Samson and the Slave Queen

Zorro contro Maciste is a 1963 Italian-Spanish peplum directed by Umberto Lenzi, an adventure built on the muscle of ancient-world heroes. Combining action, adventure and drama, it is described as a mixture of two genres. Lenzi wrote the screenplay with Guido Malatesta, and the producer was Fortunato Misiano. The film runs about 90 minutes and was shown in the United States as Samson and the Slave Queen.

What sets it apart for a peplum is the premise: the fabled strongman Maciste appears in 17th-century Spain and faces Zorro, the Californian hero created by Johnston McCulley. Alan Steel plays Maciste and Pierre Brice plays Zorro. The cast also includes Moira Orfei, Maria Grazia Spina, Andrea Aureli, Massimo Serato and Andrea Scotti, together with Nello Pazzafini. The film exists in Italian and English versions.

It was made in Italy as a Maciste picture. For American distribution it was redubbed into a "Samson" movie, in which the hero's opponent was called "El Toro" rather than Zorro. Its first German-language screening came on 24 July 1964 under the title Zorro gegen Maciste – Kampf der Unbesiegbaren, and in East Germany it was titled Konkurrenz für Zorro.