The Island at the Top of the World (1974)

Four turn of the century explorers embark on an airship expedition to the high artic. Where upon they find a lost colony of Vikings.

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Writers:

John Whedon (screenplay), Ian Cameron (novel)

Stars:

David Hartman, Donald Sinden, Jacques Marin

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Hartman	...	Prof. Ivarsson
Donald Sinden	...	Sir Anthony Ross
Jacques Marin	...	Captain Brieux
Mako	...	Oomiak
David Gwillim	...	Donald Ross
Agneta Eckemyr	...	Freyja
Gunnar Öhlund	...	The Godi (as Gunnar Ohlund)
Lasse Kolstad	...	Erik
Erik Silju	...	Torvald
Rolf Søder	...	The Lawspeaker
Torsten Wahlund	...	Sven
Sverre Anker Ousdal	...	Gunnar (as Sverre Ousdal)
Niels Hinrichsen	...	Sigurd
Denny Miller	...	Town Guard
Brendan Dillon	...	The Factor

Storyline

A Victorian gentleman hopes to find his long-lost son, who vanished whilst searching for a mysterious Viking community in a volcanic valley somewhere in uncharted Arctic regions. The gentleman puts together an expedition team to go on the search, but when they reach their destination they must escape from some Viking descendants who will kill to keep their existence a secret.

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Plot Keywords:

viking | expedition | search | arctic | 1900s | 

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Taglines:

Adventure beyond imagination

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Swedish Norwegian Danish Icelandic

Release Date:

20 December 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

La isla del fin del mundo

Filming Locations:

Redmond, Oregon, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite Ivarsson's claim that the vikings speak old Norse, they actually speak modern Scandinavian. The vikings are played by Norwegian and Swedish actors who speak their native language. For instance, the Godi and Freya are Swedish; Freya's father and others are Norwegian.

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Goofs

The Hyperion's propellers are hand cranked men by men on the ground. When the entire ship is viewed at rest the propellers are nowhere near the ground.

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Quotes

Oomiak: What fame, not even my dogs know me.

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Connections

Referenced in Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

User Reviews

A Whale of a Good Time

This film has lots of flaws. It has inferior Disney production values to be sure. An inferior cast. But for me it is still magic as I remember seeing it as a small boy in a theater when it came out. I remember the big zepplin careening through a dusty red night on its way to the Artic. I can still picture the whales in my mind and for some reason thought the movie was about finding the place where whales go to die. That is part of it, but it really tells the story of an English aristocrat employing the aid of a French airship captain and an American scientist to go to the Artic to find his lost son. There is a large part of the film devoted to the viking civilization on the Island at the Top of theWorld. Funny, but I didn't seem to remember any of that. After seeing the film again almost thirty years later, I can see why. It is ludicrous. But the rest of the film still holds up for me. The production values, special effects, and acting are not what you would normally expect from Disney. This must have been one of their rush productions. Come on, David Hartman as a hero. I have seen baloney sandwhiches with more charisma! Nonetheless, he is adequate, and Donald Sinden is okay too. the real acting standout is Jacques Marin as the airship captain. He has a lot of fun with his role. The musical score by Maurice Jarre is breathtaking.