The Last of the Vikings (1961)
"L'ultimo dei Vikinghi" (original title)

Harald and younger brother Guntar return to Norway after a 10-year voyage to find their father murdered and his lands now ruled by the villainous Sveno. As part of his plan to rally the ... See full summary »

Director:

Giacomo Gentilomo

Writers:

Arpad DeRiso (story), Luigi Mondello (story),

Stars:

Cameron Mitchell, Edmund Purdom, Isabelle Corey

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Cameron Mitchell	...	Harald
Edmund Purdom	...	King Sveno
Isabelle Corey	...	Hilde
Hélène Rémy	...	Elga
George Ardisson	...	Guntar
Mario Feliciani
Andrea Aureli	...	Haakon
Aldo Bufi Landi	...	Londborg
Carla Calò	...	Herta
Corrado Annicelli	...	Godrun
Nando Tamberlani	...	Gultred
Nando Angelini
Piero Gerlini
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Andrea Checchi
Piero Lulli

Storyline

Harald and younger brother Guntar return to Norway after a 10-year voyage to find their father murdered and his lands now ruled by the villainous Sveno. As part of his plan to rally the Vikings against this tyrant, Harald disguises himself as the Danish ambassador and enters Sveno's stronghold. There, he falls in love with Hilde, Sveno's cousin, who's been betrothed against her will to the Danish king. Harald must devise a new plan when Guntar is captured by Sveno and when the real Danish ambassador arrives on the scene.

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Plot Keywords:

viking | crucifixion | sword | sea battle | dungeon | 

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Taglines:

Roaring In From The Sea!!!!!! Brawling! Boisterous! Barbaric!!!!!!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

May 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Last of the Vikings

Filming Locations:

Anzio, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Critérion Film, Galatea Film, Les Films du Cyclope

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Telecolor) Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Harald: This feeling, this thing called love. Would you give up a throne for it?
Hilde: Yes.

User Reviews

"The Vikings" on a B-movie diet

Though made in the wake of the worldwide success of "Hercules," this modest but vigorous Italian production plays less like a "sword-and-sandal" and more like a "Robin Hood." Much of the action takes place in the villain's medieval castle but the action, perhaps because of a limited budget, rarely results in the hoped-for excitement. The cast, however, is a notch above average, led by Cameron Mitchell in the good-guy role and Edmund Purdom as the Sheriff-of-Nottingham-like villain. Mitchell's hair has been unconvincingly bleached blond but he manages to get through the proceedings with dignity largely intact. Purdom, however, is another story. He played the title role in 20th Century Fox's most expensive production of 1954, "The Egyptian" and in 1955 he played the leading man to Lana Turner in MGM's most expensive production of that season, "The Prodigal." This one-two punch should have made him a star but he soon wound up back in Europe slumming in B-movies such as this one. Here he plays a mincing, giggling villain who scampers about like a campy Richard III, his eyes darting nervously here and there and his hands, when they're not being wrung, clasped prissily across his chest. It's a "fun" performance but, oh, how the mighty have fallen. Perhaps the film's most memorable moment comes when Mitchell rescues his brother (George Ardisson) from a cell in Purdom's castle. The brother's palms have been nailed to an X-shaped cross and Mitchell has to pull the spikes out, mostly by hand. Fans of beefcake-bondage, laced with blood and sweat, take note.