Reviews

The historical events upon which this movie is very loosely based is "The Great Army" (please reference The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) which descended upon Anglo-Saxon England in the third quarter of the 9th century. The Norse were actually Danes, not Norwegians, and this Great Army was led by three sons of Ragnar Lothbrok and were named Halfdan,Ubbi and Ivarr the Boneless. Their father Ragnar had indeed been captured by King Aella of Northumbria and was thrown into a pit to die. But it was a pit of snakes, not wolves. The Vikings sailed across the North Sea (I mentioned across)because they knew how to navigate without the aid of some nonsensical magnetic fish. Sailing time from Denmark to England took about 3 days in a longship. This army proceeded to crush Northumbria, ravage Mercia, and overrun East Anglia before taking up winter quarters. That is a feat which no three ship's crews would have been capable. The strength of the Danish contingent was more like in the neighborhood of 20,000 men. The end result was all of northern, central, and eastern England became the Danelaw. There was no leader Einar, nor a slave Eric leading a fleet against Aella. And as for the silly axe throwing contest to cut a woman's braids, Viking women could simply divorce their husband with a public declaration if she found him unsuitable. It was not by coincidence that the lady of the household wore the keys to unlock the portals of her home on her belt. And mead does not foam up like soap suds if you have ever tried drinking any. It is made with honey and water. The ponies used in the movie were correct after types found in Iceland, and the Shetlands, but the longships normally did not have some absurd Dragon head on the prow;the stem and the stern were quite plain, and merely an extension of the keel. All together, the film is poorly researched, with bad costumes, the miscasting of most of the principal actors. Vikings, if burned in their ships, were done so on shore, after about three days of revelry, drinking, and obligatory human, and animal sacrifice. But at least, the Norse were not shown with horns, or wings on their helmets. It is hoped, one day a truly authentic film about these great people will be indeed produced in such a way as to do them, and the events in which they lived justice.

The previous well done assessment of this film needs little further comment, except why has it not been put back into the loop as a wide-screen DVD? This movie is not one which plays often on the TV; I cannot recall having seen it in the last 30 years. The film and cast are excellent. Perhaps the film's flaw is the fact that it is not very well know as compared to some of the nonsense served up by John Wayne. Gary Cooper has made some really great films, and this is certainly one of them. Susan Hayward is always a delight for the eyes, and the Mexican scenery is most imposing. The one image which remains strongest in the mind about this movie is how, when, and where the Indians, single out which members of the rescue party are to be killed (one by one). I hope the industry which provides us with new DVD's every Tuesday will finally wake up and put this fine piece of work out on the shelf for sale where it belongs.

No finer production of the late 5th century Romano-British warlord Artorius has ever surfaced. It is doubtful if the upcoming movie on King Arthur will ever historically touch this great film. From the employment of tartan cloth for trousers, or cloaks, to the Sutton Hoo helmet of the Swedish Vendel culture found in East Anglia, to chain mail and scale armor, it will be difficult for a historian to find fault with this film when compared to other attempts to illustrate this tempest of a era. David Robb was especially outstanding as Lancelot in the midst of other fine actors where the action was most convincing, and the intrigue most satisfying. The only fault I find in this wonderful gem of a film is that it has not surfaced (along with the companions from "Once upon a Classic" Robin Hood and the Talisman) on DVD. I shall always hope that this fine work will be resurrected and enjoy the praise which it so richly deserves.