied by a young man named Jose, who will act as his servant and swordbearer. Jose is Dolores' (Blanco's servant) husband, though they were just married recently and haven't had a chance yet to "act like a married couple" if you know what I mean.

Jose there on the left with Don Juan.
Don Juan and Jose don't get very far before they are captured by a band of Gypsies! This group of about three dozen men and women reside in the woods on the frontier of the Duke's territory, living the stereotypical Gypsy life of good food, drunken reverie and the occasional knife in the back. They are regarded as "rebels" by the Duke, as they cause him no end to problems in the wild woods.

The leader of the Gypsies is a strong and beautiful woman named Estrella. Her hair is bright red, her legs are long and lean, and her word is the final say in this band. Oddly, she will go through the entire movie and not fall in love with anyone, which really surprised me.

Estrella.
These Gypsies only take in new members (presumably ethnic non-Gypsies) if they can defeat one of their own in single combat. The designated fighter is none other than Hercules! Well, maybe just some beefy Gypsy dude named Hercules, not the actual Greek demigod. Nothing, and I mean 100% zip in this movie even remotely suggests that this guy is anything other than just a bruiser Gypsy with a famous name. I guess you could make the case that this is indeed the one and only Hercules, he's immortal after all, but it would be a stretch.

"Hercules" is played by Sergio Ciani, acting under the fitting stage name "Alan Steel", which is also an awesome gay pornstar name. Unlike a lot of the pretty-boy California surfers that starred in many Italian sword and sandal epics of the era, Ciani was Italian born and bred. He's a hulking, thick-chested flanksteak of a guy, with a full beard and greasy hair, and I don't think he says more than ten words the entire movie.

Hercules!
The fight is tense and fast, first with knives and then with fists and feet. Don Juan is a capable man in a scrap, as is Hercules, and they match each other blow for blow. The fight is timed by a hourglass, and ends with both men still standing and none the worse for wear. They shake hands as the crowd cheers and will be loyal friends from here on out. Estrella offers Don Juan membership in her band, which he accepts (what else does he have to do?).

Fight!
Not long after, we see now that Don Juan has taken on the persona of the "Masked Rider", donning a bright red flowing cape and a matching mask. Oh, yeah, that's Zorro.

Zorro...er, Don Juan!
Don Juan is also now fully involved in the main trade of this band of Gypsies, namely plundering and thieving. We join the rebels as they conduct hit-and-run raids against the Duke's forces, thrashing hapless soldiers and giving hope to oppressed peasants. Don Juan even gets a few licks at the Duke in person, and gives him a scar along his left cheek as a reminder of his place in life. All this insult drives the Duke mad and he would do near anything to find and kill this masked cavalier (he doesn't know who he is exactly).