"SEE the quest for a fabulous treasure...the pagan revels of Saturnalia...the 'sport' that turned men into beasts!" screamed a poster for the fast-paced, adrenaline-charged adventure Gold for the Caesars. Among the sword-and-sandal epics produced in Italy following the 1959 U.S. box-office success of Hercules, the film follows the popular formula: an American star (here Jeffrey Hunter of The Searchers), voluptuous temptresses, slaves, tyranny and exciting displays of muscle-ripping combat. Gold for the Caesars centers on a slaved named Lacer (Hunter) and his beloved, the mistress of Maximus, the ruthless Roman proconsul of Spain. Charged with managing a vast gold-mining operation in the middle of a bloody Celtic uprising, Lacer fights men, nature and his conflicted heart. The film builds to a spectacular denouement, with Lacer and Maximus battling atop a sluice gate and floodwaters smashing down on Celtic attackers below.
