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IMDbPro

The Vikings

  • 19581958
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 56m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
15K
YOUR RATING
The Vikings (1958)
Trailer for this action adventure film
Play trailer3:24
2 Videos
59 Photos
ActionAdventureHistory
A slave and a Viking prince fight for the love of a captive princess.A slave and a Viking prince fight for the love of a captive princess.A slave and a Viking prince fight for the love of a captive princess.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
15K
YOUR RATING
    • Richard Fleischer
    • Calder Willingham(screenplay)
    • Dale Wasserman(adaptation)
    • Edison Marshall(novel "The Viking")
  • Stars
    • Kirk Douglas
    • Tony Curtis
    • Ernest Borgnine
    • Richard Fleischer
    • Calder Willingham(screenplay)
    • Dale Wasserman(adaptation)
    • Edison Marshall(novel "The Viking")
  • Stars
    • Kirk Douglas
    • Tony Curtis
    • Ernest Borgnine
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 142User reviews
    • 58Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos2

    The Vikings
    Trailer 3:24
    Watch The Vikings
    THE VIKINGS (New & Exclusive) Blu-ray Trailer
    Trailer 1:34
    Watch THE VIKINGS (New & Exclusive) Blu-ray Trailer

    Photos59

    Kirk Douglas, Ernest Borgnine, and Janet Leigh in The Vikings (1958)
    Kirk Douglas and Janet Leigh in The Vikings (1958)
    Janet Leigh and Alexander Knox in The Vikings (1958)
    Kirk Douglas in The Vikings (1958)
    Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh in The Vikings (1958)
    Tony Curtis and Edric Connor in The Vikings (1958)
    Kirk Douglas in The Vikings (1958)
    Tony Curtis in The Vikings (1958)
    Janet Leigh in The Vikings (1958)
    Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis in The Vikings (1958)
    Kirk Douglas in The Vikings (1958)
    Kirk Douglas in The Vikings (1958)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Kirk Douglas
    Kirk Douglas
    • Einar
    Tony Curtis
    Tony Curtis
    • Eric
    Ernest Borgnine
    Ernest Borgnine
    • Ragnar
    Janet Leigh
    Janet Leigh
    • Morgana
    James Donald
    James Donald
    • Egbert
    Alexander Knox
    Alexander Knox
    • Father Godwin
    Maxine Audley
    Maxine Audley
    • Enid
    Frank Thring
    Frank Thring
    • Aella
    Eileen Way
    • Kitala
    Edric Connor
    • Sandpiper
    Dandy Nichols
    Dandy Nichols
    • Bridget
    Per Buckhøj
    • Bjorn
    Almut Berg
    Almut Berg
    • Pigtails
    • (uncredited)
    Peter Capell
    Peter Capell
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    Bill Cummings
    Bill Cummings
    • Viking Warrior
    • (uncredited)
    Kelly Curtis
    Kelly Curtis
    • Young Girl
    • (uncredited)
    Peter Douglas
    Peter Douglas
    • Young Boy
    • (uncredited)
    Georges Guéret
    • Viking Warrior
    • (uncredited)
      • Richard Fleischer
      • Calder Willingham(screenplay)
      • Dale Wasserman(adaptation)
      • Edison Marshall(novel "The Viking")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Ernest Borgnine plays the father of Kirk Douglas. In real life he was 1-1/2 months younger than Douglas.
    • Goofs
      A Norman-style stone castle is featured in England, though the film is set before the Norman Conquest of 1066.
    • Quotes

      Egbert: Lies will not sustain a tyrant!

    • Crazy credits
      One of the rare 1950s films to present all the credits at the end.
    • Alternate versions
      When originally released theatrically in the UK, the BBFC made cuts to secure a 'A' rating. All cuts were waived in 1993 when the film was granted a 'PG' certificate for home video.
    • Connections
      Edited into History of the World: Part I (1981)

    User reviews142

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A great film but two things bother me
    SPOILER: Many thanks to vaughn.birbeck for giving us the historical background of "The Vikings." It is great to know that the film has a basis in fact right down to the names of the main characters. I first saw "The Vikings" on a raw Saturday afternoon in February of 1959 with my brother and my best friend, Buddy. When the show was over, we ran home full of excitement. My brother and I burst into our house to find the Hall family was visiting. Catching our breath, we choked out, "We just saw the greatest movie of all time! It's The Vikings! It had Vikings and knights and they were sailing across the poison sea and attacking the castle and shooting arrows and throwing axes and chopping off hands with slashing swords......"

    When Mr. Hall retorted, "Now don't you think it is unfortunate that people can't find other ways to settle their differences?" I felt, "Oh, boy! I hope I never get so old that I think like him and can't enjoy 'The Vikings'."

    It was the thrill of my brother's life as an adult to ask Kirk Douglas on a New York studio talk show, "Did you actually jump across the moat to grab onto the axes in the drawbridge door, or did a stunt man do that?"

    Kirk's answer was, "I wanted to do it but the insurance company wouldn't let me."

    Even now I love the film but two things about it bother me. Great actor that he is, Kirk Douglas is just too nice of a guy and too good looking to be convincing as Ainar. Edison Marshall's book "The Viking" on which the film is based portrays him by the name of Hastings more like the character of Barnes as played by Tom Berringer in "Platoon." In "The Vikings", Ragnar introduces his son Ainar as someone who is "so vain of his beauty, he scrapes his face like an Englishman." Hastings is not charming or vain but tough and so cruel and even sadistic that after Eric's hawk tears up his entire face (not just his eye), Hastings delights in the horrifying effect his facial scars has on the victims he kills and rapes. The women scream, his facial scars dance as he laughs at their horror, the women scream even more in horror.... Hastings, like Barnes in "Platoon" clearly is a guy other Viking warriors hold in awe and whom Eric really wants to see dead. But in the film, Ainar is just a good looking, charismatic, fun guy we actually pity when after crossing the poison sea, storming the castle, jumping over the moat, climbing the tower, and crashing through the stain glass window to get to the love of his life, Morgana tells him he isn't her type.

    The other thing that bothers me about "The Vikings" is the miscasting of blond, buxom Janet Leigh as the Welsh princess, Morgana. Eric and Hastings were used to having blond, buxom Scandinavian women around them all the time. It was the novelty of the cute, demure, petite, brunette Welsh Morgana that captivated them and motivated them to engage in an adventure that involved scores of ships sailing the Mediterranean before they finally engaged in their showdown at high noon with crossed swords.
    helpful•43
    28
    • jeffhill1
    • Mar 9, 2002

    FAQ3

    • Who played the black deaf-and-dumb character, Eric's friend?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 28, 1958 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Hardanger, Norway
    • Production companies
      • Brynaprod
      • Brynaprod
      • Curtleigh Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 56 minutes

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