The Vikings (1958)

A slave and a Viking prince fight for the love of a captive princess.

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Calder Willingham (screenplay), Dale Wasserman (adaptation)

Stars:

Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Kirk Douglas	...	Einar
Tony Curtis	...	Eric
Ernest Borgnine	...	Ragnar
Janet Leigh	...	Morgana
James Donald	...	Egbert
Alexander Knox	...	Father Godwin
Maxine Audley	...	Enid
Frank Thring	...	Aella
Eileen Way	...	Kitala
Edric Connor	...	Sandpiper
Dandy Nichols	...	Bridget
Per Buckhøj	...	Bjorn

Storyline

Einar and Eric are two Viking half-brothers. The former is a great warrior whilst the other is an ex-slave, but neither knows the true identity of the other. When the throne of Northumbria in Britain becomes free for the taking, the two brothers compete against one another for the prize, but they have very different motives - both involving the princess Morgana, however.

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Plot Keywords:

viking | swashbuckler | based on novel | woman in jeopardy | pirate | 

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Taglines:

The Terrible Northmen...Sailing on Dragon Ships Like Serpents on the Sea! Shouting a Battle-Cry to Their Awesome God of War, Odin!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ernest Borgnine plays the father of Kirk Douglas. In real life he was 1-1/2 months younger than Douglas.

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Goofs

When the three Viking ships depart Norway to invade England, Ragnar's sunken ship is among them. When the ships arrive in England, Ragnar's ship has been replaced with another.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: The Vikings, in Europe of the 8th and 9th century, were dedicated to a pagan god of war, Odin. Trapped by the confines of their barren ice-bound northlands, they exploited their skill as shipbuilders to spread a reign of terror, then unequaled in violence and brutality in all the records of history.

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Crazy Credits

One of the rare 1950s films to present all the credits at the end.

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Alternate Versions

In many TV broadcasts, two bits seem to be missing from the final battle scene. One of these is a close-up of an arrow hitting a man in the neck and the other is of Eric (Tony Curtis) running through a passage and stabbing an enemy.

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Connections

Featured in The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson (2015)

User Reviews

The Excellent Soundtrack

I have good memories of this movie, especially the soundtrack, as a 10 year old kid. The haunting music of the "Vikings Horn- Regnar Returns" is one of my favorite melodies. I originally purchased the VHS, then the DVD, for the soundtrack alone. I then was lucky enough to find the soundtrack on a CD from Classic Hollywood Soundtracks from DRG Records. The music was composed, orchestrated, and recorded by direction of Mario Nascimbene. Most of the information that follows is from the liner notes of the CD and included because it is out of print.

From Nascimbene's autobiography: "The film was already shot, and was being assembled: and its director, Richard Fleischer, had already gone back to the United States. For me, this meant writing a score without the cumbersome, unnecessary and at times damaging presence of the director, a situation I particularly welcomed…" The way the composer got the sound of that large horn is interesting: The 'Vikings Horn' was one of the "routine scenes in the film" explained in the liner notes: "In the second scene, when the victorious Vikings return to their home base, the arrival of their ship is announced by a sentry blowing into an enormous horn. I didn't know of any instrument that could produce the sound corresponding to the size of that horn, says Nascimbene, who recorded the theme played by three horns in the orchestra at double the speed, and played it back an octave lower at half the speed. It resulted in a deep Nibelungen sound, out of this world, very suggestive, he comments in his autobiography" {End Quote} The film and the memorable score get a 10/10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 June 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

:The Vikings:

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Studios, Bavariafilmplatz 7, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,311

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brynaprod, Bavaria Film, Curtleigh Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1