The Vikings (1958)

The Vikings
Directed by Richard Fleischer
Written by Calder Willingham; adapted by Dale Wasserman from a novel by Edison Marshall
1958/USA
Bavaria Film/Byrnapod S.A./CurtLeigh Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Ragnar: Look how he glares at me… If he wasn’t fathered by the black ram in the full of the moon my name is not Ragnar.[/box]

First you have to get past the casting of Ernest Borgnine, Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis as Vikings …

The story is set at the time Vikings were marauding off the coasts of England.  Ragnar (Borgnine) is the king of the Vikings.  He and his lusty and vain son Einar (Douglas) – the only Viking not to wear a beard – are cut from the same barbaric mold.  One day Einar is out demonstrating his skills at falconry when the slave Eric (Curtis) bests him at the sport.  Before Einar can take revenge, Eric tells his bird to kill and the bird tears out Einar’s eye, putting him in a very bad humor.  He spares the slave’s life in order to prolong his intended misery.

The rivalry between Einar and Eric intensifies when both men fall for the kidnapped Princess Morgana (Janet Leigh), who is pledged in marriage to the evil English King Aella . Eric finally flees to England with Morgana, intending to force Aella to release her from her pledge.  Einar and Ragnar set out in pursuit.  They are foiled however when fog sets in.  Here, Eric has the edge thanks to a mysterious stone that always points North.

Eric rescues/kidnaps Ragnar when his ship founders and takes him to England.  Einar eventually catches up with Eric.  A lot of fighting, both between the English and Vikings and between Eric and Einar, ensues.  With James Donald as a traitor and Alexander Knox as a priest.

This did not seem like it would be my cup of tea before I even put the disc in the player.  It is basically a sword and sandal epic moved northward.  My readers may wonder why I bother but I am nothing if not a completist.  I also think that movies like this one give a feeling for the times.

The plot was too complicated to be predictable exactly but did not engage me. Nothing felt real to me.  The production values are outstanding, however, and this is spectacle on a grand scale.  The film also has a nice score.

Trailer