 The production had to shut down when the money ran out. James H.  Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff were shown rushes from the film and  agreed to buy the U.S. distribution rights which gave the producers  the money to continue production. With their own Steve Reeves movie  (retitled _Goliath and the Barbarians (1959)_ (qv)) in theatres only  five months after the box office sensation _Hercules (1959)_ (qv),  American International had one of their biggest hits up to that  time.