Viking leader Ragnar and his rambunctious son Einar kidnap Morgana, a princess betrothed to the English king. When she is rescued by Eric, a slave, Einar pursues them to England in a jealous rage. Who will win her heart, and will Einar and Eric discover the secret bond which unites them ...
As the title suggests, this is the definitive Viking picture, chock-full of looting, pillaging, plundering, drinking, whoring, fighting and sailing with a fair bit of royal kidnapping, ritualistic sacrifices, castle-storming and mystical rune-casting thrown in as well. There are one or two lulls in the script, but there's so much to enjoy it hardly matters; the action sequences are terrific, particularly the final battle (shot at Fort-La-Latte on the coast of Brittany) and the cast throw themselves into the physical scenes, like the sequence where Douglas dances on the oars. The cast are an odd bunch and shouldn't really fit these roles at all - royals Leigh and Thring aren't British, and Norsemen Douglas, Borgnine and Curtis aren't remotely Scandinavian - but somehow they do, and the unusual switch of having the leading man be a villain is a tremendous touch. The movie also strikes a nice balance between historical depiction of Viking culture and entertainment value, complete with a natty little animated intro narrated by an unbilled Orson Welles. Beautifully photographed by Jack Cardiff and featuring an appropriately overblown score by Mario Nascimbene. Made at the very peak of Douglas' career (following Gunfight At The O.K. Corral and Paths Of Glory), this is one of the best action films of the fifties and a great wholesome bloodthirsty family Saturday matinée. From a book by Edison Marshall.
As the title suggests, this is the definitive Viking picture, chock-full of looting, pillaging, plundering, drinking, whoring, fighting and sailing with a fair bit of royal kidnapping, ritualistic sacrifices, castle-storming and mystical rune-casting thrown in as well. There are one or two lulls in the script, but there's so much to enjoy it hardly matters; the action sequences are terrific, particularly the final battle (shot at Fort-La-Latte on the coast of Brittany) and the cast throw themselves into the physical scenes, like the sequence where Douglas dances on the oars. The cast are an odd bunch and shouldn't really fit these roles at all - royals Leigh and Thring aren't British, and Norsemen Douglas, Borgnine and Curtis aren't remotely Scandinavian - but somehow they do, and the unusual switch of having the leading man be a villain is a tremendous touch. The movie also strikes a nice balance between historical depiction of Viking culture and entertainment value, complete with a natty little animated intro narrated by an unbilled Orson Welles. Beautifully photographed by Jack Cardiff and featuring an appropriately overblown score by Mario Nascimbene. Made at the very peak of Douglas' career (following Gunfight At The O.K. Corral and Paths Of Glory), this is one of the best action films of the fifties and a great wholesome bloodthirsty family Saturday matinée. From a book by Edison Marshall.