Performance Ratings
I think the best performances in the film came from:
NEIL McCARTHY as CALIBOS: a standout performance of anger, hatred and self pity. He makes us forget at times that his role is almost 50% shared with a stop-motion model as his presence is such a memorable standout for such a limited role.
FLORA ROBSON, ANNA MANAHAN and FREDA JACKSON as THE STYGIAN WITCHES: Great chemistry and a great mixture of menace and tongue-in-cheek humour.
MAGGIE SMITH as THETIS: a great performance of a woman scorned - she gives a superb performance of unhappiness and bitterness and is by far the best of the immortals in performance.
Special Mention to:
BURGESS MEREDITH as AMMON: An enthusiastic and solid performance, and is constantly engaged in what's going on in the story even when just an extra in the background.
TIM PIGGOT-SMITH as THALLO: Excellent line delivery from a true professional, but sadly is a little let down by a rather reserved & emotionless overall performance - possibly caused by a reluctance to upstage his rather wooden leading actors. His big moment to shine in the film sadly, is followed by his character's demise.
LAURENCE OLIVIER as ZEUS: Doesn't make the top for being a litle hammy, but is a great presence and gives an imagination defining performance as Zeus - try reading any myths without thinking of him when reading Zeus!
HARRY HAMLIN as PERSEUS: not a great overall job - his regular look of 'wonder' makes him look downright confused at times, and his out-loud exclamations of things to himself can get annoying after a while. However, he does a fine job in Medusa's temple of conveying tension and anxiety, and this makes the film in many ways.
DONALD HOUSTON as ACRISIUS: Too brief for top marks, but a fine show of heartlessness, remorselssness, bitterness and anger from a man usually at home in pompous or tongue-in-cheek roles.
JACK GWILIM as POSEIDON: Visually good for the part and does a good job even if most of his lines are just like that of a herold reporting news.
Wasted Opportunities:
JUDI BOWKER as ANDROMEDA: viewers should be made to adore and love her, she does this visually, but her lines are so snooty and patronising at times that she gets irritating. Her constant wish to stay alongside Persues seems very forced at times and she has little chemistry with her co-stars.
THALLO's MEN: nameless and lineless, a wasted opportunity for some extra depth and meaning to their demise and for some extra supporting characters overall. Read the novelisation for what could have been.
DIRECTION OF EXTRAS and ACTORS: The bigget flaw of the director was not getting anything out of his crowd scenes bar a few half-hearted gasps and cheers. This is also true of the main actors when they have no lines - non-speaking Gods and mortals just stand around like chess pieces waiting to be moved when they are not at the forefront. And there is a serious lack of interaction between all characters at times unless they have lines to one another. Bad direction here!
ALL THE OTHER GODS: Aphrodite only has one sentence to say (so why bother with Ursula Andress?), Hera is just like a brash housewife, and Athene is underused even though she had potential. And Hephaestus, despite being played by a fine actor who looked perfect in the part, has no lines!