The Viking (1928)

Vikings compete for power and the love of a woman.

Director:

Roy William Neill (as R. William Neill)

Writers:

Jack Cunningham (screen play), Ottilie A. Liljencrantz (based on the novel by: "The Thrall of Leif the Lucky")

Stars:

Donald Crisp, Pauline Starke, LeRoy Mason

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Donald Crisp	...	Leif Ericsson
Pauline Starke	...	Helga Nilsson
LeRoy Mason	...	Alwin
Anders Randolf	...	Eric the Red (as Anders Randolph)
Richard Alexander	...	Sigurd
Harry Woods	...	Egil (as Harry Lewis Woods)
Albert MacQuarrie	...	Kark
Roy Stewart	...	King Olaf
Torben Meyer	...	Odd
Claire McDowell	...	Lady Editha (as Claire MacDowell)
Julia Swayne Gordon	...	Thorhild

Storyline

Yes, it's true, an all color silent movie! The title refers to Leif Ericsson, who leaves Norway to search for new lands west of Greenland. On the way he vies for the love of Helga with his companion Egil and Alwin, an English slave. More conflict arises when he stops at the colony of his father (Eric the Red) in Greenland, for Leif has converted to Christianity, which his father hates. He also has to deal with the unrest of his crew, who fear falling off the edge of the Earth.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to thor | crucifix | reference to eric the red | reference to leif ericson | slave | 

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Taglines:

A 100% Technicolor production. (Herald).

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | History

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 1928 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Teufel der Nordsee

Filming Locations:

Newport Tower, Newport, Rhode Island, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$325,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Technicolor

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Silent (music score and sound effects)

Color:

Color (2-strip Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the film opened at the Embassy Theatre in New York City 28 November 1928 it was still silent and was accompanied by a live orchestral accompaniment. In December 1928 a musical score was recorded, sound-on-disc, and this was the version distributed by MGM in 1929.

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Goofs

Viking women did not shave their underarms, nor wear the strapless bustiers shown in the film.

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Quotes

Eric the Red: This coat is much too big for Leif!
Thorhild: Not if he has grown as fat as his father.

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Crazy Credits

The title card bills the three stars in the order Pauline Starke [top billing], Donald Crisp [second billing], and Le Roy Mason [third billing]. But the opening credits end with "The Players" listed in the order: first "Leif Erickson ... Donald Crisp," second "Helga . . . Pauline Starke, third "Alwin . . . Le Roy Mason," etc. The characters appear on screen in the order Alwin, Helga, and Leif Erickson.

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Soundtracks

Parsifal Act I, Prelude
Written by Richard Wagner (1882)
[Excerpt used in score]

User Reviews

Silly and anachronistic...but at least it's in color!

"The Viking" is a very old fashioned film, though at the time audiences must how been wowed since it was made using the Two-Strip Technicolor process. This created color...of a sort. These films tend to actually looks more green-orange because those are the two colors that are overlayed to create a sort of color look. However, while other studios were converting to sound, MGM chose to make this epic as a silent--which, along with the rest of the film, is pretty old fashioned in its view of Vikings.

True Vikings did not wear the horned-helmets or hawk winged helmets you see throughout this movie. Their costumes also were far more practical than the silly outfits worn in "The Viking". What gives? Well, the costume designer actually was designing vikings according to how Wagnerian operas portrayed them. It was 100% wrong--but fit the image that Wagner was trying to create in his crazy operas. So, the film is sort of like a Wagner story without the music!

As for the story, it's actually seemingly true in some ways. Eric the Red really did have a son named Leif who apparently was among the first white folks in North America. Interestingly, however, back in the 1920s. That's because the only 'proof' of this voyage were the Viking sagas--stories sung to celebrate the feats of the Vikings but have no real proof to them. This proof did not come until more recent years when Norwegian expeditions were able to find some artifacts in Canada that must have been brought by Vikings.

So is the film any good? Well, the plot involving a captured slave who captures the heart of a Viking girl is pretty silly. The part about Ericsson and his voyage is a bit more exciting however, and makes up, a bit for the silly romance and dumb costumes.

Overall I say you'd be much better off watching the 1958 film "The Vikings". It's more historically accurate, much more exciting and has just about everything you could want in such a film.