Hercules in the Valley of Woe
Hercules in the Vale of Woe (/ "Maciste vs Hercules in the Valley of Woe"), a.k.a. "Hercules in the Valley of Woe", is a 1961 Italian Franco & Ciccio comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Kirk Morris as Maciste and Frank Gordon as Hercules. The film is a comical take on the popular sword-and-sandal epics of the 1950s and 1960s. Plot. In Milan, a major theater entrepreneur's going to put on a show period piece set in the era of mythological Greece. However, by a lucky accident, the company of actors  and the entrepreneur himself are catapulted back in time just at the time of invincible warriors and heroes of Homer and Hesiod. Now we learn that the king Eurystheus needed to drive to Hercules, the invincible hero, able to defeat his arch enemy Maciste, who wants to kidnap his girlfriend Deianira. Release. "Hercules in the Valley of Woe" was released in Italy on 19 December 1961.