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:

Entirely in color! (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

Although released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, this was actually produced by the Technicolor company to demonstrate their new two strip Technicolor process in a feature length film. Producer Herbert T. Kalmus was the co-founder and president of the Technicolor company and is credited with inventing the Technicolor process.

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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

Kark: Fill Ragnar Oleson's drinking horn.

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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

Die Walküre
(1870) (uncredited)
Written by Richard Wagner
Excerpts incorporated into the score

User Reviews

entertaining nonsense from the vaults

The distinction of being the first all-Technicolor feature can't save this silent melodrama from being the tongue-in-cheek relic it now is, but of course there hasn't yet been a Viking saga made that was able to avoid the booby-trap of built-in silliness. Even so, this tempestuous (and ridiculous) Norse romance stretches credibility to the limit, boldly revising history to introduce Lucky Leif Eriksson as an early disciple of Christianity, defying his father's pagan beliefs and planting the cross of Jesus on the shores of a New World (said to be Rhode Island), where he promptly begins converting the natives to the One True Faith. Somehow the textbooks not only missed this fact, but also overlooked the passionate love quadrangle between Leif, a beautiful young Valkurie he secretly loves, a handsome young English slave, and a sinister sea captain. The novelty of color was not enough to turn audiences away from the far richer treasures of black and white film; like 3D in later decades, color was not, in the 1920s, something to be regarded seriously, and on the evidence of lively hooters like The Viking it's easy to see why.