| Director | Mario Bava, Mario Camerini |
|---|---|
| Genre | action film, fantasy film, film based on book, sword-and-sandal film |
| Runtime | 100 min |
| Country | France, Italy |
| Budget | ITL 500 million |
| Box office | ITL 1.8 billion |
The palace of Ulysses, king of Ithaca, is beleaguered by a horde of suitors wooing his wife Penelope after his failure to return from the Trojan War. Penelope has promised under pressure to marry one of them, who under the leadership of Antinous squander her husband's wealth and land. She holds them off by telling them she first wants to finish her tapestry, but she unweaves it every night to stall. Telemachus, the son of Ulysses and Penelope, is sick of the suitors' behavior and decides to search for his father.
On the nearby island of Phaeacia, royal princess Nausicaa and her handmaidens find a shipwrecked man washed up on the shore. Due to his ordeal, the stranger has lost his memory, not even remembering his name. He is taken in by Nausicaa's parents, King Alcinous and Queen Arete, and he and Nausicaa soon fall in love. On the day they are scheduled to be married, however, the stranger gradually regains his lost memories.
He remembers that he is Ulysses. He was lost at sea when his ship was blown off course in a storm during his return voyage to Ithaca as a consequence of his desecrating Neptune's temple during the sacking of Troy. Going ashore on an unknown island to forage for food, they intrude on the cave of the cyclops Polyphemus, who locks them inside and eats one of Ulysses' men. Upon the giant's complaint about the taste of human flesh, Ulysses suggests Polyphemus collect grapes to make wine. After Polyphemus leaves, Ulysses and his men prepare a stake to blind the cyclops after getting him drunk. The plan succeeds, and Ulysses tricks the blinded giant into removing the rock from the cave entrance, and the Greeks escape.
Later, Ulysses' ship passes the rock of the sirens. Eager to hear what they sound like, Ulysses has himself tied to the mast while his men plug their ears to resist their enchanting singing, and is tormented when the sirens speak to him with the voices of his family. After passing the rocks, a strange current pulls the ship towards another island. Leaving his men to explore, Ulysses returns to find them captured and transformed into pigs by the mistress of the island, the sorceress Circe. Circe, who has fallen in love with Ulysses after learning of his heroics, strives to keep him there, but Ulysses forces her to return his men to their original forms. Persuaded by Circe to stay for a while, he stirs resentment in his men, who want to return home. Ignoring Circe's warning that Poseidon will strike them down if they leave, they set sail on their own and perish in a storm. Blaming Circe for allowing them to die and determined to return to his family, Ulysses begins building a raft. Circe tries to make him stay and enjoy eternal life by her side by calling forth the dead from the underworld, including Ulysses' crew and his comrades-in-arms from Troy. But then his recently deceased mother Anticlea appears, telling him of Penelope's plight. With Ulysses' resolve reaffirmed, the embittered Circe lets him go, daring him to defy Neptune's wrath.
With his memory fully restored, Ulysses reveals his identity and sets out for home, breaking Nausicaa's heart. Returning to his palace disguised as a beggar, he meets Penelope, pretending to be an old friend of her husband. He suggests that she hold a contest to determine the suitor who shall marry her: stringing Ulysses' hunting bow and shooting an arrow through a dozen, lined-up axe heads. As he turns to leave, he stops to pet his old hunting dog Argos. Telemachus, who has just returned, witnesses this, and he and Ulysses reveal themselves to each other.
The next day, Penelope stages the archery contest, with Ulysses attending in his disguise. When the suitors are unable to even string the bow, Ulysses asks Penelope to let him try, reassuring her he is already married, and succeeds, thus revealing his identity. With the assistance of Telemachus and loyal servants, Ulysses locks down the feast hall and slays all the suitors.