Save your money for something good and enjoyable

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

A middling, typical Italian peplum film from director Ferdinando Baldi. DUEL OF CHAMPIONS benefits greatly from a spectacular opening and a rousing finale, but kind of loses it in the middle part which verges occasionally on becoming dull. Thankfully, it never does become boring, a fact which is mainly due to the efforts of Alan Ladd, the film's American import. Ladd - although the victim of a spectacular piece of miscasting, it has to be said - brings warmth and charisma to his role of Horatius, the cowardly but ultimately victorious warrior who saves Rome. Although Ladd, at approximately 50 years of age, is really ten to fifteen years too old to play the heroic lead, he puts in a fine performance on which the film hinges. Things become enjoyable in his presence.Things start off brilliantly with a well-choreographed battle scene, employing a large cast and enlivened by a thunderous, sweeping score. They continue in a good vein with a tense sequence in which Roman reinforcements are ambushed in a ravine and forced to fight to the death in a violent battle, where they are shot with arrows and burning grasses threaten to kill them! It's at this point we are introduced to Ladd, who, after a spectacular bit of sword fighting, is injured and captured by the Albans.He's immediately marched off to their city, where incredibly the sight of wrestling women passes for entertainment (not just Mexico then...). At this point comes one of the film's best scenes, where Ladd is thrown into a pit and is forced to fight off three hunger-starved wolves. Although it's clear that Ladd is never in the same shot as the wolves, the fight scene is expertly staged and highly exciting, culminating in a surprisingly brutal shot of Ladd bludgeoning one of the beasts to death with a rock! After escaping into the care of some hermit-like folk who live in the nearby mountains, Ladd regains his strength and rejoins his people. Here the film slows down a gear, introducing an interesting but ultimately unnecessary subplot about two Romeo and Juliet-like characters who fall in love but are separated by being on either side of the two armies. Meanwhile, the two kings of the city try to keep the peace and devise a plan to reveal the true ruling army, while Ladd must come to terms with his wife marrying his brother (!) and also trying to regain the favour of his people.Thankfully, all of this doesn't drag on too far, and once again events are thrust into high-gear with a fantastic bout of sword fighting at the film's close. Three brothers from either army must fight it out to the death and in the initial duel, the atmosphere is electric and as good as any gladiator film I've seen. Sadly, the fights seem simply to consist of two men clashing swords together and have very little imagination, a few props here and there certainly wouldn't have gone amiss. There's a short nighttime interlude in some atmospheric woods where Ladd destroys two of his pursuers in a cat and mouse game (his other two brothers having already been murdered). Finally, he goes one on one with the last soldier in a fun battle, the climax of which is pretty obvious but it's pretty exciting anyway.The film looks impressive, with good sets and scenery and costumes, which make the budget look big even if it probably wasn't (with, I'm sure, much of the money going towards Ladd's own personal pay cheque). The supporting cast of Italians is fine, with some heroic young men for the female viewers and some beautiful young women for the men. Despite being a pretty forgettable movie, this does throw up some interesting ideas and has strength in characterisation, unlike a number of similar peplums which are all-action and no depth. Ladd's presence is also a definite plus for this reviewer. Enjoyable.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Yeah Alan Ladd wasn't quite the handsome dashing hero of a few years earlier but I would imagine commanders in the Roman Legions back then weren't exactly Justin Beiber lookalikes so he fits the role pretty well. The plot has some interesting twists and the women were beautiful. The action scenes were better than average for an Italian epic...I've seen much worse. To be honest, these sword and sandal affairs are growing on me. They have a special charm all their own that's hard to define so I won't try. My advice, gird your loins, adjust your breastplate, and saddle up pardners for a good old Italian style western with a couple of familiar American faces thrown in for good measure!!! And remember, a sword is always loaded so be careful out there in weird movie land.

Alan Ladd seems exhausted during the whole movie.It is a wonder he can escape from the wolf pit and then defeat Curiazio in the final duel.His features thickened and he was only the ghost of the dashing hero of the brilliant westerns of the fifties .Most of the time ,he does not seem to care about his family,his love and the plot.This is a well-known story:Pierre Corneille wrote one of his most famous tragedies "Horace" in 1640 about the Roman legend.The writers did the same here,but it seems that their job was not as good as in the contemporary "Romolo e Remo" .(Publius)Horatio is away most of the time and no actor on the screen can generate excitement or interest.Only the scene in the woods when Horatio defeats two of the Curiazi retains some suspense ,not unlike that Terence Young will use later in "Wait Until dark" .Horatio's sister who falls in love at first sight with the "enemy" is not killed by his brother after the victory ,as in the legend!She commits suicide .Now Tullius will reign over the two towns ,Rome and Albe .As for Alan Ladd,he was to pass away three years after,but it's better to consider "the carpetbaggers" -albeit a movie of average worth- his swansong:he easily outclassed the rest of the cast in that film with his part of an old actor down on his luck.

Ordinarily, sword and sandal epics such as this require a tall, virile, heroic, muscle-bound lead at the helm. Perhaps the filmmakers were going for something different... and they succeeded. The result is a middling-at-best piece of forgettable, low-budget celluloid. As the story begins, Rome and Alba are locked into a long, costly war which neither side seems to be fully capable of winning. Ladd, a commander in the Roman army, falls from grace when he is captured after a battle and not killed. His brother marries his intended bride and plans to run the city of Rome once the present ruler Keith is dead. Eventually, however, the opposing forces realize the futility of the constant warring and decide to place their fates in one solitary battle. Each side must present a trio of brothers. They will fight each other (in the title event) until one side loses all three and the to the victor goes the upper ruling hand. So Ladd is asked to return to Rome and help win his city's independence. Meanwhile his sister has inexplicably fallen in love with one of the opposing brothers following their temporary kidnapping of her! It's an understatement to say that Ladd is miscast here. At 5-1/2 feet tall and 48 years-old (but looking much older), he hardly brings to mind the hearty, powerful type that this role calls for. Besides, his decidedly 20th century hair and nicotine-infused voice, with it's patently mid-western accent, undo any hope of period verisimilitude. He appears to be trying to suggest strength and skill in the fight scenes, but they're nearly all done in close-up so that his grimaces can take the place of any actual physical exertion. The rest is handled by stunt men. This just wasn't his milieu. His daughter appears in the film as well, but her acting career never really materialized. Keith (who makes Ladd look younger by comparison) does a decent enough job, but this is hardly a prestigious end to his lengthy career. A few notable scenes include Ladd's tussle with a trio of wolves and his deep woods dispatching of his opponents (however, wouldn't a true warrior have stood and fought in the appointed battle area and not run off into the trees in order to trap his enemies?) Viewers will also note the preposterously top-heavy (and not exactly easily hidden!) helmets of some of the Alban troops. Fans of Ladd may enjoy this more (and there appears to be a version twenty minutes longer than the currently circulated 85 minute copy), but most gladiator movie fans will feel that something is left wanting.