Hannibal (1959)

Interesting facts

Hannibal is a 1959 Italian historical adventure film based on the life of Hannibal, starring Victor Mature in the title role. The film was directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia. It marks the first film pairing of Terence Hill and Bud Spencer under their real names. However they only appear in supporting roles and have no scenes in common.

Production

Despite being an Italian production, the film was mainly financed by American studio Warner Bros. Pictures.

Victor Mature signed to make the film with Liber Films of Rome in March 1959. Filming took place in October 1959 with a reported budget of $2.5 million. Edgar Ulmer was the American representative of the company.

The only English speaking actors in the film were Victor Mature and Rita Gam. All the other actors were Italian and had their lines dubbed into English. The film featured approximately 20,000 extras.

The film was originally intended to be a more personal account of Hannibal's life, but the studio instead pressured the film makers into developing a more standard historical film. The film was directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, although IMDb lists Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia as a co-director. The film was released theatrically in the USA on 18 June 1960.

The film existed in two versions, a 95-minute version released in non-English speaking European countries, and a 103-minute version released in the US and other English speaking territories. The film's tagline was "Jump on! Hang on! Here comes the avenging Hannibal and his crazed elephant army!" The film's music was composed by Carlo Rustichelli.

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